Wandsworth

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This article refers only to the town of Wandsworth. For the wider area generally referred to as Wandsworth, see the separate article on London Borough of Wandsworth.

Coordinates: 51°27′52″N 0°11′33″W / 51.4644°N 0.1924°W / 51.4644; -0.1924

Wandsworth
Wandsworth shown within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ255755
London borough	Wandsworth
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	SW18
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
European Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Battersea
London Assembly	Merton and Wandsworth
List of places: UK • England • London

Wandsworth is an inner suburb of London on the south bank of the River Thames in south-west London. Wandsworth takes its name from the River Wandle, which enters the Thames at Wandsworth.

Wandsworth appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Wandesorde and Wendelesorde. This means 'enclosure of a man named Waendel', whose name is also lent to the River Wandle.^[1] It was held partly by William, son of Ansculf and partly by St Wandrille's Abbey. Its domesday assets were 12 hides, with 5½ ploughs and 22 acres of meadow. It rendered £9.^[2]

Description

Since at least the early 16th century, Wandsworth has offered accommodation to consecutive waves of immigration; from Protestant Dutch metalworkers fleeing persecution in the 1590s, to recent Eastern European members of the European Union.^[3] An influx of French Huguenot refugees in the early 17th century is remembered in many local street names. There is a band of small and expensive terraced housing (known as The Tonsleys) behind Old York Road — the former centre of old Wandsworth — rising to an area of grander, terraced, semi-detached and detached housing along the roads bounded by West Side Wandsworth Common, Earlsfield Road and East Hill. In contrast, at the base of East Hill is a collection of high-rise council blocks.

According to an article in The Guardian in 2004:

Wandsworth has a greater proportion of people whose lifestyle, views and trends shape the zeitgeist more than anywhere else in the UK. Wandsworth, in other words, is groovier than everywhere else in Britain.

According to the Evening Standard"Wandsworth is the hotspot" for those people in London earning over £100,000.

Areas in Wandsworth

The River Front

A former wharf area, and now a long river walk towards Battersea Village and the West End. It is now lined with new apartment blocks, with several bars and restaurants. Notable pubs include The Ship Inn near Wandsworth Bridge. The Waterfront on Battersea Reach is a very large bar with excellent view towards Chelsea Harbour.

Wandsworth Common

Set back from the river, at the top of East Hill, containing an area known locally as "the Toast Rack" that has some of the most expensive townhouses in London^[3] across from Bellevue Road containing several boutiques and the famous restaurant Chez Bruce, formerly Harveys, where chef Gordon Ramsay learned his trade, and which co-owner Bruce Poole gained a Michelin star in 1999, subsequently voted one of London's favourite restaurants in 2006.^{[citation needed]} The area also contains one of Wandsworth's most impressive buildings, the Royal Victoria Patriotic Building, which now contains flats, a theatre school and the "Le Gothique" restaurant.

The Tonsleys/Old York Road

A residential area of old Wandsworth close to the river and town centre, so called because many of the street names have the word "Tonsley" included. It has a village feel with the Old York Road's cafes and shops at its heart. The area contains three notable pubs, the Royal Standard, the East Hill and The Alma. Brady's Fish Restaurant serves traditional fish and chips in comfortable middle class surroundings. The area was recently used as the location for the BBC TV series Outnumbered. Houses in this area, although small, sell from £600k to over £1 mil, and are desired because they retain their Victorian character and are in close proximity to the Wandsworth Town train station. The houses are very popular with city workers, lawyers, advertising executives and other professionals.

East Hill

An area of Large Victorian houses bordered by the west side of Wandsworth Common. The De Morgan Centre houses a collection of Victorian artwork.

Wandsworth High Street

A rather traffic-choked street, picking up much of the traffic from the A3, the High Street is dominated by the recently-regenerated Southside shopping centre, cinema and restaurant complex (formerly, and still and more commonly, referred to as the Arndale Centre).

Trivia

Nearby is Wandsworth prison, which is the largest prison in the London area, and the second largest in Britain, after Liverpool.^{[citation needed]}

Between the town centre and the river lies the site of Young & Co's Ram Brewery, in the heart of Wandsworth. Traditional draught beer was produced on the site from 1581, which made the Ram Brewery the oldest site in Britain on which beer had been brewed continuously.^{[citation needed]} Until late in 2006, shire horse-drawn brewery drays were still used to deliver beer to local pubs. However, beer production was stopped in September 2006 when Young & Co merged their brewing operations with Charles Wells of Bedford and a new use for the site is being discussed. Young & Co however still have their Headquarters in Wandsworth.

One of the underpasses under Wandsworth roundabout was used in the opening scene of A Clockwork Orange, where a gang of youths beat up a rough sleeper using baseball bats.

The Pet Shop Boys' Iconic "west End Girls" Cover was shot in Charterhouse Works.

In December 2006, Sport England published a survey which revealed that residents of Wandsworth were the seventh most active in England in sports and other fitness activities. 27.2% of the population participate at least three times a week for 30 minutes.^[4]

In the Genesis song "The Battle of Epping Forest" (from their album Selling England by the Pound) about a street fight between rival hoodlum gangs, the nearby prison is referenced: "And his friend, Liquid Len by name, Of wine, women and Wandsworth fame..."

Notable residents

• Naveen Andrews — actor
• Alun Armstrong — actor
• Marcus Brigstocke — comedian
• Martin Bashir — journalist
• Tony Blair — former Prime Minister (shared a house with Charlie Falconer in the Tonsleys on Bramford Road)
• Sophie Dahl — model
• Daniel Defoe — author
• George Eliot — author
• Lord Charlie Falconer — politician (shared a house with Tony Blair in the Tonsleys on Bramford Road)
• Jason Flemyng — actor
• Edward Gibbon—English historian
• Ollie Hoare — model
• Mark Owen — singer
• Ainsley Harriott — TV chef
• Lesley Joseph: Actress
• Keira Knightley — actress
• David Lloyd George — former Prime Minister
• Daniel Massey: actor
• Andy Murray — Tennis player
• Penelope Wilton: Actor
• Kevin Pietersen — cricketer

• Jessica Taylor — singer with Liberty X

• Paul Theroux : travel writer

• Louis Theroux: TV presenter

• William Makepeace Thackeray — novelist
• Emma Ferguson — actress
• Holly Willoughby — TV Presenter
• Thomas Craig — actor
• Michael Nicholson — journalist
• Marcus Jones — philanthropist
• Jonathan Ansell — singer
• Phil Spencer — TV presenter
• Frank Bruno — boxer
• Thomas Hardy — Author (A blue plaque on the junction of Trinity Road and Broderick Road commemorates his residence)

Nearest places

• Balham
• Battersea
• Clapham
• Earlsfield
• Fulham
• Putney
• Southfields
• Streatham
• Tooting
• Wimbledon

Local attractions

Notable Restaurants

• Chez Bruce, Wandsworth Common

Notable bars and pubs

• The Old Sergeant, Garratt Lane

Places of interest

• Wandsworth Museum and Local History Service

Places of worship

• West Side Church
• Fazl Mosque

Transport

Nearest railway stations:

• Wandsworth Town railway station
• Wandsworth Common train station, (one stop from Clapham Junction, and 12 minutes train ride from Victoria)
• Earlsfield railway station, (one stop from Clapham Junction, and 12 minutes train ride from Waterloo Station)

See also

• De Morgan Centre
• Southside Shopping Centre
• The Borough of Wandsworth Rifle Club

References

1. ^ Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names. p 482.
2. ^ Surrey Domesday Book
3. ^ ^{a b} Time Out London for Londoners. London: Ebury Publishing. 2006. ISBN 978-1-904978-52-7. 
4. ^ Sport England. "Active People Survey". http://www.sportengland.org/index/get_resources/research/active_people/active_people_survey_headline_results.htm. Retrieved on 2007-01-27. 

External links

• The Wandsworth Society
• Wandsworth Museum and Local History Service
• Wandsworth Art Studios

v • d • e London Borough of Wandsworth Districts Balham · Battersea · Earlsfield · Furzedown · Nine Elms · Putney · Putney Heath · Putney Vale · Roehampton · Southfields · Streatham Park · Tooting · Wandsworth Attractions Battersea Arts Centre · De Morgan Centre · Streatham Park · Theatre 503 Constituencies Battersea · Putney · Tooting Parks and open spaces in Wandsworth