The road is part of the historic Hertford Road, a route running north from
Bishopsgate along the western side of the
Lea Valley, through
Stoke Newington,
Tottenham,
Edmonton,
Ponders End,
Waltham Cross,
Cheshunt and
Broxbourne to
Hoddesdon, where it split into
Hertford and
Ware branches. The southern end of the Hertford Road between London and Tottenham is thought to follow the Roman
Ermine Street and the northern end takes a more easterly course through Edmonton and Enfield than the built-over Roman northern section. The route from London to Ware was designated in the early 20th century as the southern section of the
A10. Large sections were progressively by-passed by dual carriageway. The A1010 was the earliest section to be by-passed, by the
Great Cambridge Road (originally designated A108) which runs parallel about to the west. Unlike the new road, which developed as an important centre of the electronics industry, the old road remained generally more commercial and residential in nature. ==In popular culture==