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Wandsworth
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Wandsworth (Greater London)

OS grid referenceTQ255755
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
UK Parliament Battersea
London Assembly Merton and Wandsworth
European Parliament London
List of places: UK • England UK • London
Coordinates: Wandsworth is a town on the south bank of the River Thames in south-west London. It is at the centre of the London Borough of Wandsworth, made up of Balham, Battersea, Clapham Junction, Earlsfield, Nine Elms, Putney, Roehampton, Southfields, and Tooting. Wandsworth takes its name from the River Wandle, which enters the Thames at Wandsworth. Many people say they live in Wandsworth, but are referring to the borough rather than the town. Wandsworth town is a relatively small, roughly triangular-shaped stretch of land, running down to the Thames.

Wandsworth appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Wandesorde and Wendelesorde. It was held partly by William, son of Ansculf and partly by St Wandrille's Abbey. Its domesday assets were: 12 hides. It had 5½ ploughs, 22 acres of meadow. It rendered £9.[1]

Description

Wandsworth, like its neighbour Battersea, is a town of extremes (a fact highlighted in the film Love Actually) containing some light industry and warehouse sites, rapidly being surrounded by luxury riverside housing. The last twenty years has seen Wandsworth join the ranks of the most expensive and desirable south London towns. In February 2007 the Evening Standard placed Wandsworth as a borough with the third most million-pound property sales in the capital, behind Kensington/Chelsea and Westminster. Many of these sales are due to Wandsworth's (The Town) rapid riverside development, catering for the Chelsea overspill.

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. [2] 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 in September 2007:
"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[2] across from Bellevue Road containing several boutiques and the famous restaurant Chez Bruce, formerly Harveys, where chef Gordon Ramsay learned his trade, and voted one of London's favourite restaurants in 2006. 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.

St John's Hill

There are many independent cafés, bars and restaurants on St John's Hill, including the Evening Standard award winning Fish Club and Out Of The Blue, a popular wine bar.

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" in them. It has a village feel with the Old York Road's cafes and shops at its heart. The area contains two notable pubs, 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"

East/West 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.

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. 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.[3]

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..."

Famous residents

Nearest places

Local Attractions

Notable Restaurants
  • Chez Bruce, Wandsworth Common
  • Ditto Wandsworth, East Hill
  • Konnigans,Old York Rd.
  • Brady's Fish Restaurant, Old York Rd
  • Le Gothique, The Royal Victoria Patriotic Building
Notable Bars and Pubs
  • The Oak, East Hill
  • Space Lounge, Wandsworth Highstreet
  • The Ship
  • The Alma, Old York Rd
  • The Waterfront, Battersea Reach
  • The County Arms
  • The Cats back
Places of Interest
  • Wandsworth Museum and Local History Service

Transport

Nearest railway stations:

See also

References

1. ^ Surrey Domesday Book
2. ^ (2006) Time Out London for Londoners. London: Ebury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-904978-52-7. 
3. ^ Sport England. Active People Survey. Retrieved on 27 January 2007.

External links

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London Borough of Wandsworth
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London Borough of Wandsworth

Shown within Greater London
Geography
Status London borough
Area
— Total Ranked 331st
34.26 km
ONS code 00BJ
Admin HQ Wandsworth
Demographics
Population
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Dieu et mon droit   (French)
"God and my right"
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Motto
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"God and my right"
Anthem
"God Save the Queen" [3]
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London SW postcode area


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Coverage
Area Greater London
(except City of London)
Size 1,578 km² (609 sq mi)
Population 7.
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Merton and Wandsworth
London Assembly constituency

Merton and Wandsworth shown within London
Created: 2000
Member: Elizabeth Howlett
Party: Conservative
Region: London
Assembly: London Assembly Merton and Wandsworth
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