THE STORY OF ENFIELD CHASE By David Pam Foreword by Dave Cockle Chairman of the Enfield Society Cover picture: Extract from John Norden’s Map of Middlesex within his ‘Speculum Britannae’ (1593). About The Enfield Society The society was founded in 1936 as the Enfield Preservation Society (EPS). It was renamed The Enfield Society (TES) in 2007 and has about 2000 members. The Enfield Society has a record of vigorous action in defence of the local environment by practical conservation and campaigning. There is also a strong social section. The Society is a registered charity in England and Wales (276451) and is registered in England as a limited company (312134). The mission of the Society is the conservation and enhancement of the civic and natural environments of the London Borough of Enfield and its immediate surrounding area for the public benefit. To further this mission the Society seeks to: . Conserve and enhance buildings and groups of buildings of architectural quality or historic interest; . Defend the integrity of the Green Belt; . Protect and improve open spaces and views; . Ensure that new developments are environmentally sound, well designed and take account of the relevant interests of all sections of the community; . Publish papers, books, reports and literature; . Make surveys and prepare maps and plans and collect information in relation to any place or building of historic or architectural interest; . Assist in the preservation and maintenance of footpaths, commons and rights of way; . Promote and pay the expenses of meetings, conferences, lectures and exhibitions, whether public or private, and (subject to Clause 7 of its Memorandum of Association) to remunerate and pay the expenses of persons attending on the invitation of the Society to give expert advice or assistance. The logo of the Enfield Society is the Enfield Beast. A purely fanciful animal, it is a compilation of the animals said to have once roamed Enfield Chase. It has the head of a fox, chest of a greyhound, talons of an eagle, body of a lion, and hind legs and tail of a wolf. How to join the Society Annual membership costs from as little as £5 per person and includes print copies of the Society’s quarterly newsletter. For more information, visit the Society’s website at www.enfieldsociety.org.uk/join 2 Contents About The Enfield Society .................................................................... 2 List of Figures .................................................................................. 4 Foreword by Dave Cockle ..................................................................... 5 Introduction by David Pam, 1986 ............................................................ 6 Chapter One: Origins and Early History..................................................... 8 Chapter Two: The Late Middle Ages ...................................................... 19 Chapter Three: In the Time of Queen Elizabeth ........................................ 31 Chapter Four: John Banks the Bailiff ..................................................... 45 Chapter Five: Civil War and Interregnum ................................................ 63 Chapter Six: The Return of King Charles ................................................. 78 Chapter Seven: Sir Basil Firebrace ........................................................ 90 Chapter Eight: Major General John Pepper ............................................. 103 Chapter Nine: Three Dukes of Chandos .................................................. 117 Chapter Ten: Nuthall and the Crews ..................................................... 130 Chapter Eleven: The End of the Chase .................................................. 144 Appendix 1: Pigs fattened on Enfield Chase and Old Park ............................ 159 Appendix 2: Wood Sales, Enfield Chase and Old Park ................................. 160 Appendix 3: Officers of Enfield Chase ................................................... 161 Glossary ...................................................................................... 163 Index .......................................................................................... 165 List of Figures Figure 1: Sir Thomas Lovall ................................................................. 24 Figure 2: Old Park Lodge ................................................................... 67 Figure 3: West Lodge……………………………………………………………………………………………….68 Figure 4: East Lodge ......................................................................... 69 Figure 5: South Lodge ....................................................................... 69 Figure 6: Clarke’s Academy ................................................................ 81 Figure 7: The Rummer in the 1860s ....................................................... 93 Figure 8: The George Inn, Enfield ......................................................... 94 Figure 9: Hugh Westlake's Survey of Enfield Chase, 1701 .............................. 97 Figure 10: The Crown at Southgate ...................................................... 111 Figure 11: Bush Hill Park, 1770. .......................................................... 120 Figure 12: James Brydges, first duke of Chandos ...................................... 122 Figure 13: Thomas Nuthall ................................................................ 133 Figure 14: Encroachments at Southgate, 1769 ......................................... 137 Figure 15: Encroachments at Whitewebbs, 1769 ....................................... 137 Figure 16: Encroachments at Enfield Town, 1769 ...................................... 138 Figure 17: Encroachments at Monken Hadley, 1769 ................................... 140 Figure 18: Francis Russell .................................................................. 148 Figure 19: Beech Hill Park ................................................................. 149 Figure 20: Russell’s Map of Enfield Chase, 1776 ....................................... 150 4 Foreword by Dave Cockle Enfield Chase has long been the scene of conflict between the authorities and the local inhabitants living around the periphery. In the early centuries of the Chase, the authorities were content for the royal hunting ground to co-exist with common grazing and foraging rights under the Charter of the Forest of 1217, a sister document to the Magna Carta. When Oliver Cromwell’s Parliamentary soldiers infringed these rights in 1659 the inhabitants sent the ‘Intruders’ packing off to Newgate prison (see Chapter 5). Later, the authorities used legislation to roll back these ancient rights. The Black Act of 1723 (see Chapter 7) resulted from collusion between the landed Rangers of Enfield Chase and the Whig Government to outlaw the use of camouflage by poachers. An Act of Parliament in 1777 led to the division of Enfield Chase into privately-owned plots, including the creation of a miniature deer park (now Trent Park) for Dr Jebb, one of the king’s favourites. Division and privatisation was only arrested when Middlesex County Council acquired a large tract of former Chase lands with the explicit aim of managing the countryside in the public interest. Green Belt was introduced just in time to retain the core lands of the Chase before they were swallowed up by development. The miniature deer park was turned into a country park for the enjoyment of the public. The tide had turned, permanently. Or so it seemed. Unfortunately, Enfield Council’s new draft Local Plan, citing various Town Planning Acts and government planning policy, proposes extensive development of the Chase. The Council is proposing to invite a government-appointed Planning Inspector to rule on whether he or she agrees with the Council that parts of the Chase should be developed for housing, warehousing, and industry. This would be a tragedy for Enfield and all its inhabitants. The legacy of the Chase is captured in many local place names, such as ‘Chase Side’ at ‘South Gate’ and Enfield Town, and Chace Avenue in Potters Bar. Many local people were born at Chase Farm Hospital, or educated at Chase Side Primary School. ‘Old Park’, mentioned in the Domesday Book, references a deer park (now two golf courses and Town Park) that was used to stock the Chase. Traces of the keepers’ lodges remain. It is no exaggeration to say that much of the history of Enfield is the history of Enfield Chase. Many books and articles have drawn on the history of the Chase, but the book that historians repeatedly return to is local historian (and former employee of Enfield Council) David Pam’s The Story of Enfield Chase. The value of Pam’s book lies in its contribution to 700 years of social history, based on formidable archival research. First published by the Enfield Society in 1986, 35 years on we are reissuing this work in electronic format as a call to action for everybody who cares about the history and environment of Enfield Chase. Dave Cockle, July 2021 Introduction by David Pam, 1986 When I retired, in May 1982, from my former employment as Local History and Museums Officer to the London Borough of Enfield, it was with the intention of writing local history. Over the years I have perused vast numbers of documents whereon are recorded the words spoken by, or spoken about, those who once lived on this small area of earth which we now call the London Borough of Enfield. Unfold these documents and the ghosts of men and women long dead emerge into the late twentieth century. They have intruded and disturbed