Southgate is a place in London, split between the London Borough of Enfield and the London Borough of Barnet west of Chase Side. Southgate adjoins New Southgate to the south, East Barnet to the west, Oakwood to the north and Winchmore Hill to the east.

Famous people to originate from Southgate include Sir Thomas Lipton, who came to an area of Southgate called Osidge in 1892, and went on to form the tea company Lipton. James Henry Leigh Hunt, the English essayist and writer, was born here in 1784. A more recent Southgate child is Rachel Stevens.

The parliamentary constituency is Enfield and Southgate, and in 1997, Michael Portillo lost his seat to Stephen Twigg, who was still holding the seat as of 2004.

History

Southgate was originally the South Gate to Enfield Chase, the King's hunting grounds. This is reflected in the street names Chase Road and Chase Side.

Becoming separate from Edmonton in 1881, Southgate had a population in 1891 of just 10,970. By 1901 the figure had moved up to 14,993, and by 1911 the figure had ballooned to 33,612, aided by the nearby railway station in Palmers Green.

Southgate was predominantly developed in the 1930s: largish semi-detached houses were built on the hilly former estates (Walker, Osidge, Monkfrith, etc.) following increased transport development. In 1933, the North Circular Road was completed through Edmonton and Southgate, and also in 1933, the London Underground Piccadilly Line was extended from Arnos Grove (where it had reached the previous year), through Southgate tube station, on to Enfield West (now known as Oakwood). This unleashed a building boom, and by 1939 the area had become almost fully developed.

By 1951, the population had grown to 73,377 - falling 1,000 ten years later as many moved to new towns nearby.

In 1965, Southgate merged with Edmonton and Enfield to become the new London Borough of Enfield.

Nearest places

• Cockfosters
• Oakwood
• Palmers Green
• Winchmore Hill
• Whetstone