Enfield is a large town and former parish in north London, England, located in the ceremonial county of Greater London and the ancient county of Middlesex. It is centred 10.1 miles (16.3 km) north-northeast of Charing Cross, and had a population of 156,858 in 2018. It includes the areas of Botany Bay, Brimsdown, Bulls Cross, Bullsmoor, Bush Hill Park, Clay Hill, Crews Hill, Enfield Highway, Enfield Lock, Enfield Town, Enfield Wash, Forty Hill, Freezywater, Gordon Hill, Grange Park, Hadley Wood, Ponders End, and World's End.
Situated south of the Hertfordshire border and M25 motorway, it borders Waltham Cross to the north, Winchmore Hill and Edmonton to the south, Chingford and Waltham Abbey, across the River Lea, to the east and north-east, with Cockfosters, Monken Hadley and Oakwood to the west.
Historically an ancient parish in the Edmonton Hundred of Middlesex, it was granted urban district status in 1894 and municipal borough status in 1955. In 1965, it merged with the municipal boroughs of Southgate and Edmonton to create the London Borough of Enfield, a local government district of Greater London, of which Enfield is the administrative centre.
Enfield Town, also Enfield, a market town chartered by Edward I in 1303, is the commercial centre of Enfield and the location of St Andrew's Enfield, the original parish church. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The east of Enfield, adjacent to the River Lea and Lee Navigation, is renowned for its industrial heritage. The Royal Small Arms Factory, at Enfield Lock, produced the famous Enfield rifles. The Brimsdown Industrial Estate is home to heavy industry, warehousing and retail, and Wright's Flour Mill, at Ponders End, is Enfield's oldest running industrial building. Forty Hall, on the site of the Tudor Elsyng Palace, is in the north, with Enfield Chase, the former royal hunting ground, and Chase Farm Hospital, in the west. The New River runs through Enfield from north to south, with the bypassed New River Loop encircling the town centre, through Enfield Town Park.