You are starting your tour in central london, south of the river thames

Use this map to locate places, and the additional diversions or detours that will allow you to discover more about the area 

LBTC tour route: the first stretch, up to NINE ELMS

See the whole route CLICKING on this image

Lambeth

LAMBETH is first recorded in 1062 as LAMBEHITHA, meaning 'landing place for lambs', a  harbour where lambs were either shipped from or to. It is formed from the Old English 'LAMB' and 'HYTHE'. In 1255 as Lambeth.

In the Domesday Book, Lambeth is called “LANCHEI", which is plausibly derived from Brittonic LAN meaning a river bank and CHEI being a quay.[

Lambeth road

GEORGIAN TERRACE

Former HALLS OF RESIDENCE, HOTEL And methodist church

The original methodist church here

British History Online gives: Lambeth (Wesleyan Methodist) Chapel ... at the south-west corner of Lambeth Road and Kennington Road, was built in 1808 .."

In 1928 J, Arthur Rank, a devout Methodist, partially funded its adaptation for use as a mission hall and cinema. It opened as the Ideal Cinema on 5 October 1928, was run by Rev. Tiplady and showed family-friendly films. Destroyed by WW2 bombs in the winter of 1941. Rebuilt in 1950, architect Alec Gavin, as the Lambeth Mission, opening 1 September 1951. Lambeth have a photo of the stone-laying ceremony.

 

LAMBETH WALK

Former LAMBETH WALK PH, Now flats

The LAMBETH WALK pub is  at the junction with Lambeth Road. The pub dates back to the early 19th century and was known as the MASONS ARMS. It was rebuilt c.1890 and renamed in 1951, but closed c.2010 and has since been converted into apartments.

NHS GP. practice

The practice relocated to the site in 1996; the building was converted from a former public laundry and slipper baths.
It is run by the KING’S COLLEGE 

A very ancient thoroughfare, in the midst of open fields… 300 years ago. 
By the 19th c., built up and strong work.class char. And a bustling market was thriving. HENRY

MAYHEW counted 164 COSTERMONGERS. Barrows lining the whole length of the street…

Railways, industrial premises, lodging houses. From OS 1871 map we can see a densely populated area, poor and where criminality was rife.

During the 20th c. poor housing, led to LCC slum clearances. CHINA WALK STREET, SQUARE and PLACE,  demolished. CHINA WALK ESTATE b. (1928-34, 238 flats, 15.000]

By 1938, 159 shops, 11 butchers, 2 eel and pie, 1 tripe dresser.

The BLITZ and the V BOMBS changed everything: The BATHS and the METHODIST CHURCH destroyed. And the market was in a sorry state. BOOTS THE CHEMISTS branch was destroyed

After the WAR, West side cleared, but before it was used as outdoor set for PASSPORT TO PIMLICO. Only no.17 MASONS ARMS PH left standing. At LOLLARDS ST., the slum clearance gave way to an open space.

All that killed market and shops. A run-down area followed for years, until gentrification.

In 1991 a concerted campaign manage to save remaining buildings and led to the designation as CA

Chandler community centre. CHARLOT  mosaics

In his  autobiography he recalls walking in Lambeth Walk


PELHAM HALL, former LAMBETH MISSION HALL. Now MORLEY COLLEGE, SCULPT.DEPT.

See the open air PULPIT?. So as preachers could address to the Sunday market goers

CHINA WALK ESTATE

Each building has the name of a British China manufacturing town

WALNUT TREE WALK

Nos 73-75, owned by ST.OLAVE’S SOUTHWARK

At the beginning of the 18th century Walnut Tree Walk was a lane leading out into the fields from Lambeth or Three Coney Walk. Simon Harding, gardener, had a cottage there with a small-holding of just over three acres,but there does not seem to have been any other development until 1755, when Robert Hardcastle was granted a 61 years' building lease of ground on both sides of the way by the    ST. OLAVE  (SOUTHWARK) trustees of the WALCOT ESTATE.

Bedlam mews

Off WALNUT TREE WALK

BEDLAM!. Yes, that is official


ORIGINAL STREET FRONTAGE. A row of former shops. 

A former market and shopping precinct…

FITZALAN ST

The FIZLALAN, the NORFOLK Ducal family had a manor here, now a housing estate.
They hold the position of earl marshal, which has evolved, and among his responsibilities today is the organisation of major ceremonial state occasions such as the monarch's coronation in Westminster Abbey and state funerals. He is also the leading officer of arms and oversees the College of Arms. He is the sole judge of the High Court of Chivalry.

LOLLARD ST.

 

 

LOLLARDS, in LAMBETH?. Of course, in the prisoners cells of LAMBETH PALACE. The Lollards were a group of anti-clerical English Christians who lived between the late 1300s and the early 1500s. The Lollards were followers of JOHN WYCLIFFE, the Oxford University theologian and Christian Reformer who translated the Bible into vernacular English.They are called Lollards because their services revolved around reading the Scripture. The word Lollard is a derogatory term taken from the Dutch word for muttering. Citation from STUDY.COM.

 

DOORSTEP GREEN

Run by ROOTS & SHOOTS, an independent, award-winning educational and environmental charity based in Kennington, South London. From a derelict site in 1982, it has grown to become a well-established and respected vocational training organisation with biodiverse wildlife gardens, offering a safe haven for both people and nature to flourish.

MURALS. A decaying Former shopping mall

These worn out murals is they are full of information about local history

LAMBETH’S WORLD FAME

“You’ll find us all Doin’ the Lambeth Walk”

A song from ME AND MY GIRL, 1937 musical, which took the name from this street. In 1939 a film based on it was released.

Story line: a COCKNEY barrow boy inherits an earldom and almost loses his Lambeth girlfriend in the process.

The tune gave way to a Cockney dance made popular by LUPINO LANE (further alongside the street a new building carries his name). He was the star of the ulterior film.

A popular walking dance performed in a jaunty strutting style. For LUPINO LANE, a Cockney born and bred,  who was from HACKNEY, the dance was born from experience, as it is an exaggerated idea of how the Cockney struts.

The dance version started at the LOCARNO DANCE HALLS, STREATHAM, and from there it swept the country. The craze even reached BUCK’S PALACE:  king and queen attended a performance and joined in the shouted  OÍ!.

 

In the USA, the  fad was popularised by JOE RINES, leader of the BOSTON BAS ORCH. Performances took place in the “better” clubs of NY CITY.
DUKE ELLINGTON did versions, hitting records. The craze spread through USA and EU. A chapter was dedicated to it by MASS OBSERVER  in the 1939 BRITAIN book.

RUSS MORGAN recorded another version…

BALLIAMO IL PASSO DI LAMBETH, popularised by DINO DI LUCA and TRIO LESCANO

Lambeth nachlokal

In GERMANY band leader ADALBERT LUTTER adapted it (LAMBETH NACHTLOKAL) and became very popular in swing clubs. But a NAZI member drew attention to that “animalistic hopping”, which was “a Jewish mischief “ in a speech on how to revolutionise private life was the task of the party. 

However, the song continued to be popular with the German public, even well into WW2 time.

ALLIED PROPAGANDA: SCHICHLEGRUPER

So popular that MINISTRY OF INFORMATION CH.A. RIDLEY made an edited footage, taken from LENI RIEFENSTAHL’s TRIUMPH OF THE WILL, to make it appear as if they were dancing the Cockney dance style. 

The German DLW  was distributed uncredited to newsreel companies , who supplied their own narration. Alternative titles were given: HITLER doing the LW, General ADOLF takes over, HITLER assumes command, PANZER baller.

When he saw one of those films GORING was enraged, to the degree of running out of the screening room kicking chairs and screaming profanities, and placing RIDLEY on a GESTAPO LIST for elimination after victory. Back in 1938, THE TIMES had this headline: “While dictators rage and statesmen talk, Europe dances TLW”

During occupation, Danish Resistance members raided theatres forcing projectionists to show the film.

In film

In  the 1962 THE LONGEST DAY  movie about the DDAY LANDINGS, Squadron sings TLW in a glider on its way to capture PEGASUS BRIDGE.

FRANZ REIZENSTEIN composed a pastiche formed by variations of TLW in the style of BETHOVEN , CHOPIN & LISZT

IAN DURY AND THE BLOCKHEADS rock band 1979 THIS IS WHAT WE FIND song


You are about to cross Black Prince Road. Welcome to the former duchy of cornwall estate… A black prince?

EDWARD WOODSTOCK, The BLACK PRINCE

The Duchy of Cornwall is a private estate established by Edward III in 1337 to provide independence to his son and heir, Prince Edward. A charter ruled that each future Duke of Cornwall would be the eldest surviving son of the Monarch and heir to the throne. The current Duke is HRH The Prince of Wales. He is the 25th Duke in the estate's history. The revenue from his estate is used to fund the public, private and charitable activities of The Duke and his immediate family. The Duchy’s estate extends beyond the geographical boundaries of Cornwall – covering 52,264 hectares of land across 20 counties, mostly in the South West of England. It comprises arable and livestock farms, residential and commercial properties, as well as forests, rivers, quarries, and coastline.

The MANOR OF KENNINGTON in London formed part of the original Duchy Estate under the Charter of 1337. Although it is hard to imagine today, the land then was largely agricultural. It took the building Vauxhall Bridge in 1812 and Waterloo Bridge in 1817 to open the way for development in this part of the Duchy, as London began to spread.

In the following decades, Kennington grew into a vibrant neighbourhood and the Duchy played an integral role in the building and sale of residential and commercial properties. During the 1920s and 30s some significant sites were sold, most notably to the armed forces, whilst the 1950s heralded the arrival of new office blocks and flats for single, young professionals. The majority of the residential estate was sold to the London & Quadrant housing association in 1990. Today, the Duchy owns 16 flats and 23 houses.

Alongside BLACK PRINCE ROAD, Southwards, towards KENNINGTON


Site of the BEAUFOY INSTITUTE

Beautiful EDWARDIAN, red brick and terracotta, building

Duchy of cornwall estate

Social housing

Finally will find the site of the BLACK PRINCE’s  KENNINGTON PALACE. Now, in its place, a block of offices

You can Discover more of the area joining the “SOUTH LONDON VILLAGES” , another great tour by LBTC.
Here you have a little appetiser though…

The lbtc destination london route carries on 

THE JOLLY GARDENERS PH.

A spit and sandust kind of place, where the local potters (ROYAL DOULTON) would have drunk their wages after their long shifts. This was the JG of Victorian times, when CHAPLIN Sr. played the piano in the corner of the pub… and he helped boost the profits up of places like this one in the whole district, encouraging punters to stay for another drink (and he drank himself to death). And a very young CHCH used to follow him an listen his tunes 

But BLACK PRINCE  ROAD had to content with at least 20 explosive bombs during WW2, so this building was lucky to survive.

In the 1990s, it was THE JOLLY COCKNEY.  And GUY RITCHIE chose it to film the DESERT EAGLE 50 scene in his crime comedy SNATCH.

Until 2019, it was ZEITGEIST, German style restaurant.

During the 2020 COVID 19 LOCKDOWN 5 friends with experience in the pub business, conceived this  “ideal, honest and welcoming boozer”.

By the way, the “jolly gardeners” is an allusion to the TREDESCANTS, father and son  Royal gardeners. The ones who grew the first PINEAPPLE in ENGLAND!.


The former QUEEN’S HEAD PH, now CAFÉ-BISTRO

CHARLES CHAPLIN uncle was the landlord. 

A costumer called RUMMY BINKS?. Or a tramp…

A local little tramp, seen roaming these streets by a very young CHCH, and  from who, he claims in his MEMOIRS, to have been his inspiration…The shabby clothing with the Derby hat, the too tight jacket, the baggy trousers, the outsize shoes and the bendy bamboo cane all add up to a man who, although he has seen the hard side of life, is too proud to remain a victim. But on top of the clothing, we have to add his unique style of walk…

It is said, as well, that that man, called ‘Rummy’ Binks, used to ‘work’ at the pub – shuffling up to cab drivers to offer to hold the horses for a penny tip. It is doubtful that ‘Rummy’ was his real name, but was a nickname. The word ‘Rummy’ at that time could refer to a card game, but it’s more likely that it could be linked to his oddness or strangeness, or it could have been linked to drunkenness… His unique gait could also have been the result of arthritis…

Charlie chaplin places

Birthplace. East lane. Walworth

Street market

The cinema museum

That is right!. It is on the of the workhouse

Living with father. Kennington road

Last encounter with father.The three stagsxph

Nearby

BEACONSFIELD contemporary ART GALLERY. Former RAGGED SCHOOL

Ragged Schools were schools for the poor

HIGH SECURITY POLICE STATION

Do not take pics!

NEWPORT STREET ART GALLERY (DAMIEN HIRST’s)

The artist bought the warehouse where he had worked…and has redeveloped it

No,  it is not the chemist. PHARMACY is the  gallery restaurant… A long story 

Now a Diversion from the route

If you exit the route for a moment and head  towards the thames and walk along  the ALBERT embankment

On the map, LAMBETH PALACE

Former ROYAL DOULTON FACTORY

Lambeth was dominated by CHINA manufacturing, amongst other industrial venues

FLOOD DEFENCES & a bit of art work

Former HQ. of the LONDON FIRE BRIGADE

Redevelopment  has been stalled for years… it appears that the NEW LFB museum will open here some time in the future.

INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANISATION HQ 

The International Maritime Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations which is responsible for measures to improve the safety and security of international shipping and to prevent pollution from ships.


Behind those buildings, in OLD PARADISE GARDENS… SITE OF THE WATCH HOUSE

A watch house for the drunk and disorderly and particularly body-snatchers raiding graves.

Watchmen wearing white overcoats and carrying lanterns were meant to be seen and heard, they called the time and weather. Watchmen wearing blue were 'silent' and checked dark corners of the local area.

Bodysnatching was common in this area as surgeons at the local Guy's hospital required fresh corpses and body parts for medical research. This practice was common around London and 'Resurrection Men' would take bodies from graves and disguise them as merchandise.

Legally, only bodies of convicted criminals could be taken.  In 1832, The Anatomy Act was passed, making it an offence to rob a grave. It was only legal to dissect the unclaimed bodies of people who had died in hospitals or poor houses

Designed by architects Sir Reginald Blomfield and G. Topham Forrest with London County Council engineer Sir George Humphreys, Lambeth Bridge was officially opened on 19 July 1932 by George V and Queen Mary. It is a five-span steel arch structure, adorned by decorative obelisks at either end and with piers and abutments clad in Cornish granite. Above each pier are the carved London County Council coats of arms, flanked by dolphins. Carrying four lanes of road traffic, the bridge is 776 feet long and 60 feet wide and cost nearly £1 million to erect. The colour scheme emphasises red, the colour of the leather benches in the House of Lords, which is near the bridge’s northern landing.

Before the Old Lambeth Bridge was constructed, a horse ferry operated here for centuries. Owned by successive Archbishops of Canterbury, the profitable ferry was the only location in London where you could cross the Thames with a horse and cart. The horse ferry was far bigger than most ferries of the time although it was not always failsafe. Through the years Oliver Cromwell, James I and at least one Archbishop are all rumoured to have fallen in the water here.
The Lambeth Bridge Company commissioned engineer Peter William Barlow to design the original Lambeth Bridge, which was opened in November 1862 by a local businessman named Mr Hodges travelling across in his new fire engine. The 828-foot-long suspension bridge supported two 32-foot towers and crossed the river between Market Street, Westminster (which later became Horseferry Road), and Church Street, Lambeth. The bridge was largely used by pedestrians paying a day toll, since the approaches were too steep for heavily laden horse-drawn carts. The Archbishop, who had the right to perceive the FERRY fares, was not very happy about the construction of that new and first bridge…

The obelisks at each end of the bridge appear to be topped with pineapples. What these fruits represent has been much debated. Some believe they are actually pinecones, an ancient symbol of hospitality. Others believe they are Masonic emblems of enlightenment. A popular theory is that they are a reference to the Tradescant family who settled in Lambeth in the 17th century. Father and then son attained the title of Keeper of His Majesty’s Garden, managing the Queen’s palace grounds at Oatlands, near Weybridge in Surrey. It was here that John Tradescant the Younger cultivated the first pineapple to grown on British soil.

LAMBETH BRIDGE of… HARRY POTTER’s fame

MI5 is the building to the left

LAMBETH PALACE. 

The official residence of the ARCHBISHOP OF WESTMINSTER


Former ST.MARY’S Church, Lambeth Parish. Now, the ENGLISH GARDEN MUSEUM

15th c. Bell tower

The “jolly gardeners” are buried here

Lovely restaurant

café

Enjoy a lovely view of the PALACE OF WESTMINSTER. And catch up with politics… are chances are that you will come across a TV broadcaster recording a c piece of news from around this spot!

VIOLETTE SZABO MEMORIAL

The history of the SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE, a CHURCHILL’s initiative is a very interesting chapter of WW2

The DUKE OF WELLINGTON unveiled  this memorial dedicated to this silo age organisation.

Violette lived in BRIXTON and worked in the local BON MARCHÉ… You can even watch a film about her story of joining the SOE

NATIONAL COVID-19 MEMORIAL WALL

ST.THOMAS’S HOSPITAL. FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE MUSEUM

Florence Nightingale’s far-sighted reforms, which set new standards of modern healthcare, also have their roots in South London. In 1860, Florence established the first professional nursing school in the world at St Thomas’ Hospital. From pioneering the role of data in health, to realising that the hospital environment and diet can impact health and recovery, she left an indelible imprint.

Inside the CURRENT hospital,  on the corner of westminster bridge approach, Site of ASTLEY’S AMPHITHEATRE

Astley's Amphitheatre was a performance venue in London opened by Philip Astley in 1773, considered the first modern circus ring.It was burned and rebuilt several times, and went through many owners and managers. Despite no trace of the theatre remaining today, a memorial plaque was unveiled in 1951 at its site at 225 Westminster Bridge Road. Erected in 1769 on the site of what is now St Thomas's Hospital on the south side of Westminster Bridge Road. The showman Philip Astley, (from British History) "took a large piece of ground, of a timber-merchant, … and, inclosing it circularly with boarding, erected seats for an audience, with a pent-house roof, covered with canvas". The building was subsequently enhanced many times, changed names repeatedly and burnt down thrice. Finally demolished in 1893. Our picture shows the frontage in about 1850. Mentioned by Dickens in 'Bleak House'. And in Jane Austen's 'Emma' Harriet Smith’s visit to Astley’s with the Knightly family results in her engagement to Robert Martin (finally). The V&A have some wonderful pictures of the circus in earlier times.

And again, On the lbtc route, Heading to VAUXHALL, along TYERS ST. Or vauxhall walk

Social housing 

pedlars park

It was, unsurprisingly, once all fields, but the area was starting to develop in the mid 19th century, and the arrival of the main railway line helped to spur housing along the roads that already existed. In the 1880s, there was still empty land behind the houses, but just 20 years later, the whole area was fully filled in, with a large school occupying the eastern half of the modern park.

The school, ST.SAVIOURS SCHOOL, SALAMANCA ST.,  was open from around 1870 to 1959/60, after which it was demolished and the pupils moved to nearby St PETER’S  school in Vauxhall. The cleared land was set aside as a public park, originally as a fairly plain open space in 1968.

The park is named after the “Pedlar of Lambeth”, a possibly legendary William Le Pedlar who is said to have bequeathed land to St MARY’S church in Lambeth in around 1400. A stained glass window used to be in the church, but was damaged during WWII, and is now part of the Garden Museum.

Salamanca street ceramics

Salamanca Street was named after the Battle of Salamanca, fought on 22nd July 1812. It marked the turning point in the turning point in the Peninsula War, where the “Iron Duke” Wellington (appointed Duke in 1814), with his Portuguese and Spanish allies, defeated the French forces of Napoleon, on the way to driving the French out of Portugal and Spain. Today, Salamanca is celebrated for its classical Spanish architecture and its renowned university.

The mosaics depict significant buildings in the city of Salamanca, and one portrait of Wellington. The ceramics use motifs drawn from the Lambeth wares of Doulton, which was a major ceramic manufacturer whose factories and kilns were spread around Salamanca Road and had its headquarters in BLACK PRINCE ROAD.

Southbank Mosaics' website says "The ceramics in Salamanca Street reference North Lambeth’s role as a major ceramics manufacturing centre, with over 70 potteries making a variety of goods from ceramic pipes and drains to fine art sculptures and vases". The artists who made these pieces were: Duncan Hooson, Ali Samiei, Janet James, Sue Edkins, Howard Grange, Sahir Shaikh, Ruchita Shaikh, David Tootill, Mario D’Oliveira, Elisa Camfield, Joanna Rice, Josie Harris, Jigna Patel, Jacqueline Howell and Jasbir Lally.

Promotional bell by DOULTON

No. 49 SCHWEPPES Mineral Water manufacturers. Factory built in 1912. By 1912 Schweppes were a major company with many outlets. Originating with a Swiss inventor on the 1790s they had moved in the 1890s to larger premises in HENDON, NORTH LONDON and subsequently opened other manufacturing bases, including this one.



Nca hq

The National Crime Agency (NCA) is a national law enforcement agency in the United Kingdom. It is the UK's lead agency against organised crime; human, weapon and drug trafficking; cybercrime; and economic crime that goes across regional and international borders, but it can be tasked to investigate any crime.

A war memorial

From LAYERS OF LONDON:  Surrey Iron Works. Original building of c 1877 considerably expanded over the years, including both sides of street. Horatio Myer founded the business in 1876 and the Company employed 19 people. Through the reign of Queen Victoria, and and. The 20th c. Myer’s continued to grow. Initially solely maker of iron bedsteads, later on, he added to his lines divans and mattresses. In 1962 the Huntingdon site was opened, and from 1962 to 1982 Huntingdon and Vauxhall continued to manufacture beds and other furniture including display cabinets and coffee tables. In 1982 the Vauxhall plant was closed and all production was transferred to Huntingdon. 

Myers First World War memorial has been returned to Vauxhall after a 30-year absence. It commemorates 13 employees of bed manufacturers Horatio Myer & Company who died in the 1914-18 war. It was removed by the Myer family when the company moved out of London in 1982 and has now been returned,

Horatio Myer (7 June 1850 - 1 January 1916) was born Hereford, the son of a German Jewish immigrant. He moved to London and in 1876 in Vauxhall he set up business producing metal beds and later produced other furniture as well.

Staybridge suites

In case you need accommodation in the area…

The black dog ph.

Its dog days are long in the past, enjoying now a semi-gastro vibe with a kitchen on show. Victorian style glass work. Minute yard, at the back

A FORMER GERMAN BREWERY, now a community centre

Nos. 1-5 This was the premises of an English branch of the St.Pauli Brewery Co. It was in use in 1911 for St. Pauli Breweries Co. Ltd., based in Bremen. They made the ‘Finest Pilsner Lager Beer. Girl Brand’. It appears to have been short lived here and the premises was used to make planes for the Government by 1917

Charming, the former  QUEEN’S ANNE pub, is not it?. If only you knew that 20 years ago it was a… 

Just read this funny TRIPADVISOR review:

I wonder how many of the current punters know the history of this old Vauxhall pub.
Probably best not to spell anything out, but if I did, key words would be: strippers, gangsters, open all hours, and the proprietor (a female) was murdered  (not here, in Spain)
And now it's a tea room.
A tea room ? . . .  . . . c'mon, a tea room . . . .
Okay, plus ca change”

Vauxhall gardens, an lcc estate

An artwork by PETER PERI. “Following the Leader”  is a poignant piece intended by the artist, Peter Peri, as a memorial to the children killed in the Blitz.

The area was extensively bombed, and most of the houses that survived were taken down when peace broke out by a council determined to create a new Jerusalem. Darley House was built in the late 1940s and this piece dates from between 1949 and 1952.

Cabinet offers a landmark for the arts in Lambeth, as well as helping drive regeneration of the surrounding area.

Cabinet has led an artistic rebirth of the famous local gardens, once a historic centre for leisure and culture in London. One floor of the exhibition space is dedicated entirely to art shows whilst the other features an archive and a library too. Cabinet also hosts talks, readings, screenings and other events. 

 

 

 

Row OF HOUSES and FORMER SHOPS

Converted to residential use.

In the late 80s. RON TOD fixed up this dilapidated old house (with salvaged recycled materials) with the view of selling it and sending all the money to BLUEFIELDS, a town in NICARAGUA, twined with LAMBETH.

TOD trained as an architect, but was a drop out. He lived in a shed in ESSEX, with wife and squatted  in London, squat which originated a housing cooperative. He had seen JOHN PILGER TV programme about Nicaragua, which prompted him to act, helping the revolution and supporting community projects.

Quirky!: see the vulture on the roof line.

Vauxhall city farm

The JUBILEE CITY FARM was established in 1977.

Animals enclosure and paddocks, outbuildings… a very attractive setting, with the expected farm smells. Pony rides for kids

Behind, ALLOTMENTS (ST.OSWALD PL.)

The old dairy Café


Not far away, in kennington lane, Former Marmite factory, now vox, work studios

The Marmite Food Extract Company was formed in 1902 and was based at Burton upon Trent where it had ready access to its main ingredient – a by-product of the brewing process – courtesy of the Bass Brewery. It is still manufactured in the Staffordshire town today.

According to Edith’s Streets the Vauxhall building was originally the site of the New London Brewery Co. which went into liquidation in 1925 and the factory was taken over by Marmite in 1927.

The picture above (Courtesy Lambeth Landmark) of the proudly lit factory was taken in 1951. It closed in 1967. The homeless charity St Mungo’s took on the building for use as one of its first hostels in the 1970s.

Welcome to vauxhall!

There are “VAUXHALLs” all over the world! (and “SOHOS” as well)

The Soho name has been reused by other entertainment and restaurant districts such as the Soho, Hong Kong entertainment zone[4] and the cultural and commercial area of Soho in Málaga.[5] The New York City neighbourhood of SoHo, Manhattan, gets its name from its location south of Houston Street, but is also a reference to London's Soho.The Pittsburgh neighbourhood of Uptown was also formerly called Soho, most likely having been named by its founder James Tustin after the London district, though it may refer to Soho, West Midlands.

Yes, I know this has nothing to do with your tour… Hold on, you wanted to know things about London, didn’t you?.

Well, and what about this area of London, where you are now,  and whose name has been replicated all over?

 

In Warsaw there is still a FOKSAL ST. In Polish, a pleasure garden is called a FOKSAL.


why?: Because the famous VAUXHALL pleasure gardens

A General Prospect of Vauxhall Gardens from the west, with the proprietor's house and the Prince's Pavilion (with three shuttered windows) in the foreground

Originally called the NEW SPRING GARDENS, (PEPYS had already mentioned them in 1662),  the VAUXHALL PLEASURE GARDENS were, in the 18th c., the most famous place of public entertainment in London.

Acres of trees and shrubs, with walks and alleys, and plenty of attractions: live music, performances, fireworks tightrope walkers, hot air balloon ascents…. First, access was free. In 1785, an admission fee was introduced. Crowds, arriving by boat, patronised the place,  but some isolated paths were noted for their romantic associations.

A Turkish tent, buildings with Chinoiserie style… A STATUE of HANDEL (whose music was performed during the ROYAL FIREWORKS, in 1749. 
FREDERICK, PofW, had his own pavilion, HOGARTH’s ST.MARTIN’S ACADEMY attended performances, DICKENS came here, as well.

In 1817 1.000 soldiers performed a re-enactment of WATERLOO.

During its best years, JONATHAN TYERS was the man running the affairs. Property developer, impresario, patron of the arts… This was the 18th c. BROADWAY or WEST END, a complex, profitable business, catering for thousands… with amazing buildings, a spectacular lighting , music, paintings…and  all duly advertised to attract patrons.

So, success came and notoriety expanded all over Europe… and “VAUXHALLS” were established all over.

But, after success, came decline and closure, in 1859, and redevelopment: terraces of houses and factories were built over the place. In its turn, most of those buildings are not here anymore: war destruction and postwar clearances gave way to the 1970s SPRING GARDENS.

in 2012 the public park was relanscaped and renamed VPG

in 308 KENNINGTON LANE (VICARAGE) you will find the only surviving building. Back then stood within the gardens, and was JONATHAN TYERS, the manager, residence. His son would succeed him.

VICARAGE

ST.PETER’S CHURCH

Now enters mr.maddox

Theatre man MICHAEL MADDOX, who had already experience running theatres in RUSSIA, visited VPG, and decided to export the concept to ST.PETERSBURG. That was in the 1780s. And, thus, the new ST.PETERSBURG’S Pleasure Gardens were called VOKZAL!

 


Vauxhall MEANS “TRAIN STATION”, in Russian.  WELL! This is going over the top!

Precisely… in 1837, the first Russian railway ran from ST.P. to the PG, and the train station was called …V O K Z A L!. This word, then, became the generic for the Russian railway stations!.

Coincidentally, 3 years later, a Russian delegation arrived to study Britain’s railway network, and one of the stations they visited was the then VAUXHALL TERMINUS (which was moved later, in 1848, to WATERLOO)… Maybe that is another reason why the Russian word for main train station

THE LONDONIST explains its perfectly clearly…

Meanwhile, in paris…

 


Le  Tivoli-Vauxhall, fut d’abord créé, en 1764, rue de Bondy qui s’appelle aujourd’hui rue René-Boulanger (il était installé au niveau de l’actuel no 48). Le créateur de ce Vauxhall d'été, l'Italien Torré, était un artificier qui avait conçu un spectacle de feu d’artifice, type de réjouissance alors inconnu. Des voisins ombrageux, gênés par le vacarme de ces spectacles pyrotechniques en firent interdire la poursuite. Torré fut cependant autorisé à les remplacer par d’autres réjouissances que bals publics et jeux de tournois, ainsi que par l’érection d’un mât de cocagne, type de divertissement oublié des parisiens, depuis l’occupation anglaise du xve siècle. Le lieu prit le nom de Vauxhall d’été en 1769. Mais le Vauxhall d’été devint vite un lieu galant dont la licence lui attira l’ire de l’archevêque de Paris.


Vauxhall is a car MAKER… and Vauxhall is a French word, or rather two (Come on, what is he talking about?)

That is right… the first VAUXHALL cars were manufactured here. The VAUXHALL MARINE ENGINEERING COMPANY, had been founded around 1850, and began producing motor vehicles in 1919, becoming VAUXHALL MOTORS. 

Now,  an Anglo-Norman mercenary, FALKE DE BREAUTE, acquired a Manor House. He was a brutal military leader, favourite of KING JOHN and HIII. He helped the King against the Barons (proposers of  MAGNA CARTA) and the wars against France. He even married MARGARET widow of the French King.

His manor was  FALKES HALL (FOX HALL, SALLE FAUKES, which  passed to king ED.I in 1293.

So… it migh be that the VAUXHALL CARS BADGE, a GRIFFIN might have derived from a Norman nobleman COAT OF ARMS?. Do not believe it?.

In 1903 the company built its first car, a five-horsepower single-cylindermodel steered using a tiller, with two forward gears and no reverse gear.[14] About 70 were made in the first year, before the car was improved with wheel steering and a reverse gear in 1904.

See from the park…

Vauxall cross, MI6 HQ

And a bombed out one (really!)

In 1994 SIS moved to its present headquarters, Vauxhall Cross, which has become easily identifiable from its appearances in several James Bond films.

The architect Terry Farrell won the competition to develop a building on the site and took his inspiration from 1930s architecture such as Battersea and Bankside power stations, as well as Mayan and Aztec temples. With 60 different roof areas and six perimeter and internal atria, it incorporates specially designed doors and 25 different types of glass to meet the Service’s specific needs.

Vauxhall Cross was officially opened by Her Majesty the Queen in July 1994 and has been home to SIS ever since.

 



And, As well, On the other side and under the railway arches

portuguese cafés, DELI-SHOPS & restaurants

If you like the idea of enjoying a Portuguese snack… wait and see, during this tour 

And along the riverside

the albert embankment 

The riverside road here was Fore Street which was effectively destroyed by the building of the Albert Embankment. The embankment was built out of the original shoreline in 1866-9 under BAZALGETTE  to take the southern low-level SEWER  from Putney. Bazalgette's Assistant Engineer, John Grant, was supervisor, the contractor was William Webster and it was opened in 1868. It was named after Prince Consort. The embankment itself is a grey granite wall – apart from a short concrete section. 

Tintagel house

Designed by TP Bennett in the late 1950's and built in 1960. It is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall and was occupied by the Metropolitan Police as their computer centre until 2011 but has since been converted into flats. 
Originally home to the the famous ‘Flying Squad’, the Police’s elite group of police detectives tasked with tackling violent crime.

The operation that netted the KRAY TWINS was run from here, away from SCOTLAND YARD HQ, as it was feared that corrupt officers would tip off the famous gangsters.

In 1972 it was bombed by the ANGRY BRIGADE

Former alembic  House, now peninsula hights

Believed to contain a MI6 safe house. Now luxury apartments: TOMMY STEELE, JEFFRIE ARCHER…

Indian philosopher lord  Basaveshwara

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was invited to unveil this statue of 12th century Indian philosopher ‘Basaveshwara’ on the banks of the river Thames. Neeraj Patil, former mayor of the London borough of Lambeth, the brain behind the statue had met PM Modi in New Delhi prevously and extended an invitation to him to inaugurate the statue during his 2013 visit to the UK,

Basaveshwara (1134-1168), born in Karnataka, pioneered the idea of democracy as a social reformer and statesman. He attempted to create a casteless society and fought against caste and religious discrimination.

London Fauna

There are 28 cast iron  LAMP STANDARDS  with entwined pairs of DOLPHINS  around a fluted, wreathed column with globular lamp holder and crown. The bases of the columns have the arms and monogram of the Metropolitan Board plus 1870' and "Vie Reg” as well as the foundry - Masfield & Co - and the architect, C Vulliamy.

Facing the river are bronze LION HEADS with rings in their mouths. The walkway was opened in 1868 has four public BENCHES  with cast iron centre and end supports with arms fashioned in the shape of SWANS 

The rose ph

You are now exiting the park

Not far away, but not in our route…


Around vauxhall cross: “Dubai on thames” or  “manhatan style” skyscrapers…

vauxhall, from marshes to An industrial district to a major regeneration

For years this area has been under regeneration, with cranes and diggers coming and going…


Originally, marshes and market gardens. An area developed piecemeal, depending on the granting of leases. The railway viaduct was extended from NINE ELMS in the 1840s. (VAUXHALL 
STATION dates from 1848).  and the area became cleaved in two parts: alongside the riverside, industrial uses were intensified; inland, became more residential.

 

With the arrival of the railways ndustrialisation intensified:

-gas works

-vinegar works: the BEAUFOYS, a family than can trace their ascend to the NORMAN CONQUEST. The old MANOR HOUSE  (CARON HOUSE), part of the vinegar factory, still stands (REGENTS BRIDGE GARDENS). Now the area  is residential. 

-gin and wine, as well, near SOUTH LAMBETH RD. 

-timber  yards

-candle makers

-MARMITE, now VOX workspace

-VAUXHALL MOTOR CARS

-BRAND’S FISHPASTE FACTORY. It became the site of a Brutalist BT building


VAUXHALL PARK, nearby, was  OCTAVIA HILL’s et al. initiative, saving an area intended for redevelopment.

 

An the historic riverside, was finally cleared in the 1860s with the building of the ALBERT EMBANKMENT.

The discerning middle classes started to move out and by the end of the 19thc, streets fell into slums, houses being subdivided. And decades of industrial activity, pollution and poverty around followed 

 

In the 80s a CA was created, gentrification gathered place. Old commercial and industrial properties refurbished, and reused and the railway arches gained new uses: restaurants ni ght clubs, LGBT venues. Final years of the 20th and 21th c.: major regeneration

Railway sta. & LU STA.

bus station

Not a ski slope!.The bus station was designed by Arup GroupIt incorporates two cantilevered arms that contain 167 solar panels, which provide a third of the bus station's electricity. It is the second busiest bus station in the city. 

In 2013, Lambeth Council and Transport for London announced plans to demolish the bus station to build a new High Street, as part of Vauxhall's regeneration plans.[4] The Vauxhall Society campaigned against the demolition and set up a petition to pressure the government to reconsider. An attempt to get the bus station Listed building status failed in 2014.[5]

By 2019 the plans were to build two residential tower blocks on the site, at heights of 53 and 42 floors, with a new bus station on the ground floor. A four-day public inquiry into the future of the project began in December 2019.[6] In April 2020, Robert Jenrick upheld the development decisions and demolition was approved.[7]

 

first rowton hotel 

In 1892, a new type of hostel for down-and-out or low-paid working men appeared in London — the first of the Rowton Houses created by philanthropist Lord Rowton. His aim was to provide a cheap accommodation that was better and cleaner than anything else available at the time. He put up the then enormous sum of £30,000 of his own money to finance the scheme. An overview of Rowton's scheme is given on a separate page.

The first Rowton House, at Vauxhall, was the prototype for what eventually became a chain of six such establishments in the capital. It opened on 31st December 1892 at Bond Street (now Bondway) in Vauxhall. The location is shown on the 1916 map below.

brunswick house

Now home to the Brunswick House restaurant  and LASSCO's (the London Architectural Salvage and Supply company) antiques showrooms

St.george’s wharf

18 blocks. 1 m. Sq.ft of mixed use, b. 2001-2010. The TOWER is 594 ft, 50 storeys. 5 apartments for each one. Semi-external Sky garden. 

SUSTAINABILITY!. The wind turbine powers common lights. Water is drawn from the LONDON AQUIFER.  HEAT PUMP technology removes warmth from water in order to heat apartments. Triple glaze. Low e-glazing. Ventilated blinds between glazing to minimise at gain. 1 third of energy savings, max.2 two thirds of typical carbon dioxide produced 

Vauxhall bridge AND THE STATUES OF THE CIVIC VIRTUES

The bridge itself was built in 1895-1906 by Alexander Binnie, reusing footings of the previous bridge, which dated from 1816 (Contemporary of HARLEYFORD ROAD as part of the TURNPIKE system. It impulsed urban development).  It has 5 arches, and the statues are on the piers (pillars) between each arch. Most annoyingly, there is nowhere where one can get a really good view of them except from a boat.

Thames foreshore: London oldest structure?

In front of MI6:
A line of timbers (forming a quay?) carbon-dated to .4.500 B.C, that is, the MESOLITHIC period, when small mobile communities hunted and gathered around this area, 2.000 years after Britain had been severed from the near continent.

Just upstream from VAUXHALL BRIDGE:

A BRONZE AGE wooden structure, maybe the support timber piles of a bridge to a gravel island in the middle of the river (a jetty?)

Where the effra meets the thames

Beside MI6, the South arm of the RIVER EFFRA discharges into the THAMES. The EFFRA is one of the  “lost rivers”of London, that is, rather subterranean streams as they were culverted and became part os the sewage system. You can walk its course, as the course of the other lost rivers!

The EFFRA appearsin the LBTC SOUTH LONDON VILLAGES tour

And Now, on to KENNINGTON

Columns &  sculptures

Reminding us of the 18th/19th c VPG 

ROYAL VAUXHALL TAVERN. Famous!

B. 1862 on SW corner of VPG, maybe reusing leftover bricks of the closed down entertainment place.

And the area association with the gay community dates back when on the most secluded areas of the VPG romantic encounters took place. Masquerades, on the other hand, offered opportunities for cross-dressing…PRINCESS SERAPHINA was a frequent visitor: he  is JOHN COOPER, called SERAPHINA by the locals even when he/she turned up as a man…

By the time of WW2 the gay reputation of the RVT was well established. Drag shows were hosted here, and this was a meeting place for returning servicemen and local gay men.

In the 70s: Drag artists dancing along the bar in their stilettos, CARLA, BARBRA STREISAND impersonator, “GREAT LEE PARIS” Saturday Night… The 80s saw DIANA DORS and LILY SAVAGE.

According to CLEO ROCOS, PRINCESS DIANA was “smuggled” in, dressed as a man, escorted by FREDDY MERCURY, KENNY EVERETT and ROCOS himself,  but nobody recognised her. 

As property developers bought the venue, a community group campaign was set up to save it, helping to be recognised and listed as an iconic gay venue. BORIS JOHNSON and IAN MCKELLEN gave their support

HARLEYFORD ROAD 

if there is a FORD, there must must be a RIVER or a stream somewhere… However, Harleyford Road was named after local leaseholders the Claytons, whose country house was Harleyford Manor, Buckinghamshire.

in fact, the road ma4ks 5he boundary between the manors of KENNINGTON (Royal, since Saxon times, then granted to the BL.PR., by father ED III)  and VAUXHALL, and it follows the course of the North arm of the  RIVER  EFFRA, named here VAUXHALL CREEK.

REGENCY TERRACES, 1820s

ST.MARK’S SCHOOL, 1825

Harleyford road community garden. FIRST, all starts with a small garden…IN THE MIDDLE OF ALL THOSE COUNCIL ESTATES…

Enter the mysterious door…

What about exploring bonnington square and vauxhall grove?

Área developed in the 1880s where you would be  expecting ax traditional London square, that is a central communal garden  faced with housing.  However the site of the garden has buin built upon!. Result: a very dense development, where the back to back distances between properties are very short. And as there is no through route the place is intimate, with a sense of exclusivity. 

Façades in Italian Gothic, gault brick and cast stone. No.13 corner shop, no.15, VINE LODGE, is quirky villa.

Trees, and pavement  planting leaves you with an impression of lushness and exoticism. An, in a former bomb site, a subtropical community garden. Pocket gardens in each corner.

Not only a small piece of greenery and relax…Artworks and cafès

 


Late 70s: GLC, later ILEA, as INNER LONDON education authority, had compulsorily purchased the area to build a modern school. Demolition was prevented by legal means, while occupants were in the process of departing. This little area became  completely occupied by squatters, a so it remained during jhe 80s. A volunteer run vegetarian cafè was established, and a community garden was tended. A bar, a club and a whole food store followed. Subsequently, they formed the SOUTH LONDON FAMILY HOUSING ASSOCIATION, handing the management to a CO-OPERATIVE, which successfully negotiated with ILEA the lease  of the buildings. Houses done up, area transformed. Later on, residents formed the BONNINGTON SQ. GARDEN ASSOCIATION. And the LDN. BOROUGH OFVLAMBETH permitted the Co-operative to purchase the buildings. Today owners (full or shared) and tenants occupy the houses

Our route just skirts a very famous sporting ground…

The oval

The first FA cup final was played here.  The WORLD first international football match was played here… Yes, I said “FA” and yes,  I mentioned “football”… You look confused by now…

Wellcome to the SURREY CRICKET CLUB!. Yes, I said cricket…

Oval?

The memorable oval shape of the ground dates back to c1790 when an oval road was first laid around what was originally a cabbage garden and then a market garden. An 1818 map shows it as 'Poplar Grove' but it had become 'The Oval' by 1830. After a number of proposed building projects had failed, the Oval was opened as a cricket ground in 1846 following the expulsion of the MONTPELIER from their ground in nearby WALWORTH.  Turfs were brought down from TOOTING COMMON.

Cricket matches, and other games requiring a reasonably level turf, could not take place until lawnmowers had been invented.  The first lawnmower was patented in 1830 and other companies entered the market after 1855 when the patent expired.

In 1880 the Oval hosted the first 'TEST MATCH' to be held in England since the series began in Melbourne in 1877.  WG GRACE, scored the first ever CENTURY for the home side. He was also joined in the team by his two brothers, Fred and EM, the first and last time three brothers have represented England. 

.

The first Test match not to involve England and Australia took place in 1888 when SOUTH AFRICA played England.

 

Defeat


A disastrous performance by England here, in 1882, led to a mock obituary and "the Ashes"

The August 1882 Oval "Test" was very exciting, with the Australians all out for only 63 runs in their first innings. But their ace bowler Fred Spofforth ensured an English collapse when he took 14 English wickets for only 90 runs. Their equally ace wicketkeeper, Jack Blackham, kept the ball as a souvenir and it is now on show at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The media were just as cruel then as they are now and the satirical magazine "PUNCH" asked whether the English team had "want of devil, coolness, nerve and backbone". And "THE SPORTING TIMES" carried this mock obituary for English cricket:  "In Affectionate Remembrance of ENGLISH CRICKET, which died at the Oval on 29th August 1882, Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing friends and acquaintances.  R.I.P.  N.B. - The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia.".

The English team travelled to Australia the following winter (by ship of course - and it was summer in Australia) and their captain, the Honourable Ivo BLIGHT, referred to "the ashes" in a speech around the time of their first match. This reference was picked up by the ladies of the CLARKE family's estate where the tourists stayed that Christmas.  After a friendly match against the men in their family they PRESENTED some ashes (of what it is not known) to the tourists who then took them with them on their travels and back to England

Ivo Bligh returned to Australia later in 1883 to MARRY the Clarke's music teacher, Florence Murphy, one of the ladies who had presented the ashes. As Ivo was the second son of the Earl of Darnley (hence "the Hon."), and as his elder brother died before him, Ivo became the Earl of Darnley (usually shortened to "Lord Darnley") and Florence became Lady Darnley. They lived at COBHAM HALL and kept the ashes there until the Earl died in 1927. His widow gave the ashes to the MARYLEBONE CRICKET CLUB in 1929.

 

 


When Darnley died in 1927 his widow presented the urn to the
Marylebone Cricket Club and that was the key event in establishing the URNas the physical embodiment of the legendary ashes. MCC first displayed the urn in the LONG ROOM at Lord's and since 1953 in the MCC Cricket Museum at the ground. MCC's wish for it to be seen by as wide a range of cricket enthusiasts as possible has led to its being mistaken for an official trophy. It is in fact a private memento, and for this reason it is never awarded to either England or Australia, but is kept permanently in the MCC Cricket Museum where it can be seen together with the specially made red and gold  VELVET BAG and the SCORECARD of the 1882 match.

Because the urn itself is so delicate, it has been allowed to travel to Australia only twice. The first occasion was in 1988 for a museum tour as part of the Australian Bicentenary celebrations; the second was for the 2006/7 Ashes series.[16] The urn arrived on 17 October 2006, going on display at the Museum of Sydney. It then toured to other states, with the final appearance at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery on 21 January 2007.

In the 1990s, given Australia's long dominance of the Ashes and the popular acceptance of the Darnley urn as "the Ashes", the idea was mooted that the victorious team should be awarded the urn as a trophy and allowed to retain it until the next series. As its condition is fragile and it is a prized exhibit at the MCC Cricket Museum, the MCC would not agree. Furthermore, in 2002, Bligh's great-great-grandson Lord Clifton, the heir-apparent to the Earldom of Darnley, argued that the Ashes urn should not be returned to Australia because it belonged to his family and was given to the MCC only for safe keeping. Indeed, the Earl's GRANDSON, the then Lord Darnley, appeared on the radio in December 2002 to argue that the Ashes should not be returned to Australia as they were essentially the property of the Darnleys and only given to the MCC for safe-keeping.

However, as a compromise, the MCC commissioned a larger replica of the urn in Waterford Crystal, known as the ASHES TROPHY, to award to the winning team of each series starting with the 1998–99 Ashes.[17] This did little to diminish the status of the Darnley urn as the most ICON in cricket, the symbol of this old and keenly fought contest.

 

England won back the Ashes at the Oval in 2005, encouraged by rooftop fans, as well as those who had paid for seats.

Is cricket an english creation?

 

Cricket was created during Saxon or Norman times by children living in the Weald, an area of dense woodlands and clearings in south-east England that lies across Kent and Sussex.[2] The first definite written reference is from the end of the 16th century.

There have been several speculations about the game's origins, including some that it was created in France or Flanders.

A number of words are thought to be possible sources for the term "cricket". In the earliest definite reference, it was spelled creckett. The name may have been derived from the Middle Dutch krick(-e), meaning a stick; or the Old English cricc or cryce meaning a crutch or staff, or the French word criquet meaning a wooden post.[4] The Middle Dutch word krickstoel means a long low stool used for kneeling in church; this resembled the long low wicket with two stumps used in early cricket.[9] According to Heiner Gillmeister, a European language expert of the University of Bonn, "cricket" derives from the Middle Dutch phrase for hockey, met de (krik ket)sen (i.e., "with the stick chase").[10]

It is more likely that the terminology of cricket was based on words in use in south-east England at the time and, given trade connections with the County of Flanders, especially in the 15th century when it belonged to the Duchy of Burgundy, many Middle Dutch[11] words found their way into southern English dialects.[12]

 

In 1597 (Old Style – 1598 New Style) a court case in England concerning an ownership dispute over a plot of common land in Guildford, Surrey, mentions the game of creckett. A 59-year-old coroner, John Derrick, testified that he and his school friends had played creckett on the site fifty years earlier when they attended the Free School. Derrick's account proves beyond reasonable doubt that the game was being played in Surrey circa 1550, and is the earliest universally accepted reference to the game.[5][6]

The first reference to cricket being played as an adult sport was in 1611, when two men in Sussex were prosecuted for playing cricket on Sunday instead of going to church.[7] In the same year, a dictionary defined cricket as a boys' game, and this suggests that adult participation was a recent development.[5] In an account of a case brought before the King's Bench in 1640, it is recorded that a cricket match "between the Weald & Upland" took place "about 30 yeares [sic]" previously.[8]

 

do you like cricket and want to know more and to see the ashes?. or you do not care about cricket…Visit st.john’s wood!

The most iconic cricket ground in London

St.john’s wood High street

E.m.i

Ben uri gallery. Jewish art

Regent’s park

Central mosque

View from primrose hill

Primrose hill, the district. Shops & eateries

From oval, a little diversion if that pleases you…

Site of Gasworks. New oval village 

The first iron gasholder was installed on the site in 1847 to service a gasworks next to Vauxhall Bridge. The Phoenix Gas Light and Coke Company replaced it in 1877–79 to designs by Sir Corbet Woodall, with two lifts holding 3 million cubic ft, making it the largest gasholder in the world. It was enlarged again by Frank Livesey in 1891–92 for the South Metropolitan Gas Company, by modifying the guides to increase their height by 50%, and adding two more lifts, including a "flying lift" rising above the guides, doubling its capacity to 6 million cubic feet. It is an early use of wrought iron in a frame.

Gasworks ART GALLERY

Not far away… beefeaters’ gin DISTILLERY

Beefeater Gin is a brand of ginowned by Pernod Ricard and bottled and distributed in the United Kingdom. Beefeater remained in the control of its founding Burrough family until 1987. The Beefeater distillery is one of 24 in London.[1]

The name refers to the Yeomen of the Guard who are a bodyguard of the British Monarch. They reside in the TOWER OF LONDON

Former vicarage, next door to oval…

The Vicar living here in 1881 was HENRY MONTGOMERY. Maud and Henry had nine children, most notably BERNARD MONTGOMERY. During the Second World War, he led a decisive victory at El Alamein, Egypt; he was also commander of all land forces involved in Operation Overlord, the code name for the Battle of Normandy, under the overall command of US General Dwight Eisenhower.

The statue of MONTY OF EL ALAMEIN in WHITEHALL

Kennington park, a little further down

Site of the KENNINGTON COMMON, where the CHARTISTS congregated in 1848

The LBTC SOUTH LONDON VILLAGES covers the area 

St.mark’s church, kennington parish

Now that  you know one of the vicars… get to know the church 

Enjoy the street food stalls during the week and the farmers’market on Saturdays 

Back to your tour…YOU ARE now ENTERING STOCKWELL

The name Stockwell is likely to have originated from a local well, with "stoc" being Old English for a tree trunk or post. From the thirteenth to the start of the nineteenth century, Stockwell was a rural manor at the edge of London. It included market gardens and John Tradescant'sbotanical garden – commemorated in Tradescant Road, which was built over it in 1880, and in a memorial outside St Stephen's church. In the nineteenth century it developed as an elegant middle-class suburb.

ASHMOLE ESTATE. Social Housing

Of course, you have heard about OXFORD, a lovely town… What about its UNIVERSITY and its museums?. The ASHMOLEAN, for instance.

The Ashmolean came into existence in 1682, when the wealthy antiquary ELIAS ASHMOLE gifted his collection to the university, who opened it as BRITAIN’S FIRST PUBLIC MUSEUM, and the WORLD’S FIRST UNIVERSITY MUSEUM, in 1683.

Though the collection has evolved considerably, the founding principle remains: that knowledge of humanity across cultures and across times is important to society. A laudable intention, but the uncomfortable truth is that much of the collection was inevitably selected and obtained as a result of colonial power.
Enter the tradescants and 'The Ark'

Elias Ashmole acquired his collection from two gardeners: John Tradescant, father and son. Employed by the wealthy Earl of Salisbury, the Tradescants had travelled the world known to Europeans, shipping back new and exotic plant specimens for the Earl's gardens. In the course of their travels they also acquired a remarkable collection of botanical, geological and zoological items as well as man-made objects.

The Tradescant’s themselves established a museum in Lambeth, South London, known as ‘The Ark’ to house their collection in 1634. A visitor to this original museum commented that ‘a man might in one day behold…more curiosities than he should see if he spent all his life in travel.’ The collection contained treasures such as the ‘mantle’ (actually a wall hanging) of Pocahontas's father Powhatan, and the stuffed body of a dodo. Ashmole gifted this collection to the University…

 

Meadow street

LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR Convent AND ST.PETER’S RESIDENCES FOR THE AGED

The Little Sisters of the Poor came to England in 1851. In 1863 they moved from “Paragon”, a crescent on the Old Kent Road, to the current site in Meadow Road. When the former Home was demolished in 1984, a new modern purpose built Residential Home, St Peter’s Residence, was built on the same site.

Today a community of Little Sisters are happy to continue the work of St Jeanne Jugan where the Congregation has served the elderly for over 150 years. The Little Sisters are aided by members of staff, comprising nurses, care assistants, housekeepers, maintenance and administration personnel.  Together with the Chaplain, the Association Jeanne Jugan, members of the Residents’ families and volunteers, they work to ensure that Quality of Life is assured for each Resident.

 

The MOTHER of the Notting hill carnival

One of the most important figures in BLACK BRITISH history. She spent her VAUXHALL YEARS here.

Her family moved to HARLEM, from TRINIDAD. Living in poverty led her to suffer from poor health all her life. Deprived of formal education from 13. Started writing and joined the Communists. She edited various journals. Involved in all types of ACTIVISTM: Communist, black rights women’s rights, civil rights. Thence persecution and imprisonment.She was supported by actor and singer PAUL ROBESON. But finally deported, in 1955, to GB.

Here, with other US Comm. became member of the CPGB. Relationships within the Party were fraught due to sexism and racism.
She pub. The WEST INDIAN GAZETTE AND AFRO-ASIAN NEWS, first post-war Black paper. Her campaigns here focused iagainst racism in housing, education and employment.  MARCHANDA was managing editor, DONALD HINDS, reporter (and bus conductor). The WEST INDIAN COMMUNITY was growing

In 59 thecWIG had a circ. of 10.000

She came to live here, owned by the RED DEAN OF CANTERBURY, HEWLETT JOHNSON. with her, Parter MANU MARCHANDA, activist involv. In INDIAN WORKERS ASSOCIATION 

The arrival of people from The west indies to london: The empire windrush

Brixton was an important settlement (the initial one)  for migrants from the Caribbean in the decades following the arrival of the Empire Windrush at Tilbury in 1948. During this period, Brixton gained a reputation as the spiritual home of Caribbean settlement in the United Kingdom. In the 1980s, Brixton was one of many British inner cities that experienced uprisings, often sparked by police brutality, that were the result of high youth unemployment and discrimination in many areas of life such as education, employment and housing.

TILBURY, PORT OF LONDON, 1948. The first Caribbean arrivals 

Clapham south deep-level shelter

Their first accommodation 

Brixton,  employment exchange

The first one they had access to

brixton, their first settlement

Notting hill, their second settlement

Many people who arrived on the Empire Windrush found a home in Notting Hill and North Kensington, also home to a struggling white working class.

The tension culminated in the 1958 race riots and the murder of Kelso Cochrane in 1959.

The notting hill riots, 1958

Many arrested. In order to raise money for the legal costs, and to promote and share CARIBBEAN CULTURE, she set up the CLAUDIA’SCARIBBEAN CARNIVAL. The first one, 1959, In ST.PANCRA’S TOWN HALL,, broadcast by the BBC.

CALYPSO SINGERS:LORD KITCHENER, CY GRANT, SAMUEL SELVIN, NADIA CALTOUSE.

Followed by a beauty contest, in order to bring pride in being black.

All, to “symbolise the unity of our people” In 66, RHAUNE LASLETT and ANDRE SHERRINGTON continued the CARNIVAL, as an outdoor event.

 

AFTER CELSO COCHRANE murder, in 1959,  she worked in the INTER-RACIAL COORDINATION COUNCIL, with AMY ASHWOOD GARVEY. ESLANDA ROBESON spoke at K.C. Memorial meeting.

Involved in MOVEMENT FOR COLONIAL FREEDOM and BOYCOTT MOVEMENT (anti-APARTHEID).

 

Unable to pay rent she moved to NLDN.Worked with FENNER BROCKWAY MP ag. 1962 IMMIGRATION ACT. She set up the AFRICAN-ASIAN CONFERENCE.

In 63 she was involved in supporting the MARCH FOR JOBS AND FREEDOM in WASHINGTON DC (MLK, I have a dream). MLK visited her in 64, the year she died. Buried, near to KM in HIGHGATE CEMETERY..

 BRixton riots and uprisings

The 1981 Brixton riot, or Brixton uprising,[1] was a series of clashes between mainly black youths and the Metropolitan Police in Brixton, London, between 10 and 12 April 1981.[2] It resulted from racist discrimination against the black community by the mainly white police, especially the police's increased use of stop-and-search in the area, and ongoing tensions resulting from the deaths of 13 black teenagers and young adults in the suspicious New Cross house fire that January.

The Thatcher government commissioned an inquiry, which resulted in the Scarman Report.

The Brixton riot of 1985 started on 28 September in Lambeth in South London. It was the second major riot that the area had witnessed in the space of four years, the last in 1981. It was sparked by the shooting of Dorothy "Cherry" Groce by the Metropolitan Police, while they sought her 21-year-old son Michael Grocein relation to a robbery and suspected firearms offence; they believed Michael Groce was hiding in his mother's home.[1][2]

After two days of riots, photo-journalist David Hodge had died, 43 civilians and 10 police officers were hurt. Amongst a number of fires, one building had been destroyed, 55 cars had been burnt out, and 58 burglaries had been committed including acts of looting.

The Brixton riots of 1995 began on 13 December after the death of a black 26-year-old, Wayne Douglas, in police custody. Douglas had allegedly robbed a couple in bed at knifepoint hours earlier.[1] Trouble broke out after what had been a peaceful protest outside the Brixton Police Station where the death occurred. With several hundred people involved, the riot resulted in damage to property and vehicles in the area. Police sealed off a three-kilometre (2 mile) area around Brixtonin south London.

The riot lasted for five hours. 22 people were arrested and charged with public order offences, theft and criminal damage. Three police officers were hurt.[2]

The then-Deputy Prime Minister, Michael Heseltine, condemned the riots and said "efforts to improve Brixton would continue".

NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL

Enjoy a fantastic experience, when in a London, yes, but we are now in STOCKWELL…This is not NOTTING HILL. Do not get confused!.

Make notting hill and brixton  two of your london destinations!

For notting hill, See chapter 5 of this guide

And your tour continues

REGENCY TERRACES, alongside MEADOW STREET

The calvary church of god  in christ

Originally a METHODIST church, completed 1891.

The Church of God In Christ (Calvary) also known as COGIC UK began in the late 40’s when the first wave of immigrants from the Caribbean arrived in England. As it proved difficult for them to become members of the established Church the Black majority church was born. Soon all over the country, small groups of Christians from the Caribbean and Africa were gathering to pray and worship together.

Social housing. Peter peri artwork

In case you want to divert, and to know more…Not far away from here, to the north…

Meadow st. North: ST.MARK’S CONSERVATION AREA

Mid 19th c houses, stock brick, stucco dressings, sash windows, London roofs, and mature front gardens, giving character to the area

To the south, The fentiman arms ph

Vauxhall park

"Vauxhall Park was created by a special Act of Parliament in 1888 on land whose history can be traced back to the 11th Century. A group of houses previously stood on the site, including one owned by Henry Fawcett, a Member of Parliament and an innovative Postmaster General. After his death in 1884 his widow Millicent, with the Kyrle Society and Octavia Hill (founder of the National Trust), raised funds to buy the land and commissioned the landscape architect Fanny Rollo Wilkinson to lay out the site. Vauxhall Park was first opened by HRH the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, on 7th July 1890."

Duse mohamed ali, at langley mansions. Black london.

An associate and mentor of MARCUS GARVEY

In case you are interested in space exploration 

A little diversion: continue on…

A dispensary?

The plaque, on the wall of 46 Wilkinson Street, was erected to mark the opening of the South Lambeth, Stockwell and North Brixton Dispensary on 12 July 1866. The plaque has recently been restored by the current residents of the house, with the support of ASSA, with the work carried out by  renowned stonecutter Philip Surey.

Tradescant sculpture

The first sculpture commissioned by a resident association (ALBERT SQ. AND ST.STEPHEN’S) paid by local contributions and a grant from Greater London Arts.

A memorial to the TREDESCANTS, the 17th c. local family of gardeners, pioneers in the collection of world specimens and inspiration for gardeners through time. The gardens they tendered are now covered by the streets around you…

St.stephen’s church

1861, reb. 1967 due to war damage

ALBERT SQUARE IS NOT IN E20

An outstanding London garden square. Unexpected in this area., they are very common in the wealthy West London. Completed in 1851. 

The canton arms ph

Cosy!.

Not far away, STOCKWELL TOWN CENTRE

First statue of a black woman

Former war shelter 
Memorial garden and 

The largest bus depot

van gogh in London?. In stockwell, as well!

Between August 1873 and September 1974, a young Vincent van Gogh took lodgings at 87 Hackford Road. It was here in London that Van Gogh became deeply inspired by British literature and art.

At the age of 20, Vincent van Gogh was transferred from the Dutch branch of art dealers Goupil and Cie. in the Hague to its English location in Covent Garden. This was Van Gogh’s first time living and working in a new country, and his first foray into a foreign culture.

After living in several houses in and around London, Van Gogh finally settled into a room at 87 Hackford Road, an 1820s Georgian terrace in Stockwell. He shared the residence with his widowed landlady Mrs. Ursula Loyer, her daughter Eugenie Loyer, and Samuel Plowman. It is rumoured that Van Gogh fell in love with Eugenie, yet his affections were not returned.

 

 

LBTC SOUTH LONDON VILLAGES takes you around here, on your way to CLAPHAM  OLD TOWN, CLAPHAM COMMON and BRIXTON.

Your Lbtc route continues along Dorset road and old south lambeth roaD

Along the stretch of south lambeth road that you are crossing lies…

LITTLE PORTUGAL, as promised. would you like a “bica”? (an espresso, for a “LISBOETA”)

 

A little corner of Portugal in London, a community and a collection of businesses gathered over the last 60 years… progressively, as more and more migrants arrived. All dilapidated became Portuguese shops. Here, the majority of conversations are in Portuguese… precisely the local Londoners, ethnic Britons, like the place,más they like all types of “exotic” ethnic areas. Portuguese-speaking Africans are not strange to the area, and Brazilians are becoming predominant. 35.000 Lusofalantes?. Defined, Portuguese is the second most spoken language in the LB of LAMBETH.

 

Traditionally a tight-knit community, definitely, for a few decades. But now the district is in flux: look all those cranes, that are giving way to those high rise buildings…

And the community is feeling torn between identities… the young, do they feel Portuguese or English?. But a new influx of youngsters came from 2008, affected by the CREDIT CRUNCH. The first Portuguese people who came to London, massively, were fleeing a dictatorship and severe poverty at home. They took it jobs as cleaners or building sites, or driving mini cabs. The community defínete have progressed.

SOUTH LAMBETH  tate FREE LIBRARY

In 1872, he purchased the patent from German Eugen Langen for making sugar cubes, and in the same year built a new refinery in Liverpool. In 1877 he opened a refinery at Silvertown, London, which remains in production. Tate became wealthy…

And, now, his name is all over the place… as he made many other donations, often anonymously, and always discreetly. They included £42,500 for Liverpool University, £3500 for Bedford College for Women, and £5000 for building a free library in Streatham; additional provisions were made for libraries in Balham, Lambeth, and Brixton. There was £10,000 for the library of Manchester College, Oxford, and, also to Manchester College, £5000 to promote the 'theory and art of preaching'. In addition he gave £20,000 to the (homoeopathic) Hahnemann Hospital in Liverpool in 1885, £8000 to the Liverpool Royal Infirmary, and £5000 to the Queen Victoria Jubilee Institute, which became the Queen's Institute for District Nurses. In 1887 he gave £5000 to the Tate Institute in Silvertown, to serve as a non-sectarian, and apolitical meeting-place for working people. It had a large hall and several meeting rooms, a reading room, billiard room, and nine bathrooms.

ENTERS MR.LYLE
Abram Lyle, a cooper and shipowner, acquired an interest in a sugar refinery in 1865, in Greenock and then at Plaistow Wharf, West Silvertown, London.[3] The two companies had large factories nearby each other – Henry Tate in Silvertown and Abram Lyle at Plaistow Wharf – so prompting the merger. Prior to the merger, which occurredd after they had died, the two men were bitter business rivals, although they had never met in person.
1888 Lyle's Golden Syrup introduced a logo of a dead lion surrounded by a swarm of bees, illustrating a biblical story, with the quotation "out of the strong came forth sweetness".[6] The logo, which holds the Guinness World Record for the world's oldest unchanged brand packaging, was kept for most products until 2024, when it was replaced with a lion's head and a single bee. The original logo was maintained for Lyle's Golden Syrup tins

LYLE: Oldest logo, and the rebranded one

Tate britain 

Tate modern

Tate&lyle refinery in silvertown, east london

ONE DAY, VISIT THE ROYAL DOCKS!

In the 1970s, under the leadership of Saxon Tate (a direct descendant of Henry Tate), the company began to diversify into related fields of commodity trading, transport and engineering, and in 1976, it acquired competing cane sugar refiner Manbré & Garton.

In July 2010, the company announced the sale of its sugar refining business, including rights to use the Tate & Lyle brand name and Lyle's Golden Syrup, to American Sugar Refining (owned by sugar barons the Fanjul brothers) for £211 million.[19] The sale included the Plaistow Wharf and Silvertown plants.

along wicox street

nolan’s an irish pub

And more portuguese cafés

A famous film location 

Former CHURCH COMMISSIONERS (CHURCH OF ENGLAND) HOUSING ESTATE

Wandsworth road

An ancient road to KINGSTON and the SW, alongside a ridge failing steeply, giving way to the BATTERSEA MARSHES. It developed in ribon: first, large residences, giving way to more modest  houses and shops.

The area was home to ammunitation factories and engineering e works, and was the target of WW2 bombings.


If you want to divert, follow westwards Wandsworth road and you will find…

And More portuguese shops and eateries

A toca

The old britannia pub is now the lusitania restaurant

larkhall park, NOW 

Same place, 100 years ago

One of the many new local parks created in London out of the wartime destruction. Where terraces of houses, shops, workshops and factories used to stand from Victorian times…

Further on, the original clapham village

The old, original village church

Part of LBTC SOUTH LONDON VILLAGES tour

Welcome to nine elms!

An area in the process of regeneration… but what you see first is not that gleaming riverside!. Wait and see…

And Keep enjoying this guide

if you like the arts, why not donating…