Enfield is a town located just north of London, fielding the bulk of the city’s Cambridge-bound traffic. The borough itself covers 82.2 km² and had a population of only 329,601 people as of the census in 2021.
Over the centuries, Enfield has played the part of a refuge to countless groups whose ideas were considered radical in their time. These include groups like:
- The Quakers
- The Agrarian Diggers
- The Levellers
But perhaps there was no more defining a period in Enfield’s rebellious history than the Rebellion of Enfield Chase.
The Rebellion of Enfield Chase
Pannage was a medieval approach to farming that allowed livestock to roam free in search of food, feeding on the acorns, chestnuts, bark, and roots in the forest.
This style of farming is quite the novelty these days but is the secret behind the rich taste of pork products like Iberico ham, with the nutrients of the woods doing much to enhance the flavour of this delicacy.
In 1650, the Enfield Chase – 8,349 acres of royal hunting ground, used largely at the time for Pannage – was threatened by the military, with the soldiers attempting to break up the grounds and sell them for parts.
Instead of merely allowing their land to be taken away, in 1659, the peasants of Enfield gathered and fought back, defending their land with nothing more than pitchforks and scythes, and improbably managed to win – with the invading military sent packing to Newgate Prison.
A calm unassuming bunch but clearly not the ones to mess with!
A Refuge for the Radicals
The UK hasn’t always been known for its acceptance of new ideas. In fact, some stances have proven to be deadly throughout the centuries. This, however, has never deterred Enfield from taking up the side of those threatened for their ideas. Namely the Levellers, Diggers and Quakers.
Who were the Diggers, the Levellers and the Quakers?
Diggers were agrarian and egalitarian in nature and were early advocates for concepts such as health insurance and communal ownership.
Levellers, while opposed to communal ownership, believed in placing religious tolerance before the law, and advocated for the rights of people to have some say in if they consented to authority or not.
Quakers were and continue to be a group of Christians who believe that God is present in everyone, and that no life is more or less valuable than another. They were particularly ostracised during the world wars at the beginning of the 20th century due to their “Conscientious Objector” status – refusing to take the life of another, even at the risk of their own lives.
Enfield served as a haven at one point or another for each of these groups, at a time when they most needed a haven, establishing Enfield as a safe space for those whose ideas were before their time.
Modern Enfield: A Peaceful Community
Modern Enfield is a Londoner’s dream: a rural town, slightly removed from the big city, but with several routes in for those needing to commute – including its fair share of tube stations and A-roads.
The town has continued to be a haven, but this time to small business owners, with Enfield’s Council recently reporting that 93% of the businesses in Enfield are small businesses, with fewer than 10 staff on hand.
If you have a small business in Enfield or are considering starting your own business in this historically rebellious town, consider taking advantage of our many business storage units in Enfield.
Posted on 25th March 2025 by Shanaiqua Desa
