Tottenham

Cityultimas guide to Tottenham in London, Tottenhams history, resources, find Martial Arts Clubs, Takeaways and much more.

History of Tottenham

Totteham as it was then known was mentioned in the Domesday Book. When it was compiled in 1086, about 70 families lived within the area of the manor, mostly labourers working for the Lord of the Manor.

In 1894, Tottenham was made an urban district and on 27 September 1934 it became a municipal borough. As from 1 April 1965, the municipal borough formed part of the London Borough of Haringey.

The River Lee (or Lea) was the eastern boundary of the Municipal Boroughs of Tottenham and Walthamstow. It is the ancient boundary between Middlesex and Essex and also formed the western boundary of the Viking controlled Danelaw. Today it is the boundary between the London Boroughs of Haringey and Waltham Forest. A major tributary of the Lee, the River Moselle, also crosses the borough from west to east, and often caused serious flooding until it was mostly covered in the 19th century.

From the Tudor period onwards, Tottenham became a popular recreation and leisure destination for wealthy Londoners. Henry VIII is known to have visited Bruce Castle and also hunted in Tottenham Wood. A rural Tottenham also featured in Izaak Walton's book The Compleat Angler, published in 1653 [2]. Tottenham remained a semi-rural and upper middle class area until the 1870s. More....