Edmonton is the district of north London that lies to the north of Tottenham. Originally there were two separate settlements - Lower Edmonton and Upper Edmonton. But by the 19th century these has expanded to the extent that they were essentially joined together.

But until the Great Eastern Railway reached the district in the 1870s, Edmonton remained relatively rural and cut off from the expanding London. Once the railway had reached the district it soon became a huge working class residential area, attracting many workers from the East End of London.

For the next half a century the area went into decline and had a reputation as an area of poverty and crime. But since the 1950s the area has undergone redevelopment and much of the slum areas have been cleared.

Nevertheless, much of modern day Edmonton still consists of working class residential areas, some of which are still quite run down.