Tottenham
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Tottenham | |
  Tottenham shown within Greater London |
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| OS grid reference | |
|---|---|
| London borough | Haringey |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | London |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LONDON |
| Postcode district | N15, N17 |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| European Parliament | London |
| UK Parliament | Tottenham |
| London Assembly | Enfield and Haringey |
| List of places: UK • England • London | |
Tottenham is an urban area of north London, England in the London Borough of Haringey, situated 6.6 miles (10.6 km) north-east of Charing Cross.
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[edit] History
There has been a settlement at Tottenham, for over a thousand years. It grew up along the old Roman Road, Ermine Street, (some of which is today's A10 road locally) and between High Cross and Tottenham Hale, today's Monument Way.
[edit] Etymology
Tottenham is believed to have been named after Tota, a farmer, whose hamlet was mentioned in the Domesday Book; hence Tota's hamlet became Tottenham.
[edit] Early Tottenham
Toteham as it was then known was mentioned in the Domesday Book[1]. At that time, 1086 around 70 families lived within the manor, mostly labourers working for the Lord of the Manor.
In 1894 Tottenham was created an urban district and on 27 September 1934 it became a municipal borough. As from 1 April 1965 the municipal borough formed part of the London Borough of Haringey.
The River Lee formed the eastern boundary of the Municipal Borough of Tottenham with the Municipal Borough of Walthamstow. It was the ancient boundary of Middlesex with Essex and the boundary of Danelaw. Today it forms the boundary between the London Borough of Haringey and the London Borough of Waltham Forest. A major tributary of the Lea, the River Moselle, also crosses the borough from west to east—this often gave rise to serious flooding until it was mostly covered over in the 19th century.
From the Tudor period onwards Tottenham became a popular recreation and leisure destination for wealthy Londoners. Henry VIII is known to have visited Bruce Castle and also hunted in Tottenham Wood. A rural Tottenham also featured in Izaak Walton's book The Compleat Angler published in 1653 [2]. Tottenham remained a semi-rural and upper middle class area until the 1870s.
[edit] Modern Tottenham
In late 1870 the Great Eastern Railway introduced special workman's trains and fares on its newly opened Enfield and Chingford branch lines. Tottenham's low-lying fields and market gardens were then rapidly transformed into cheap housing for the lower-middle and working classes, who were able to commute cheaply to inner London. This fare policy stimulated the relatively early development of the area into a London suburb.
An incident occurred on 23 January 1909, which was at the time known as the Tottenham Outrage.[1] Two armed robbers of Russian extraction held-up the wages clerk of a Rubber Works in Chesnut Rd. They made their getaway via Tottenham Marshes and across the Lea where they hijacked a Walthamstow Corporation Tramcar, hotly pursued by the police on another tram. The hijacked tram was stopped but the robbers continued their flight on foot. Being eventually cornered by the police, they shot themselves to evade capture. Two were shot and killed - PC Tyler and Ralph Joscelyn, a boy of ten; fourteen were wounded during the chase. The incident later became the subject of a Silent Film.
During the Second World War, Tottenham also became a target of the German Air Offensive against Britain. Bombs fell within the Borough (Elmar Rd) during the first air raid on London on 24 August 1940. The Borough also received V1 (4 Incidents) and V2 hits, the last of which occurred on 15 March 1945. Wartime shortages also led to the creation of Tottenham Pudding, a mixture of household waste food which was converted into feeding stuffs for pigs and poultry. The "pudding" was named by Queen Mary on a visit to Tottenham Refuse Works. Production continued into the Post-war period, its demise came with the merging of the Borough into the new London Borough of Haringey.
In 1985, the Broadwater Farm housing estate in Tottenham was the scene of rioting between the police and local youths following the death of Cynthia Jarrett, a resident of the estate who died of heart failure after four policemen burst into her home. One police officer - PC Keith Blakelock - was killed. 58 policemen and 24 other people were injured in the fighting. Two of the policemen were injured by gunshots, the riots marking the first time that firearms had been used in that type of confrontation.
[edit] Sites or buildings of historical interest
- All Hallows Church - This is the oldest surviving building in the borough, and dates back to Norman times. For more than 700 years it was the original parish church for Tottenham. Presented in 1801 with a bell from the Quebec Garrison which was captured from the French in the battle of Quebec, Montreal, Canada. Adjacent to the church is
- Tottenham Cemetery - Large cemetery, which makes up part of a open access area of land and habitat, along with Bruce Castle park and All Hallows Church yard.[3]
- Broadwater Farm - Housing estate built in 1967, that was the site of the Broadwater Farm riot in 1985.
- Brook Street Chapel - Non-denominational Christian chapel established in 1839, one of the earliest Plymouth Brethren /Open Brethren assemblies in London that still exists. The church was associated with local notable Christians such as Hudson Taylor, Dr Barnardo, Luke Howard and Philip Gosse.
- Bruce Castle, Lordship Lane - Now a Local History Museum, and Grade 1 listed, it was Tottenham's Manor House, and dates from the 16th century, with alterations by subsequent occupants. It was given the name 'Bruce Castle' during the 17th century by the 2nd Lord Coleraine, who was Lord of the manor at the time. He named it after 'Robert the Bruce', whose family had been Lord of the Manor during the medieval period. The building was purchased by the Hill family who ran a progressive school there. Sir Rowland Hill was its first headmaster and he was living here when he as Postmaster General introduced the Uniform Penny Post in 1840. [4]
- 7 Bruce Grove - The building features an English Heritage blue plaque to Luke Howard (1772-1864), the 'Father of Meteorology', who named the clouds in 1802.
- Clyde Circus conservation area
- Edmanson’s Close previously known as the Almshouses of the Drapers' Company. They were built in 1870 and were established out of the generosity of three 17th century benefactors, Sir John Jolles, John Pemel and John Edmanson.
- High Cross - Erected sometime between 1600-1609 on the site of an earlier Christian cross, although there is some speculation that the first structure on the site was a Roman Beacon or Marker, situated on a low summit on Ermine Street. Tottenham High Cross is often mistakenly thought to be an Eleanor cross.
- Markfield Beam Engine
- St Ann's Church - Consecrated in 1861, St Ann's church houses the organ which was originally in Crosby Hall Bishopsgate, on which Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, who composed the famous Wedding March from A Midsummer Night's Dream, regularly gave recitals.
- St Ignatius' Church and College- Built between 1894 and 1902, with two towers in the style of a 12th Century German cathedral. Situated at the foot of Stamford Hill, this Catholic Church dominates the area.
- Tower Gardens Estate previously known as the LCC White Hart Lane Estate. Construction of this "out of County" LCC cottage housing estate began in 1904. The style of the housing is said to be inspired by houses in Ghent, Belgium. The estate was the home of Harry Champion (Great Cambridge Road), a well known music hall star and performer of the song "I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am".
[edit] History of the railways of Tottenham
- Northern and Eastern Railway - Running from Stratford to Broxbourne was opened 15 September 1840 with two stations in the district called Tottenham & Marsh Lane.
- Tottenham & Hampstead Junction Railway - Opened 21 July 1868. South Tottenham was opened in 1871, two other stations on this line within Tottenham were opened later. Harringay Park (Green Lanes) opened in 1880 and St Anns Rd opened in 1882 closing after service on 8 August 1942.
- Stoke Newington & Edmonton Railway - The section between Stoke Newington and Lower Edmonton opened July 22, 1872 with stations at Stamford Hill (half of the station lies in the Borough), Seven Sisters, Bruce Grove, and White Hart Lane in Tottenham.
- Palace Gates Line - Opened within Tottenham on 1 January 1878 with stations at Seven Sisters and West Green. Passenger services ceased in 1963 with the line finally closing on 7 February 1965.
- Tottenham & Forest Gate Railway- Opened 9 July 1894.
- London Underground Piccadilly Line - Extension through Tottenham opened on 19 September 1932.
- London Underground Victoria Line - The first section of this line opened on 1 September 1968.
[edit] Today
Tottenham is a multicultural hotspot with many different ethnic groups inhabiting the area, the largest groups are the African-Caribbean, West African, Turkish-Cypriot, Turkish, Irish, and Portuguese populations. South Tottenham is reputed to be the most ethnically-diverse area in Europe, with up to 300 languages being spoken by its residents.[2]
After Brixton, Tottenham probably has the largest "Jamaican population" as a percentage in the United Kingdom.[citation needed]
Tottenham is also home to the largest Ghanaian population in the United Kingdom & largest population of Ghanaians in Europe.[citation needed]
More investment is slowly being pumped into Tottenham which is needed. Certain areas were becoming run down and crime levels were rising and this is due to the fact that Haringey, the London Borough Tottenham is part of, is classed as an outer London Borough and so obtains less funding than the inner-city boroughs, although it has exactly the same socioeconomic problems.
[edit] Home to Premiership football
Tottenham is also widely known for being the home of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, whose ground on the High Road is named White Hart Lane after the White Hart Inn that it was built behind.
[edit] Public transport
Two London Underground Lines serve the Tottenham area. The Piccadilly Line, which opened in 1932 has one station Turnpike Lane which was the first Underground station within the Tottenham Borough boundaries. The Victoria Line which opened in 1968 has its operating depot in Tottenham at Northumberland Park and has two stations, Seven Sisters and Tottenham Hale situated within the area. National Rail stations, Seven Sisters, South Tottenham, Tottenham Hale, Bruce Grove, White Hart Lane, and Northumberland Park serve the area. The train services are provided by National Express East Anglia and London Overground.
[edit] Districts
- Bruce Grove
- Broadwater Farm
- Little Russia- Once notorious neighbourhood located on the Tottenham-Edmonton boundary
- Northumberland Park
- Seven Sisters
- South Tottenham
- Tottenham Green
- Tottenham Hale - Plans are currently being formulated to redevelop this area [5].
- Tottenham Marshes
[edit] Culture
[edit] Music
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This article does not cite any references or sources. (February 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
The urban music genre of Grime has a large presence in Tottenham. There are many mc's and crews residing there. Most notably JME and Skepta from the 'Boy Better Know' label. Dizzee Rascal one of the main figureheads of Grime once said that he had to travel to Tottenham to get heard on the radio, now he is somewhat of a Grime superstar. Tottenham is also the childhood home of soul and R&B singer Lemar
[edit] Individuals associated with Tottenham
- PC Keith Blakelock
- Harry Champion
- Dave Clark and the Dave Clark Five
- Charles Conder
- William Edward Forster
- Bernie Grant
- Sir Rowland Hill
- Mark Hollis
- Lemar
- Trevor Peacock
- Leslie Phillips
- Mike Reid
- George Sewell
- Shani Wallis
- Keisha White
- Jessie Wallace
[edit] Education
- For details of education in Tottenham see the London Borough of Haringey article.
[edit] Neighbouring areas
- London Borough of Enfield
- Edmonton N18 .
- London Borough of Waltham Forest
- Walthamstow E17 .
- London Borough of Hackney
- Stamford Hill N16 .
- London Borough of Islington
- Finsbury Park N4 .
- Hornsey N8 .
- Wood Green N22 .
- Harringay N8, N4, N15.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
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| Districts |
Bounds Green · Bowes Park · Crouch End · Finsbury Park · Fortis Green · Harringay · Highgate · Hornsey · Manor House · Muswell Hill · Northumberland Park · Seven Sisters · South Tottenham · Stroud Green · Tottenham · Tottenham Hale · West Green · Wood Green |
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| Attractions | ||
| Constituencies | ||
| Parks and open spaces in Haringey | ||
