Inventory Site Record

Enfield Central Library and its adjoining garden were formerly part of the estate of Chase Side House, a C19th villa with 5 acres of beautiful gardens. It was formerly within Old Park, the Home Park of Enfield Manor, which dated from medieval times and once provided deer for Enfield Chase. Part of Chase Side House estate was purchased by Enfield UDC in 1894 as the site for a new town hall. The Central Library was built in 1910 and opened in 1912 but the plan for the town hall was abandoned and Library Green was laid out as public open space. The garden was re-landscaped in 2009/2010 as part of a project to transform and restore the old library.

Previous / Other name:

Old Park Estate, Chase Side House

Site location:

Cecil Road/Church Street, Enfield

Postcode:

EN2 6TH

What 3 Words:

common.donor.sulk

Type of site:

Public Gardens

Borough:

Enfield

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

unrestricted

Special conditions:

Facilities:

café in library

Events:

Public transport:

Rail: Enfield Chase/Enfield Town. Bus: 121, 191, 192, 231, 307, 313, 317, 329, W9, 310, 310A, 311, 517, 610, W10

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

01/02/2011

Last minor changes:

19/07/2023

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.enfield.gov.uk

The village of Enfield, known as Enfield Green and later Enfield Town, was one of the largest mediaeval parishes in Middlesex and a fully cultivated area by the time of the Domesday survey, with to the west the 3,250 hectare hunting park of Enfield Chase. Later the area developed with many fine houses, including Chase Side House, a villa overlooking 5 acres of pleasure grounds owned by William Everett. The Chase Side estate was once land within the Old Park Estate, the Home Park of Enfield Manor, which pre-dated Enfield Chase and provided deer for the hunting park. An older house was purchased in 1826 by James Farrer Steadman, whose widow married William Everett. Everett is described by William Keane in 'The Beauties of Middlesex' (1850) as 'a gentleman of considerable taste in all that belongs to the departments of horticulture, floriculture, &c.' His kitchen garden contained an extensive vinery and cucumber pit, and his pleasure grounds led to St Andrew's Church (q.v.) along a 'winding walk . . . bounded, on each side, by festoons of roses hanging from pillar to pillar for some considerable distance, until it enters the shrubbery to the gardener's cottage and to the orange-house'.

Everett's gardens no longer exist but part of the Chase Side House estate was purchased in 1894 as the site for a new town hall. In 1910 Enfield's Central Library, a 2-storey red brick building with stone quoins in English Baroque style, was built facing outwards with the aim still being to build on the green behind. However, the town hall scheme was then abandoned and Library Green was landscaped and the Library opened in 1912. As a result Library Green formed an important part of the turn-of-the-century landscaping of the east part of Enfield Town, having group value with Town Park, Chase Green and Chase Green Gardens (q.q.v.). Library Green was until the late C20th a rough, unenclosed lawn crossed by paths, with trees and shrubs around the perimeter, including acacia, cedar, laurel with a lime tree and a London plane on the adjoining pavement.

The garden was re-landscaped in 2009/2010, with new planting, seating, a water feature and planting of habitats for wildlife, including log piles, bat boxes and bird boxes as part of the project to restore and transform the old Enfield Town Library. The project was undertaken by Enfield Council working with Shepheard Epstein Hunter Architects. The new building re-opened in March 2010 at a ceremony officiated by former Poet Laureate Sir Andrew Motion in his new role as Chair of Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. Under the refurbishment, the entrance of the building was moved from the rear to face the street, the Edwardian façade was cleaned and its original windows refurbished, with a red brick 1960s extension pulled down and a glass and steel frontage erected to look out over the Green. In January 2011 it was awarded the 'Best Built Project' at the London Planning Awards.

Sources consulted:

David Pam, 'A history of Enfield pt 2: a Victorian suburb 1837-1914'; William Keane 'The Beauties of Middlesex' 1850; Revd George Hodson (Church History) and Edward Ford (General History), 'A History of Enfield in the County of Middlesex including its Royal and Ancient Manors, the Chase and the Duchy of Lancaster, with Notices of its Worthies, and its Natural History, Etc. Also an account of The Church and the Charities, and a History of the New River' (Enfield Press, printed by J H Meyers, 1873); Andrew Duncan 'Walking Village London' (New Holland) 1997; Bridget Cherry & Nikolaus Pevsner, The Buildings of England: London 4: North (Penguin, 1998); Tristan Kirk, 'Design prize won by Enfield Town Library', Enfield Independent, 21 January 2011; The Paul Drury Partnership for LB Enfield, 'Enfield Town Conservation Area Character Appraisal', 2006

Grid ref:

TQ324965 (532483,196529)

Size in hectares:

0.39

Site ownership:

LB Enfield

Site management:

Place Shaping and Enterprise, Parks Business Unit

Date(s):

1910-12; 2009/10

Designer(s):

Library probably designed by R. Collins, District Surveyor

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:

Enfield Town

Tree Preservation Order:

Not known

Nature Conservation Area:

No

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

Yes

Special Policy Area:

No

Other LA designation:

Included in Local Register of Historic Parks and Gardens