| Potters Bar | |
|---|---|
 The Old Manor, Potters Bar | |
 Baker Street | |
  Potters Bar Location withinHertfordshire | |
| Population | 22,536 2021 Census |
| OS grid reference | TL255015 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | POTTERS BAR |
| Postcode district | EN6 |
| Dialling code | 01707 |
| Police | Hertfordshire |
| Fire | Hertfordshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
Potters Bar is a town inHertfordshire, England,[1] 13 miles (21 km) north of central London. In 2011, it had a population of 21,882.[2][n 1] In the2021 census, the four wards that make up Potters Bar - Bentley Heath & The Royds, Furzefield, Oakmere and Parkfield - had a combined population of 22,536; this includes several smaller outlying hamlets contained in the Bentley Heath & The Royds ward, such asBentley Heath and Ganwick Corner. In 2022, the population was around 23,325.[3]
Within thehistoric county ofMiddlesex until 1965, the town dates to the early 13th century but remained a small, mainly agricultural, settlement until the arrival of theGreat Northern Railway in 1850.[4] It is now part of theLondon commuter belt.[5]
The origin of thePotters element of the town's name is uncertain; it is generally thought to be either a reference to aRoman pottery, believed to have been sited locally, or alternatively to thePottere family who lived in neighbouringSouth Mimms parish.[6]
TheBar is thought to refer to the gates leading from the South Mimms parish and into theEnfield Chase parish; it could possibly hail from atoll on theGreat North Road,[6] said to have been by what is now the disusedGreen Man pub or at the current entrance to Morven House.
Potters Bar is located on theGreat North Road, one of two road routes from theCity of London to thenorth of England.[7] The road was originally numbered as theA1 and later theA1000.
Potters Bar was historically part ofMiddlesex[8] and formed thePotters Bar Urban District of that county from 1934.[9] From 1894 to 1934 its area had formed theSouth Mimms Rural District.[10] In 1965, the district was transferred toHertfordshire County Council, while most of the rest ofMiddlesex County Council became part ofGreater London.[11][12]
The urban district covered an area of 6,129 acres (24.80 km2).[9] In 1939, it had a population of 13,681, increasing to 24,613 in 1971.[13] In 1974, the urban district was abolished and the area became part of the borough ofHertsmere. Having been part of Middlesex, the area continued to form part of theMetropolitan Police District; with the creation of theGreater London Authority, it was transferred to theHertfordshire Constabulary in 2000.[14]
Wrotham Park estate, home of the Byng family, sits within Potters Bar andBarnet on 2,500 acres of land. The Byng family still own a lot of land in the Potters Bar area; The Admiral Byng pub in Darkes Lane is named afterAdmiral John Byng, who was executed for failing to obey orders in theMinorca campaign.[15]
In the early hours of 1 October 1916, LieutenantWulstan Tempest shot down Germany's most famous zeppelin, theL31. It was captained by Heinrich Mathy with his crew of 18. All were killed when the flaming zeppelin fell into an ancient oak tree on the Oakmere Estate, Oakmere House at the time being rented by Mrs Forbes.[16][17] The deadly raids over England declined after this.[18] The 19 German sailors (zeppelins were naval) were buried in the local cemetery and, decades later, reinterred atCannock Chase German Military Cemetery. The Potters Bar Museum has a Zeppelin display, with relics of the L31.[citation needed][19]
There have been threerailway accidents at Potters Bar marked by fatalities. In 1899, theEarl of Strafford was killed at the station when, according to witnesses, he appeared to step out in front of an express train.[20] In1946, signals were passed at danger causing derailment and the death of two passengers. In2002, while passing through the station, a northbound trainderailed at high speed, killing seven and injuring 76.[21] In the aftermath of the tragedy, private maintenance firms were accused of neglecting training and safety, and in 2003,Network Rail announced it was taking all track maintenance in-house.[22]
As of the2021 census, Potters Bar still had a Christian majority, making it more Christian than both England and Wales as a whole and the rest of Hertsmere. Potters Bar has a significant Jewish community and an Orthodox synagogue but, as a percentage of the overall population, the Jewish community, which numbers over 600, pales in comparison to every other settlement in Hertsmere, the most Jewish borough in the country.
| Area | All people | Christian (%) | Buddhist (%) | Hindu (%) | Jewish (%) | Muslim (%) | Sikh (%) | Other (%) | No religion (%) | Not stated (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 56,490,048 | 46.3 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 6.7 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 36.7 | 6.0 |
| Potters Bar | 22,536 | 52.33 | 0.56 | 4.22 | 2.76 | 4.13 | 0.16 | 1.17 | 28.34 | 6.34 |
Potters Bar experiences anoceanic climate (Köppen climate classificationCfb) similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.
| Climate data for Potters Bar | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 8 (46) | 9 (48) | 12 (54) | 14 (57) | 18 (64) | 21 (70) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 20 (68) | 16 (61) | 11 (52) | 8 (46) | 15 (59) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 5 (41) | 5 (41) | 6 (43) | 8 (46) | 10 (50) | 13 (55) | 15 (59) | 16 (61) | 13 (55) | 11 (52) | 8 (46) | 5 (41) | 10 (50) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 50.7 (2.00) | 39.9 (1.57) | 31.7 (1.25) | 46.2 (1.82) | 38.9 (1.53) | 46.4 (1.83) | 33.1 (1.30) | 43.6 (1.72) | 49.7 (1.96) | 70.7 (2.78) | 58.1 (2.29) | 56.9 (2.24) | 565.9 (22.28) |
| Source:[23] | |||||||||||||
The A1 was built as a major arterial road and a crossroads atBignells Corner linked it to theBarnet–St Albans road. Potters Bar is now also served by junctions 23 and 24 of theM25 motorway.[1]
Potters Bar railway station is sited on theEast Coast Main Line.Govia Thameslink Railway operates services on theGreat Northern Route under two sub-brands:
Potters Bar was the location of two majorrail accidents in 1946 and 2002.
The nearestLondon Underground station is atCockfosters, on thePiccadilly line; it is approximately 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south on theA111 from junction 24 of the M25.[26]
Potters Bar has abus depot that services local and London bus routes. Key routes include:[27]
| Route Number | Route | Operation | Operator |
84 | St. AlbansSt Peters Street to Potters Bar station , via the High Street | Daily | Sullivan Buses |
| 242[28] | Waltham Cross bus station to Hatfield. | Daily | Uno |
| 243[28] | Barnet to Hatfield | Mon-Sat | Uno |
| 298 | Potters BarCranbourne Road toArnos Grove tube station , viaCockfosters | Daily | Uno |
| 313 | Potters Bar station toChingford station , viaEnfield | Daily | Arriva London |
| 306B | Potters Bar station toWatford, viaElstree | Sat | Sullivan Buses |
| 398 | Potters Bar station to Watford, viaRadlett | Mon-Fri | Sullivan Buses |
| PB1 Circular | Circular via Shillitoe Avenue, Potters Bar station, High Street and Oakmere | Mon-Sat | Uno |
There are eight churches in Potters Bar. The first Anglican parish in the town was carved out of the parish of South Mimms in the 1835. Its church was dedicated to St John and was in aneo-Norman style, located in the S corner of Oakmere Park where the War Memorial now stands; however its experimental concrete construction didn't last well and it had to be replaced by the current parish church of St Mary the Virgin and All Saints' Church at the top of the Walk. (The concrete church survived as an ivy-clad ruin into the 1970s).[29][30][31] St. Marys contains stained glass including some "fine portraits" of several saints as well as tributes toJohn Keble, andRandall Davidson. There is a Madonna Window in memory of John Goodacre, a long-time schoolmaster at Potters Bar.[32][33]
Other churches include Our Lady and St Vincent (Roman Catholic); King Charles the Martyr, another parish that was carved out of South Mimms, designed byFrederick Charles Eden; Christ Church, Little Heath on theGreat North Road; Potters Bar Baptist Church; St John's Methodist Church in Baker Street;[34] Causeway Free Church; and Potters Bar Spiritualist Church on Hill Rise.[35]
Former religious buildings include: aChristadelphian Hall behind shops at 130 Darkes Lane; aSalvation Army citadel in Station Road;[36] the Roman Catholic church ofSt Vincent de Paul and Louise Demarillac in Barnet Road, designed by the distinguished church architectF. X. Velarde, demolished circa 2010;[37] and a Quaker meeting in Quaker's Lane.
Non Christian religions are represented by theJain Temple at the Oshwal Centre between Potters Bar and Northaw, which "recreates a general Māru-Gurjara aesthetic".[citation needed]
There are six primary and infant state schools in Potters Bar and the surrounding area; they are Cranborne School, Ladbrooke JMI, Little Heath Primary, Oakmere Primary, Pope Paul RC Primary and Wroxham School.
Mount Grace School is a mixed grant maintained School in Potters Bar opened in 1954.[38]
Lochinver house school is an all-boys preparatory school in Potters Bar, which opened in 1947.[39]
Stormont School is an all-girls preparatory school in Potters Bar, which opened in 1944.[40]
Dame Alice Owen's School is a mixedgrant-maintained school in Potters Bar.[41] Founded in 1613 and based inIslington until 1973, it is unusual in its 'Visitation' and 'Beer Money' traditions.[42]
The town also houses many veterinary medicine (mostly third, fourth and fifth-year) students from theRoyal Veterinary College.
Potters Bar has aKing George's Field in memorial toKing George V, which is situated behind the Furzefield Centre. There is a swimming pool and leisure centre run byHertsmere council, which is home to St Albans and Hertsmere Canoe Club.[43] Also in the town arePotters Bar Town F.C., Potters Bar Swimming Club (PBSC),[44] a Scuba diving Club (the Potters Bar Sub Aqua Club), a tennis club, a cricket club. The Wyllyotts Centre is a theatre, cinema and events venue, and is also the location of the town's museum.[45] Potters Bar is also home to theHertfordshire Showband (formally known as the Marching Blues).[46]
In December 2018, the golf course at Potters Bar closed after 95 years.[47]
In 1983, the area around Potters Bar was used for the on-location filming of the comic-horror filmBloodbath at the House of Death. In 2005,David Walliams andMatt Lucas shot two scenes for the third season of the comedyLittle Britain: one scene at Mount Grace School gym and the other at a wedding shop on the High Street.[48] Potters Bar is also home to a performing arts school, Top Hat Stage School, which has been running classes at Elm Court Community Centre since 1994.
The Ritz Cinema in Darkes Lane at the corner of Byng Drive was designed and built by cinema entrepreneur Major W. J. King in amodernist-cum-Art Deco style. It opened in 1934 and had a Compton organ in front of the curtain, on a pneumatic lift. The cinema closed in 1967 and was immediately demolished for the construction of aTesco supermarket, now relocated.[49]
Potters Bar istwinned with:
Media related toPotters Bar at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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