Place Name
This road was laid out in the mid-20thCentury on land that had been part of the Ferney House estate. It takes its name from the nearby Pymmes Brook. The brook itself is named after William Pymme, a local landowner. It is a minor tributary of the River Lea and mostly flows through urban areas. It is particularly prone to flooding in its lower reaches, and to alleviate the problem, the brook has been culverted in many areas. Part of it is a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade II. The source of the brook is underground springs at Hadley Common, which are mentioned in reference to the penultimate battle in the Wars of the Roses at the Battle of Barnet. At this point, it is known as Monken Mead Brook before flowing in a south-easterly direction to merge with the River Lee Navigation at Tottenham. It flows through East Barnet, where it is joined by a small tributary, the Shirebourne brook, before flowing through New Southgate, Arnos Grove, Palmers Green, and Edmonton.
