By this time, however, Southgate had become the residence of a number of owners of large estates as well as the home of arable farmers but signs of the impending urbanisation of the 20th century were, even then, at hand. Early Iron Age coins found in New Southgate also suggest occupation during this era.ĭuring the time of the Chace the local peasants had the right to graze animals upon it, but the woodlands of Southgate were far more extensively exploited, producing timber for building, fuel, bark (for the tanners of Enfield and Edmonton) and charcoal, the latter industry surviving into the early 19th century. Indeed, there has probably been continuous occupation of the district from at least the Bronze Age, the date of the barrow once in Barrowell Green, Winchmore Hill. It is known, however, that the area was populated well before this in Norman times it was within the manor of Geoffrey de Mandeville, who seized an already existing Saxon estate. Southgate came into being as a result of the creation in about the year 1200 of the Enfield Chace, the village being centred upon the South Gate of this royal hunting ground. If you would like to join the Southgate District Civic Trust, please contact Alastair Palmar, Treasurer, 5 Tintern Gardens, Southgate N14 6AS.Ī historical tour for pedestrians – centred on the Southgate Green Conservation Area (Allow about 1/2 hours for this walk) It is reproduced here with the kind permission of the Southgate Civic Trust. This tour is based on “A Walk in Southgate” written for and published by the Southgate Civic Trust published in 1989.

Cherrytree southgate