Potters Bar

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Potters Bar
Potters Bar (Hertfordshire)
Potters Bar

Potters Bar shown within Hertfordshire
Population 21,618[1]
OS grid reference TL255015
District Hertsmere
Shire county Hertfordshire
Region East
Constituent country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town POTTERS BAR
Postcode district EN6
Dialling code 01707
Police Hertfordshire
Fire Hertfordshire
Ambulance East of England
European Parliament East of England
UK Parliament Hertsmere
List of places: UK • England • Hertfordshire

Coordinates: 51°41′53″N 0°10′59″W / 51.698, -0.183

Potters Bar is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England,[2] located 18 miles (29 km) north of central London. In 2001 it had a population of 21,618.[1]

The town started life in the early 13th century and remained a small settlement until the arrival of the Great Northern Railway in 1850.[3] It is part of the London commuter belt[4]

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.[5] 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.[5] The original "Bar" is said to have been at what is now the Green Man pub, or at the current entrance to Movern House.

Darkes Lane, Potters Bar, looking north towards the railway bridge
Darkes Lane, Potters Bar, looking north towards the railway bridge

[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.[6] The road was originally numbered as the A1, and later the A1000.

Potters Bar was historically part of Middlesex[7] and formed the Potters Bar Urban District of that county from 1934.[8] From 1894 to 1934 its area had formed the South Mimms Rural District.[9] In 1965 the district was transferred to Hertfordshire while most of the rest of Middlesex became part of Greater London.[10][11]

The urban district covered an area of 6,129 acres.[8] 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 junction 24 of 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 depot 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 and to Chancellor's School.

[edit] Potters Bar rail accidents

Main article: Potters Bar rail accidents

Potters Bar has been the scene of two major train crashes. On the night of 10 February 1946, a local train hit buffers at the station, became derailed, and two express trains travelling in opposite directions struck the wreckage. On 10 May 2002 a northbound train derailed at high speed, killing seven and seriously injuring another eleven. In memorial to those killed, a small piece of art work that resembles 7 faces, was erected on 10 May 2003 and can be seen at the station.[15]

[edit] Education

Mount Grace School is a mixed grant maintained School in Potters Bar opened in 1954.[16] The school used to be a Manor House which was turned into a school long ago.

Dame Alice Owen's School is a mixed grant-maintained school in Potters Bar.[17] 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.[18] 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.

[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.[19] Also in the town is Potters Bar Town F.C., Potters Bar Swimming Club (PBSC)[20], 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.[21] Potters Bar is also home to the Hertfordshire Showband (formally known as the Marching Blues)[22].

In 1983, the area around Potters Bar was used for the on-location filming of the comic-horror film, Bloodbath at the House of Death. Also, in 2005, David Walliams and Matt Lucas shot two scenes for the third season of the comedy, Little Britain.[23]

[edit] Famous Residents

[edit] Twinnings

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Herfordshire County Council - Office for National Statistics, 2001 Census, Usual resident population (numbers)
  2. ^ a b Hertsmere Borough Council - Community Strategy First Review (PDF)
  3. ^ PBHistory - The history
  4. ^ North Hertfordshire - A Housing Strategy for the London Commuter Belt Sub-region 2005 - 2008 (PDF)
  5. ^ a b PBHistory - Whats in a name?
  6. ^ PB History - The Great North Road
  7. ^ PBHistory - Potters Bar, Middlesex
  8. ^ a b Vision of Britain - Potters Bar UD (historic map)
  9. ^ Vision of Britain - South Mimms RD (historic map)
  10. ^ Vision of Britain - Middlesex unit history
  11. ^ London Government Act 1963, 1963 c. 33, s. 3 (1)
  12. ^ Vision of Britain - Potters Bar UD historic population
  13. ^ HMSO, Greater London Authority Act 1999. 1999 c. 29
  14. ^ First Capital Connect - Network and Stations
  15. ^ BBC News - In Depth Potters Bar Crash
  16. ^ Mount Grace School
  17. ^ UniServity School Portal - Dame Alice Owen's School
  18. ^ UniServity School Portal - Dame Alice Owen's School history
  19. ^ Furzefield Centre
  20. ^ Potters Bar Swimming Club
  21. ^ Wyllyotts Centre
  22. ^ Hertforshire Showband
  23. ^ Bloodbath at the House of Death (1984)
  24. ^ [1] -Scrumpy & Western, Acker Bilk biography
  25. ^ [2] IMDB Terry Lightfoot's page
  26. ^ Potters Bar Golf Club

[edit] External links