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History of Waltham Cross
Eleanor Monument
The resting place of Queen Eleanor during her funeral
procession was known as Waltham and the location was
already known to Edward l as he, like former kings, hunted
in Waltham Forest. The abbey was built 350 years earlier,
during the reign of King Harold. When Edward died at
Burgh on The Sands in Cumbria his body was kept at the
Abbey for five weeks before its interment at Westminster
Abbey in London.
It is believed that the location chosen for the monument was a hamlet a mile
away from Waltham. It was a main road at a crossroad point where travellers
would be able to view it from several directions.
In 1720, Stamford Vicar William Stukeley, made a drawing of
the monument at Waltham Cross and presented it to the
newly founded Society of Antiquaries. They undertook
works to protect it from the increasing traffic.
In 1795, Sir George Prescott tried to have it moved to
Theobalds Park, but failed after official intervention.
The first major restoration took place in 1833 by WB Clark,
but these improvements lasted just 50 years and further
work was required in the 1880s.
Eleanor Cross Road was bombed during World War Two, and
although the monument didn’t suffer a direct hit it was damaged
by the resulting tremors. Following the war, in 1950 a major
restoration took place. The statutes were relocated briefly to
Cheshunt library and for a time they were stored in Cedars Park
conservatory before being loaned long term to the Victoria and
Albert Museum for safe keeping. Hertfordshire County Council took over the
responsibility of the Eleanor monument in 1906.
In 1989, the County Council undertook further restoration. Pigeon droppings were
cleaned off and grime and carbon was mostly removed. The detailed areas were
cleared with tiny brushes and where further damage would be caused by the
removal of the carbon, it was left as a protective barrier. Netting was added to
prevent further bird damage.
Falcon Hotel
Originally licensed in 1617 to William
Foster, The Falcon Hotel became a
coaching inn around the mid-1700s.
Owing to its proximity to London it
was used by the Royal Mail Coach for
changing horses. The hotel at this
time had a gantry similar to that of
the Four Swannes. The gap between
the hotel and the Eleanor monument
was so small that the roof actually touched one of the statues. Therefore in 1889
the old building was demolished and rebuilt, leaving a roadway between the hotel
and the monument. The Inn continued trading during this period of
refurbishment. The Inn was demolished in 1974 to make way for a new
development in the town centre.
Four Swannes Public House
The Four Swannes pub was known as
The Swan in medieval times and it
was claimed that the pub was
established in 1260. The gantry
beside the pub dated from around
1606. The swans were added around
after 1858 and were made of elm.
The gantry was used for advertising, such as in 1912 when it was used to
advertise a garage and cars for hire. In the 1960s, the Four Swans Public House
was demolished as part of the redevelopment of the town centre and the
construction of the Pavilions shopping centre and multi-story car park. The gantry
and swans which stood beside the pub remained. The original swans are now on
display in Lowewood Museum and fibreglass replicas were installed in their place.
Churches and their schools
St Joseph’s Church
In 1861 a new mission was established in Waltham Cross by the Revered George
Bampfield in Eleanor Road. Originally a house with a school attached, it later
served as a church. The present building designed by T. H. B. Scott was built in
1931 on the site. St Joseph’s Church is a brick stripped Romanesque style building.
Over the years a number of improvements have taken place within the church. In
2011 a new hall was built at its rear.
Christ Church
When the church was originally built it was
known as Trinity Chapel and as a chapel of ease
to St. Mary's in Cheshunt. In 1855, it became the
parish church of Waltham Cross and changed its
name to Holy Trinity Church. In 1974, a Sharing
Agreement was entered into with the Methodist
Church and the building was renamed Christ Church. Holy Trinity School was built
behind the church in 1841 for infants and girls. A separate room for boys was
added later – with teachers’ cottages between the two to separate the girls and
boys! They were not taught together until 1947. The school was too small for the
number of pupils and after a number of delays, including the Second World War,
the new school in Longlands Close on playing fields and allotments opened in
1952. The site of the old school became the head office of the electrical retailer
Rumbelows and later, following its demise, the building was converted into flats.
Almshouses
At the south of the town, once stood Spital Almshouses. This was a building were
sick and infirm people were cared for by the parish. They were re-modelled in
1903 as part of the coronation celebration of Edward VII but were demolished in
1979 to enable the construction of the M25. At this time it was found that the
building had earlier foundations dated back to Tudor times.
Fishpools*
Fishpools is a successful family run retailer based in Waltham Cross. It considers
itself to be the south east's largest quality furniture store with a 62,000sq ft
showroom and is now being run by the fourth generation of the Fishpool
family. Established in 1899 by Ernest Fishpool, the shop originally sold clothes as
well as furniture. In 1906 Ernest sought larger
premises owing to the success of the store and
moved the business to its current location of 115
High Street. Many expansions and refurbishments
later, Fishpools continues to provide quality
furniture, home furnishings plus more to the
region and
it plays a
key role in
the town.
*Images courtesy of Fishpools Ltd
Travel in the town centre
The number 79 Metropolitan Tramway network
electric tramline ran from Waltham Cross to
Smithfield, London from 1904, terminating just
south of the Eleanor monument. In 1933, the
London Passenger Transport Board took over the
tramline and in 1938 replaced the trams with
trolley buses (anecdotally known as the ‘silent
killer’). Two lines ran; the 659 to Holborn and the
679 to Smithfield. To accommodate them a new
terminus was built in Eleanor Cross Road. This
change resulted in wires encircling the Eleanor
monument with buses needing to negotiate tight
corners. The service ended in 1961 and the wires
were removed. The service was replaced with Routemaster diesel buses.
In 1964 a traffic management scheme was introduced including a one-way
system, to ease congestion in the town centre. A relief road known as Monarch’s
Way was built in the 1980s. This reduced the through traffic and the area was
partially pedestrianised in the early 1990s.
Boundaries
In 1725 the parliament, under George l, brought in legislation to improve the
condition of the main highways. This resulted in the establishment of the
Cheshunt Turnpike Trust which would use funds raised to repair and maintain the
road from the parish of Enfield to Wadesmill near Ware. A turnpike tollgate was
built at the boundary between Enfield and Waltham Cross initially at Waltham
Lane (now Eleanor Cross Road), and it was later moved to the Enfield/Waltham
Cross border. Turnpike cottages take their name from this structure.
A further one was built at the
northern end of the town in
Marsh Lane (now renamed
Trinity Lane). This was removed
when Theobalds Station was
built in the 1890s. It is likely that
the Wheatsheaf public house
was built around this time, partly
to serve train travellers. Tickets for the toll were sold for 3d (Threepence) for 100
and the system operated until the 1860s.
Cinema
The Regent
Now the home of Eternal Youth Beauty Spa, the Regent cinema was originally
known as The Electric Palace. It opened in October 1913 with 600 seats. Through
the 1920s it was known as ‘The Palace’. It was sold to the Shipman and King
circuit in 1931. Following refurbishment it re-opened as The Regent in October
1931 with an additional 100 seats. It closed it 1972 and was converted into a
Mecca Bingo Hall. It closed in 1986 and was demolished in 1987.
The Embassy
The Art Deco styled cinema opened in November
1937. It was built for the Shipman and King circuit
which operated the Regent Cinema over the road.
It had a small stage and a Christie organ relocated
from the Court Cinema, Berkhamsted. It was
refurbished in 1972 and upgraded to a three-
screen cinema. A fourth screen was added later. It
was closed in 1993, the screens were removed and
The Gala Bingo Club took over its use. It was closed in January 2017. It is now due
for re-development.
Bakers and Sweeps
The Bakers and Sweeps football
match, now played on Boxing Day on
the playing field in Waltham Cross,
started in the early 1900s to raise
funds for the Cheshunt Cottage
Hospital located in Church Lane,
Cheshunt, in 1889. Through the years
funds have also been raised for
hospitals in neighbouring districts.
During the game players dressed as bakers or chimney sweeps play with a
number of different sized balls. Flour and soot is used alongside stocks for
misdemeanours.
Notable People
Novelist Antony Trollope was living in Ireland
but felt it would be beneficial as an author to
be closer to London. He became a surveyor
for the Post Office and lived in Waltham
House from 1859 to 1871. Trollope
introduced the pillar box (the free-standing
post box) to Britain in 1855, initially with five
sage green ones in London. It was in 1874
that they were painted red. Waltham House
later became a convent but was demolished
in 1936 when Abbey Road was built across
the rear garden. A number of shops and the
Moon and Cross public House now stand on
the site.
Harry Webb, better known as the singer Cliff Richard, attended Kings Road JMI.
His family lived in Waltham Cross briefly after returning from India where he was
born, before moving to Bury Green Road in Cheshunt. King Road JMI was burned
down in 1976 and replaced with the Four Swannes Primary School which was built
on its playing field.
EastEnders actor Bill Treacher lived in York Road and worked as a porter at
Waltham Cross railway station.
White Water Centre
A new centre was built to host the 2012
Olympics. Situated beside the River Lee, it
was the only new venue to open ahead of
the games. Since the Olympic Games it has
been enlarged and visitors can now enjoy
the terrace café, live music on a Friday
evening and in the summer a beach.
Specialist events have also been held at the
venue such as Christmas fairs.
Park Plaza and News UK
In March 2008, News International (News UK) moved its printing works from
Wapping to a purpose built site north of the M25 and west of the town centre. As
one of the world’s largest print works (covering 23 acres), it produces a number of
publications including The Times and The Sun on its 12 printing presses at a rate
of 86,000 papers per hour.
Odd facts
• The workhouse for the parish of Cheshunt was situated at Waltham Cross
• The first public toilet in the town was built between 1926 and 1929
• Swanfield Road took its name from a large common known as ‘swan field’
• Holdbrook was formerly known as Waltham new town. The estate was built
in 1860 and built as a result of the invention of gun cotton at the Waltham
Abbey gunpowder mills and the need for more labour.
Modern day Waltham Cross town centre