Worlds End Lane
No, I'm not predicting a calamity, although there seems to be an inordinate amount of doom and gloom out there at the moment. Nor am I saying that the end of the world can be found along this lane...
Indeed, this particular road is within the M25 (for non-Brits, that is the orbital motorway surrounding London). It is just 16 km north-north-east of the Houses of Parliament.
The original meaning of the term 'World's End' was as a whimsical name for a dwelling or piece of land considered to be in a remote spot or situated on the boundary of a parish. This World's End lay on the boundary between the parishes of Enfield and Edmonton when it was established as a farm in 1777. Back in those days, most people in rural parishes didn't have the time or inclination to leave their parishes. Indeed, my grandfathers grew up in adjacent parishes in rural north-east Scotland in the 1890s but didn't meet until they were in Glasgow in the 1950s!
Between 1879 and 1882, residential buildings were constructed along Slade's Hill, at the northern border of World's End. The site of the farm was purchased by Enfield's local board in 1889 to build an isolation hospital. Further development took place in the 1930s, when residential roads were built off Slade's Hill and the still-standing local pub was first opened.
Today the hospital has been replaced by a new(ish) housing estate and the name of the road is just about all that remains of this particular 'World's End.'
Worlds End Lane
No, I'm not predicting a calamity, although there seems to be an inordinate amount of doom and gloom out there at the moment. Nor am I saying that the end of the world can be found along this lane...
Indeed, this particular road is within the M25 (for non-Brits, that is the orbital motorway surrounding London). It is just 16 km north-north-east of the Houses of Parliament.
The original meaning of the term 'World's End' was as a whimsical name for a dwelling or piece of land considered to be in a remote spot or situated on the boundary of a parish. This World's End lay on the boundary between the parishes of Enfield and Edmonton when it was established as a farm in 1777. Back in those days, most people in rural parishes didn't have the time or inclination to leave their parishes. Indeed, my grandfathers grew up in adjacent parishes in rural north-east Scotland in the 1890s but didn't meet until they were in Glasgow in the 1950s!
Between 1879 and 1882, residential buildings were constructed along Slade's Hill, at the northern border of World's End. The site of the farm was purchased by Enfield's local board in 1889 to build an isolation hospital. Further development took place in the 1930s, when residential roads were built off Slade's Hill and the still-standing local pub was first opened.
Today the hospital has been replaced by a new(ish) housing estate and the name of the road is just about all that remains of this particular 'World's End.'