Potters Bar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Potters Bar | |
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  |
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| Population | 21,639[1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| District | Hertsmere |
| Shire county | Hertfordshire |
| Region | East |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | POTTERS BAR |
| Postcode district | EN6 |
| Dial code | 01707 |
| Police | Hertfordshire |
| Fire | Hertfordshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | Hertsmere |
| European Parliament | East of England |
| List of places: UK • England • Hertfordshire | |
Potters Bar is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom,[2] located 16 miles (25 km) directly north of London. In 2001 it had a population of 21,639.[1]
The town started life in the early 13th century and remained more or less unchanged until the arrival of the Great Northern Railway in 1850.[3] The town is part of the London commuter belt[4] and its name entered national headlines as the site of a rail crash that killed 7 people on 10 May 2002.[5]
Contents |
[edit] Etymology
The origin of the Potters component of the town's name is uncertain but is generally thought to have been derived from evidence of a Roman pottery that was thought to have been sited locally, or from the family Pottere who lived in the South Mimms parish.[6] The Bar component is thought to refer to the gates leading from the South Mimms parish and into the Enfield Chase parish, or possibly from some sort of toll on the Great North Road.[6] The original "Bar" is said to have been at what is now the Green Man pub, or at the current entrance to Movern House.
[edit] History
Potters Bar was located on the Great North Road, one of two road routes from the City of London to the north of England.[7] The road was originally numbered as the A1, and later the A1000.
Potters Bar was historically part of Middlesex[8] and formed the Potters Bar Urban District of that county from 1934.[9] From 1894 to 1934 its area had formed the South Mimms Rural District.[10] In 1965 the district was transferred to Hertfordshire while most of the rest of Middlesex became part of Greater London.[11]
The urban district covered an area of 6,129 acres.[9] In 1939 it had a population of 13,681 and in 1971 this was 24,613.[12] In 1974 the urban district was abolished and the area became part of the borough of Hertsmere. Having been part of Middlesex, the area continued to form part of the Metropolitan Police District; with the creation of the Greater London Authority it was transferred to the Hertfordshire Constabulary in 2000.[13]
[edit] Transport
The A1 was built as a major 'arterial' road and a crossroads at Bignells Corner linked it to the Barnet - St Albans road. Potters Bar is now also served by the M25 motorway.[2]
Potters Bar railway station is the highest on the line between London's King's Cross railway station and York. The First Capital Connect route serving Potters Bar links the town to various North London suburbs in the southbound direction before terminating at either King's Cross or Moorgate station. Northbound, the railway connects Potters Bar to Peterborough, Cambridge and Letchworth Garden City as well as towns en route to these destinations such as Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City and Stevenage.[14]
Potters Bar has a bus garage which services local bus routes as well as some London bus routes. The 84 bus route travels to New Barnet in the South and St. Albans in the northwesterly direction. Other routes include the 298 to Arnos Grove, the 313 towards Enfield and Chingford, the 242 to Waltham Cross and the 398 service to Borehamwood. There are also school bus services run from various places to Dame Alice Owen's School.
[edit] Potters Bar rail crash
The Potters Bar rail crash occurred on 10 May 2002 at Potters Bar, when a northbound train,coming from King Cross to Cambridge, derailed at high speed, killing seven (six on the train and one under the bride) and seriously injuring another eleven.[5]
[edit] Education
Dame Alice Owen's School is a mixed grant-maintained school in Potters Bar.[15] Originally founded in 1613 and based in Islington until the 1960s, Dame Alice Owen's School is unusual in its 'Visitation' and 'Beer Money' traditions.[16] The trustees of the Dame Alice Owen Foundation are the Worshipful Company of Brewers. It is a partly selective school (25% of its intake is on the basis of pupils doing well on its entry test). It also reserves some places for children from Islington. It specialises in languages, and offers GCSEs in a wide range of languages. It has recently become a music and science college on top of being a language college.
Mount Grace School is a mixed grant maintained School in Potters Bar opened in 1954.[17] The school used to be a Manor House which was turned into a school long ago, legend has it there are hidden tunnels under the school which go all around Potters Bar and up to the Train Station, in 1957 a small group of sixth form students from Mount Grace School went missing. It's rumoured that the group had talked about trying to gain access to the tunnels and exploring them. Whether their mysterious vanishing is in anyway connected to them entering the tunnels or not is unknown, but it has raised questions as to whether the tunnels should have been searched.[citation needed]
[edit] Sports, entertainment and recreation
Potters Bar has a King George's Field in memorial to King George V which is situated behind the Furzefield Centre (A national centre of sporting excellence), a swimming pool and leisure centre run by Hertsmere council.[18] Also in the town is Potters Bar Town F.C., a tennis club, a cricket club, a golf course and the Wyllyotts Centre; a theatre, cinema and events venue. It is also the location of the town's museum.[19] Mayor Tom Green says 'Our sewage System is simply fantastic, its the best in hertsmere'
[edit] References
- ^ a b Herfordshire County Council - Office for National Statistics, 2001 Census, Usual resident population (numbers)
- ^ a b Hertsmere Borough Council - Community Strategy First Review (PDF)
- ^ PBHistory - The history
- ^ North Hertfordshire - A Housing Strategy for the London Commuter Belt Sub-region 2005 - 2008 (PDF)
- ^ a b BBC News - In Depth Potters Bar Crash
- ^ a b PBHistory - Whats in a name?
- ^ PB History - The Great North Road
- ^ PBHistory - Potters Bar, Middlesex
- ^ a b Vision of Britain - Potters Bar UD (historic map)
- ^ Vision of Britain - South Mimms RD (historic map)
- ^ Vision of Britain - Middlesex unit history
- ^ Vision of Britain - Potters Bar UD historic population
- ^ HMSO, Greater London Authority Act 1999. 1999 c. 29
- ^ First Capital Connect - Network and Stations
- ^ UniServity School Portal - Dame Alice Owen's School
- ^ UniServity School Portal - Dame Alice Owen's School history
- ^ Mount Grace School
- ^ Furzefield Centre
- ^ Wyllyotts Centre
[edit] External links
- pottersbar.org - local information
