Southgate, London

Southgate
Southgate Southgate shown within Greater London
Population	14,454 (2011)[1]
OS grid reference	TQ296942
London borough	Enfield
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	N14
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Enfield Southgate
London Assembly	Enfield and Haringey

Southgate is a suburban area of north London, England in the London Borough of Enfield. It is located around 8 miles (12.9 km) north of Charing Cross. The name is derived from being the south gate to Enfield Chase.

History

South Point House, where the South Gate once stood.

Southgate was originally the South Gate of Enfield Chase, the King's hunting grounds. This is reflected in the street names Chase Road (which leads due north from the station to Oakwood, and was formerly the avenue into the Chase) and Chase Side. There is a blue plaque on a building on the site of the south gate. A little further to the south was another small medieval settlement called South Street which had grown up around a village green; by 1829 the two settlements had merged and the village green became today's Southgate Green.^[2]

Becoming separate from Edmonton in 1881, Southgate had a population in 1891 of just 10,970. By 1901 the figure had moved up to 14,993, and by 1911 the figure had ballooned to 33,612, aided by the nearby railway station in Palmers Green.

Southgate was predominantly developed in the 1930s: largish semi-detached houses were built on the hilly former estates (Walker, Osidge, Monkfrith, etc.) following increased transport development. In 1933, the North Circular Road was completed through Edmonton and Southgate, and also in 1933, the London Underground Piccadilly line was extended from Arnos Grove (where it had reached the previous year), through Southgate tube station, on to Enfield West (now known as Oakwood). This unleashed a building boom, and by 1939 the area had become almost fully developed.

By 1951, the population had grown to 73,377 - falling by about 1,000 ten years later as many moved to new towns nearby.

Geography

Local features

Southgate underground station

Within the area is the art deco Grade II* Southgate tube station designed by Charles Holden. The area has several large green parks such as Grovelands Park which covers ninety-two acres and contains a former boating lake of seven acres adjoining dense woods and bracken. In Waterfall Road is Christ Church, built in 1862 by Sir Gilbert Scott. In the grounds stands the Minchenden Oak. Across the road from the church lies the Walker Cricket Ground; a regular Middlesex venue which was first used in 1859 and is named after the cricketer John Walker.Southgate tube station on the Piccadilly line is the nearest tube station to most of Southgate's residential area. The other stations are at Oakwood (to the north) or Arnos Grove (to the south west).

Demography

Southgate is a cosmopolitan district. There has been a prominent Jewish community since the early 20th century. There are also many Greek, Greek Cypriot, Japanese, and Turkish families living in the district.^[3] As of the 2011 census, White British makes up 45% of the population, followed by Other White at 20%.^[4]

Notable residents

Frederick Hitch

Amy Winehouse

• Frederick Hitch, awarded the Victoria Cross
• Leigh Hunt, the English essayist and writer, who was born here in 1784
• Allastair McReady-Diarmid was born there.
• David Hepworth^[5]
• Sir Thomas Lipton came to Southgate from Muswell Hill in 1892, and lived in a house called Osidge until his death in 1931.^[6]
• Norman Tebbit
• Paul Scott, was born in Southgate and was educated nearby.
• Amy Winehouse
• Stephen Twigg
• Rachel Whiteread
• Kataxenna Kova was also raised in Southgate
• Simon Mayo was born in Southgate
• Dee Murray, the bass guitarist
• Alberto Remedios lived in Southgate
• Ron Moody lived in Southgate at the Cherry Tree

Politics

The parliamentary constituency covering the part of Southgate in the London Borough of Enfield is Enfield Southgate (UK Parliament constituency). Until his death in the Brighton bombing in 1984, the constituency was represented by Sir Anthony Berry. In 1997, Michael Portillo, who succeeded Sir Anthony, lost the seat to Stephen Twigg, who after two terms lost in his turn to David Burrowes in May 2005. In the 2017 general election, Bambos Charalambous defeated Burrowes and became the new representative of the constituency.

Taverns, inns and public houses

Ye Olde Cherry Tree, The Green.

Because of the age of the former village and its position in a ring of villages one day's travel by coach from London, Southgate had many pubs: within the village centre there were six local licensed premises.^[7]

Many were located on Chase Side, but in recent times have been mostly replaced by restaurants. The Waggon and Horses closed in 2013, becoming an Anatolian restaurant. The Rising Sun in Chase Side was the terminus for a local horsebus service to Colney Hatch (and there to Kings Cross) before the arrival of the railways, whereupon the service switched to the new station in Palmers Green.^[7] It was rebuilt in 1932, and substantially renovated in 2008, changing its name to The Sun, but has since closed. The White Hart is a long-standing pub on Chase Road, near Southgate Circus roundabout.

Another notable pub is Ye Olde Cherry Tree which overlooks Southgate Green.

Education

Religious facilities

Southgate Masonic Centre

Southgate Masonic Centre

The Southgate Masonic Centre is home to 160 Lodges of which 15 are from Middlesex, along with 5 Chapters. The Centre, a converted church hall, was opened in 1968. The Middlesex Lodges that joined had been meeting in pubs and similar venues and welcomed the opportunity to have their own Centre.

Local newspapers

The local newspapers are, as of 2018:

References

External links

Media related to Southgate, London at Wikimedia Commons