Publications

Treasures of Enfield : discovering the buildings of a London borough / edited by Valerie Carter. - Enfield : Enfield Preservation Society, 2000. - 192p. ; 25cm., 270 illustrations, 21 sketches, 8 maps. - ISBN 0-907318-16-9. - £13.50.

Historic mansions, pubs, churches, public buildings, schools and houses, representing every period from the sixteenth to the twentieth century, are illustrated and described. Most of the borough's listed buildings are included, together with examples of modern architecture and unexpected oddities. There is a brief account of how each part of the borough developed, with maps to guide the reader round individual areas.

The book was produced with the enthusiastic cooperation of photographers, historians and individuals from all parts of the borough. It demonstrates their pride in Enfield's history and architectural diversity, and forms a unique record of buildings in the London Borough of Enfield in the year 2000.

Cover picture: Forty Hall

Fighting for the future : the story of Enfield Preservation Society 1936-1996 / by Valerie Carter. - Enfield : Enfield Preservation Society, 1997. - 294p. ; 25cm. - ISBN 0-907318-15-0. - £16.95. Special price for EPS members: £10.00.

A heartening account of what can be achieved by ordinary people who are determined to protect their local heritage. Some of the stories reveal deplorable examples of private greed, official incompetence and political scheming. But there are also moments of high farce, such as the extraordinary plan to turn Forty Hall, Whitewebbs and Hill Fields into a theme park with talking toadstools playing recorded fairy stories.

'This is a truly remarkable account of real people fighting for their patch ... a social history with a difference, as celebration of suburban society as it should be ...' — Dr David Bellamy

Cover picture: Gentleman's Row

London's New River / Robert Ward. - London : Historical Publications, 2003. - 248p. ; 25cm. - ISBN 0-948667-84-2. - £17.95

This book is the most comprehensive history of the building and working of the New River that has been published. It includes much new material from original documents and is accompanied by a wealth of illustrations. — [Dust jacket]

The Royal Small Arms Factory Enfield and its workers / David Pam. - Enfield : David Pam, 1998. - 213p. ; 24cm. - ISBN 0-9532271-0-3. - £14.00.

The Royal Small Arms Factory had its origins among the mists and marshes along the River Lea in the desolate days around the end of the Napoleonic Wars. . . . This factory, small at first, has played a part in every major war or minor skirmish in which British forces have been involved over the last two centuries. Weapons designed and made there have carried the name of Enfield (or the first two letters of that name) into every quarter of the world through every crisis in Britain's history. . . During the Crimean War our Government, again faced with a crisis in supply, decided to rebuild the Enfield factory on a vast scale, introducing there for the first time in this country the latest American techniques for making weapons entirely by machinery. These methods were quickly adopted over here, enabling the British engineering trade to take a giant step forward in that transformation of production known as the Industrial Revolution. This is also the story of the working-class community which grew up around the factory at Enfield Lock; their skills, their sufferings, their houses, their efforts for self-improvement, their pleasures, pubs, politics and religion. — [ Dust jacket]

Middlesex / Michael Robbins. - Chichester : Phillimore, 2003. - 496p. ; 25cm. - ISBN 1-86077-269-2. - £17.99.

First published in 1953, at the time this book was the most comprehensive history and description of an English county ever attempted in a single volume. Its first part describes the county’s natural situation and its earliest history and surveys its economic life, in particular its almost vanished agriculture and its modern industrial development. There are chapters on particular aspects of Middlesex’s history, inhabitants and buildings. The second part – virtually a book in itself – is a lively gazetteer of the places in contemporary Middlesex, from Acton to Yiewsley. The whole work is fully indexed and referenced, and includes tables of population and a detailed bibliography (both updated for this edition), line maps, diagrams and 48 pages of superb photographs — [Publishers' Web page]

It is fifty years since librarians and local historians all over the county welcomed the advent of Michael Robbins' Middlesex. No single volume had previously attempted so comprehensive a history of its parishes. . . . The question which must be now asked is, has the book aged too much to emerge un-rejuvenated into the 21st century, for there have been many changes. . . . Nevertheless . . . it is still the best single volume on the county, and immensely useful — [Extract from review by David Pam, EPS News, no.153, Spring 2004]

London's Lea Valley : more secrets revealed / Jim Lewis. - Chichester : Phillimore, 2001. - 132p. ; 25cm. - .ISBN 1-86077-190-4. - £14.99

A sequel to London's Lea Valley : Britain's best kept secret, listed above. After two more years of full time research, Dr Lewis is able to uncover a wealth of more amazing Lea Valley innovations, from the world's first monorail and the invention of corrugated iron to the formulation of India Pale Ale (IPA) and, in two full chapters, deal with the history of the valley since prehistoric times. Those who have worked in Lea Valley industries will be gratified to find generous coverage of such famous names as Johnson Matthey, Hawker Siddeley, Reuters, Lotus Engineering, Tesco, Keith Blackman, B.O.C. and many more. — [Dust jacket]

The Enfield quiz book / compiled by Betty Smith ; original illustrations by Phil Briers. - Enfield : Enfield Preservation Society, 2001. - 24p. ; 21cm. - .ISBN 0-907318-17-7. - £1.50

Seventeen quizzes on aspects of Enfield, including buildings, transport, people, industry, sport and many other topics.

A portrait of Gentleman's Row / by R. Williams. - Enfield : Enfield Preservation Society, 1997. - 294p. ; 20cm. - ISBN 0-907318-04-5. - £9.50

Includes photos, maps, prose and prints. Many photographs by Reginald T. Williams, with text and some photographs by others. Through his membership of the Enfield Preservation Society, Reg Williams became keenly aware how rapidly Enfield was changing, as new developments swept away features he had known all his life. He set himself the task of making a photographic record of endangered buildings and thoroughfares ... . The photographs selected for A portrait of Gentleman's Row come from the extensive collection which he gave to the Enfield Preservation Society before his death in 1982.