Tottenham

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the London district, for the football team see Tottenham Hotspur F.C.; for other uses, see Tottenham (disambiguation).

Location
Tottenham
<tr><td colspan="2"> Image:Greater london outline map bw.png </div></div> </div> </div> </td></tr>
OS grid reference:	TQ335905
Latitude:	51.597468702087184°
Longitude:	-0.07161874847748528°
Administration
London borough:	Haringey
County level:	Greater London
Region:	London
Constituent country:	England
Sovereign state:	United Kingdom
Other
Ceremonial county:	Greater London
Historic county:	Middlesex
Services
Police force:	Metropolitan Police
Fire brigade:	London Fire Brigade
Ambulance service:	London Ambulance
Post office and telephone
Post town:	LONDON
Postal district:	N15, N17
Dialling code:	020
Politics
UK Parliament:
London Assembly:	Enfield and Haringey
European Parliament:	London
London \| List of places in London

Tottenham is in the London Borough of Haringey. It is a suburban development situated 6.6 miles (10.6 km) north north-east of Charing Cross.

1 Today
2 History
3 Nearest places
4 References

[edit] Today

Tottenham is a multicultural hotspot with many different ethnic groups inhabiting the area, the largest groups are the Afro-Caribbean, West African, Cypriot, Turkish, and Jewish populations.

After Brixton, Tottenham probably has the largest "Jamaican population" as a percentage in the United Kingdom.

Also Tottenham is home to the largest Ghanaian population in the United Kingdom & largest population of Ghanaians in Europe.

Tottenham is slowly having more investment pumped into it 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.

[edit] Grime-UK's answer to Hip Hop

The 'Underground' music of Grime (which sounds like a combination of garage and hip hop mixed together, with other smaller influences) has many influences from Tottenham, Grime artists such as 'JME' and 'Skepta' from Meridian Crew are from Tottenham. The most famous name in Grime and one of the co-founders Dizzee Rascal states in one of his tracks 'dream' that he had to go to North London, Tottenham to get on the radio and have his tracks heard on Heat Fm. R'nB singer Keisha White and Lemar are also from Tottenham.

[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 service is provided by 'one'.

[edit] Districts

Bruce Grove
Broadwater Farm
Harringay - the area along Green Lanes was part of the Municipal Borough of Tottenham.
Northumberland Park
Seven Sisters
South Tottenham
Tottenham Green
Tottenham Hale - Plans are currently being formulated to redevelop this area [1].
Tottenham Marshes
Tottenham Wood - was an ancient woodland area that covered most of the present Wood Green.
West Green - midway between Tottenham and Wood Green on West Green Road, was originally a community separated from the main part of Tottenham. Blackboy Lane a very old thoroughfare, leads from here towards Harringay.

[edit] History

Image:Tottenham town hall 1.jpg

There has been a settlement at Tottenham, Middlesex for over a thousand years. It grew up along the old Roman Road, Ermine Street, today's A10 road and between High Cross and Tottenham Hale, today's Monument Way.

Toteham as it was then known was mentioned in the Domesday Book [2]. 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.

Image:Tottenham1934.JPG

The River Lea 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 [3]. Tottenham remained a semi-rural and upper middle class area until the 1870s. 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. 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. Four people, including a boy of ten had been shot and killed, 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 Pie, a mixture of household waste food which was converted into feeding stuffs for pigs and poultry. The "pie" 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 stabbed in the neck during the riots and later died in hospital. 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

Image:Bruce castle 1.jpg

All Hallows Church - Tottenham Parish Church which dates back to Norman times and was for more than 700 years the only church in 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 -
Broadwater Farm Estate - Housing estate built in 1967, that was the site of the Broadwater Farm riot in 1985.
Bruce Castle, Lordship Lane - Now a Local History Museum, was Tottenham's Manor House, named after the father of the Lord of the Manor. It was purchased by Sir Rowland Hill and he was living here when he as Postmaster General introduced the Penny postage in 1840. [4]
7 Bruce Grove - The building features an English Heritage blue plaque to Luke Howard (1772-1864), the meteorologist who named the clouds in 1802.
Clyde Circus conservation area
Edmanson’s Close - 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.
Harringay Arena and Stadium (Both now Demolished) - Built on the site of a nineteenth century Pottery and Kiln. The Stadium was opened in 1927 and was Londons first greyhound racing track. The Arena opened in 1936.
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.
LCC White Hart Lane Estate - Now known as the Tower Gardens 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".
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.

[edit] History of the railways of Tottenham

Image:South tottenham station 1.jpg

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.