Waltham Cross
Encyclopedia
Waltham Cross is the most southeasterly town in Hertfordshire
, England. It is 12 miles from the City of London
and immediately north of the M25 motorway
, forming part of the Greater London Urban Area
and London commuter belt
. Part of Waltham Cross is located within Greater London
.
to the south and Essex
to the east. It is located south of Cheshunt
, west of Waltham Abbey
and immediately north of the London Borough of Enfield
, with the southern section of the town bordering the M25 motorway
and Freezywater
. Although located just outside Greater London
, the town forms part of the Greater London Urban Area
. The Waltham Cross post town includes some northern sections of Enfield, including the Holmesdale Estate.
in the Hertford hundred of Hertfordshire
. It formed part of Cheshunt Urban District from 1894 to 1974. In April 1974 the town together with Cheshunt and the Hoddesdon
urban district councils merged to form the Borough of Broxbourne
. The town takes its name from the Eleanor Cross
which stands in its centre.
, a memorial commemorating the over-night resting place of Queen Eleanor’s coffin on its processional journey from Lincoln to Westminster Abbey
in 1290. The cross is hexagonal in plan,in three stages. The main stage has three statues of the Queen, each standing in a niche under a canopy, while the other three faces have a niche bisected by a buttress. The original sculptures were by Alexander of Abingdon. These have been replaced in the course of restoration,but one of the originals can be seen on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
The monument was surveyed by the Society of Antiquaries of London
who, advocating its conservation, printed and illustrated the results in the pages of Vetusta Monumenta
. in 1721. However, restoration did not take place until 1832, when extensive rebuilding was carried out under WB Clarke. A further major restoration was carried out in 1885-92, and yet another in 1950-53.
lived at Waltham House, Waltham Cross for 12 years between 1859 and 1871, where he wrote twenty-six novels and entertained his illustrious London friends. His home was demolished in 1936 and on the general site now stands the Moon and Cross, a J D Wetherspoon public house
, decorated with a literary theme.
A large printing works has been developed for News International
at the Park Plaza site and is responsible for pressing copies of newspapers such as The Sun
and The Times
, adjacent to the A10 and Junction 25 of the M25 motorway
.
and a place where London Buses
terminate and link with services for Hertfordshire and Essex. The town is the only settlement outside London to be served by a Transport for London
Night Bus - route N279.
The area is served by two train stations on different lines. Waltham Cross railway station
links directly with London Liverpool Street the journey taking approximately 25 minutes or 12 minutes, stopping via Tottenham Hale
. Theobalds Grove railway station
also links with London Liverpool street via Seven Sisters station
.
, Central London
, Hertford
, Waltham Abbey
, Loughton
, Cheshunt
and Potters Bar
.
has been chosen to host the relocated Broxbourne White Water Canoe Centre for the 2012 Olympics.
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, England. It is 12 miles from the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
and immediately north of the M25 motorway
M25 motorway
The M25 motorway, or London Orbital, is a orbital motorway that almost encircles Greater London, England, in the United Kingdom. The motorway was first mooted early in the 20th century. A few sections, based on the now abandoned London Ringways plan, were constructed in the early 1970s and it ...
, forming part of the Greater London Urban Area
Greater London Urban Area
The Greater London Urban Area is the conurbation or continuous urban area based around London, England, as defined by the Office for National Statistics. It had an estimated population of 8,505,000 in 2005 and occupied an area of at the time of the 2001 census. It includes most of Greater London,...
and London commuter belt
London commuter belt
The London commuter belt is the metropolitan area surrounding London, England from which it is practical to commute to work in the capital. It is alternatively known as the Greater South East, the London metropolitan area or the Southeast metropolitan area...
. Part of Waltham Cross is located within Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
.
Geography
It is bordered by Greater LondonGreater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
to the south and Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
to the east. It is located south of Cheshunt
Cheshunt
Cheshunt is a town in Hertfordshire, England with a population of around 52,000 according to the United Kingdom's 2001 Census. It is a dormitory town and part of the Greater London Urban Area and London commuter belt served by Cheshunt railway station...
, west of Waltham Abbey
Waltham Abbey, Essex
Waltham Abbey is a market town of about 20,400 people in the south west of the county of Essex, in the East of England region. It is about 24 km north of London on the Greenwich Meridian and lies between the River Lea in the west and Epping Forest in the east. It takes its name from The Abbey...
and immediately north of the London Borough of Enfield
London Borough of Enfield
The London Borough of Enfield is the most northerly London borough and forms part of Outer London. It borders the London Boroughs of Barnet, Haringey and Waltham Forest...
, with the southern section of the town bordering the M25 motorway
M25 motorway
The M25 motorway, or London Orbital, is a orbital motorway that almost encircles Greater London, England, in the United Kingdom. The motorway was first mooted early in the 20th century. A few sections, based on the now abandoned London Ringways plan, were constructed in the early 1970s and it ...
and Freezywater
Freezywater
Freezywater is a place in the London Borough of Enfield, North London. It is roughly located in an area either side of Hertford Road between its junction with Ordnance Road and further north that with Bullsmoor Lane and the Holmesdale Tunnel overpass, including an area westwards towards the railway...
. Although located just outside Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
, the town forms part of the Greater London Urban Area
Greater London Urban Area
The Greater London Urban Area is the conurbation or continuous urban area based around London, England, as defined by the Office for National Statistics. It had an estimated population of 8,505,000 in 2005 and occupied an area of at the time of the 2001 census. It includes most of Greater London,...
. The Waltham Cross post town includes some northern sections of Enfield, including the Holmesdale Estate.
History
Waltham Cross formed part of the ancient parish of CheshuntCheshunt
Cheshunt is a town in Hertfordshire, England with a population of around 52,000 according to the United Kingdom's 2001 Census. It is a dormitory town and part of the Greater London Urban Area and London commuter belt served by Cheshunt railway station...
in the Hertford hundred of Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
. It formed part of Cheshunt Urban District from 1894 to 1974. In April 1974 the town together with Cheshunt and the Hoddesdon
Hoddesdon
Hoddesdon is a town in the English county of Hertfordshire, situated in the Lea Valley. The town grew up as a coaching stop on the route between Cambridge and London. It is located southeast of Hertford, north of Waltham Cross and southwest of Bishop's Stortford. At its height during the 18th...
urban district councils merged to form the Borough of Broxbourne
Broxbourne (borough)
Broxbourne is a local government district and borough in Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Cheshunt, other towns include Broxbourne, Hoddesdon and Waltham Cross. The eastern boundary of the district is the River Lea...
. The town takes its name from the Eleanor Cross
Eleanor cross
The Eleanor crosses were twelve originally wooden, but later lavishly decorated stone, monuments of which three survive intact in a line down part of the east of England. King Edward I had the crosses erected between 1291 and 1294 in memory of his wife Eleanor of Castile, marking the nightly...
which stands in its centre.
The Eleanor Cross
At the centre of the town is one of the three surviving medieval Eleanor CrossesEleanor cross
The Eleanor crosses were twelve originally wooden, but later lavishly decorated stone, monuments of which three survive intact in a line down part of the east of England. King Edward I had the crosses erected between 1291 and 1294 in memory of his wife Eleanor of Castile, marking the nightly...
, a memorial commemorating the over-night resting place of Queen Eleanor’s coffin on its processional journey from Lincoln to Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
in 1290. The cross is hexagonal in plan,in three stages. The main stage has three statues of the Queen, each standing in a niche under a canopy, while the other three faces have a niche bisected by a buttress. The original sculptures were by Alexander of Abingdon. These have been replaced in the course of restoration,but one of the originals can be seen on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
The monument was surveyed by the Society of Antiquaries of London
Society of Antiquaries of London
The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...
who, advocating its conservation, printed and illustrated the results in the pages of Vetusta Monumenta
Vetusta Monumenta
Vetusta Monumenta is the title of a published series of illustrated antiquarian papers on ancient buildings, sites, and artefacts, mostly those of Britain, published at irregular intervals between 1718 and 1906 by the Society of Antiquaries of London...
. in 1721. However, restoration did not take place until 1832, when extensive rebuilding was carried out under WB Clarke. A further major restoration was carried out in 1885-92, and yet another in 1950-53.
Notable residents
Victorian novelist Anthony TrollopeAnthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope was one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of his best-loved works, collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire...
lived at Waltham House, Waltham Cross for 12 years between 1859 and 1871, where he wrote twenty-six novels and entertained his illustrious London friends. His home was demolished in 1936 and on the general site now stands the Moon and Cross, a J D Wetherspoon public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
, decorated with a literary theme.
Nearest Places
- FreezywaterFreezywaterFreezywater is a place in the London Borough of Enfield, North London. It is roughly located in an area either side of Hertford Road between its junction with Ordnance Road and further north that with Bullsmoor Lane and the Holmesdale Tunnel overpass, including an area westwards towards the railway...
- Enfield LockEnfield LockEnfield Lock is an area in the London Borough of Enfield, North London. It is approximately located east of the Hertford Road between Turkey Street and the Holmesdale Tunnel overpass, to the River Lee Navigation, including the Enfield Island Village. The locality gains its name from the lock on the...
- Waltham AbbeyWaltham Abbey, EssexWaltham Abbey is a market town of about 20,400 people in the south west of the county of Essex, in the East of England region. It is about 24 km north of London on the Greenwich Meridian and lies between the River Lea in the west and Epping Forest in the east. It takes its name from The Abbey...
- CheshuntCheshuntCheshunt is a town in Hertfordshire, England with a population of around 52,000 according to the United Kingdom's 2001 Census. It is a dormitory town and part of the Greater London Urban Area and London commuter belt served by Cheshunt railway station...
Economy
The town centre includes the pedestrianised High Street with a mix of chain stores, independent shops and banks; a covered shopping mall and the Fishpools department store which has been in the town since 1899. A general market is held on Wednesdays and Fridays; there are occasional French and farmers' markets.A large printing works has been developed for News International
News International
News International Ltd is the United Kingdom newspaper publishing division of News Corporation. Until June 2002, it was called News International plc....
at the Park Plaza site and is responsible for pressing copies of newspapers such as The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
and The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, adjacent to the A10 and Junction 25 of the M25 motorway
M25 motorway
The M25 motorway, or London Orbital, is a orbital motorway that almost encircles Greater London, England, in the United Kingdom. The motorway was first mooted early in the 20th century. A few sections, based on the now abandoned London Ringways plan, were constructed in the early 1970s and it ...
.
Transport
There is a large bus station, a result of Waltham Cross being just outside Travelcard Zone 6Travelcard Zone 6
Fare zone 6 is an outer zone of Transport for London's zonal fare system used for calculating the price of tickets for travel on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and, since 2007, on National Rail services. The zone was created in January 1991; from May 1983 it had...
and a place where London Buses
London Buses
London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London that manages bus services within Greater London, UK. Buses are required to carry similar red colour schemes and conform to the same fare scheme...
terminate and link with services for Hertfordshire and Essex. The town is the only settlement outside London to be served by a Transport for London
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
Night Bus - route N279.
The area is served by two train stations on different lines. Waltham Cross railway station
Waltham Cross railway station
Waltham Cross railway station, opened in 1840, is a railway station that serves Waltham Cross in Hertfordshire, England. It is also the closest railway station to Waltham Abbey, Essex, England...
links directly with London Liverpool Street the journey taking approximately 25 minutes or 12 minutes, stopping via Tottenham Hale
Tottenham Hale
Tottenham Hale is a district in the London Borough of Haringey. From 1850-1965, it was part of the Municipal Borough of Tottenham, in Middlesex.-Etymology:...
. Theobalds Grove railway station
Theobalds Grove railway station
Theobalds Grove railway station serves Waltham Cross in Hertfordshire, England. It is part of the Lea Valley Lines network, and train services are provided by National Express East Anglia.-History:...
also links with London Liverpool street via Seven Sisters station
Seven Sisters station
Seven Sisters station is a National Rail and London Underground Victoria Line station in the Seven Sisters area of the London Borough of Haringey, north London.The station is in Travelcard Zone 3....
.
Buses
Waltham Cross Bus Station serves as the main terminus and starting point for buses in the immediate locality, with links to North LondonNorth London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
, Central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
, Hertford
Hertford
Hertford is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. Forming a civil parish, the 2001 census put the population of Hertford at about 24,180. Recent estimates are that it is now around 28,000...
, Waltham Abbey
Waltham Abbey, Essex
Waltham Abbey is a market town of about 20,400 people in the south west of the county of Essex, in the East of England region. It is about 24 km north of London on the Greenwich Meridian and lies between the River Lea in the west and Epping Forest in the east. It takes its name from The Abbey...
, Loughton
Loughton
Loughton is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is located between 11 and 13 miles north east of Charing Cross in London, south of the M25 and west of the M11 motorway and has boundaries with Chingford, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill...
, Cheshunt
Cheshunt
Cheshunt is a town in Hertfordshire, England with a population of around 52,000 according to the United Kingdom's 2001 Census. It is a dormitory town and part of the Greater London Urban Area and London commuter belt served by Cheshunt railway station...
and Potters Bar
Potters Bar
Potters Bar is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England, located north of Central London. In 2001 it had a population of 21,618....
.
Rail
Nearest railway stations:- Theobalds Grove railway stationTheobalds Grove railway stationTheobalds Grove railway station serves Waltham Cross in Hertfordshire, England. It is part of the Lea Valley Lines network, and train services are provided by National Express East Anglia.-History:...
- Waltham Cross railway stationWaltham Cross railway stationWaltham Cross railway station, opened in 1840, is a railway station that serves Waltham Cross in Hertfordshire, England. It is also the closest railway station to Waltham Abbey, Essex, England...
Sport
The Showground site which adjoins Waltham Town LockWaltham Town Lock
Waltham Town Lock is a lock on the River Lee Navigation at Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire. The lock is located in the River Lee Country Park which is part of the Lee Valley Park. The adjoining Showground site now known as the Broxbourne White Water Canoe Centre has been chosen to host the canoeing...
has been chosen to host the relocated Broxbourne White Water Canoe Centre for the 2012 Olympics.