Ponders End is the southeasternmost part of

Enfield Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...

north North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, centred on the Hertford Road. Situated to the west of the River Lee Navigation, it became industrialised through the 19th century, similar to the

Lea Valley The Lea Valley, the valley of the River Lea, has been used as a transport corridor, a source of sand and gravel, an industrial area, a water supply for London, and a recreational area. The London 2012 Summer Olympics were based in Stratford, in ...

in neighbouring

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

and Brimsdown, with manufacturing giving way to warehousing in the late-20th century. The area consists heavily of

social housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, d ...

, with streets also lined with 19th and early-20th century suburban terraced housing. As a result of increased levels of immigration, the area has become the most

ethnically diverse The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for " ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchang ...

part of Enfield, with the majority of the population now belonging to an ethnic minority background as first recorded in the 2011 census. The area is undergoing large-scale regeneration, with the high-rise Alma Road Estate currently undergoing demolition and redevelopment by

Countryside Properties Countryside Partnerships plc, formerly Countryside Properties plc, is a UK housebuilding and urban regeneration company, operating mainly in London and the South East of England, but with a presence in the North West of England. It was listed ...

. The population of Ponders End was 15,664 as of 2011.

Geography

Elevations range from to above sea level, uniformly dropping from west to east. Two north–south railway lines enclose the residential parts of the area, bounded east and west by estates of warehousing, industrial and commercial use Its northern and southern limits are along Hertford Road at ''The Ride'' and ''The Boundary'' pubs (north to south). Its loosely defined east and west limits coalesce around Wharf Road in the east and the Southbury station or Kingsway in the west.

Etymology

Ponders End is marked on the

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...

map of 1822. It was recorded in 1593 as ''Ponders ende'' meaning the "end or quarter of the parish associated with the Ponder family" from the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...

''ende''. John ''Ponder'' is mentioned in a document of 1373; the surname is believed to mean a "keeper of, or dweller by, a fish-pond or mill-pond".

History

All but a southern belt of the district was in

, as the south lay in Edmonton, the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

es becoming a civil and ecclesiastical after a split of functions in the 1860s, which saw the final secularisation of government, the disestablishment of the

vestries A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquially ...

following the increase in Poor Law Unions in the hundred years before.Map of the Edmonton Hundred of Middlesex
Victoria County History of Middlesex, Volume 5, A P Baggs, Diane K Bolton, Eileen P Scarff and G C Tyack (1976). Retrieved 2015-02-20 Through the 19th century the area became industrialised, due to its straight road and waterway network up and down the

including the 17th century River Lee Navigation. The first major firm to arrive was Grout, Baylis & Co, who were established in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

in 1807 as crape manufacturers, the material being used for widows' weeds. They opened a dyeing and finishing plant in Ponders End two years later. Crape went out of fashion by late Victorian times, and the factory closed in 1894. The buildings were taken over by the United Flexible Tubing Company. In 1866 the London Jute Works Company established a factory on the Navigation in a desolate area known locally as ''Spike Island''. Many of the new employees came from Dundee, the traditional centre of the jute industry in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. The jute works closed in 1882, to be replaced by the Ediswan factory. Over the years the factory was enlarged, eventually covering , and employing many people, notably girls, from the area. Ediswan produced electric lamps, and the factory was colloquially known as ''The Lamp''. They also manufactured appliances for the

shipping Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...

and

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot a ...

industries, mechanical pianos and butter makers. To the south of Ponder's End Lock a factory making

white lead White lead is the basic lead carbonate 2PbCO3·Pb(OH)2. It is a complex salt, containing both carbonate and hydroxide ions. White lead occurs naturally as a mineral, in which context it is known as hydrocerussite, a hydrate of cerussite. It was ...

was built in 1893. Further south of that factory, the Cortecine works produced floor-cloth and carpet backing. By 1906 over 2000 people were employed in local factories. Another major industry in the latter years of the 19th century was

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

. Tomatoes and cucumbers were the principal produce but flowers and fruit were also grown in the many

orchards An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of lar ...

and greenhouses to the north of the locality. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, a huge

munitions Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

factory, the Ponders End Shell Works was built in Wharf Road. The factory building was sold after the war. Further factories were built in the 1930s alongside the newly built Great Cambridge Road.Ponders End history
Retrieved 19 February 2011 Today (2009) little remains of manufacturing and much of the area has given way to warehousing and residential developments. Aesica

pharmaceutical manufacturers The pharmaceutical industry discovers, develops, produces, and markets drugs or pharmaceutical drugs for use as medications to be administered to patients (or self-administered), with the aim to cure them, vaccinate them, or alleviate symptoms. ...

(formerly Thomas Morson Ltd) closed its plant in 2011. Wright's Flour Mill, the oldest working industrial building in the borough remains, some of its buildings having been constructed in the 18th century. On 7 August 2011 Ponders End was the scene of copy-cat riots which spread from Tottenham to neighbouring districts. In Spring 2017, Camden Town Brewery completed a new facility in Ponders End on the western bank of the Lee Navigation. In August 2020, Beavertown Brewery opened "Beaverworld", a new brewery on a six-acre plot on the western bank of the Lee Navigation, creating up to 150 jobs.

Popular culture

Critchley & Simmons released an album titled ''Ponders End'' in 2017 - inspired by the area where they first met. Musician

Jah Wobble John Joseph Wardle (born 11 August 1958), known by the stage name Jah Wobble, is an English bass guitarist and singer. He became known to a wider audience as the original bass player in Public Image Ltd (PiL) in the late 1970s and early 1980s; ...

was inspired to write his (2005) album ''Mu'' by his experiences in the

and Ponders End. ''Ponders End Allotments Club'' is a track from the (1975) Chas and Dave album ''One Fing 'n' Annuver''.

Historic buildings

* Wright's Flour Mill The oldest working industrial building in Enfield. * Ponders End Pumping Station. Built in 1899 by the East London Waterworks Company. In 1995 the half-timbered building was converted into a

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

called the ''Navigation'' a '' Harvester restaurant''. Located on the west bank of the Lee Navigation, with views towards the grassed embankment of the

King George V Reservoir The King George V Reservoir, also known as King George's Reservoir, is located in the London Borough of Enfield and is part of the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain that supplies London with drinking water. The storage reservoir is bordered by Sewardsto ...

and close to Ponder's End Lock.

Nearest places

* Brimsdown *

Enfield Highway Enfield Highway is an area in the London Borough of Enfield, north London. It is roughly located in the area either side of Hertford Road (Enfield Highway) between Hoe Lane and The Ride. Etymology Enfield Highway is marked thus on the Ordnance ...

* Edmonton, London * Enfield Town * Bush Hill Park *

Chingford Chingford is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The town is approximately north-east of Charing Cross, with Waltham Abbey to the north, Woodford Green and Buckhurst Hill to the east, Walthamstow t ...

Watercourses

* River Lee Navigation * The Overflow Channel is approximately long. Flowing from the River Lee Navigation above Ponders End Lock across South Marsh close to the

and following the western perimeter of the

William Girling Reservoir The William Girling Reservoir is located in the London Borough of Enfield and is part of the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain that supplies London with drinking water. It is named after William Girling OBE, a chairman of the Metropolitan Water Board (M ...

to merge with the

River Lee Diversion The River Lee Diversion is located in the Lea Valley, close to Enfield Lock and to the north east corner of the King George V Reservoir. History As its name implies, the River Lea was diverted to accommodate the construction of the Chingfor ...

Sport

Angling Angling is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook or "angle" (from Old English ''angol'') attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated via a fishing rod, although rodless techni ...

is allowed on the River Lee Navigation upstream and downstream of Ponders End Lock. Information from the River Lea Anglers Club.

Transport

* Ponders End railway station * Southbury railway station London Bus Routes 191, 279, 349, 491, 377, 121, 307, 313 and N279 serve the area.

Local rail services

Lea Valley Lines The Lea Valley lines are two commuter lines and two branches in north-east London, so named because they run along the Lower Lea Valley of the River Lea. They were part of the Great Eastern Railway, now part of the ''Anglia Route'' of Network ...

serving all stations to

Hertford East Hertford East railway station is the northern terminus of the Hertford East branch line off the West Anglia Main Line in the east of England, and is located in the town of Hertford in Hertfordshire. It is down the line from London Liverpool Str ...

via the Southbury Loop and to Stratford *

West Anglia Main Line The West Anglia Main Line is one of the two main lines that operate out of , the other being the Great Eastern Main Line, which operates services to Ipswich and Norwich via Colchester. It runs generally north through Cheshunt, Broxbourne, Har ...

stopping services to Bishops Stortford and to Stratford

Demography

The 2011 census showed that 45% of the population was white (26% British, 17% Other, 2% Irish), 16% Black African and 8% Bangladeshi.

Notable people

* James and John Chambers pioneers in South Australia in Stuart expeditions. * John Hollowbread, footballer * Christopher Hughes, former ''

Mastermind Mastermind, Master Mind or The Mastermind may refer to: Fictional characters * Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde), a fictional supervillain in Marvel Comics, a title also held by his daughters: ** Martinique Jason, the first daughter and successor of th ...

'' and '' International Mastermind'' winner both in 1983 *

Stephen Mangan Stephen James Mangan (born 16 May 1968) is an English actor, comedian, presenter and writer. He has played Guy Secretan in ''Green Wing'', Dan Moody in ''I'm Alan Partridge'', Seán Lincoln in '' Episodes'', Bigwig in ''Watership Down'', Postm ...

, actor * Dave Peacock, musician * Norman Tebbit, politician * Chijindu Ujah, Olympic sprinter

Local newspapers

The local newspapers are as of 2011: *Enfield Independent *Enfield Advertiser

Politics

After boundary changes in 2010 - Ponders End became one of seven wards which form the Edmonton parliamentary constituency. The MP for constituency is

Kate Osamor Ofunne Kate Osamor (; born 15 August 1968) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Edmonton since 2015. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties, she was Shadow Secretary of State for International Developm ...

Schools

* Secondary schools: Oasis Academy Hadley and Heron Hall Academy *

Primary School A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

s: Kingfisher Hall Primary Academy, St Mary's RC Primary School, Alma Primary School, Southbury Primary School, St Matthew's CoE Primary School, Oasis Academy Hadley * Special schools: Waverley School

Higher education

* Middlesex University, Enfield Campus (now closed) * The College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London

Places of worship

* Church of St Matthew,

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

* Church of Mary, Mother of God,

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

church * Jalalia Jamme

Mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

* Lincoln Road Chapel, Lincoln Road. * Ponders End Methodist Church, High Street. * United Reformed Church, College Close, High Street.

Open spaces

* Ponders End Park, formerly Ponders End Recreation Ground and Ryan's Park.London Borough of Enfield parks
Retrieved 23 July 2014

External links

Ponders End flour mill conservation area

References

{{LB Enfield Places in Enfield, London Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Enfield Places formerly in Middlesex