Radio Enfield
Encyclopedia
Radio Enfield is a voluntary broadcasting service for patients in Chase Farm Hospital
, Enfield
. It broadcasts programmes of record requests, local news, interviews, quizzes and other items of interest 24 hours a day. There are special request programmes for the patients in Chase Farm Hospital broadcast Sunday to Friday from 8-10pm. The station is operated by volunteers in their spare time, who present programmes, collect requests, manage the record library and keep the equipment working. Radio Enfield is funded by donations and various activities such as fetes, discos and other public events. The station is a member of the Hospital Broadcasting Association
and is a Registered UK Charity No. 265915.
, Winchmore Hill
in March 1972 and to North Middlesex Hospital
, Edmonton, London
in January 1973. The hospitals were linked by landline to enable the same programme to be heard simultaneously.
Programmes were gradually extended to cover Sunday to Friday evenings to cope with the extra requests. Live football commentaries from Enfield F.C.
and Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
were introduced after the station moved home again in late 1978. The new studios were financed from a major fund-raising campaign, which included a car raffle organised by the Lions Club of Enfield and was formerly used as a teaching classroom. Two studios were built, enabling separate programmes to be transmitted to any of the hospitals in order to cope with the large number of requests received. At that time, programmes could also be heard at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Tottenham.
Sadly the link to North Middlesex Hospital closed in 1983, due to the escalating cost of renting the lines between hospitals, and Highlands Hospital closed some years ago. Radio Enfield therefore concentrates on its broadcasts to Chase Farm and has completed occasional FM broadcasts to Enfield and the surrounding area covering the annual Enfield Autumn Show, under licence from Ofcom
.
Over its nearly 40 year history, Radio Enfield has won a number of prestigious national awards, notably for its outside broadcasts. Many of Radio Enfield's former members now work professionally in Radio - both on air and behind the scenes.
Amongst the annual events the station takes part in are the Enfield Autumn Show, the Enfield Scouts Town Park firework display, various quiz evenings and local fetes.
Radio Enfield Website
Chase Farm Hospital
Chase Farm Hospital is a hospital in Enfield, north London, run by Barnet and Chase Farm NHS Hospitals Trust as part of the British National Health Service.The oldest part of the hospital was formerly part of a children's home...
, Enfield
Enfield Town
Enfield Town is the historic town centre of Enfield, formerly in the county of Middlesex and now in the London Borough of Enfield. It is north north-east of Charing Cross...
. It broadcasts programmes of record requests, local news, interviews, quizzes and other items of interest 24 hours a day. There are special request programmes for the patients in Chase Farm Hospital broadcast Sunday to Friday from 8-10pm. The station is operated by volunteers in their spare time, who present programmes, collect requests, manage the record library and keep the equipment working. Radio Enfield is funded by donations and various activities such as fetes, discos and other public events. The station is a member of the Hospital Broadcasting Association
Hospital Broadcasting Association
The Hospital Broadcasting Association supports the 230 or so independent hospital broadcasting organisations serving hospitals, hospices and nursing homes in the UK...
and is a Registered UK Charity No. 265915.
History
The station started broadcasting to Chase Farm on 24 May 1970 from a converted storeroom in the hospital with a 2-hour weekly request programme on Sunday evenings. In November 1971, the station moved to its second home in Block 7 of Chase Farm, a brick built bicycle shed. The service was extended to Highlands HospitalHighlands Hospital
Highlands Hospital was a hospital in Winchmore Hill, in the London Borough of Enfield. The hospital closed in 1993, and the site was developed for residential accommodation, although many of the original buildings remain...
, Winchmore Hill
Winchmore Hill
Winchmore Hill is a district in the Borough of Enfield, North London, in the N21 postal district.- Location :With the Winchmore Hill conservation area as a focal point, Winchmore Hill is a ward of Enfield borough, bounded on the east by Green Lanes , Barrowell Green, Firs Lane and Fords Grove, and...
in March 1972 and to North Middlesex Hospital
North Middlesex Hospital
The North Middlesex University Hospital, known locally as North Mid, is a District General Hospital in Edmonton, in the London Borough of Enfield, within the area served by the Enfield Primary Care NHS Trust.- History :...
, Edmonton, London
Edmonton, London
Edmonton is an area in the east of the London Borough of Enfield, England, north-north-east of Charing Cross. It has a long history as a settlement distinct from Enfield.-Location:...
in January 1973. The hospitals were linked by landline to enable the same programme to be heard simultaneously.
Programmes were gradually extended to cover Sunday to Friday evenings to cope with the extra requests. Live football commentaries from Enfield F.C.
Enfield F.C.
Enfield F.C. is a football club, formed in June 2007 after Enfield F.C. ceased to exist....
and Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
were introduced after the station moved home again in late 1978. The new studios were financed from a major fund-raising campaign, which included a car raffle organised by the Lions Club of Enfield and was formerly used as a teaching classroom. Two studios were built, enabling separate programmes to be transmitted to any of the hospitals in order to cope with the large number of requests received. At that time, programmes could also be heard at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Tottenham.
Sadly the link to North Middlesex Hospital closed in 1983, due to the escalating cost of renting the lines between hospitals, and Highlands Hospital closed some years ago. Radio Enfield therefore concentrates on its broadcasts to Chase Farm and has completed occasional FM broadcasts to Enfield and the surrounding area covering the annual Enfield Autumn Show, under licence from Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
.
Over its nearly 40 year history, Radio Enfield has won a number of prestigious national awards, notably for its outside broadcasts. Many of Radio Enfield's former members now work professionally in Radio - both on air and behind the scenes.
Radio Enfield Today
Following major redevelopment at Chase Farm Hospital, the station moved studios again at the end of 2006. The final programme from the former teaching classroom was broadcast on Friday 1 December, being a compilation of programme highlights since the station began. The station moved to the new home, which was kindly financed by the Leagues of Friends, and was back on the air on Monday 4 December as usual. The teaching classroom studios were demolished in March 2007.Amongst the annual events the station takes part in are the Enfield Autumn Show, the Enfield Scouts Town Park firework display, various quiz evenings and local fetes.
Radio Enfield Website