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10
PHYSICAL FEATURES AND GENERAL CHARACTER
OF THE DISTRICT.
Tottenham is situated 5 miles due North of London. The River
Lea and Walthamstow bound its Eastern border, Stoke Newington and
Hackney lie immediately to the South, Hornsey and Wood Green to
the West, and Edmonton to the North. It includes 3,014 acres of land,
and measures 2¼ miles from North to South and miles from East
to West.
The subsoil is of clay, covered by a shallow layer of gravel. It
is traversed by three shallow brooks, "The Stonebridge," "The Moselle"
and "The Carbuncle," which are so badly polluted that they may be
regarded as sewers, and for the most part are culverted— the remainder
ought to be; all should be made rat proof.
The River Lea as it flows through Tottenham is banked up so
that its level is above the Marshes—so called—a large tract of land
extending to 110 acres which it borders on the East. The Hale and
the Markfield Estates lie immediately to the South of the Marshes.
It thus happens that when the Lea rises to an unusual extent the valley
becomes flooded, and, as in February of 1919, the houses on these
Estates suffer severely. From the Lea valley the land gradually ascends
towards the West to reach its highest points at Downhills and Devonshire
Hill.
Tottenham is fortunate in having 16 open spaces, namel: The
Marshes, 110 acres; Downhills Park, 30y acres; Bruce Castle Park,
20 acres; "The Down Field" Recreation Ground, 19½ acres; "The
Chestnuts" Recreation Ground, 13 acres; Land East side of the
River Lea, 25 acres; and various Commons amounting to nearly 16
acres, including Tottenham Green, overlooked by the imposing Town
Hall, Central Fire Station, Public Baths and County School.
The ordnance levels are 30 feet at the Marshes, and 100 feet at
the base of Downhills Water Tower and at Devonshire Hill.
The subsoil water rises at times so as to flood the cellars of the
houses in the lower parts of the district. Fogs in the Autumn and
Winter are frequent and dense in the Lea Valley.
Social Conditions:— Tottenham is a dormitory of London, and
the trains, trams and buses are crowded morning and evening by toilers