Here at this North London road junction stands the Tottenham High Cross. It is a 400-year-old stone tower. It gave its name to this part of London.
The Tottenham High Cross was erected between 1600 and 1609. Owen Wood built it. He was a local resident and later Dean of Armagh. It stands on the site of a wooden wayside cross. The cross was first mentioned in 1409. It marks the center of Tottenham Village. The area later became known as High Cross. Urban expansion later reverted it back to being part of Tottenham.
This location is on the old Roman road of Ermine Street. It ran from London to Lincoln and York. Today, it is known as the A10 or Tottenham High Road. Despite its name, Ermine Street has nothing to do with fur clothing. It is a corruption of Earninga Stræt. It was named after the Earningas tribe. They were based in Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire.
The High Cross was constructed of plain brick. It has an octagonal four-level design. It was later stuccoed and ornamented in the Gothic style in 1809. Prior to that, the column was plainer. It may have had a sundial mounted on it. There may have been other wooden signs below. After the redecoration, it was protected with an iron fence. The original fence was removed in the 19th century.
It looks like it’s standing in the middle of the road. That’s a modern change because it never used to. The stone tower hasn’t moved. The roads have. A new junction was constructed during post-war clearance. Several blocks of housing were demolished and rebuilt. One side road was lost but a much larger road junction was gained.
The High Cross tower became marooned in a triangle of pavement. It has lost some of its impact. It is no longer on the main pavement.
Finally, it used to have a Christian cross on the top. At some point, it was secularised. The cross was replaced with a wind vane. The monument stands on the site of a medieval wayside cross. Dean Wood rebuilt it in brick around 1600. He was a local resident and Dean of Armagh. In 1809, the villagers of Tottenham raised money for its renovation. The structure is maintained by Haringey Council today.
It seems strange that the Dean of Armagh was residing in a village north of London. British History Online confirms that he lived on the east side of the green.