While 7 miles may seem a long way from central London, this neighbourhood sits comfortably in South Tottenham and Seven Sisters: a well-connected, quaint and increasingly popular suburb of north London. Seven Sisters station is located within the area and offers Victoria line tube services, which can get commuters to Oxford Circus in 15 minutes, as well as Overground and Greater Anglia lines which service a variety of destinations both inside and outside the city. The roads are mainly residential and leafy, lined with large Victorian and Edwardian terraces, as well as a number of post-war builds, and the few main roads which pass through the neighbourhood, such as West Green Road and Seven Sisters Road offer numerous amenities that include large supermarkets and independent cafes and community shops. Chestnut Park and Brunswick Road Open Space provide the community with a good amount of green space, and the surprisingly high concentration of schools make this area perfect for families and young professionals who have been priced out of nearby Hackney.

The wider area of Tottenham, which this neighbourhood area resides within, has been sparsely settled since the Roman period and grew up along the old Ermine Street (now the A10), which existed as a trade route between York, Lincolnshire and London. The River Lea to the east encouraged this growth, but it wasn’t until the 19th century that the areas of South Tottenham and Seven Sisters developed into anything more than a loosely populated rural hamlet. In the 1850s large middle-class villas were built in the area and St Ann’s Church was opened in 1861 to accommodate the slowly growing population. The opening of the railways at South Tottenham and Seven Sisters in the 1870s and the introduction of an omnibus service to Angel, Islington kickstarted a rapid development of the area with the building of Victorian terraced streets which became occupied by working class commuters. St Ann’s Hospital (originally the North-Eastern Fever Hospital) opened in 1892, bringing nurses to the area, and improving the health of the immediate population. South Tottenham became increasingly impoverished up until the First World War, and the Second World War saw an influx of West Indian immigrants which saw the beginnings of the area’s large multicultural population that remains strong to this day.

The celebrated Victorian author, Charlotte Riddell (1832-1906), lived at St John’s Lodge, which was on land that is now on the northern edge of St Ann’s Hospital. She was incredibly influential and popular at the time, writing 56 books, novels, and short stories as well as being part-owner of the St. James’s Magazine, one of the most well- regarded literary magazines of the 1860s. She moved to the area at the age of 17 from Ireland when her father died, and is commemorated with a Haringey Borough Green Plaque.

The Apex Building, which sits at the intersection of Seven Sisters Road and Tottenham High Road, is on the site of one of Tottenham’s many former cinemas. Opened in April 1911, the cinema, known as the Corner Picture Theatre was a magnificent independent picture house until August 1960, after which it became a bingo hall and later a music club. It shut in 1979 and sadly the original cinema building was demolished and replaced with the unsightly office block in 1988.

Seven Sisters station derives its name from seven elm trees that were allegedly planted around 1350 in a ring surrounding a large walnut tree by seven sisters who were about to go their separate ways. They were known as ‘The Seven Sisters’ by at least 1732 and were replanted in by 1876. The station has a pretty interior tiling pattern that reflects this heritage.

Despite its convenient transport links, local residents have complained that the stations’ locations in Zone 3 make travel increasingly expensive, and the crime rate is distinctly higher than many surrounding areas, particularly those to the south. However, they were incredibly positive about the area on the whole. The short distance to Tottenham Hale retail park means there’s easy access to discount stores, and the area has a surprisingly active nightlife which has made it popular with students and young professionals. The area’s multicultural population also means that there are lots of interesting international independent food retailers which give the population access to a diverse range of tasty and well-priced food.

While South Tottenham already has decent transport links, the introduction of Crossrail at Seven Sisters will have a significant impact on the station and the surrounding area. Crossrail is predicted to reduce crowding at the station at peak times, and would connect more remote areas such as New Southgate to the busier neighbourhoods. There will be a new ticket hall put in place and South Tottenham and Seven Sisters stations will be connected via an underground pathway.

The area near South Tottenham is one of the key centres of regeneration singled out by Haringey Council as having “significant potential for new investment to create new homes and employment.” The council wishes to improve open spaces and introduce a significant number of new and affordable housing to bring people to the area to help stimulate the local economy. Crossrail 2 is also set to bring significant change to the neighbourhood, with nearby Tottenham Hale and Seven Sisters planned to be a key station on the northern section of the line. 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. As far as housing is concerned the St Anne’s Road development is under construction slightly south of this postcode. The ambitious scheme will consist of 971 new homes built across multiple phases, of which, an impressive 60% will be affordable.