Place Name
Named after the Duchy of Lancaster estate. The original estate was formed when in 1265 Henry III granted his younger son, Edmund, lands taken from the estates of Simon de Montfort, the Earl of Leicester. De Montfort had been leader of the baronial opposition to the king’s rule but following early successes which made him de facto leader of England, he was killed at the Battle of Evesham. 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.
