Description
All Saints' Church was founded here in the C12th; the current building dates mainly from the C15th with later restoration and additions. The churchyard has a number of interesting tombs, including a grave dated 1667 and an C18th memorial with a figure of 'Time'. Charles and Mary Lamb lived nearby in 1833 and were buried here in 1834 and 1847 respectively. On one side of the churchyard is a row of almshouses built in 1679, a gift of one Thomas Styles for 12 poor parishioners, now modernised.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Parish Church of Edmonton; Parish of All Saints with St Michael |
|---|---|
| Site location | Church Street, Edmonton |
| Postcode | N9 9PE |
| What3Words | ///bubble.penny.acute |
| Type of Site | Churchyard |
| Borough | Enfield |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Facilities | Garden of Remembrance |
| Public Transport | Rail: Edmonton Green |
| Research Updated | 1 April 2000 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
All Saints' Church was founded here c.1136 by Geoffrey de Mandeville. He gave it to the new monastery he founded at Walden Abbey in whose ownership it remained until 1538 after which it was granted to St Paul's Cathedral. The current building dates mainly from the C15th and has been much restored over the years, particularly in 1772 and 1889. C12th fragments from Norman times were found and have been re-set into the south wall of the church, which has a C15th roof and west tower in Kentish ragstone, a C16th north chancel aisle, C18th north aisle and chancel when the church was also re-faced in yellow brick, and in the C19th the south aisle was added.
The churchyard with 'an enjoyable range of headstones' (Pevsner) contains a grave dating from 1667, and an interesting C18th tomb south east of the chancel to Sarah Silverstone with a figure of 'Time'. Charles Lamb (1775-1834) and his sister Mary (d.1847) were buried here and share a simple gravestone inscribed with a poem by Henry Cary, friend of Lamb and translator of Dante. The Lambs lived nearby in the late C17th/early C18th Bay Cottage in Church Street for the last year of Charles's life, having moved from Chase Side, Enfield in 1833. The Charles Lamb Institute across Church Street was built in 1907/08 by J S Alder, a stone-faced Tudor-style building, which is now the Tower Gym.
On one side of the churchyard is a row of low, brick almshouses that were built in 1679, a gift of one Thomas Styles for 12 poor parishioners. They were rebuilt in 1754, then again in 1903 by Henry W Dobb, and modernised in 1960. A low brick wall separates the churchyard from Church Street, with two sets of wooden gates; the other boundary is modern fencing. Paths leading to residential streets cross the churchyard, which is mainly grassed, with some chest tombs and headstones dotted among the grass and a number of trees. A small area is railed off as a Garden of Remembrance, which is partly paved and has tombs and memorials.
The churchyard with 'an enjoyable range of headstones' (Pevsner) contains a grave dating from 1667, and an interesting C18th tomb south east of the chancel to Sarah Silverstone with a figure of 'Time'. Charles Lamb (1775-1834) and his sister Mary (d.1847) were buried here and share a simple gravestone inscribed with a poem by Henry Cary, friend of Lamb and translator of Dante. The Lambs lived nearby in the late C17th/early C18th Bay Cottage in Church Street for the last year of Charles's life, having moved from Chase Side, Enfield in 1833. The Charles Lamb Institute across Church Street was built in 1907/08 by J S Alder, a stone-faced Tudor-style building, which is now the Tower Gym.
On one side of the churchyard is a row of low, brick almshouses that were built in 1679, a gift of one Thomas Styles for 12 poor parishioners. They were rebuilt in 1754, then again in 1903 by Henry W Dobb, and modernised in 1960. A low brick wall separates the churchyard from Church Street, with two sets of wooden gates; the other boundary is modern fencing. Paths leading to residential streets cross the churchyard, which is mainly grassed, with some chest tombs and headstones dotted among the grass and a number of trees. A small area is railed off as a Garden of Remembrance, which is partly paved and has tombs and memorials.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ339936 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 1.4 |
| Site Ownership | Church: Diocese of London |
| Site Management | LB Enfield Place Shaping and Enterprise, Parks Business Unit |
| Dates | Church: C12th |
| Listed Structures | LBII*: All Saints' Church |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Enfield |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Church Street Edmonton |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
| Other LA Designation | Urban Green Space |
Gallery
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Nearby parks and gardens
The Hyde Estate was the first major example of 'Homes for Heroes' housing development undertaken post WWI by Edmonton UDC. Commissioned in 1920 from architects Niven and Wigglesworth, the housing estate was designed in 'garden suburb' spirit, some of the houses having tile-hung twin gables. The original aim was to provide 2,000 houses but the scheme was financially unviable and had to be abandoned after only 232 houses had been built. There are a series of small greens among the housing, the principal of which is Hazelbury Green, which has four very plain areas of grass within railings, with no planting. In Park Lane there is a central railed strip of green, with some shrubs and trees.
Pymmes Park is on the site of an earlier landscape park and is named after the estate's owners in the C14th. Pymmes Brook runs through the south. There were a number of illustrious owners, including the Cecil family who held it from 1582-1801. By 1801 little indication of earlier gardens had remained apart from a formal canal north of the house and the walled garden to the west. The estate was purchased by Edmonton UDC in 1897/8 and Northside opened initially, the remaining land then laid out and opened in 1906. Earlier landscaping such as a small lake, trees and shrubs were incorporated into the municipal layout, which centred on the elaborate lake. A bandstand, tennis and bowling facilities, formal gardens and walks were laid out. The old mansion was demolished in the 1940s, but the walled garden survives, restored to its 1930s design.
Edmonton Federation Cemetery was set up in 1889 by the Federation of Synagogues Burial Society on land donated for the purpose by Samuel Montagu, banker, philanthropist and MP, who was a key instigator in establishing the Federation in 1887. Previously called Jeremys Green Lane, Montagu Road was renamed after him. The Federation Cemetery is the largest of the three cemeteries that abut each other here, and is largely devoid of planting. Many prominent rabbis are buried in the western section, including Rabbi Eliezer Gordon from Telz (d.1910); thousands of people attended the addresses in the East End prior to his burial.
