South Point House, where the South Gate once stood.
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. There is a blue plaque on a building on the site of the south gate. A little further to the south was another small medieval settlement called South Street which had grown up around a village green; by 1829 the two settlements had merged and the village green became today's Southgate Green.[2]
Rare survivors of 1930s development: The Southgate Club (built 1889) and adjacent Victorian terrace in Chase Side.[3]
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.
Within the area is the art deco Grade II* Southgate tube station designed by Charles Holden. The area has several large green parks such as Grovelands Park which covers ninety-two acres and contains the seven-acre former boating lake and adjoining woodland of the adjacent Grade I listed Grovelands House (formerly 'Southgate Grove').[5] In Waterfall Road is Christ Church, built in 1862 by Sir Gilbert Scott; adjacent to its grounds, in Minchenden Oak Garden, stands the Minchenden Oak. Across the road from the church lies the Walker Cricket Ground; a regular Middlesex venue which was first used in 1859 and is named after the cricketer John Walker.
Southgate station on the Piccadilly line is the nearest tube stop to most of Southgate's residential area. Other stations are at Oakwood (to the north) and Arnos Grove (to the south west).
Southgate is a cosmopolitan district. There has been a prominent Jewish community since the early 20th century. There are also many Greek, Greek Cypriot, Japanese, and Turkish families living in the district.[6] As of the 2011 census, White British makes up 45% of the population, followed by Other White at 20%.[7]
There are four synagogues with Southgate in their name: Cockfosters and North Southgate,[26] Palmers Green and Southgate Synagogue[27] (both part of the United Synagogue), Southgate Progressive Synagogue[28]inOakwood, and Chabad Southgate.[29] The former Southgate and District Reform Synagogue has now moved to Whetstone, and changed its name in February 2010 to Sha'arei Tsedek: North London Reform Synagogue.
Christ Church stands near Southgate Green. This was built on the site of Weld Chapel,[30] which was built in 1615 and demolished in 1863. The clock on the church was placed there to celebrate Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee. The church contains London's largest collection of pre-raphaelite stained glass by Morris, Marshall Faulkner &Co (later Morris &Co).[31] The parish church of St Andrew is on Chase Side. Emmanuel Evangelical Church meets in Ashmole School.[32]Southgate Methodist Church is on The Bourne, near Southgate Underground station. It was built in 1929, replacing a building on Chase Side. It is an active community hub.
The Southgate Masonic Centre is home to 160 Lodges of which 15 are from Middlesex, along with 5 Chapters. The Centre, a converted church hall, was opened in 1968. The Middlesex Lodges that joined had been meeting in pubs and similar venues and welcomed the opportunity to have their own Centre.
Oak Hill College is a theological college located on Chase Side. It trains both Anglican and Independent students for Church ministry in the UK and overseas.
Southgate Mosque is located at Southgate House, Southgate High Street. It was founded in 2021 as a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing prayer facilities to the local Muslim community.
Because of the age of the former village and its position in a ring of villages one day's travel by coach from London, Southgate had many pubs: within the village centre there were six local licensed premises.[33]
Many were located on Chase Side but some, such as The Bell, The Crown and the Chase Gate Tavern, were demolished as part of 20th Century redevelopment and others have closed more recently; The Waggon (formerly Waggon and Horses) became an Anatolian restaurant in 2013. The Rising Sun was the terminus for a local horsebus service to Colney Hatch (and there to Kings Cross) before the arrival of the railways, whereupon the service switched to the new station in Palmers Green.[33] It was rebuilt in 1932, and substantially renovated in 2008, changing its name to The Sun and later The Maze Inn but was subsequently closed in 2016 and demolished in 2019.[34]The Crown is commemorated in the name of The New Crown on Chase Side.[35]The Hart (formerly The White Hart) is the last long-standing pub in the immediate area, located on the adjoining Chase Road, near Southgate Circus roundabout.
Other notable local pubs are Ye Olde Cherry Tree which overlooks Southgate Green, and The Woodman on Bourne Hill. Former public house The Woolpack on the nearby High Street is now a restaurant.
Media related to Southgate, London at Wikimedia Commons
