Editing Winchmore Hill (section)

==History==
Once a small hamlet in the parish of [[Edmonton, London|Edmonton]], Winchmore Hill borders [[Palmers Green]], [[Southgate, London|Southgate]], [[Edmonton, London|Edmonton]], and [[Grange Park, Enfield|Grange Park]].

Prior to the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] invasion, the areas now known as [[Hertfordshire]], Essex, and [[Middlesex]] were occupied by the [[Catuvellauni]] tribe. It is believed that this tribe built a hill fort on the mound now occupied by Bush Hill Park Golf Club.

The earliest recorded mention of Winchmore Hill is in a deed dated [[1319|A.D. 1319]], where it is spelled Wynsemerhull. According to the ''Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names,'' 'merhull' in [[Old English]] translates to 'boundary hill'. It is speculated that the name might mean 'Wynsige's boundary hill'.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Winchmore Hill :: Survey of English Place-Names |url=https://epns.nottingham.ac.uk/browse/id/53282a51b47fc407a0000049 |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=epns.nottingham.ac.uk}}</ref> By 1395, the name had been altered to Wynsmerhull, and by 1565, the village was known as Wynsmorehyll, eventually becoming Winchmore Hill by the time it was mentioned in state papers in 1586.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Winchmore Hill |url=https://whresidents.org/photographs-history/ |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=Winchmore Hill Residents' Association |language=en-US}}</ref>

Winchmore Hill is home to many buildings of historical significance. The first recorded religious building is the Quaker Meeting House, established in 1688 and rebuilt in 1790. Notable individuals buried here include [[Luke Howard]], the father of modern meteorology, Alice Hum, founder of [[Palmers Green High School]] for Girls, and members of the Hoare and Barclay banking families. [[Samuel Hoare Jr|Samuel Hoare]], a founder of the '[[Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade]]'''',''' played a prominent role in the campaign against the slavery.

[[St Paul's Church, Winchmore Hill|St Paul's Church]], built as a [[Waterloo church]] on land donated from the Grovelands estate, once had the largest unsupported expanse of plasterwork ceiling in Europe until renovations in the 1960s added concealed supports. The original wooden [[Clapboard (architecture)|clapboard]] [[St Paul's School, London|St Paul's School]] building can still be seen further down Church Hill. Remnants of the second brick-and-stone school building are evident in the walls of the church car park. The current school building, constructed in the 1960s, is located on Ringwood Way, off Station Road. Other historical buildings can be see on Wades Hill, leading north from The Green. Notably, there are wooden clapboard cottages and a tall-five story residential building dating back to 1710, reminiscent of [[Georgian architecture|Georgian]] townhouses in [[West End of London|London's West End]].

The oldest pub in the district was likely the Green Dragon on Green Lanes, reputed to have opened in 1726 at the junction of Green Lanes and Green Dragon Lane. The [[Victoria County History]] records that by 1752, the Green Dragon was established, although not in its present form. Historically, [[Highwayman|highwaymen]] caught near the pub were hanged at a [[gallows]] erected by its front entrance. This gallows remained for years, prompting the pub's relocation to the bottom of Vicars Moor Lane by the late 18th century. The original Green Dragon was demolished in 1892, and the new one was extensively remodelled in 1935. It ceased operating as a public house in 2015, although the building remains as a supermarket.

The Woodman pub, near the end of Broad Walk, reportedly dates back to 1727, though some evidence suggests it was built in 1820. Before obtaining a pub licence in 1868, it was a private residence.

[[George Meehan House|Woodside House]] and Rowantree House on The Green at the end of Broad Walk were built in 1750 and of painted brick. Numerous local buildings constructed between 1770 and 1839 remain today. Near the Dog and Duck on Hoppers Road are old terraced houses built around 1770. Number 106A Vicars Moor Lane is a distinctive private residence retaining the façade of a chapel. To the east on the same road are residences likely built in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century.
[[File:Winchmore Hill Station (2).jpg|alt=Winchmore Hill Station|thumb|Winchmore Hill Station]]
In 1865, the [[Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)|Great Northern Railway]] obtained permission to build a new line from [[Wood Green]] to [[Hertford]] through Palmers Green and [[Enfield Town|Enfield]]. However, financial constraints in 1869 led the company to consider Enfield as the northern terminus, with Palmers Green and Winchmore Hill as intervening rural stations. Despite terrain challenges that led to the deaths of five workers, the branch opened on 1 April 1871. The first passenger train through Winchmore Hill helped transform it into a suburb of London. Initially, only 16 trains a day departed from Enfield, mostly heading to [[Moorgate]].

The Capitol Cinema, designed in the [[Art Deco]] style by Robert Cromie, opened on 29 December 1929 in Green Lanes. Briefly run by Lou Morris, the cinema was taken over in December 1930 by [[ABC Cinemas]], which operated it until its closure on 5 December 1959. It was demolished the following year.  The site was later occupied by the office block Capitol House, occupied by the [[Inland Revenue]] (demolished by August 2019).