Waltham Cross

Waltham Cross
The Eleanor Cross
Waltham Cross Location within Hertfordshire
Population	8,577 (2021 census, Waltham Cross ward)
OS grid reference	TL360003
• London	12 mi (19 km) SSW
District	Broxbourne
Shire county	Hertfordshire
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	WALTHAM CROSS
Postcode district	EN8
Dialling code	01992
Police	Hertfordshire
Fire	Hertfordshire
Ambulance	East of England
UK Parliament	Broxbourne
List of places UK England Hertfordshire 51°41′10″N 0°01′59″W / 51.686°N 0.0331°W / 51.686; -0.0331

Waltham Cross is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England, located 12 miles (19 km) north of central London. In the south-eastern corner of Hertfordshire, it borders Cheshunt to the north, Waltham Abbey to the east, and Enfield to the south.

Historically part of the ancient parish of Cheshunt in the Hertford hundred of Hertfordshire, the town once formed its southern part. Waltham Cross formed a separate ecclesiastical parish in 1855, whilst remaining part of the Cheshunt civil parish. The parish of Cheshunt was granted urban district status in 1894, and merged with that of Hoddesdon to form the Borough of Broxbourne in 1974.

The town has a modest commercial centre, with a pedestrianised High Street and an indoor shopping centre. The Waltham Cross post town stretches to the neighbouring town of Cheshunt and a small part of Enfield. It is named after the Eleanor cross which stands in its centre, one of twelve constructed on the orders of King Edward I following the death of his wife Eleanor of Castile in 1290. Only three of the original crosses remain intact, including the Waltham cross and two more in the Northamptonshire villages of Geddington and Hardingstone.