:Enfield Chase

Domesday returns for Middlesex as a whole indicate that the county was around 30% wooded (much of it wood-pasture) in 1086, about double the English average.Trees and Woodland in the British Landscape, Rackham, p50 This would have been lower in the lower land, close to rivers that made it more attractive for farming, and higher in other parts of the county. The area that would become known as Enfield Chase may have been part of the Forest of Middlesex, an area under forest law which is likely to have had a high proportion of woodland. The citizens of the City of London held the hunting rights. The Forest of Middlesex was abolished (removed from forest law) by Henry II in 1218. This removed some of the protections the woods and common land had from encroachment by agriculture.'Hickling - Highgate', in A Topographical Dictionary of England, ed. Samuel Lewis (London, 1848), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp505-509 [accessed 19 April 2025].

Enfield Chase was recorded as Enefeld Chacee in 1325 and chace of Enefelde in 1373, from the Middle English chace, meaning "a tract of ground for breeding and hunting wild animals". The term Chase particularly applies to places, like Enfield Chase, where the forest rights are held by someone other than the monarch.{{cite book |last1=Mills |first1=A. D. |title=A dictionary of London place-names |date=2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780199566785 |edition=2nd}}Trees and Woodland in the British Landscape, Rackham, p168

In a charter of 1166–89 the hamlet of Southgate, sited around what is now Southgate Underground station, receives a mention. It takes its name from its location at the South Gate of the old hunting ground, later known as Enfield Chase.

The chase was established by Geoffrey de Mandeville around 1136-1144. It appears it was not known as Enfield Chase until the early 14th century, and was known as Enfield Wood or Enfield Park before that time. The name Enfield Chase is first recorded in 1325.{{cite book |last1=Mills |first1=A. D. |title=A dictionary of London place-names |date=2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780199566785 |edition=2nd}}

It was referred to as 'Parcus Extrinicus' (Latin, 'the Outer Park') to distinguish it from the older and smaller Enfield Old Park ('Parcus Intrinsicus' ('the Inner Park') which was mentioned in the Domesday Book as a park and was later used for rearing game to be released into the adjacent Chase.Haigh, Douglas, Old Park in the Manor of Enfield, London 1977{{citation |last1=Baggs|first1=A P |last2=Bolton|first2=Diane K |last3=Scarff|first3=Eileen P |last4=Tyack |first4=G C |title=Enfield: Growth before 1850, Volume 5, Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham, ed. T F T Baker and R B Pugh|date=1976|location=London |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol5/pp212-218 |website=www.british-history.ac.uk |pages=212–218 |publisher=British History Online}}

In the middle ages a forest was an area managed for the breeding and hunting of deer, and was not necessarily wooded. Generally speaking the crown held the forest (hunting) rights, but in a few cases - such as Enfield Chase the forest rights were privately held. Enfield Chase was a forest but it was not a woodland, the habitat was wood-pasture - grazing land interspersed with trees. Many of these trees were pollards. Enfield Chase covered {{convert|8349|acre|ha|0}} (in 1777), the higher western half of the ancient parish of Enfield.

While the landowner held the forest (hunting) and a number of other rights, the land was primarily managed as a common, with various grazing and wood collection rights enjoyed by commoners of Enfield and Edmonton. Much of the wood collection rights was by a sustainable process called pollarding.Trees and Woodland in the British Landscape, Rackham, p176-178 For hundreds of years the Chase was owned by the Mandeville and then the de Bohun families before passing to the Duchy of Lancaster in 1471. The Duchy held the manor of Enfield and the Forest rights in Enfield Chase. For the first hundred years, the Duchy was a very conservative landlord and made no attempt to infringe on common rights or to enclose any common land (as the landowners of Edmonton Manor had).The Story of Enfield Chase by David Pam - The Enfield Society - 1986 p16

It is believed that Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth I) often hunted on the Chase after she was granted the estate of West Lodge Park by her brother Edward VI in 1547.

In most forests (most forests being royal forests), there was a stable balance between the forest rights of the crown and the common rights of the local people. Enfield Chase experienced sustained social conflict as the Duchy of Lancaster, which had the forest rights, did not have the crown's traditional scruples about oppressing the tenantry. For centuries they sought to expand their own rights at the expense of the commoners (those who held common rights). The Duchy of Lancaster was (and is) a crown estate, but operated at arms length, in a similar way to a modern quango.Trees and Woodland in the British Landscape, Rackham, p163

{{Infobox UK legislation

| short_title = Enfield Chase Act 1777

| type = Act

| parliament = Parliament of Great Britain

| long_title = An Act for dividing the Chace of Enfield, in the County of Middlesex; and for other Purposes therein mentioned.

| year = 1777

| citation = 17 Geo. 3. c. 17

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| territorial_extent =

| royal_assent = 27 March 1777

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By the {{visible anchor|Enfield Chase Act 1777}} (17 Geo. 3. c. 17), the Chase was enclosed (privatised), and common rights, including the right of access, were extinguished. The Chase ceased to exist as a legal entity. Only Monken Hadley Common, covering around 2% of Enfield Chase, continued to be managed as a common.Trees and Woodland in the British Landscape, Rackham, p178

The Survey and Admeasurement of Enfield Chase drawn up by the Duchy of Lancaster surveyor Francis Russell in 1776/7, showed the Chase then covering an area of {{convert|8349|acre|ha|0}}. The Chase extended from Monken Hadley in the west to Bulls Cross in the east, and from Potters Bar to Southgate.{{cite book |last1=Ford |first1=Edward |title=A history of Enfield; the church history by G.H. Hodson and the general history by E. Ford |date=1873 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yrQHAAAAQAAJ&dq=Survey+and+Admeasurement+of+Enfield+Chase&pg=PA42 |access-date=1 March 2023 |language=en}}

The map showed how the Chase would be divided among the following authorities:{{r|Pam1984}}

In 1777 George III leased the central part of the Chase to Sir Richard Jebb, his favourite doctor, as a reward for saving the life of the King's younger brother, the then Duke of Gloucester. This land later became Trent Park.[https://friendsoftrentcountrypark.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/History_of_Trent_Country_Park_version_3___Revised_June_2015.pdf Mitellas, Alan, A Concise History of Trent Country Park]

The opening of Enfield station on the Great Northern line in 1871 (renamed Enfield Chase station in 1924 to avoid confusion with Enfield Town station) resulted in the first period of sustained housebuilding on former Chase lands. This began with 'artisan's cottages' built along Chase Side in the 1880s and accelerated after the opening of new stations at Gordon Hill and Crews Hill in 1910.A P Baggs, Diane K Bolton, Eileen P Scarff and G C Tyack, 'Enfield: Growth after 1850', in A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5, Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham, ed. T F T Baker and R B Pugh (London, 1976), pp. 218-224. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol5/pp218-224 [accessed 3 March 2023].

The grounds of South Lodge were acquired by developers Laing, who built a new housing estate in the period 1935-1939. Boxer's Lake and Lakeside, once part of South Lodge, are the only remaining open spaces.Mullen, Michael Ann, Gardening on the Laing South Lodge Estate https://londongardenstrust.org/publications/enfield/4%20mam%20south%20lodge.pdf

File:Map of Part of Enfield Chase, 1897.jpg

In the 1930s the countryside of Enfield and surrounding areas was being rapidly urbanised. In 1936–7 Middlesex County Council purchased around 4,000 hectares in order to protect it for the benefit of the people of Enfield. Trent Park, Whitewebbs and Forty Hall became public parks, with farmed areas leased to tenant farmers and designated as part of the protective Green Belt.Paine, M (2022), A History of Enfield Chase from its Origins to the Present Day, The Enfield Society This land subsequently passed into the ownership of the modern London Borough of Enfield.

File:Enfield Chase Restoration Project (39).jpg

The first phase of the project, which commenced in autumn 2020 and was completed in 2022, involved the planting of 100,000 trees. It cost £1.3million in total, with £748,000 provided by the Mayor of London, £425,000 by the Forestry Commission, and £150,000 from the council itself.[https://enfielddispatch.co.uk/woodland-volunteers-finish-planting-100000-trees/ Enfield Dispatch, 30 March 2022] In May 2022, the Enfield Chase Restoration Project won an award at the London Tree and Woodland Awards.[https://enfielddispatch.co.uk/woodland-project-wins-top-tree-award/ Enfield Dispatch, 30 May 2022] In April 2023, the Greater London Authority announced that it would provide another £500,000 in funding for further tree planting and improvements to footpaths at Enfield Chase.[https://enfielddispatch.co.uk/fresh-cash-boost-for-enfield-chase-woodland/ Enfield Dispatch, 19 April 2023]

[https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/environment-and-climate-change/parks-green-spaces-and-biodiversity/green-space-funding/green-and-resilient-spaces-fund-round-two Greater London Authority, 18 April 2023] The Friends of Enfield Chase group of local volunteers help to plant and maintain trees and undertake other practical conservation activities in the parts of the former Chase that are being 'restored'.[https://www.friendsofenfieldchase.org.uk/ www.friendsofenfieldchase.org.uk]

The Enfield Chase Heritage Area of Special Character (AoSC) was designated in 1994, following the recommendation of the Countryside Commission, English Nature, English Heritage and the London Ecology Unit, based on its combined landscape, historical and nature conservation interests. The AoSC is divided into a number of 'character areas' including the Salmons Brook Valley, the Turkey Brook Valley, the Merryhills Brook Valley, Clay Hill, the Theobalds Estate South, Whitewebbs and Forty Hall, Hornbeam Hills South (adjoining Hadley Wood) and Trent Park. The AoSC was designated in order to protect the existing character of Enfield Chase as an area comprising woodlands, streams, designed parklands and enclosed farmland.{{cite web |title=Enfield Local Plan |url=https://www.enfield.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0021/5763/planning-policy-information-area-of-special-character-boundary-review.pdf |publisher=Enfield Council |date=2013|access-date=3 March 2023}}

The Enfield Development Management Policies Development Plan Document (a statutory planning document), adopted in 2014, states in policy DMD84 that "new development within the Areas of Special Character will only be permitted if features or characteristics which are key to maintaining the character of the area are preserved or enhanced."{{cite web |title=Development Management Document |url=https://www.enfield.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0021/2946/dmd-adopted-planning.pdf |website=www.enfield.gov.uk |publisher=Enfield Council|date=2014 |access-date=3 March 2023}}

In February 2025 the Enfield Council Planning Committee approved an application for Enfield Council to lease Premier League Tottenham Hotspur Football Club 17 hectares so that they could expand their training ground onto Whitewebbs Park. The scheme was criticised because 121 trees would be cut down and public access to the fenced off land would be removed.{{Cite web |date=2025-02-13 |title= Tottenham training ground approved despite protest

|url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg7zkelkpmdo |access-date=2025-04-24 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}[https://enfielddispatch.co.uk/Councillors vote to approve controversial Spurs women’s academy at Whitewebbs Park/Enfield Dispatch, 12 February 2025][https://enfielddispatch.co.uk/Wildlife expert slams council ‘failure’ to protect Whitewebbs/ Enfield Dispatch, 4 January 2025]

In early April 2025, the Toby Carvery in Whitewebbs Park hired tree surgeons to destroy several trees within the park including a 400-500 year Whitewebbs Oak. They claimed the tree was dead and therefore a health and safety issue. Toby leases historic Whitewebbs House from Enfield Council, with Tottenham Hotspur having a legal option to lease the land in future. The origin of the Whitewebbs Oak was as a pollard tree, which, given its age will have provided a renewable source of pollard wood regrowth for the commoners of Enfield, before the enclosure of Enfield Chase (and the associated abolition of common rights) in 1777.{{cite news |title=Spurs contractors judged felled Enfield oak to be 'fine specimen'|date=17 April 2025|url= https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/apr/17/felled-enfield-oak-tree-spurs-toby-carvery-london| location=London | newspaper=The Guardian}}{{cite web|newspaper= Thor’s Trees |title=300-500 Year Old Ancient Oak Tree Cut down in Whitewebbs, Enfield|date=17 April 2025|url=https://www.thorstrees.co.uk/blog/news-and-updates/old-ancient-oak-tree-cut-down-in-whitewebbs-park/}}{{Cite web |date=2025-04-17 |title=Toby Carvery owner 'sorry' over ancient tree felling

|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8jwjx5kppo |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}

In June 2021 Enfield Council published for public consultation a draft Local Plan which proposed development within large parts of the Area of Special Character.[https://www.enfield.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0023/12668/ELP-2039-Reg-18-for-consultation-Planning.pdf Enfield Local Plan: Main Issues and Preferred Approaches, June 2021]. These areas included the following proposed development sites within undeveloped countryside of Enfield Chase:

• Land at Chase Park: 59.74 hectares proposed for approximately 3,000 new homes on greenfield/Green Belt land at Vicarage Farm and the Merryhills Way, land south of Enfield Road, and an extension at part of Rectory Farm owned by Enfield Council (pages 84–87; 347). The draft Policy states "development should facilitate the rewilding at Enfield Chase" (point 12, page 85).
• Land at Crews Hill: 82.4 hectares proposed for approximately 3,000 new homes including at Crews Hill Golf Course (owned by Enfield Council, designated as a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation). (pages 75–780; 346)
• Land between Camlet Way and Crescent Way: 11.05 hectares of land owned by the Duchy of Lancaster (partly designated as a Borough Site of Importance for Nature Conservation) proposed for approximately 160 new homes (page 364)
• Land East of Junction 24: 11.08 hectares of land owned by Enfield Council, proposed for a minimum of 30,550sqm employment floorspace (light and general industrial, storage and distribution) including a co-ordinated employment offer on adjacent land also owned by Enfield Council within the Borough of Hertsmere in Hertfordshire (page 374).

In July 2021 the National Park City Foundation complained that Enfield Council was using the National Park City concept, mentioned several times in the draft Local Plan, as a 'bargaining chip' in Green Belt housing plans.[https://enfielddispatch.co.uk/environmental-charity-slams-councils-misleading-green-belt-rationale/ Enfield Dispatch, 20 July 2021]

In September 2022 the Council announced that a timetable for the next steps in the development plan would be published "early in 2023".[https://www.enfield.gov.uk/services/planning/local-development-scheme Council announcement regarding an update to the Local Development Scheme], September 2022. However as of May 2023 no timetable had been published. In May 2023 it was reported that cross-party talks to consider Green Belt development proposals had collapsed.[https://enfielddispatch.co.uk/breakdown-in-cross-party-talks-aiming-to-review-green-belt-development-sites/ Enfield Dispatch, 19 May 2023]

• Francis Russell (died 1795)

;References

{{reflist}}

;Sources

• Paine, M (2022) [https://enfieldsociety.org.uk/enfield-chase/ A History of Enfield Chase]. The Enfield Society.
• Pam, D (1984) [https://enfieldsociety.org.uk/enfield-chase/ The Story of Enfield Chase]. The Enfield Society.
• Delvin, S. (1988) A History of Winchmore Hill. Hyperion Press. {{ISBN|0-7212-0800-2}}.
• Newby, Herbert W. (1949) "Old" Southgate. London: T. Grove.
• Williams, Sally (2011) [https://londongardenstrust.org/publications/enfield/2%20SW%20Enfield%20Lodges%20and%20Estates.pdf Notes on the Lodges and Estates of Enfield Chase], London Parks and Gardens Trust

{{commons category-inline|Enfield Chase}}

• https://pasttenseblog.wordpress.com/2016/07/09/today-in-london-rebel-history-poachers-battle-game%C2%ADkeepers-enfield-chase-1725/comment-page-1/

{{LB Enfield}}

Category:Areas of London

Category:Districts of the London Borough of Enfield

Category:Southgate, London

Category:Middlesex