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The Welsh smugglers who founded a Winchmore Hill chapel

The Enfield Society explores the history of an unusual place of worship

The chapel in Vicars Moor Lane (credit Joe Studman)
The chapel in Vicars Moor Lane (credit Joe Studman)

Every summer The Enfield Society organises heritage walks in the borough. This year one of the walks takes us along Vicars Moor Lane in Winchmore Hill, which has a variety of architectural styles but none so intriguing as the old Baptist chapel converted into a private residence.

This building has a dark and interesting history. In the early decades of the 19th Century a Welsh family, called Udall, came to Winchmore Hill. They opened a drapery store at Wood End which is roughly where Broad Walk narrows just before The Green.

Stock didn’t exactly move fast, however, and artist Herietta Cresswell recalled that her mother had to tell Mrs Udall where the stock was when she purchased dress material. Poet Charles Lamb would also walk over from Enfield to visit the store and ask Mrs Udall how business was, with a twinkle in his eye.

Despite the slow-moving merchandise, there would often be a queue of carriages waiting outside while wealthy locals made purchases. What were they buying if it wasn’t drapery? The story goes that Udall’s was fencing goods being smuggled across the Essex marshes to the sleepy village of Winchmore Hill to be sold under the counter.

Silks, leather goods, brandy, tobacco, and anything else that was subject to import tax could be obtained at Winchmore Hill’s illegal duty-free shop. Behind the store was an independent chapel and the Udall family would attend on Sundays. This brought disagreement with the minister, who felt that their nefarious activity was in conflict with the Christianity they professed at weekends.

Mummery’s furniture shop (credit Enfield Local Studies)
Mummery’s furniture shop (credit Enfield Local Studies)

The result was that they left the chapel and formed their own religion, calling themselves The Udallites. In 1830 they built a small chapel in Vicars Moor Lane, but by 1860 it had been taken over by the Strict Baptist Church and rebuilt in 1883 as the chapel we know today. It closed for worship in 1982.

Udall’s morphed through marriage, first into Child’s and then into Mummery’s. The store remained at Wood End until demolished to create Broad Walk. Mummery’s continued to trade in Station Road as reputable furniture dealers until the 1960s.

Heritage walks are free to members of The Enfield Society and you too can enjoy its benefits from as little as £5 per year:
Visit
enfieldsociety.org.uk/join


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