IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Colt Mews, ENFIELD, EN3 6YH

These cables run the length of Enfield Island Village and the land beneath has been made into park and cycleways.

This is part of the extensive new housing developments at Enfield Island Village, once the site of the Royal Small Arms Factory. George Lovell was Government Inspector of Small Arms in the mid 19th century and oversaw much needed improvements to the design and production of the muskets used by the British Army at that time.

Although described as a private road (protected by barriers at each end), our group of cyclists was not challenged along here.

Grade II listed. http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-511192-71-76-government-row-non-civil-parish-gr

This terrace is the northernmost building on Enfield Island. The road comes to a dead end just beyond them, where the channels of the River Lea diverge.

The northern extremity of the Row, running along the bank of the Lee Navigation and formerly housing workers in the small arms works that was once here.

The water tower makes the entrance to this modern housing estate built on the site of the former Royal Small Arms Factory; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enfield_Island_Village for more info.

The original River Lea flowed 70 miles from Leagrove Marsh near Luton to the River Thames at Bow Creek. The River Lee Act of 1766 provided for the construction of 15 new cuts to straighten the course of the river by eliminating loops which made it difficult to navigate. This is one of those cuts and hence it is a navigation rather than a river. The Lea passes just the other side of these workers' cottages which are in Government Row. Historically the river is spelled Lea while the navigation is Lee. Beyond the River Lea is the new development of Enfield Island Village on the site of the former Royal Arms Factory which was given its formal title in 1854 and manufactured the famous Lee Enfield rifle which linked the two names associated with the spot.