From PONDERS END to WALTHAM ABBEY

PONDERS END 

Former EDISWAN FACTORY

An important place in the history of the INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION:

This former Ediswan factory general office block of 1890, at Ponders End, occupies part of a site associated with Sir JOSEPH SWAN  (1828-1914), inventor of the incandescent electric lamp, Sir JAMES DEWAR (1842-1923), inventor of the vacuum flask, and PROFESSOR AMBROSE FLEMING (1849-1945), inventor of the diode radio valve in 1904, which marks the birth of the electronic technological revolution.

Britain’s first radio valve and television cathode ray tube factories were opened here, in 1916 and 1936 respectively. This building is not listed, despite the site’s historical importance.

In 1886 Sir JOSEPH SWAN  (from SUNDERLAND) invented the light bulb.

In 1881 London’s Savoy Theatre became the first building in the world to be lit entirely by electricity. Swan supplied about 1,200 of his “incandescent lamps”. A year later, theatre impresario Richard D’Oyly staged the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta Iolanthe.

In 1882 Sir JAMES DEWAR invented the VACUUM or THERMOS FLASK 

Wright's Flour Mill
is located in Wharf Road, Ponders End, Enfield. It is Enfield's oldest working industrial building.^[1]me of the present buildings date back to 1789 and include the brick Georgian miller's house and offices flanking a 3½-storey watermill of brick and white weatherboarding. There has been a mill here since at least the late 16th century and possibly Domesday. George Reynolds Wright took full control of the mill in 1870. Originally powered by a back water of the River Lea. In 1913 owing to construction work at the nearby King George V Reservoir the water supply which powered the millstones was cut off. The machinery was then converted to electricity. Since then further improvements have been made. The business is still owned by the Wright family making it London's only family owned flour mill

Centuries ago the River Lea was a wide stream meandering through marshy pastureland, where cattle grazed. However the Lea's vital position, running from Hertfordshire to London meant that it was used by boats carrying freight, and through time, the course of the river was straightened to conserve water and make the passage of boats easier. The only evidence now of the Lea's original course is the winding line on old maps that used to mark the borough boundary, running through the middle of the reservoirs.

Canal traffic increased rapidly in the 18th century. In the 1760s plans were drawn up to build 'CUTS', to straighten sections of the winding river, and on 11th February 1769 JEREMIAH ILSKEY of Hackney was contracted to dig ENFIELD CUT at 3 pence (3d) a yard. He would have employed gangs of 'NAVIGATORS’ or ‘NAVVIES’, who constructed the canal by hand using picks and shovels, a very arduous task.

In 1793 the LOCK at Ponders End was built and a new NAVIGATION CUT started south of Ponders End. All this work was paid for by tolls levied on the river traffic.

In the mid 19th century 6000 tons of materials, mostly coal, were delivered to the RSAF every year by boat. As time went by more and more industries flocked to this convenient location, so that in the 19th and 20th centuries factories proliferated along the canal. There were chemical works, many timber and furniture factories, particularly at Ponders End and cargoes of copper were brought by barge to the Enfield Rolling Mills at

Mossop's Creek is a small inlet that once served riverside industry. Recently it has been landscaped and transformed into Mossop's Creek Park by London Borough of Enfield. A new blue bridge over the Lea links the towpath to Mossops Creek Park and Stockingswater Lane. See the decorative mosaics set in the ground next to the bridge, designed and made-by local people.

Flooding has historically been a problem on the Lea, with several instances of serious flooding this century. Flood relief channels were built to the east of the reservoirs and the flood alleviation scheme was completed in 1977.

"In 1947 the River Lea burst its banks and we had floods, really bad floods. It was the month my brother was born, my youngest brother and all our gardens were just deep water and all the street... and the man across the road... used to come along, call up to my Mum and he used to go round in the boat to get the shopping for us."

Doreen

VICTORIAN and EDWARDIAN London's rapidly increasing population meant that clean water supplies were much in demand. In 1900 approval was given for a scheme to construct SIX NEW RESERVOIRS between Walthamstow and Enfield Lock, using the water of the Lea, but ensuring enough water was left in the river for navigation. They were built on marshland and the commoners who had the right to graze their animals there, were compensated.

The King himself opened the King George V reservoir in 1913, the largest in England, with a circumference of 5 miles. The  PUMPING STATION near Enfield Lock, now a listed building, took water into the reservoir from the Lea using HUMPHRY GAS PUMPS, a unique design PIONEERED in Enfield. There is no public access to the reservoir now; it is an SSSI, important for its large populations of overwintering birds. Sheep, cows and horses are to be seen grazing the grassy banks and surrounding areas, an attractive as well as practical feature.

The London Loop is a waymarked route around London, running through Enfield Lock. Follow it westward across Prince of Wales Field and over Mollison Avenue, to join Turkey Brook, a tributary of the Lea. The path follows Turkey Brook all the way through Turkey St, Forty Hall and Hilly Fields Park, revealing an interesting mixture of town and country.

To cross the Lee Valley EASTWARDS to CHINGFORD,, follow the path along the river from SWAN AND PIKE ROAD. Here the channel is full of reeds and other water plants, a haven for waterbirds, and in the summer clouds of dragonflies and damselflies fill the air, but take care on the uneven, often overgrown path.

ENFIELD ISLAND VILLAGE

This was the site of the ROYAL SMALL ARMS FACTORY, which 
200 years ago, was established on a 90 acre site in the far North East corner of the London Borough of Enfield. The factory was once renowned worldwide for the manufacture of the Lee Enfield Rifle, as a centre for technical innovation and for it’s training programme through the apprenticeship scheme set up in the 19th century.

Rammey Marsh is part of the original flood plain of the River Lea, used since Anglo-Saxon times for summer grazing pasture. It is now a valuable wildlife habitat supporting many birds such as linnets and skylarks that are becoming increasingly rare.

Where the Lee Navigation joins the Cattlegate Flood Relief Channel an extensive area of reedbeds provide nesting sites and protection for moorhens, coots and reed warblers, while kingfishers nest in holes in the banks.