Potters Bar#Demographics

The origin of the Potters element of the town's name is uncertain; it is generally thought to be either a reference to a Roman pottery, believed to have been sited locally, or alternatively to the Pottere family who lived in neighbouring South Mimms parish.[http://www.pbhistory.co.uk/name.html PBHistory] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061206000204/http://www.pbhistory.co.uk/name.html |date=6 December 2006 }} – Whats in a name?

The Bar is thought to refer to the gates leading from the South Mimms parish and into the Enfield Chase parish; it could possibly hail from a toll on the Great North Road, said to have been by what is now the disused Green Man pub or at the current entrance to Morven House.

Potters Bar is located on the Great North Road, one of two road routes from the City of London to the north of England.[http://www.pbhistory.co.uk/transport/gnr.html PB History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061220233600/http://www.pbhistory.co.uk/transport/gnr.html |date=20 December 2006 }} – The Great North Road The road was originally numbered as the A1 and later the A1000.

Potters Bar was historically part of Middlesex[http://www.pbhistory.co.uk/middlesex.html PBHistory] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061206000029/http://www.pbhistory.co.uk/middlesex.html |date=6 December 2006 }} – Potters Bar, Middlesex and formed the Potters Bar Urban District of that county from 1934.[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit_page.jsp?u_id=10135590 Vision of Britain] – Potters Bar UD ([http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/bound_map_page.jsp?first=true&u_id=10135590&c_id=10001043 historic map] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001001655/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/bound_map_page.jsp?first=true&u_id=10135590&c_id=10001043 |date=1 October 2007 }}) From 1894 to 1934 its area had formed the South Mimms Rural District.[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit_page.jsp?u_id=10220920 Vision of Britain] – South Mimms RD ([http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/bound_map_page.jsp?first=true&u_id=10220920&c_id=10001043 historic map] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930230538/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/bound_map_page.jsp?first=true&u_id=10220920&c_id=10001043 |date=30 September 2007 }}) In 1965, the district was transferred to Hertfordshire County Council, while most of the rest of Middlesex County Council became part of Greater London.[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10061441 Vision of Britain] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080315025055/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10061441 |date=15 March 2008 }} – Middlesex unit historyLondon Government Act 1963, 1963 c. 33, s. 3 (1)

The urban district covered an area of {{convert|6129|acre|km2}}. In 1939, it had a population of 13,681, increasing to 24,613 in 1971.[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_table_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TPop&u_id=10135590&c_id=10001043&add=N Vision of Britain] – Potters Bar UD historic population In 1974, the urban district was abolished and the area became part of the borough of Hertsmere. Having been part of Middlesex, the area continued to form part of the Metropolitan Police District; with the creation of the Greater London Authority, it was transferred to the Hertfordshire Constabulary in 2000.HMSO, Greater London Authority Act 1999. 1999 c. 29

Wrotham Park estate, home of the Byng family, sits within Potters Bar and Barnet on 2,500 acres of land. The Byng family still own a lot of land in the Potters Bar area; The Admiral Byng pub in Darkes Lane is named after Admiral John Byng, who was executed for failing to obey orders in the Minorca campaign.{{cite web|url=https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/hertfordshire/the-admiral-byng-potters-bar |title=JDweatherspoon.com The Admiral Byng History |access-date=3 September 2016}}

In the early hours of 1 October 1916, Lieutenant Wulstan Tempest shot down Germany's most famous zeppelin, the L31. It was captained by Heinrich Mathy with his crew of 18. All were killed when the flaming zeppelin fell into an ancient oak tree on the Oakmere Estate, Oakmere House at the time being rented by Mrs Forbes. The deadly raids over England declined after this. The 19 German sailors (zeppelins were naval) were buried in the local cemetery and, decades later, reinterred at Cannock Chase German Military Cemetery. The Potters Bar Museum has a Zeppelin display, with relics of the L31.{{cn|date=November 2022}}{{cite web |url=https://alanmalcher.com/2021/12/20/heinrich-mathy-commander-of-german-zeppelin-l31-during-air-raids-on-london-and-the-home-counties-during-ww1/ |title=Heinrich Mathy: Commander of German Zeppelin L31 during air raids on London and the Home Counties during WW1 |date=20 December 2021 }}

There have been three railway accidents at Potters Bar marked by fatalities. In 1899, the Earl of Strafford was killed at the station when, according to witnesses, he appeared to step out in front of an express train.{{Cite newspaper The Times|title=The Death of Lord Strafford|date=19 May 1899|page=8|issue=35833}} In 1946, signals were passed at danger causing derailment and the death of two passengers. In 2002, while passing through the station, a northbound train derailed at high speed, killing seven and injuring 76.{{Cite web |date=2005-10-18 |title=Rail crash officials will not face manslaughter charges |url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/oct/18/pottersbar.transport |access-date=25 March 2010 |website=The Guardian |language=}} In the aftermath of the tragedy, private maintenance firms were accused of neglecting training and safety, and in 2003, Network Rail announced it was taking all track maintenance in-house.{{cite news |date=24 October 2003 |title=Network Rail takes repairs in-house |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3209609.stm |publisher=BBC News}}

As of the 2021 census, Potters Bar still had a Christian majority, making it more Christian than both England and Wales as a whole and the rest of Hertsmere. Potters Bar has a significant Jewish community and an Orthodox synagogue but, as a percentage of the overall population, the Jewish community, which numbers over 600, pales in comparison to every other settlement in Hertsmere, the most Jewish borough in the country.

Potters Bar experiences an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb) similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.

{{Weather box

|location = Potters Bar

|metric first = Yes

|single line = Yes

|Jan high C = 8

|Feb high C = 9

|Mar high C = 12

|Apr high C = 14

|May high C = 18

|Jun high C = 21

|Jul high C = 23

|Aug high C = 23

|Sep high C = 20

|Oct high C = 16

|Nov high C = 11

|Dec high C = 8

|year high C = 15

|Jan low C = 5

|Feb low C = 5

|Mar low C = 6

|Apr low C = 8

|May low C = 10

|Jun low C = 13

|Jul low C = 15

|Aug low C = 16

|Sep low C = 13

|Oct low C = 11

|Nov low C = 8

|Dec low C = 5

|year low C = 10

|Jan precipitation mm = 50.7

|Feb precipitation mm = 39.9

|Mar precipitation mm = 31.7

|Apr precipitation mm = 46.2

|May precipitation mm = 38.9

|Jun precipitation mm = 46.4

|Jul precipitation mm = 33.1

|Aug precipitation mm = 43.6

|Sep precipitation mm = 49.7

|Oct precipitation mm = 70.7

|Nov precipitation mm = 58.1

|Dec precipitation mm = 56.9

|year precipitation mm = 565.9

|source 1={{cite web |url=http://weather.msn.com/monthly_averages.aspx?wealocations=wc:UKXX0959&q=Potters+Bar%2c+GBR+forecast:averagesm |title=Averages for Potters Bar |access-date=3 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090820213842/http://weather.msn.com/monthly_averages.aspx?wealocations=wc:UKXX0959&q=Potters+Bar%2C+GBR+forecast:averagesm |archive-date=20 August 2009 |url-status=dead}}

|date=August 2010

}}

File:Potters Bar with railway bridge.jpg

The A1 was built as a major arterial road and a crossroads at Bignells Corner linked it to the Barnet–St Albans road. Potters Bar is now also served by junctions 23 and 24 of the M25 motorway.

Potters Bar railway station is sited on the East Coast Main Line. Govia Thameslink Railway operates services on the Great Northern Route under two sub-brands:

• Great Northern:{{Cite web |title=Timetables |work=Great Northern Rail|date=2 June 2024 |access-date=9 December 2024 |url= https://www.greatnorthernrail.com/service-updates/timetables}}
• {{rws|Cambridge}}, {{rws|Letchworth}} and {{rws|Stevenage}} to {{rws|London King's Cross}}
• {{rws|Welwyn Garden City}} to {{rws|Moorgate}}
• Thameslink, at peak hours only:{{Cite web |title=Timetables |work=Govia Thameslink Railway |date=2 June 2024 |access-date=9 December 2024 |url= https://www.thameslinkrailway.com/service-updates/timetables}}
• Welwyn Garden City to {{rws|Sevenoaks}}, via {{rws|St Pancras International}}, {{rws|London Blackfriars}} and {{rws|Catford}}.

Potters Bar was the location of two major rail accidents in 1946 and 2002.

The nearest London Underground station is at Cockfosters, on the Piccadilly line; it is approximately {{convert|2.5|mi}} south on the A111 from junction 24 of the M25.{{Cite web |title=Cockfosters underground station |work=Transport for London |access-date=9 December 2024 |url= https://tfl.gov.uk/tube/stop/940GZZLUCKS/cockfosters-underground-station/?Input=Cockfosters+Underground+Station}}

Potters Bar has a bus depot that services local and London bus routes. Key routes include:{{cite web |url=https://bustimes.org/localities/potters-bar |title=Potters Bar bus services |website=Bustimes.org |access-date=9 December 2024}}

There are eight churches in Potters Bar. The first Anglican parish in the town was carved out of the parish of South Mimms in the 1835. Its church was dedicated to St John and was in a neo-Norman style, located in the S corner of Oakmere Park where the War Memorial now stands; however its experimental concrete construction didn't last well and it had to be replaced by the current parish church of St Mary the Virgin and All Saints' Church at the top of the Walk.(The concrete church survived as an ivy-clad ruin into the 1970s).{{cite web | url=http://www.hertfordshire-genealogy.co.uk/data/places/places-s/south-mimms/south-mimms.htm | title=Hertfordshire Genealogy: Places: South Mimms & Potters Bar }}{{cite web|url=http://www.stmaryspb.org.uk|title=St Mary the Virgin and All Saints Church, Potters Bar|website=www.StMarysPB.org.uk|access-date=21 September 2017}}{{cite web |url=http://www.stmaryspb.org.uk |title=St Mary the Virgin and All Saints Church, Potters Bar Official website. |access-date=28 November 2012}} St. Marys contains stained glass including some "fine portraits" of several saints as well as tributes to John Keble, and Randall Davidson. There is a Madonna Window in memory of John Goodacre, a long-time schoolmaster at Potters Bar.{{cite book|last=Mee |first=arthur |title=The Kings England, Middlesex |publisher=Little Home County |date=1948 |page=163}}{{Cite web |title=Category: St Mary the Virgin and All Saints church, Potters Bar (stained glass) |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:St_Mary_the_Virgin_and_All_Saints_church,_Potters_Bar_(stained_glass) |access-date=2023-09-18 |website=Wikimedia Commons |language=en}}

Other churches include Our Lady and St Vincent (Roman Catholic); King Charles the Martyr, another parish that was carved out of South Mimms, designed by Frederick Charles Eden; Christ Church, Little Heath on the Great North Road; Potters Bar Baptist Church; St John's Methodist Church in Baker Street;{{cite web |url=http://www.pottersbar.org/religion.htm |title=Potters Bar Religion |publisher=pottersbar.org |access-date=28 November 2012}} Causeway Free Church; and Potters Bar Spiritualist Church on Hill Rise.{{cite web |url=http://www.causewayfreechurch.org |title=Causeway Free Church, Potters Bar Official website. |access-date=13 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190118111356/http://www.causewayfreechurch.org/ |archive-date=18 January 2019 |url-status=dead }}

Former religious buildings include: a Christadelphian Hall behind shops at 130 Darkes Lane; a Salvation Army citadel in Station Road;{{cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol5/pp302-304 |title=British History Online, Middlesex. |access-date=9 July 2016}} the Roman Catholic church of St Vincent de Paul and Louise Demarillac in Barnet Road, designed by the distinguished church architect F._X._Velarde, demolished circa 2010;D Wilkinson, A Crompton, F X Velarde, Liverpool UP, 2020ISBN 978-1-78962-814-2 and a quaker meeting in Quaker's Lane.

Non Christian religions are represented by the Jain Temple at the Oshwal Centre between Potters Bar and Northaw, which "recreates a general Māru-Gurjara aesthetic".{{Cn|date=September 2023}}

There are six primary and infant state schools in Potters Bar and the surrounding area; they are Cranborne School, Ladbrooke JMI, Little Heath Primary, Oakmere Primary, Pope Paul RC Primary and Wroxham School.

Mount Grace School is a mixed grant maintained School in Potters Bar opened in 1954.{{cite web |url=http://www.mountgrace.org.uk/ |title=Mount Grace School Official website |access-date=28 November 2012}}

Lochinver house school is an all-boys preparatory school in Potters Bar, which opened in 1947.{{cite web |url=http://www.lochinverhouse.herts.sch.uk |title=Lochinver House School Official website |access-date=28 November 2012}}

Stormont School is an all-girls preparatory school in Potters Bar, which opened in 1944.{{cite web |url=http://www.stormont.herts.sch.uk |title=Stormont School Official website |access-date=2 October 2014}}

Dame Alice Owen's School is a mixed grant-maintained school in Potters Bar.{{cite web |url=https://damealiceowens.herts.sch.uk |title=Dame Alice Owen's School |access-date=21 October 2019}} Founded in 1613 and based in Islington until 1973, it is unusual in its 'Visitation' and 'Beer Money' traditions.{{cite web |url=https://damealiceowens.herts.sch.uk/about-us/our-history/school-history |title=Dame Alice Owen's School History |date=26 June 2019 | access-date=21 October 2019}}

The town also houses many veterinary medicine (mostly third, fourth and fifth-year) students from the Royal Veterinary College.

Potters Bar has a King George's Field in memorial to King George V, which is situated behind the Furzefield Centre. There is a swimming pool and leisure centre run by Hertsmere council, which is home to St Albans and Hertsmere Canoe Club.{{cite web |url=http://www.hertsmereleisure.co.uk/furzefield.asp|title=Furzefield Centre |website=HertsmereLeisure.co.uk |access-date=21 September 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070220162402/http://www.hertsmereleisure.co.uk/furzefield.asp |archive-date=20 February 2007}} Also in the town are Potters Bar Town F.C., Potters Bar Swimming Club (PBSC),{{cite web |url=http://www.pottersbarsc.co.uk/ |title=Potters Bar Swimming Club |website=www.PottersBarSC.co.uk |access-date=21 September 2017}} a Scuba diving Club (the Potters Bar Sub Aqua Club), a tennis club, a cricket club. The Wyllyotts Centre is a theatre, cinema and events venue, and is also the location of the town's museum.{{cite web |url=http://www.hertsmereleisure.co.uk/wyllyotts.asp |title=Wyllyotts Centre |website=HertsmereLeisure.co.uk |access-date=21 September 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070217060239/http://www.hertsmereleisure.co.uk/wyllyotts.asp |archive-date=17 February 2007}} Potters Bar is also home to the Hertfordshire Showband (formally known as the Marching Blues).{{cite web |url=http://www.hertfordshire-showband.org |title=Hertfordshire Showband Website |website=www.Hertfordshire-Showband.org |access-date=21 September 2017}}

In December 2018, the golf course at Potters Bar closed after 95 years.{{cite web |url=http://www.thegolfbusiness.co.uk/2018/12/95-year-old-hertfordshire-golf-club-ceases-trading |author=Tania Longmire |date=3 December 2018 |website=thegolfbusiness.co.uk |title=95-year-old Hertfordshire golf club ceases trading |access-date=14 September 2019}}

In 1983, the area around Potters Bar was used for the on-location filming of the comic-horror film Bloodbath at the House of Death. In 2005, David Walliams and Matt Lucas shot two scenes for the third season of the comedy Little Britain: one scene at Mount Grace School gym and the other at a wedding shop on the High Street.{{cite web |url=http://www.britmovie.co.uk/genres/horror/filmography/053.html |title=Bloodbath at the House of Death (1984) |website=BritMovie.co.uk |access-date=21 September 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070216234607/http://www.britmovie.co.uk/genres/horror/filmography/053.html |archive-date=16 February 2007}} Potters Bar is also home to a performing arts school, Top Hat Stage School, which has been running classes at Elm Court Community Centre since 1994.

The Ritz Cinema in Darkes Lane at the corner of Byng Drive was designed and built by cinema entrepreneur Major W. J. King in a modernist-cum-Art Deco style. It opened in 1934 and had a Compton organ in front of the curtain, on a pneumatic lift. The cinema closed in 1967 and was immediately demolished for the construction of a Tesco supermarket, now relocated.{{cite web | url=https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/31258 | title=Ritz Cinema in Potters Bar, GB - Cinema Treasures }}

• Amanda Abbington, actress{{cite web |title=Sherlock's Amanda Abbington: 'actors need to remember how lucky they are' |date=24 September 2015 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/11870398/Sherlocks-Amanda-Abbington-actors-need-to-remember-how-lucky-they-are.html}}
• Acker Bilk, clarinetist, divided his time between Pensford, Somerset and Potters Bar[http://www.somersetmade.co.uk/scrumpyandwestern/ackerbilk.php#band Scrumpy & Western] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725194023/http://www.somersetmade.co.uk/scrumpyandwestern/ackerbilk.php#band |date=25 July 2008 }}, Acker Bilk biography
• Ambika Mod, actress{{Cite web |title=Stage Award Semi-Finalists 2020 |url=https://funnywomen.com/awards/lists/20sl-copy/ |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=Funny Women |language=en-GB}}
• Bernard Butler, musician, record producer and guitarist in Suede.

[https://www.angelfire.com/indie/bernardbutler/int_qmag1.html Have Guitar Will Travel] – by David Canvanagh, Q Magazine Q 113 February 1996

• Roger Fenton, Crimean war photographer who lived at Mount Grace manor house
• Martin Freeman, actor
• Tony Jacklin, golfer, whose home golf club was Potters Bar Golf Club{{cite web |url=http://www.pottersbargolfclub.com/ |title=Welcome to Potters Bar Golf Club : Potters Bar Golf Club |website=www.PottersBarGolfClub.com |access-date=21 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128135839/https://www.pottersbargolfclub.com/ |archive-date=28 January 2019|url-status=dead}}
• Terry Lightfoot, jazz musician, born in Potters Bar{{cite web |url=http://www.itv.com/news/anglia/update/2013-03-16/jazz-musician-terry-lightfoot-dies/ |title=Jazz musician Terry Lightfoot dies |publisher=ITV |date=16 March 2013 |access-date=11 October 2016 }}
• Storm Thorgerson, graphic designer, born in Potters Bar{{cite news |first=Adam |last=Sweeting |title=Storm Thorgerson dies aged 69: 'the best album designer in the world' |date=18 April 2013 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/apr/18/storm-thorgerson-dies-69-designer-of-album-covers-for-pink-floyd |work=The Guardian |access-date=18 April 2013}}
• Dolly Shepherd, parachutist and entertainer, born in Potters Bar.
• John Yianni, board game designer (notably of Hive), born in Potters Bar{{Cite web|title=John Yianni {{!}} Board Game Designer {{!}} BoardGameGeek |url=https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/1078/john-yianni |access-date=2021-08-11 |website=boardgamegeek.com |language=en-US}}
• Thomas Law, actor (notable for EastEnders and The World's End)

Potters Bar is twinned with:

• Viernheim, Germany
• Franconville, Val-d'Oise, France (since 1973)

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{{Wikivoyage|Potters Bar}}

• {{Commons category-inline}}
• [http://www.pbsoc.org.uk The Potters Bar Society]
• [http://www.pottersbar.org pottersbar.org] – local information

{{Hertfordshire}}

{{Civil parishes of Hertfordshire}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Towns in Hertfordshire

Category:Populated places established in the 13th century

Category:Unparished areas in Hertfordshire

Category:Hertsmere

Category:Middlesex