Potters Bar is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of central London. In 2011, it had a population of 21,882. 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.
Within the historic county of Middlesex until 1965, the town dates to the early 13th century but remained a small, mainly agricultural, settlement until the arrival of the Great Northern Railway in 1850. It is now part of the London commuter belt.
Etymology
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. 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, said to have been by what is now the disused Green Man pub, or at the current entrance to Morven House.
History
Potters Bar is located on the Great North Road, one of two road routes from the City of London to the north of England. The road was originally numbered as the A1, and later the A1000.
Potters Bar was historically part of Middlesex and formed the Potters Bar Urban District of that county from 1934. From 1894 to 1934 its area had formed the South Mimms Rural District. In 1965 the district was transferred to Hertfordshire County Council while most of the rest of Middlesex County Council became part of Greater London.
The urban district covered an area of . In 1939 it had a population of 13,681, increasing to 24,613 in 1971. 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.
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.
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.
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.
Geography
Climate
Potters Bar experiences an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb) similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.
Transport
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.
Potters Bar railway station is the highest on the line between London's King's Cross railway station and York. The Great Northern route serves various North London suburbs to the south before terminating at either King's Cross or Moorgate station. Northbound, the railway runs to Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City, Cambridge, and Peterborough.
The nearest London Underground station is at Cockfosters, which is approximately south on the A111 from junction 24 of the M25.