Communications.
There were probably two
Roman roads through Edmonton: Ermine Street,
from Bishopsgate, and a route from Cripplegate to
Hatfield through Southgate and Chase Side, whose
course is uncertain. (fn. 61) Ermine Street passed through
Edmonton approximately along the line of Fore
Street and Hertford Road or to the west of it. (fn. 62)
Fore Street was parallel to the Lea and far enough
west to run on gravel rather than the brickearth
and alluvium of the river valley but was crossed by
four streams which caused great damage to the
road surface. In the 18th century the portion
between the junction with Silver Street and
Edmonton Green was called Duck Lane. (fn. 63) The
stretch between the Tottenham border and
Edmonton Green was the most important road in
Edmonton, called the high street (1341), (fn. 64) Edmonton
Street (1593), (fn. 65) or Fore Street (1535-6). (fn. 66) Only
later was the northern portion named Hertford
Road. By an Act of 1713 (fn. 67) the Stamford Hill
turnpike trust was set up to administer the road
between Enfield and Shoreditch, and by an Act of
1826 the trust was succeeded by the commissioners
for the metropolitan turnpike roads. (fn. 68) Fore Street
was widened to accommodate trams in 1906. (fn. 69)
By the late 16th century Green Lanes formed a
second route to the north, entering Edmonton at
Bowes and passing through Palmers and Fords
greens and Bush Hill, while another route ran from
Palmers Green through Winchmore Hill to the
north-west. (fn. 70) Green Street, mentioned in 1330, (fn. 71)
may be identifiable with Green Lanes but c. 1600
Green Street or Green Lanes consisted of a series
of linking lanes, each with a different name. From
south to north they were Deadman's Hill, Palmers
Green, (fn. 72) Highfields Lane, and Fords Green Lane. (fn. 73)
The 13th-century Rod Way or Rod Street may have
been part of Green Lanes between Palmers Green
and Fords Green. (fn. 74) Under an Act of 1789 (fn. 75) the
portion of Green Lanes within Edmonton parish
passed under the control of the turnpike trust which
was already responsible for Fore Street. Thereafter
extensive improvements were made to Green
Lanes, which led to a great increase in traffic (fn. 76) and
contributed to the growth of Southgate. In 1826
responsibility for Green Lanes passed to the
commissioners for the metropolitan turnpike roads. (fn. 77)
Some straightening of Green Lanes took place in
1905 and 1907 (fn. 78) but its course remained essentially
the same in 1973 as it had been c. 1600.
By an Act of 1728 the Stamford Hill turnpike
trust, hitherto responsible only for the north road,
extended its control to the road from the watch
house in Edmonton to the market-place in Enfield. (fn. 79)
The road included Church Street, which, although
not mentioned by name until c. 1530, (fn. 80) must have
been one of the oldest streets in Edmonton. By c.
1600 it ran north-west from Edmonton Green and
joined Bush Hill Road and Bush Hill. (fn. 81) Green Lanes
joined it at Bush Hill. It was much altered at Bush
Hill in 1805 (fn. 82) and in 1807 extensive improvements
were made to Church Street. (fn. 83)
All other roads remained the responsibility of the
parish. The road pattern was established by c. 1600
and changed little until the mid 19th century. (fn. 84) No
through route ran from west to east until the Lea was
bridged in the 19th century. Angel Road, called
Watery Lane in 1557 (fn. 85) and Marsh Lane in the late
16th century, (fn. 86) followed Pymme's brook from Fore
Street to Edmonton marsh. The route ran westward
from Fore Street as Fords Street (1312), (fn. 87) Pymme's
Green, Silver Street, (fn. 88) or Weir Hall Road. (fn. 89) At
Tanners End, Hedge Lane ran north-westward to
Palmers Green and c. 1600 Tailors Well Lane (fn. 90) and
Belsers Lane (otherwise Tile Kiln Lane or Tottenhall Road), which was diverted in 1905, (fn. 91) twisted
about the Pymme's valley to Green Lanes at
Bowes. From Green Lanes Bowes Road, called
Bowes Street (fn. 92) and Newmans Lane (1574) (fn. 93) and
later Betstile Road, (fn. 94)
c. 1600 ran westward to
Betstile, the south-western corner of the parish.
There was a network of roads to the east of the
north road, mainly to serve isolated farms. John a
Marsh (fn. 95) or Jeremy's Green and Lane (later Montagu
Road) ran parallel with Fore Street from Watery
Lane to Claverings. From north to south it was
linked to Fore Street by Pentridge (1598) (fn. 96) or
Dyer's alias Cuckoohall Lane, (fn. 97) Colly Lane
(Colles Lane 1328), (fn. 98) which disappeared between
1801 and 1865, (fn. 99) Boursers (1333) (fn. 1) or Bounces Lane,
and Wrights (fn. 2) or Town Lane (1765). (fn. 3) A short
section of Brettenham Road, which was called
Board's Lane after a local farmer in 1851, (fn. 4) existed
c. 1600, as did Cow Lane (1818) (fn. 5) or Claremont
Street. Dyson's Road, which joined Angel Road and
Tottenham, may be identifiable with Willoughby
Lane. (fn. 6)
Three important roads ran westward from Fore
Street: Silver Street, Church Street and, in the
north, Bury Street, which was mentioned in 1269. (fn. 7)
It was linked to Church Street by several side-roads
one of which was stopped up in 1903. (fn. 8)
About 1600 Green Lanes formed the backbone
of a group of lanes linking hamlets at Palmers,
Clappers, and Fords greens and Winchmore Hill. (fn. 9)
From Palmers Green Ansteds or Hazelwood Lane,
Hedge Lane, and an unnamed lane, perhaps the
13th-century Scottes Lane, (fn. 10) ran eastward to
Tanners End; Hoppers Road (fn. 11) went northward to
Winchmore Hill, and Sandpitt or Dog and Duck
Lane (fn. 12) and Wapull Borne (fn. 13) (later Bourne Hill and
the Bourne) ran westward to Southgate. From
Winchmore Hill Highwood Lane or Church Hill
and the later Wade's Hill (fn. 14) led to gates at the edge
of Enfield Chase. Hagfield Lane (1349) (fn. 15) or Vicar's
Moor Lane, (fn. 16) Middle Lane (1865) (fn. 17) or Station Road,
and the later Compton Road led eastward to Fords
Green. At Fords Green New Lane or Fords Grove,
Holly Field Lane or Farm Road, and Highfield
Row (1851) (fn. 18) or Road ran eastward to join the
north-south route, Firs Lane, which may have been
the medieval Garsonsway. (fn. 19) Farther south Highfield
Lane or Barrowell Green joined Green Lanes and
Firs Lane. From Clappers Green, Sigors Lane
(c. 1530) (fn. 20) ran north to Wapull Borne and an
unnamed lane, possibly Rosewell Lane (1685), (fn. 21)
ran south-eastward to Green Lanes. The whole of
the route was later called Fox Lane and at least part
of it may be identifiable with Fox Street, mentioned in
1334. (fn. 22) Pricketts Want and Barnfield Lane, branching
southward from Fox Lane to join Green Lanes
farther south, disappeared between 1801 and 1865. (fn. 23)
An unnamed lane ran westward to South Street.
High Street, Southgate, was called South Street
(1339) (fn. 24) or the road to Southgate (1370). (fn. 25) Its
continuation southward from Southgate Green
(later called Cannon Hill and Powys Lane) was called
Mynching Lane c. 1600. (fn. 26) Armolt Street (1322) (fn. 27)
or Hawland Lane ran westward from Southgate
Green to the border, which it followed as the
road to Betstile (13th cent.) (fn. 28) or Betstile Lane
(1567). (fn. 29) The whole of the road became Waterfall
Road. In the south-west corner of the parish it
joined Bowes Road and Bounds Lane and Green.
Hobbes (1574) (fn. 30) or Jones's Lane (fn. 31) (later Warwick
Road) joined Bounds Green to Bowes Road.
Wrights Lane or Alderman's Hill and Broomhouse
Lane (later Powys Lane and Broomhouse Lane)
linked Mynching Lane with Green Lanes. Wolves
Lane (1336) (fn. 32) ran southward to Tottenham from
Tottenhall Road and Jickocks Lane (later Oakthorpe Road) joined Green Lanes to Lay Green.
Lay Green and Holly Bush Lane by 1702 formed
Blind Lane, (fn. 33) probably a cul-de-sac caused by
difficulty in crossing Pymme's brook.
Other early roads in Edmonton cannot be
identified. Colwell Street (13th cent.) (fn. 34) or Lane
(1576) (fn. 35) may have been Colly Lane but the
positions of Hog Lane (c. 1530), (fn. 36) Rowe Lane
(1312), (fn. 37) Stony Street (13th cent.), (fn. 38) Wodenes
Street (13th cent.), (fn. 39) Worde Street (13th cent.), (fn. 40)
and Wyke Lane (1323) (fn. 41) are unknown.
The Edmonton maps of c. 1600 do not include
Enfield Chase but routes through the Chase were
marked, though not named, in 1658. (fn. 42) They
included Chase Side, Chase Road, and a road from
Winchmore gate, which all ran north-westward to
Cockfosters, the east-west route later called
Bramley Road, and a group of roads leading
northward to Enfield and Theobalds. Cock Hill or
Eversley Park Road, which ran north from Winchmore or Highmore gate, may be identifiable with
Highgate Street (c. 1255) (fn. 43) and Highgate Lane near
Green Street (1330). (fn. 44) At Old Park Corner it was
joined by Green Dragon Lane, which may have
been the earlier Park Street (13th cent.) (fn. 45) and
Park Lane (1321). (fn. 46)
'Chase Side', mentioned in 1668, (fn. 47) was probably
Winchmore Hill Road which ran along the border
of Southgate and the Chase. A road west from
Upper Fore Street, called Meeting House Lane,
Church Road, Union Road, or Bridport Road, (fn. 48)
existed in part by 1754 (fn. 49) and Bull Lane joined it to
Silver Street by 1801. (fn. 50) A new major road, Great
Cambridge Road, was driven through the centre of
Edmonton parish in 1923-4 (fn. 51) and in 1924-7 Bowes
Road, Silver Street, and Angel Road were transformed into the North Circular Road. (fn. 52) In 1974 a
new section of the North Circular was being
constructed south of the narrow and congested
Silver Street.
The roads, bearing heavy traffic over ill drained
clay, were hard to maintain. In 1365 the main road
between Hackney and Edmonton was almost
impassable and tolls were levied to repair it. (fn. 53)
Bequests were made by Richard Askew (1551), (fn. 54)
Ralph Davenant (1552), (fn. 55) William Gilbarne (1557), (fn. 56)
John Sadler (1560), (fn. 57) and John Wilde (1665), (fn. 58)
chiefly for repairs to Watery Lane and Church
Street, and Wilde set up a charity to drain the
highways into ditches during the winter. (fn. 59) In 1695
the road through Edmonton to London after a
spring shower was so full of water that meeting
loaded waggons was dangerous, (fn. 60) in 1713 it was
estimated that 10,000 loads of gravel were needed
for Duck Lane, (fn. 61) and in 1762 the Stamford Fly
overturned in floods near the 7-mile stone at
Edmonton. (fn. 62) A concerted effort to improve the
road to London began in 1764, before bridges were
built over Pymme's and Salmon's brooks. (fn. 63)
Bridges in the 13th century included the long
bridge near Langhedge, (fn. 64) a stockbridge near the
mill, (fn. 65) and a bridge over the Medesenge. (fn. 66) Highgatesbridge, probably over Salmon's brook or
Hobb Hale, (fn. 67) Alnenebridge, east of a road to
Winchmore Hill, (fn. 68) and Pipplebridge in Northmarsh (fn. 69) existed in the 14th century, and Stonebridge in north-east Edmonton (fn. 70) and Cowbridge at
Edmonton marsh (1564) (fn. 71) in the 16th.
In 1605 the lord of the manor was responsible
for seven bridges. (fn. 72) A timber footbridge crossed
Pymme's brook in Fore Street just north of its
junction with Silver Street in the early 19th
century, (fn. 73) when another footbridge crossed it in
Love Lane, which led to the Hyde. (fn. 74) There were
three bridges over Salmon's brook. In the north a
cart bridge at Bush Hill marked the boundary
between Edmonton and Enfield. It was called
Balstepgrove bridge in 1623, when the inhabitants of
the two parishes were indicted for neglecting it, (fn. 75)
and Red bridge by c. 1801. (fn. 76) There was another
bridge in Church Street, near its junction with
Hertford Road, where the brook formed a wash,
later the pond at Edmonton Green. (fn. 77) The third
bridge was presumably between those two, over a
side road leading to Bury Street. (fn. 78) There were two
cart bridges over Hobb Hale, one in Hertford Road
at Sadlers mill (fn. 79) and another leading to the common
marsh near Claverings. (fn. 80) The latter may have been
removed as part of the improvements initiated by
the turnpike trust in 1772. (fn. 81)
By 1826 (fn. 82) there was still no bridge over the river
Lea, which was crossed at Cook's ferry. Pymme's
brook was still bridged at Fore Street by Angel
bridge, a three-arched brick and stone structure
built in 1766 by the road trustees (fn. 83) and maintained
by the county. The bridge in Love Lane had
probably disappeared by 1826 but there were
several other brick bridges over Pymme's brook. One
of two arches had been built in 1772 at Tanners End
with money raised from subscriptions and was
maintained by the parish. Bowes Farm bridge,
presumably Deadman's bridge in Green Lanes, a
single arch, was built in 1789 by the road trustees
and repaired in 1822 by the county. Another single
arch, Woodlands bridge, was built, presumably
in Bull Lane, c. 1792 by a Mr. Whitehead and
maintained by the county. Betstile bridge, with three
arches, was erected at Waterfall Road by Sir William
Curtis or John Schneider, probably c. 1800. (fn. 84) There
was also a ford and footbridge over Pymme's brook
in Tile Kiln Lane.
In 1605 and 1826 Salmon's brook was bridged in
three places. Red bridge had probably become
Salmon's brook bridge, described as east of Bush
Hill and on the road from Lower Edmonton to
Enfield, which was the responsibility of the lords
of Enfield and Edmonton manors although it had
been repaired in 1821 by the county. A threearched brick bridge had been built there c. 1779 by
the road trustees. Lower Edmonton bridge marked
the site of the older bridge in Church Street. Only a
footbridge in 1675, it had been replaced by a
bridge of two arches of brick and stone by the road
trustees in 1766 (fn. 85) and repaired in 1819 by the
county, which maintained it. The third bridge was
Bush Hill bridge, where Bush Hill and the New
River crossed Salmon's brook. It had been built in
brick with one arch by the New River Co. in 1682
and subsequently maintained by them. By 1826
Bury Street stream had been culverted in Bury
Street and Hertford Road and the two bridges of
1605 had disappeared. There were, however,
eleven bridges over the New River, all maintained
by the company: one west of Bush Hill Park, one at
Bush Hill, one at Butt's Farm, two at Boston Lodge,
two at Huxley Farm, and four near Broomfield
House. They included a bridge at Deadman's Hill
which needed rebuilding in 1810 and an iron
bridge of 1814 at Tile Kilns. (fn. 86)
By 1865 the Lea had been bridged. (fn. 87) Although the
inhabitants asked the lord for a footbridge over
Pymme's brook at the junction of Jeremy's Green
Lane (later Montagu Road) with Watery Lane (later
Angel Road) in 1799, (fn. 88) there was still only a ford
there in 1865. (fn. 89) A wooden bridge had been erected
by 1881 when it was washed away by floods and
replaced by an iron one. Angel bridge in Fore
Street was widened when the tramway (see below)
was electrified. (fn. 90)
In spite of the bad roads Edmonton was considered to be easily accessible from London and by
1722 there was a daily coach service to Bishopsgate. (fn. 91)
In 1807 hourly coaches ran to Edmonton from
Bishopsgate and four coaches a day from Snow
Hill. (fn. 92) In 1825 17 coaches made 39 return journeys a
day from Edmonton and one coach made a daily
return journey from Southgate. (fn. 93) By 1839 there
were eight omnibuses and five short-stage coaches
running between Edmonton and Bishopsgate, two
omnibuses and three short-stage coaches to Snow
Hill, and one omnibus and one short-stage coach
to the Bank. There were two short-stage coaches
between Southgate and Snow Hill. Most services
were in the hands of the Matthews and Isaac
families. (fn. 94)
In 1851 there were two coach and nine omnibus
proprietors concentrated in Church Street and
Chase Side. (fn. 95) By then, however, omnibuses were
becoming restricted to local journeys to railway
stations. In the 1860s an omnibus ran from the
King's Head in Winchmore Hill to Bishopsgate
via Fore Street and another from the Green Dragon
in Winchmore Hill to London Bridge via Green
Lanes. Both services were discontinued in 1869. (fn. 96)
An omnibus ran ten times a day between Avenue
Road, Southgate, and Palmers Green station in 1890
and 1908. (fn. 97)
In 1840 the Northern and Eastern Railway (fn. 98)
(from 1844 the Eastern Counties and from 1862 the
Great Eastern Railway) opened a line along the Lea
valley from London to Broxbourne (Herts.) (fn. 99)
with a station at Edmonton (Water Lane, later
Angel Road). A branch line was opened in 1849
between Angel Road and Enfield Town, with a
station at Church Street (later Lower Edmonton)
and from 1880 another at Bush Hill Park. (fn. 1) In 1872
a second branch line, from Bethnal Green to Edmonton, joined the first just north of Edmonton Green
and another Lower Edmonton station was built
just south of Church Street; (fn. 2) a station was also
opened at Silver Street. In 1891 a line to Cheshunt
was opened from the one from Angel Road to
Enfield Town at a point just north of Bury Street.
Suburban growth was not so rapid as expected and
in 1909 the line was closed, though reopened for
munitions workers between 1915 and 1919 and for
electric trains from Liverpool Street to Hertford
and Bishop's Stortford (Herts.) in 1960. The
section of the line between Angel Road and Lower
Edmonton, together with Lower Edmonton (Low
Level) station, was closed in 1939. (fn. 3)
The main line of the Great Northern Railway, (fn. 4)
which crossed the south-western corner of Edmonton parish in 1850, had a station at Colney Hatch or
New Southgate. (fn. 5) Boundary adjustments later placed
this line outside the parish. In 1871 the G.N.R.
opened a branch line between Wood Green and
Enfield with stations at Bowes Park (in Tottenham),
Palmers Green, and Winchmore Hill. In spite of
schemes in 1902 and 1919 to bring the railway to
Southgate it was not until 1932 that the London
Electric Co. extended the Piccadilly line to Arnos
Grove, where Charles Holden designed a striking
circular station. (fn. 6) In 1933 the line reached Cockfosters with intermediate stations, also designed by
Holden, at Southgate and Enfield West (later
Oakwood). (fn. 7)
In 1881 the North London Tramways Co.
opened a service from Stamford Hill along Fore
Street to Lower Edmonton, where a tram station
was erected at Tramway Avenue, and in 1882 it
extended the line along Hertford Road to Ponders
End. The company was taken over by the North
Metropolitan Tramways Co. in 1891. (fn. 8) Steam and
horse trams ran until 1905, when the Metropolitan
Electric Tramways Co. introduced a service from
Stamford Hill to Silver Street. Later in 1905
electric trams were extended to Lower Edmonton
and in 1907 to the Hertfordshire boundary. In 1907
the company began services from Bounds Green to
New Southgate (extended to North Finchley in
1909) and from Wood Green along Green Lanes to
Palmers Green and later to Winchmore Hill
(1908) and Enfield (1909). (fn. 9) In 1933 control passed
to the London Passenger Transport Board and in
1938 trams were replaced by trolley-buses, of
which there were five services in Edmonton in
1939. They were withdrawn in 1961. (fn. 10) The London
General Omnibus Co. introduced motor-buses
between Victoria station and the Angel, Fore
Street, and by 1914 there were also services from
Victoria to Palmers Green and Southgate. (fn. 11) There
were nine services within Edmonton borough in
1939 (fn. 12) and 26 London Transport suburban services
and two Green Line routes within Edmonton and
Southgate c. 1970. (fn. 13)