Located between the busy hubs of Seven Sisters and Stamford Hill, this north London suburb remains quaint and quiet despite Seven Sisters Road and the A10 passing through it. The wide, laddered streets to the east of the neighbourhood are populated by typically suburban Edwardian terraces, while the leafy roads to the west tend to be lined with Victorian houses. The very western tip of the area enters the Harringay Warehouse District, which is very popular with students and young artists and musicians and helps maintain the vibrant creative atmosphere of St Ann’s Road East. Stamford Hill and South Tottenham stations, to the north and south respectively, operate on the Overground line, and Seven Sisters just to the north of the neighbourhood provides Victoria line services across town. With the River Lea to the east and the Woodbury Wetlands to the south, as well as a number of local parks, there is no shortage of idyllic spaces to escape the city, and with plenty of nearby schools, this area is becoming increasingly popular with a diverse community of young families from across the globe.

The area is thought to be named after a man named Tota, who owned the hamlet which St Ann’s Road once fell into. Settlements grew around the Roman Road of Ermine Street, which the A10 is now part of, and a total of 70 families lived within the district of Tottenham by 1086. The low-lying fields irrigated by the River Lea made this part of town a fantastic location for agriculture and it remained as such until the industrialisation of the 19th century brought cheap housing to the former fields and market gardens. The early 20th century saw the development of the warehouse district, which was the area’s biggest employer for decades, but, alongside much of industrial Tottenham, also a target for German bombers during the Blitz. Much of the area survives today, however, and has become home to creative industries such as recording studios and record labels, as well as providing reasonably affordable housing for many of South Tottenham’s residents.

The neighbourhood’s southern border of Stamford Hill has been home to a number of notable faces over the years. Notably, the musician Marc Bolan (1947-1977) grew up in the area, helping cement the Stamford Hill mod scene in London’s history books. Bolan is best known as the front man for the glam rock band T. Rex, before sadly dying in a car crash in 1977. Testament to his respect amongst others in the music industry, his funeral was attended by stars such as David Bowie and Rod Stewart.

The Harringay Warehouse District was once the hub of the UK’s piano manufacture. It was home to the factories of Challen, Boyd, Barrett & Robinson, and Eavestaff, as well as to the sweet manufacturer Maynard’s!

St Ann’s Church is a notable focal point of the area. As a grade II*-listed building, it is considered to be of significant historical importance to the area. Designed by the famed architect Thomas Talbot Bury and dedicated in 1861, the church’s current Vicar is John Maurice Wood, who was awarded an MBE in 2015 for his services to the Tottenham community.

Some residents have mentioned that Tottenham as a whole has struggled to shake the negative press caused by such events as the 2011 and Broadwater Farm riots, and the crime rates tend to be quite high throughout the neighbourhood. However, nearly all said that they felt incredibly safe in the area, and the house prices are low as it remains a reasonably unfashionable area.

The nearby tube station of Seven Sisters is expected to undergo a transformation as it is adapted to accommodate the anticipated Crossrail 2 line. Seven sisters will become an important interchange when the project is completed, adding to the Victoria and Overground lines already in place. Yet despite £1.8 billion being invested in the project in 2020 it is unclear when the project will materialise as plans have been underconsideration in different forms since the 1970s. More imminently the Plevna Crescent development is expected to be completed later in 2022, demonstrating the interest already attracted to the postcode. The scheme will consist of two buildings and contain 72 new apartments.