Place Name
Named after the Duchy of Lancaster estate. The original estate was formed in 1265 when Henry III granted his younger son, Edmund, lands taken from Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester. In 1351, the holder of the estate, Edmund’s grandson, became Duke of Lancaster – from which the Duchy then gained its name. From 1421 to the present – with a short break during the Interregnum – the Duchy of Lancaster, in effect the Crown, held the Manor of Enfield or large parts of it. Among these lands was Enfield Chase, a large wooded area used as a royal deer park and hunting ground. It was enclosed in 1777 when it comprised 8,349 acres. This was divided between the king, the hunting lodges, local manors and local parishes with 3,219 acres allocated to the Duchy of Lancaster who were empowered to sell on up to 250 acres. The road was recorded as New Lane in 1754 but was renamed Lancaster Road by the Enfield Local Board of Health in October 1887.
