The History and Antiquities of the Parish of Tottenham High Cross

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: OP THE WOODS. Their former Extent?their Decrease?an old Saying relating to them. There were in former times some very considerable woods in this parish, but they have been decreasing for some years past. The only wood, which now remains, is called Tottenham Wood, on the west of the high road upon a hill; and which in the year 1500 covered many hundred acres of land. The woods began to decrease about the year J600 both in number and quantity; and at present Tottenham Wood is of very little extent, being for the most part stocked up and converted into arable and meadow land. There is an old saying relative to this wood (12); and it used formerly to be remarked, that whenever a fog or mist rose out of the wood, and hung over it like smoke, it was a sign of rain and bad weather; and in rainy weather, the street lying low, although gravelly, was for the most part overflowed with water. OF THE SEVEN SISTERS AT PAGE GREEN. At the top or entrance of Page Green on the east side of the high road stands a remarkable large and handsome clump of seven elm trees (is), planted in a circular form, and called the Seven Sisters; in the (12) When Tottenham wood is all on fire, Then Tottenham street is nought but nrire. See Appendix, No. II, p. 20. (13) S: e, Appendix, No. II, p. 24. $ 9 chapter{Section 4middle of which there stood formerly a wa1nufctree(i4), which, it is said, never increased in size, though it continued annually to bear leaves. The prevailing opinion in Bedwell's time was, that some one suffered martyrdom on this spotOs); but of this there is Ho authentic account, nor is there any thing satisfac-. tory as to the original planting of these trees to he met with: but it appears they were at their full growth in Bedwell's time, and may be considered at...