Inventory Site Record

Christ Church was built in 1837-39 when Cockfosters became a separate parish, and was paid for by Robert Bevan of nearby Trent Park. The hamlet of Cock Fosters effectively developed as an estate village for the large estates of Trent Park and Beech Hill Park. The Bevan Family monument is found in the small churchyard to the north of the church, which has gravestones and some fine monuments among grass, with yew and other trees, roses and shrubs.

Site location:

Chalk Lane, Cockfosters

Postcode:

EN4 9JQ

What 3 Words:

table.prime.theme

Type of site:

Churchyard

Borough:

Enfield

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

unrestricted

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Events:

Public transport:

Tube: Cockfosters, Oakwood (Piccadilly). Bus: 121, 298, 299, 307, 384

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Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

01/03/2011

Last minor changes:

19/07/2023

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.cockfosters.org.uk

Christ Church Cockfosters was built in 1837-39 when it became a separate parish, and was paid for by Robert Bevan of nearby Trent Park (q.v.), a partner in Barclays Bank; the Bevan family monument can still be found in the churchyard. In 1898 the orientation of the church was reversed and the chancel, north aisle, transepts and chapels were added by Sir Arthur Blomfield. The church is of stock brick, in Early English Style with a thin tower capped with a spire.

The hamlet of Cock Fosters effectively developed as an estate village for Trent Park and Beech Hill Park, the latter now Hadley Wood Golf Course (q.v.) and in the 1860s consisted of little more than a collection of cottages north of the main gate to Trent Park on Cockfosters Road, with some larger houses and a pub in Chalk Lane. In the wider area there were a few substantial houses in their own grounds, such as Ludgrove and Heddon Court, formerly known as Belmont and now demolished. The 1930s saw the arrival of the Piccadilly Line and substantial housing development at Cockfosters, which by 1939 was firmly part of London's suburbia as far as the station at least. However, north of the church from the junction of Chalk Lane and Cockfosters Road, only a thin ribbon of wealthy properties has been built along the west side of Cockfosters Road, and much of the land to the east is still farmed and rural, largely as a result of the introduction of the Green Belt.

The small churchyard to the north of the church has gravestones and some fine monuments among grass, with yew and other trees, roses and shrubs planted; a hedge with holly and hawthorn separates the churchyard from Chalk Lane, which has a rusticated gateway at the north-east corner. An area of the churchyard has been hedged off, with no graves and two seats bordered by new railings to the south and a dense cypress hedge to the west. There a number of interesting C19th monuments near the church, including the large Bevan family tomb.

Church House, built in the 1930s to serve church activities, is being redeveloped in 2011 to provide more facilities, with a new frontage, welcome area and café as well as more rooms for activities. An extension to the church is also being planned in 2011, with an extension on the north-west corner, new entrance and reordering of the interior that will return the building to the original east-facing orientation.

Sources consulted:

LB Enfield local history leaflet; Bridget Cherry & Nikolaus Pevsner, The Buildings of England: London 4: North (Penguin, 1998); Edward Walford, 'Village London, the Story of Greater London, Part 2 - North and East', first published 1883/4 (1985 ed., The Alderman Press); The Paul Drury Partnership for LB Enfield, 'Trent Park Conservation Area Character Appraisal', 2006

Grid ref:

TQ279963 (527900,196400)

Size in hectares:

0.31

Site ownership:

Diocese of London

Site management:

LB Enfield Place Shaping and Enterprise, Parks Business Unit

Date(s):

1839

Designer(s):

Church: H E Kendall

Listed structures:

None

On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens:

No

Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965:

No

Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931:

No

Local Authority Data

The information below is taken from the relevant Local Authority's planning legislation, which was correct at the time of research but may have been amended in the interim. Please check with the Local Authority for latest planning information.

On Local List:

No

In Conservation Area:

Yes

Conservation Area name:

Trent Park

Tree Preservation Order:

Not known

Nature Conservation Area:

No

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

No

Other LA designation:

Urban Green Space