| Crews Hill | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Cattlegate Road in Crews Hill | |
  Crews Hill Location withinGreater London | |
| Population | 566 [1][note 1] |
| OS grid reference | TQ315995 |
| London borough | |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ENFIELD |
| Postcode district | EN2 |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| UK Parliament | |
| London Assembly | |
| 51°40′41″N0°05′49″W / 51.678°N 0.097°W /51.678; -0.097 | |
Crews Hill is a small village in theLondon Borough of Enfield. The village is surrounded by Green Belt land which forms part of theEnfield Chase Heritage Area of Special Character.
The village, which has many garden centres and plant nurseries, is centred 12.3 miles (20 km) north ofCharing Cross, is just south of theM25 motorway. In 2025 the government proposed a large new town at Crews Hill.
Crews Hill washistorically part of the county ofMiddlesex.
It is named from its association with theCrew family, mentioned in local records of the mid-18th century.[2]
John and Charles Crew, originally from Barnet, engaged in long and sometimes violent criminal careers in Enfield Chase.[3]
William Crew worked for a time as an employee of theDuchy of Lancaster, the owners of Enfield Chase who were often in conflict with the commoners and common rights of Enfield. Crew also had a long criminal career and engaged in long feuds with the Duchy and appears to have become a folk hero, or anti-hero as a result. William Crew lived to 104 and gave his name to Crews Hill.[4][5]
Crews Hill is served byCrews Hill railway station with trains toHertford North,Stevenage, in the north, andMoorgate in the south. Starting in 2021, bus route456 connects Crews Hill to theNorth Middlesex Hospital viaEnfield Chase andWinchmore Hill.[6]
Crews Hill is part of the large Chase ward, which also coversBotany Bay,Clay Hill andBulls Cross. In the 2011 census, 77% of the ward's population was white (64% British, 11% Other, 2% Irish), 5% was Black African and 3% Black Caribbean.[7]
Crews Hill Golf Course dates from 1916.John White, theTottenham Hotspur andScotland national football team player, was killed by lightning while sheltering under a tree at the golf course on 21 July 1964.[citation needed]
On Whitewebbs Lane there is the Whitewebbs Museum of Transport. Further along the road is Whitewebbs Park. In April 2025 a 500-year-oldoak tree was felled by pub chainMitchells & Butlers, causing much criticism.[8] A section of Whitewebbs Park has been leased to Tottenham Hotspur who, despite objections, plan to fence off 16 hectares (40 acres) of parkland and build a training ground for the women's team, a new women's academy and a new clubhouse.[9][10]
Crews Hill originally had a large area of glasshouse production, to serve the nearby London market with cut flowers, pot plants and vegetables. As this became less economic, these sites transformed into a number ofgarden centres and retailnurseries. Describing the horticultural output of Crews Hill, journalistIan Jack wrote: "The greenhouses at Crews Hill ('Britain's horticultural mile') used to supply London with flowers and salads. Then came garden centres. Now there are warehouses filled with flowers, chilled at a permanent 7C, the same temperature that has kept them fresh in the six-hour lorry and rail journey through the tunnel from the auctions in Holland."[11]
Turkey Brook flows through Crews Hill.[12]
In September 2025, the government announced that a new town would be established at 'Crews Hill and Chase Farm'. The new town would include more than 20,000 houses with the intention of up to half being classified as 'Affordable Housing', meaning that sales or rental price would be discounted 20% from the market rate.[13][14]
