The Enfield ‘beast’ is the fabulous heraldic animal which graces the London Borough of Enfield’s coat of arms. On these pages you will find the facts and discover the strange story of how that beast arrived in London’s favourite borough.

The London Borough of Enfield was made from an amalgamation of three separate districts – Edmonton, Southgate, and Enfield. Southgate became a municipal borough with a coat of arms in 1933. The district of Edmonton followed suit in 1937. Enfield district had to wait till after the war for its coat of arms. In 1946 the request was made, and a design was prepared in conjunction with the Lancaster herald of the College of Arms. The Enfield already existed as a heraldic beast and was brought to Enfield as a ‘canting’ addition, where a name matches a visual emblem.

Enfield, the place, was first cited at the time of the Domesday Book in 1086. However, the name is older and most likely from an Anglo-Saxon family, with Eanafeld in Old English meaning a field belonging to someone called Eana. In 1303 the village was granted licence to hold a market, making Enfield a market town. Over 700 years Enfield grew from a country parish to a modern London Borough. The district’s coat of arms was expanded in 1955 when Enfield became a municipal borough, then combined with elements of Edmonton and Southgate’s arms in 1965 when the London Borough was created.

Since its first arrival the Enfield beast has also been used by many local clubs, schools, and societies. The animal has also appeared on other crests belonging to towns and districts around the world that adopted the Enfield name. The beast also became the new logo for the borough Council in 1975 and is now seen everywhere across the Borough.

An Enfield is a mythical hybrid creature, one of many different kinds to become associated with heraldic lore. The original composition of the Enfield had the head of the fox, chest and forelegs of the eagle and rear legs and tail of the wolf. Elements of other animals have been associated with the Enfield beast, but these are generally later embellishments. Some people, living in the Borough, claim to have seen a real Enfield, perhaps nipping along the streets in the early hours, or perhaps at a local festival or fair. Perhaps you might one day see an Enfield if you are lucky.