Editing Palmers Green (section)

==History==
Palmers Green was once a tiny [[Hamlet (place)|hamlet]] in the parish of [[Edmonton, London|Edmonton]], situated at the junction of [[Green Lanes (London)|Green Lanes]] and Fox Lane. Its population was very small, and there were no more than a few isolated houses in the mid-17th century. Local records mention a Palmers Field in 1204 and a Palmers Grove in 1340. Palmers Green is mentioned as a highway in 1324 (in [[Westminster Abbey]] [[Muniment]]s).

By 1801 the area had grown to a village of 54 buildings, including two inns (according to the Middlesex Record Office). In 1871 the railway line from [[Wood Green]] to [[Enfield Town|Enfield]] was opened and a [[Palmers Green railway station|station]] was built in Aldermans Hill to serve Palmers Green (half a mile away from the nearest houses).

The area remained largely undeveloped for thirty more years, as local landowners refused to sell their large estates for building. In 1902, however, large tracts of land were sold for building and the area began to develop rapidly. The first large-scale developments were on the Old Park estate between Fox Lane and Aldermans Hill, and the Hazelwood Park Estate between Hazelwood Lane and Hedge Lane, within the latter development the building that now serves as Hazelwood Infant School and Hazelwood Junior School was built in Hazelwood Lane in 1908.[[File:Broomfield House in 1981.jpg|thumb|Broomfield House in 1981|left]]Notable local buildings include [[Broomfield House]] and [[Truro House]]. The former [[Southgate Town Hall]] has now been converted into flats. The former Pilgrims Rest (reflecting the name [[Palmer (Pilgrim)|Palmer]]s – "medieval pilgrim who carried a palm branch as a token of having visited the Holy Land") has already been demolished for housing. [[The Fox, Palmers Green|The Fox]] public house, which has been in its present guise since 1904, was once the site of the Electric Mouse comedy venue.

The [[Intimate Theatre]] was opened in a building that had been built in 1931 as St Monica's Church Hall. Among the actors who performed there were [[Richard Attenborough]], [[Vivien Leigh]], [[Roger Moore]] and (in a mime production) [[David Bowie]]. It is no longer a repertory theatre and the building is no longer used exclusively for theatrical performances, but it is still often referred to as the Intimate Theatre. In 1992 the building housed a [[Radio Cracker]] studio.

In 1988 Palmers Green's only hospital, [[Greentrees Hospital]], was closed and demolished.<ref name="hospitals in enfield">{{cite web|title=Hospitals in Enfield|url=http://www.enfield.gov.uk/download/2479/hospitals_in_enfield|work=Hospitals in Enfield a history|publisher=Enfield Borough Council|access-date=11 January 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20111001055242/http%3A//www.enfield.gov.uk/download/2479/hospitals_in_enfield|archive-date=1 October 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref>