Palmers Green - History

History

The area of Palmers Green was once a minute hamlet in the parish of Edmonton, formed at the junction of Green Lanes and Fox Lane. Its population was very small, the village being no more than a few isolated houses in the mid 17th century. There is a mention of a Palmers Field in 1204 and a Palmers Grove in 1340 in local records. Palmers Green was mentioned as a highway in 1324 (in Westminster Abbey Muniments).

By 1801 the area had grown to a village of 54 buildings, including two inns (according to the Middlesex Record Office). In 1871 the railway line from Wood Green to Enfield was opened and a station was built in Aldermans Hill to serve Palmers Green (half a mile away from the nearest houses).

The area remained largely undeveloped for thirty more years, as local landowners refused to sell their large estates for building. In 1902 large tracts of land were sold for building, and the area began to develop rapidly. The first large-scale developments were on the old park estate between Fox Lane and Aldermans Hill, and the Hazelwood Park Estate between Hazelwood Lane and Hedge Lane. Within this development, the building which serves as Hazelwood Infant School and Hazelwood Junior School was built in Hazelwood Lane in 1908.

Notable local buildings include Broomfield House and Truro House, both sadly in a state of some neglect. The library (formerly Southgate Town hall) is intact but is often the subject of redevelopment rumours. The former Pilgrims Rest (reflecting the name Palmers - "medieval pilgrim who carried a palm branch as a token of having visited the Holy Land") has already been demolished for housing. The Fox public house has stood in its present guise since 1904.

Stevie Smith, the poet and novelist, lived in Palmers Green from 1905 until her death in 1971, also that year, Joe Strummer shared a flat at 18 Ash Grove with Tymon Dogg and several others. Paul Scott, the author of "The Jewel in the Crown" trilogy was born in Palmers Green on 25 March 1920. Victoria Cross recipient Alfred Herring lived locally. Local author Douglas Hill was killed by a bus on a zebra crossing at The Triangle in 2007. Paul Dean, British/American Pulitzer Prize winner was raised and educated there between 1946-1957.

The Intimate Theatre was opened in a building that had been built in 1931 as a St. Monica's Church Hall. Among the actors who performed there were Richard Attenborough, Vivien Leigh, Roger Moore and David Bowie (mime production). It is no longer a repertory theatre, and although the building is no longer used exclusively for theatrical performances, it is still often referred to as the Intimate Theatre.

In 1988 Palmers Green's only hospital, Greentrees Hospital, was closed and demolished.