Southgate, London

Southgate is an area in the London Borough of Enfield. It is a suburban development situated 8.6 miles (13.8 km) north of Charing Cross. Within the area is the famous circular Southgate tube station (which appeared in the film The End of the Affair) and a variety of shops and restaurants. It also has several large green parks such as Broomfield Park and Grovelands Park with lakes and sports facilities. The latter park backs on to The Priory hospital, where celebrities often reside to recover from their personal crises and Augusto Pinochet was treated.

Nearest places

Cockfosters and Oakwood to the north
New Southgate to the south
Winchmore Hill to the east
East Barnet to the west
Osidge to the south-west

Osidge is sometimes regarded as part of Southgate, though this is technically incorrect; see that article.

Other nearby places include:

Southgate tube station on the Piccadilly Line is the nearest tube station.

Famous residents

Famous people to originate from Southgate include James Henry Leigh Hunt, the English essayist and writer, who was born here in 1784, and Frederick Hitch, one of the men awarded a Victoria Cross for the defence of Rorke's Drift in 1879. More recent Southgate children are Rachel Stevens, Turkish Cypriot Kemal Shahin from Big Brother 6 and the writer/actor Paul Hocker. Paul Scott, the author, was also born in Southgate, as was the disc jockey Simon Mayo. The actor Ron Moody lived in Southgate at the Cherry Tree as well as the husband and wife singing coaches David and Carrie Grant.

Use for TV

Southgate served as the primary location for shooting of the BBC Drama "Anand Family" from 1975 to 1990 when it went off the air.

Politics

The parliamentary constituency covering the part of Southgate in the London Borough of Enfield is Enfield Southgate. In 1997, Michael Portillo lost this seat to Stephen Twigg, who after two terms lost his seat to David Burrowes in May 2005.

History

Southgate was originally the South Gate of Enfield Chase, the King's hunting grounds. This is reflected in the street names Chase Road (which leads due north from the station to Oakwood, and was formerly the avenue into the Chase) and Chase Side.

Becoming separate from Edmonton in 1881, Southgate had a population in 1891 of just 10,970. By 1901 the figure had moved up to 14,993, and by 1911 the figure had ballooned to 33,612, aided by the nearby railway station in Palmers Green.

Southgate was predominantly developed in the 1930s: largish semi-detached houses were built on the hilly former estates (Walker, Osidge, Monkfrith, etc.) following increased transport development. In 1933, the North Circular Road was completed through Edmonton and Southgate, and also in 1933, the London Underground Piccadilly Line was extended from Arnos Grove (where it had reached the previous year), through Southgate tube station, on to Enfield West (now known as Oakwood). This unleashed a building boom, and by 1939 the area had become almost fully developed.

By 1951, the population had grown to 73,377 - falling by about 1,000 ten years later as many moved to new towns nearby.

Status

In 1894 Southgate was created an urban district of Middlesex by the Local Government Act 1894. In 1933 the district gained further status as a municipal borough. The Municipal Borough of Southgate was abolished in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963 and its area was combined with that of the Municipal Borough of Enfield and the Municipal Borough of Edmonton to form the present-day London Borough of Enfield.

Education

College

Southgate has a well known college called Southgate College near the station. Although suffering a dubious reputation locally for the behaviour of some of its students, it is an important local employer and community resource.

Southgate Symphony Orchestra

Formed in 1961 by a group of enthusiasts in New Barnet under the conductorship of Terry Hawes, Southgate College Symphony Orchestra continued as an evening class within Southgate College until July 2005, having become semi-autonomous in 1997. In the summer of 2005, the Orchestra became independent of Southgate College and renamed itself Southgate Symphony Orchestra. An amateur orchestra, it take players of Grade 6 standard and above, playing concerts around Enfield. Previous performances have included music by Beethoven, Dvořák, and Weber.

Religious Facility

Synagogues

There are three synagogues with Southgate in their name, but only one is actually in Southgate: Cockfosters and North Southgate, which is often referred to just as "Southgate Synagogue". Palmers Green and Southgate Synagogue is in Palmers Green. These two are part of the United Synagogue, also included, but independent, is the Southgate Adeni Synagogue.

Southgate and District Reform Synagogue has now moved to Whetstone while retaining its name. Southgate Progressive Synagogue is in Oakwood.

Churches

Districts of London | Enfield

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