Palmers Green
| Palmers Green | |
| Middlesex | |
|---|---|
 Palmers Green Library | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ309927 |
| Location: | 51°37’4"N, 0°6’33"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 15,162 (2011) |
| Post town: | London |
| Postcode: | N13 |
| Dialling code: | 020 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Enfield |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Enfield Southgate |
Palmers Green is a village drawn into the Metropolitan conurbation as a suburb immediately to the south-east of Southgate and to the south of Enfield, in the north-east of Middlesex. It is close to the border with Hertfordshire, the uttermost finger of which county brushes by Southgate to the west of Palmer's Green. It is home to the largest population of Greek Cypriots outside Cyprus and is often nicknamed "Little Cyprus" or "Palmers Greek".[1]
Contents
Name
Recorded as Palmers grene 1608, its name recalls its association with a family called Palmer mentioned in local records from the 14th century.[2]
History
Palmers Green was once a tiny hamlet in the parish of Edmonton, standing at the junction of Green Lanes and Fox Lane. Its population was very small, and there were no more than a few isolated houses in the mid-17th century. Local records mention a Palmers Field in 1204 and a Palmers Grove in 1340. Palmers Green is mentioned as a highway in 1324 (in Westminster Abbey Muniments).
By 1801 the area had grown to a village of 54 buildings, including two inns (according to the Middlesex Record Office). In 1871 the railway line from Wood Green to Enfield was opened and Palmers Green railway station was built in Aldermans Hill to serve Palmers Green (half a mile away from the nearest houses).
The area remained largely undeveloped for thirty more years, as local landowners refused to sell their large estates for building. In 1902, however, large tracts of land were sold for building and the area began to develop rapidly. The first large-scale developments were on the Old Park estate between Fox Lane and Aldermans Hill, and the Hazelwood Park Estate between Hazelwood Lane and Hedge Lane. Within the latter development the building that now serves as Hazelwood Infant School and Hazelwood Junior School was built in Hazelwood Lane in 1908.
Churches
- Church of England: St John's Church
- Baptist: Palmers Green Baptist Church
- United Reformed Church: Palmers Green United Reformed Church]]
- Roman Catholic: St Monica's Church
About the village
There is a parade of shops known as Palmers Green Shopping Centre along Green Lanes, with many restaurants, clothing shops, independently owned cafes, beauty salons, and branches of Superdrug, Wetherspoons (The Alfred Herring), Boots and Morrisons.
Notable local buildings include Broomfield House and Truro House. The former Southgate Town Hall has now been converted into flats. The former Pilgrims Rest (reflecting the name 'Palmers' as a metaphor for pilgrims: some mediæval pilgrims carried a palm branch as a token of having visited the Holy Land) has already been demolished for housing. The Fox public house, which has been in its present guise since 1904, was once the site of the Electric Mouse comedy venue.
The Intimate Theatre was opened in a building that had been built in 1931 as St Monica's Church Hall. Among the actors who performed there were Richard Attenborough, Vivien Leigh, Roger Moore and (in a mime production) David Bowie. It is no longer a repertory theatre and the building is no longer used exclusively for theatrical performances, but it is still often referred to as the Intimate Theatre. In 1992 the building housed a Radio Cracker studio.
In 1988 Palmers Green's only hospital, Greentrees Hospital, was closed and demolished.
Palmers Green railway station car park is the location of a Sunday farmers' market and also of the Waiting Rooms café.
After more than 20 years of discussion, the North Circular A406 was widened to two lanes each way at Bounds Green, with various junction improvements. Some major congestion still exists on the A406.
Public access to the New River waterway has been improved with waterside paths and access gates.
In popular culture
Green Lanes, the high street of Palmers Green, is featured in the "Knight Bus" sequence in the film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.[3]
Palmers Green is mentioned in Jona Lewie's song "You'll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties" (1980).[4] The song's lyrics were written by Lewie's friend Keef Trouble, a fellow member of Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts. The reference to Palmers Green was prompted by the fact that Trouble had split up with his girlfriend and was at a party thrown by his friend Charles "Charlie Farley" Hallinan near The Fox, Palmers Green. Jona Lewie slightly amended the words, but still mentioned the "do in Palmers Green".
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Palmers Green) |
References
- ↑ "Greek in Palmers Green". UKTV Food. Archived from the original on 3 June 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080603041351/http://uktv.co.uk/food/stepbystep/aid/601903. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
- ↑ Mills A. D. Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names (2001) p173 ISBN 0-19-860957-4 Retrieved 23 October 2008
- ↑ "Exclusive pix of Potter filming". Newsround. BBC. 1 April 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/pictures/galleries/newsid_2908000/2908289.stm. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
- ↑ "You'll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties - Lyrics". 10 October 2007. http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/y/youllalwaysfindmeinthekitchenatparties.shtml. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
- 'Once Upon a Time in Palmers Green': Alan Dumayne (1988)
- 'Intimate Memories: The History of the Intimate Theatre, Palmers Green': Geoff Bowden (2006)
