History
The area was first developed from about 1812 when a UK government-owned rifle factory, which was to be later known as the Royal Small Arms Factory (RSAF), Enfield, was built. The factory was built towards the end of the Napoleonic War on the instructions of the Board of Ordnance on marsh land at Enfield Lock on the banks of both the River Lea and the River Lee Navigation. The site was close the old River Lea where it joined the River Lee Navigation. The RSAF was closed shortly after privatisation, in about 1987 and the majority of the former site has now been redeveloped into a large housing development: Enfield Island Village. The original machine shop frontage and the older part of the rear structure has been retained and was converted into workshops and retail units by the Enfield Enterprise Agency, making use of European Union (ERDF) funding.
Read more about this topic: Enfield Lock
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