Enfield Chase


Enfield Chase is a former royal hunting ground in what is now the London Borough of Enfield in north London. Much of the former area of the Chase has been urbanised in modern times but a large part survives between Cockfosters in the west and Enfield Town in the east as Trent Country Park.

Etymology

Enfield Chase was recorded as Enefeld Chacee in 1325 and chace of Enefelde in 1373, from the Middle English chace, meaning "a tract of ground for breeding and hunting wild animals".

History

In the reign of Henry II the parish of Edmonton and adjoining parishes were for the most part a forest which was then so extensive that it reached from the City of London to about north. Enfield Chase was part of this forest and also belonged to the citizens of London.
By 1154 what had been known as the Park of Enfield or Enfield Wood had been converted into a hunting ground, or chase. It appears it was not known as Enfield Chase until the early 14th century. For hundreds of years the chase was owned at first by the Mandeville and then the de Bohun families while local inhabitants of Edmonton and Enfield manors claimed common rights. It is believed that Princess Elizabeth often hunted on the Chase after she was granted the estate of West Lodge Park by her brother Edward VI in 1547. In a charter of 1166-89 the hamlet of Southgate, sited around what is now Southgate Underground station, receives a mention. It takes its name from its location at the South Gate of the old hunting ground, later known as Enfield Chase.
By an act in 1777, the Enfield Chase ceased to exist as an entity. The Chase then covered an area of. By this Act it was cut up and divided among the following authorities:
To the King
To the Lodges
To the Enfranchised
To the Manor of Old Ford
To the Manor of Old Park
To South Mimms Parish
To Hadley Parish
To Enfield Parish
To Edmonton
To Tithe Owners

It was extensively deforested after the Act, and only a small amount of the original forest remains, although some areas have been replanted.
Boxer's Lake Open Space in Oakwood is one remnant of the Chase.