London, England, UK

Demolished 1960s

The Disappointed Tourist: Edmonton Green, Ellen Harvey, 2021. Oil and acrylic on Gessoboard, 18 x 24″ (46 x 61 cm). Photograph: Etienne Frossard.

From the 1930s on, Edmonton Green was a major shopping destination for the surrounding area. In the mid-1960s the newly formed Enfield council demolished substandard Victorian housing and built a shopping center, municipal housing and various amenities. The three 25-storey blocks of the Edmonton Green estate: Grampian House, Mendip House and Pennine House, were completed in 1972. There are currently plans to demolish the shopping center. The painting is based on an uncredited photograph.

When I was growing up (in the 50s and 60s), the Green was the centre of our community, we shopped there regularly, it had everything we needed. As a teenager, I worked in one of the shops. There was a fabric stall where I bought material to make my own clothes. There was a baker’s shop (established in 1749) that sold wonderful bread and the best doughnuts.Back in the 1920s, my Dad had worked on the record stall selling imported American jazz. There was a song, ‘Edmonton Green’, released by the cockney duo, Chas and Dave, who also came from the area. So many memories! Marion A