Potters Bar is a town in Hertfordshire, England,[1] 13 miles (21 km) north of central London. In 2011, it had a population of 21,882.[2][n 1] In the 2021 census, the four wards that make up Potters Bar - Bentley Heath & The Royds, Furzefield, Oakmere and Parkfield - had a combined population of 22,536. This includes several smaller outlying hamlets contained in the Bentley Heath & The Royds ward, such as Bentley Heath and Ganwick Corner. In 2022 the population was around 23,325.[3]
The origin of the Potters element of the town's name is uncertain but is generally thought to be either a reference to a Roman pottery, believed to have been sited locally, or alternatively to the Pottere family who lived in neighbouring South Mimms parish.[6] The Bar is thought to refer to the gates leading from the South Mimms parish and into the Enfield Chase parish, or possibly from a toll on the Great North Road,[6] said to have been by what is now the disused Green Man pub, or at the current entrance to Morven House.
The urban district covered an area of 6,129 acres (24.80 km2).[9] In 1939 it had a population of 13,681, increasing to 24,613 in 1971.[13] In 1974 the urban district was abolished and the area became part of the borough of Hertsmere. Having been part of Middlesex, the area continued to form part of the Metropolitan Police District; with the creation of the Greater London Authority it was transferred to the Hertfordshire Constabulary in 2000.[14]
Byng family
Wrotham Park estate, home of the Byng family, sits within Potters Bar and Barnet on 2,500 acres of land. The Byng family still own a lot of land in the Potters Bar area and The Admiral Byng pub in Darkes Lane is named after Admiral John Byng, who was executed for failing to obey orders in the Minorca campaign.[15]
Zeppelin L31
In the early hours of 1 October 1916, Lieutenant Wulstan Tempest shot down Germany's most famous zeppelin, the L31. It was captained by Heinrich Mathy with his crew of 18. All were killed when the flaming zeppelin fell into an ancient oak tree on the Oakmere Estate, Oakmere House at the time being rented by Mrs Forbes. The deadly raids over England declined after this. The 19 German sailors (zeppelins were naval) were buried in the local cemetery, and decades later reinterred at Cannock Chase German Military Cemetery. The Potters Bar Museum has a Zeppelin display, with relics of the L31.[citation needed][16]
Demographics
As of the 2021 census, Potters Bar still had a Christian majority, making it more Christian than both England and Wales as a whole and the rest of Hertsmere. Potters Bar has a significant Jewish community and an Orthodox synagogue, but as a percentage of the overall population, the Jewish community, which numbers over 600, pales in comparison to every other settlement in Hertsmere, the most Jewish borough in the country.
Darkes Lane, Potters Bar, looking north towards the railway bridge
The A1 was built as a major 'arterial' road and a crossroads at Bignells Corner linked it to the Barnet – St Albans road. Potters Bar is now also served by junctions 23 and 24 of the M25 motorway.[1]
Potters Bar has been the scene of three train crashes; two major and one minor. On 19 March 1898, a train crashed on the platform, but no one was killed or seriously injured. On the night of 10 February 1946, a local train hit buffers at the station, became derailed, and two express trains travelling in opposite directions struck the wreckage. On 10 May 2002, a northbound train derailed at high speed, killing seven people and seriously injuring another 11. On 10 May 2003, a small piece of art that resembles seven faces was erected at the station as a memorial to those killed.[19]
Churches
There are eight churches in Potters Bar. These include St Mary the Virgin and All Saints' Church at the top of the Walk,[20] the first Anglican parish in the town created from the parish of South Mimms in the 1800s.[21] The Church contains stained glass including some "fine portraits" of several saints as well as tributes to John Keble, and Randall Davidson. There is a Madonna Window in memory of John Goodacre, a long-time schoolmaster at Potters Bar.[22][23] Other churches include Our Lady and St Vincent (Roman Catholic), King Charles the Martyr, Christ Church, Potters Bar Baptist Church, St John's Methodist Church[24] and the Causeway Free Church. Potters Bar Spiritualist Church is on Hill Rise.[25] There was briefly a Salvation Army in Station Road.[26] There is also the Jain Temple at the Oshwal Centre, which "recreates a general Māru-Gurjara aesthetic".[citation needed]
Education
There are six primary and infant state schools in Potters Bar and the surrounding area; they are Cranborne School, Ladbrooke JMI, Little Heath Primary, Oakmere Primary, Pope Paul RC Primary and Wroxham School.
Mount Grace School is a mixed grant maintained School in Potters Bar opened in 1954.[27]
Lochinver house school is an all-boys preparatory school in Potters Bar, which opened in 1947.[28]
Stormont School is an all-girls preparatory school in Potters Bar, which opened in 1944.[29]
The town also houses many veterinary medicine (mostly third, fourth and fifth-year) students from the Royal Veterinary College.
Sports, entertainment and recreation
Potters Bar has a King George's Field in memorial to King George V, which is situated behind the Furzefield Centre. There is a swimming pool and leisure centre run by Hertsmere council, which is home to St Albans and Hertsmere Canoe Club.[32] Also in the town are Potters Bar Town F.C., Potters Bar Swimming Club (PBSC),[33] a Scuba diving Club (the Potters Bar Sub Aqua Club), a tennis club, a cricket club. The Wyllyotts Centre is a theatre, cinema and events venue, and is also the location of the town's museum.[34] Potters Bar is also home to the Hertfordshire Showband (formally known as the Marching Blues).[35]
In December 2018, the golf course at Potters Bar closed after 95 years.[36]
In 1983, the area around Potters Bar was used for the on-location filming of the comic-horror film Bloodbath at the House of Death. Also, in 2005, David Walliams and Matt Lucas shot two scenes for the third season of the comedy Little Britain: one scene at Mount Grace School gym, the other at a wedding shop on the High Street.[37] Potters Bar is also home to a performing arts school, Top Hat Stage School, which has been running classes at Elm Court Community Centre since 1994.
^This excludes a county ward which takes its name from the historic ecclesiastical parish but which contains Ridge and South Mimms; population 4,573 (2011).
