Enfield Chase

Enfield Chase is an area of Enfield, Middlesex. It was once covered by woodland and used as a royal deer park.

Etymology

Enfield Chase was first recorded as Enefeld Chacee in 1325, chace of Enefelde 1373, from the Middle English chace 'a chase', a tract of ground used for breeding and hunting wild animals.

History

In the reign of Henry II the parish of Edmonton and adjoining parishes were for the most part a forest which was then so extensive that it reached from the City of London to about 12 miles north. Enfield Chase was part of this forest and also belonged to the citizens of London.

By 1154 what had been known as the Park of Enfield or Enfield Wood had been converted into a hunting ground, or chase. It appears it was not known as Enfield Chase until the early 14th century. For hundreds of years the chase was owned at first by the Mandeville and then the de Bohun families while local inhabitants of Edmonton and Enfield manors claimed common rights. 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 a charter of 1166-89 the hamlet of Southgate, sited around what is now the famous Charles Holden-designed Southgate tube 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.

By an act in 1777, the Enfield Chase ceased to exist as a single entity. The Chase then covered an area of 8,349 acres. By this Act it was cut up and divided among the following authorities:

To the King	3,218 acres
To the Lodges	313 acres
To the Enfranchised	6 acres
To the Manor of Old Ford	36 acres
To the Manor of Old Park	30 acres
To South Mimms Parish	1,026 acres
To Hadley Parish	240 acres
To Enfield Parish	1,732 acres
To Edmonton	1,231 acres
To Tithe Owners	519 acres

It was extensively deforested after the Act, and only a small amount of the original forest remains, although some areas have been replanted.

Nearest places

• Enfield
• Cockfosters
• Botany Bay

Bibliography

• S. Delvin. A History of Winchmore Hill. Hyperion Press, 1988. ISBN 0-7212-0800-2.
• Herbert W. Newby. Old Southgate. T. Grove, 1949.

References

• Location map: 51°39’18"N, 0°5’53"W