Battersea is a large district in

south London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

, part of the

London Borough of Wandsworth Wandsworth () is a London boroughs, London borough in southwest London; it forms part of Inner London and has an estimated population of 329,677 inhabitants. Its main named areas are Battersea, Balham, Putney, Tooting and Wandsworth, Wandsworth ...

, England. It is centred southwest of

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...

and extends along the south bank of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

. It includes the

Battersea Park Battersea Park is a 200-acre (83-hectare) green space at Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth in London. It is situated on the south bank of the River Thames opposite Chelsea and was opened in 1858. The park occupies marshland reclai ...

History

Battersea is mentioned in the few surviving

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

geographical accounts as ''Badrices īeg'' meaning "Badric's Island" and later "Patrisey". As with many former parishes beside tidal flood plains the lowest land was reclaimed for agriculture by draining marshland and building culverts for streams. Alongside this was the Heathwall

tide mill A tide mill is a water mill driven by tidal rise and fall. A dam with a sluice is created across a suitable tidal inlet, or a section of river estuary is made into a reservoir. As the tide comes in, it enters the mill pond through a one-way gate ...

in the north-east with a very long mill pond regularly draining and filling to the south. The settlement appears in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086 as ''Patricesy'', a vast manor held by St Peter's Abbey, Westminster. Its ''Domesday'' Assets were: 18 hides and 17

ploughland The carucate or carrucate ( lat-med, carrūcāta or ) was a medieval unit of land area approximating the land a plough team of eight oxen could till in a single annual season. It was known by different regional names and fell under different forms ...

s of cultivated land; 7

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...

s worth £42 9s 8d per year, of

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifi ...

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

worth 50 hogs. It rendered (in total): £75 9s 8d. The present church, which was completed in 1777, hosted the marriage of

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

and

Catherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

née Boucher in 1782;

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...

, his wife,

Peggy Shippen Margaret "Peggy" Shippen (July 11, 1760 – August 24, 1804) was the highest-paid spy in the American Revolution, and was the second wife of General Benedict Arnold. Shippen was born into a prominent Philadelphia family with Loyalist tendencies. ...

and their daughter were buried in its

crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

, a northern rectangle by the Thames, was landscaped and founded for public use in 1858. Amenities and leisure buildings have been added to it since. Until 1889, the parish of Battersea was recognised as part of

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, after which the newly-formed

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

came into being and took over administration of the area.

Agriculture

Before the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

, much of the large parish was farmland, providing food for the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

and surrounding population centres; and with particular specialisms, such as growing

lavender ''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Old World and is found in Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, and from Europe across to northern and easte ...

Lavender Hill The A3036 is an A roads in Great Britain, A road in London, England, running from Waterloo, London, Waterloo to Wandsworth. Route It starts at the southern tip of the County Hall roundabout where the A302 road, A302 Westminster Bridge, York ...

(nowadays denoted by the road of the same name),

asparagus Asparagus, or garden asparagus, folk name sparrow grass, scientific name ''Asparagus officinalis'', is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus ''Asparagus''. Its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. It was once classified in ...

(sold as "Battersea Bundles") or pig breeding on Pig Hill (later the site of the

Shaftesbury Park Estate The Shaftesbury Park Estate, commonly known as The Shaftesbury Estate, is a residential estate in Battersea in South London, England. It lies north of Lavender Hill and Clapham Common and east of Clapham Junction railway station. The estate occ ...

). At the end of the 18th century, above of land in the parish of Battersea were occupied by some 20 market gardeners, who rented from five to near each. Villages in the wider area: Wandsworth, Earlsfield (hamlet of Garratt), Tooting, Balham – were separated by fields; in common with other suburbs the wealthy of London and the traditional manor successors built their homes in Battersea and neighbouring areas.

Industry

Industry in the area was concentrated to the northwest just outside the Battersea-Wandsworth boundary, at the confluence of the River Thames and the

River Wandle The River Wandle is a right-bank tributary of the River Thames in south London, England. With a total length of about , the river passes through the London boroughs of London Borough of Croydon, Croydon, London Borough of Sutton, Sutton, Londo ...

, which gave rise to the village of

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan The London Plan is the statutory spatial development strategy for the Gre ...

. This was settled from the 16th century by

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

craftsmen –

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

s – fleeing religious persecution in Europe, who planted lavender and gardens and established a range of industries such as mills, breweries and dyeing, bleaching and

calico Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...

printing. Industry developed eastwards along the bank of the Thames during the

from 1750s onwards; the Thames provided water for transport, for steam engines and for water-intensive industrial processes. Bridges erected across the Thames encouraged growth;

Putney Bridge Putney Bridge is a Grade II listed bridge over the River Thames in west London, linking Putney on the south side with Fulham to the north. The bridge has medieval parish churches beside its abutments: St Mary's Church, Putney is built on the s ...

, a mile to the west, was built in 1729 and rebuilt 1882, and

Battersea Bridge Battersea Bridge is a five-span arch bridge with cast-iron girders and granite piers crossing the River Thames in London, England. It is situated on a sharp bend in the river, and links Battersea south of the river with Chelsea to the north. Th ...

in the centre of the north boundary in 1771. Inland from the river, the rural agricultural community persisted. Along the Thames, a number of large and, in their field, pre-eminent firms grew; notably the Morgan Crucible Company, which survives to this day and is listed on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

; Price's Candles, which also made cycle lamp oil; and Orlando Jones' Starch Factory. The 1874

Ordnance Survey map , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...

of the area shows the following factories, in order, from the site of the as yet unbuilt Wandsworth Bridge to Battersea Park: Starch manufacturer; Silk manufacturer; (St. John's College); (St. Mary's Church); Malt house; Corn mill; Oil and grease works (Prices Candles); Chemical works; Plumbago Crucible works (later the Morgan Crucible Company); Chemical works; Saltpetre works; Foundry. Between these were numerous wharfs for shipping. In 1929, construction started on

Battersea Power Station Battersea Power Station is a decommissioned Grade II* listed coal-fired power station, located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Nine Elms, Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It was built by the London Power Company (LPC) ...

, being completed in 1939. From the late 18th century to comparatively recent times Battersea, and certainly north Battersea, was established as an industrial area with all of the issues associated with pollution and poor housing affecting it. Industry declined and moved away from the area in the 1970s, and local government sought to address chronic post-war housing problems with large scale clearances and the establishment of planned housing. Some decades after the end of large scale local industry, resurgent demand among magnates and high income earners for parkside and riverside property close to planned Underground links has led to significant construction. Factories have been demolished and replaced with modern apartment buildings. Some of the council owned properties have been sold off and several traditional working men's pubs have become more fashionable bistros. Battersea neighbourhoods close to the railway have some of the most deprived local authority housing in the Borough of Wandsworth, in an area which saw condemned slums after their erection in the Victoria era.

Railway age

Battersea was radically altered by the coming of railways. The London and Southampton Railway Company engineered their railway line from east to west through Battersea, in 1838, terminating at the original

Nine Elms railway station Nine Elms railway station in the London district of Battersea was opened on 21 May 1838 as the London terminus of the London and Southampton Railway which on the same day became the London and South Western Railway. The building in the neoclas ...

at the north east tip of the area. Over the next 22 years five other lines were built, across which all trains from London's Waterloo and Victoria termini would – as today – travel. An interchange station was built in 1863 towards the north west of the area, at a junction of the railway. Taking the name of a fashionable village a mile and more away, the station was named '

Clapham Junction Clapham Junction is an urban locality around Clapham Junction railway station in London, England. Despite its name, it is not located in Clapham, but forms the commercial centre of Battersea. Clapham Junction was a scene of disturbances durin ...

': a campaign to rename it "Battersea Junction" fizzled out as late as the early twentieth century. During the latter decades of the nineteenth century Battersea had developed into a major town railway centre with two locomotive works at

Nine Elms Nine Elms is an area of south-west London, England, within the London Borough of Wandsworth. It lies on the River Thames, with Battersea to the west, South Lambeth to the south and Vauxhall to the east. The area was formerly mainly industrial bu ...

and Longhedge and three important motive power depots (Nine Elms, Stewarts Lane and Battersea) all in an initial pocket of north Battersea. The effect was precipitate: a population of 6,000 people in 1840 was increased to 168,000 by 1910; and save for the green spaces of

Clapham Common Clapham Common is a large triangular urban park in Clapham, south London, England. Originally common land for the parishes of Battersea and Clapham, it was converted to parkland under the terms of the Metropolitan Commons Act 1878. It is of gr ...

Wandsworth Common Wandsworth Common is a public common in Wandsworth, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, south London. It is and is maintained and regulated by Wandsworth Council. It is also a Ward of the London Borough of Wandsworth. The population of the ward ...

and some smaller isolated pockets, all other farmland was built over, with, from north to south, industrial buildings and vast railway sheds and sidings (much of which remain), slum housing for workers, especially north of the main east–west railway, and gradually more genteel residential terraced housing further south. The railway station encouraged the government to site its buildings in the area surrounding

, where a cluster of new civic buildings including the town hall, library, police station, court and post office was developed along

in the 1880s and 1890s. The

Arding & Hobbs Arding & Hobbs is a former department store and Grade II listed building at the junction of Lavender Hill and St John's Road, Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. Arding & Hobbs was established in 1876. The original building was des ...

department store, diagonally opposite the station, was the largest of its type at the time of its construction in 1885; and the streets near the station developed as a regional shopping district. The area was served by a vast music hall – The Grand – opposite the station (nowadays serving as a nightclub and venue for smaller bands) as well as a large theatre next to the town hall (the Shakespeare Theatre, later redeveloped following bomb damage). All this building around the station shifted the focus of the area southwards, and marginalised Battersea High Street (the main street of the original village) into no more than an extension of Falcon Road.

Social housing estates

Battersea has a long and varied history of social housing, and the completion of the

in 1877 was one of the earliest in London or the UK. Additionally, the development of the

Latchmere Estate Latchmere Estate is a housing estate in Battersea, Greater London, which was constructed in 1903. It is the first example of a housing estate built with labour directly employed by a local council authority. Between 1832 and the 1880s, Batter ...

in 1903 was notable both for

John Burns John Elliot Burns (20 October 1858 – 24 January 1943) was an English trade unionist and politician, particularly associated with London politics and Battersea. He was a socialist and then a Liberal Member of Parliament and Minister. He was ...

involvement and for being the first estate directly built by a council's own workforce and therefore the first true "council estate". Indeed, both of these earlier estates have since been recognised as

conservation areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

due to their historical and architectural significance and are protected from redevelopment. Battersea also has a large area of mid-20th century public housing estates, almost all located north of the main railway lines and spanning from Fairfield in the west to Queenstown in the east. There are four particularly large estates. The Winstanley Estate, perhaps being the most renowned of them all, is known as being the birthplace to the garage collective

So Solid Crew So Solid Crew are a British UK garage and hip hop collective originating from the area on and surrounding the Winstanley and York Road Estates in Battersea, London which achieved wide success in the early 2000s. The group consisted of many m ...

. Winstanley is close to Clapham Junction railway station in the northern perimeter of Battersea, and is currently being considered for comprehensive redevelopment as one of the London Mayor's new Housing Zones. Further north towards Chelsea is the

Surrey Lane Estate Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. W ...

, and on Battersea Park Road is the Doddington and Rollo Estate. East, toward Vauxhall, is the

Patmore Estate The Patmore Estate is a housing estate in Battersea within the London Borough of Wandsworth in London, England. The 28 red-brick apartment buildings were erected in the 1950s. Notable residents * Malachi Kirby Malachi Kirby is a British ac ...

which is in close proximity to the Battersea Power Station. Other smaller estates include: York Road (see

Winstanley Estate The Winstanley and York Road Estate comprises two large estates of predominantly public housing apartments in Battersea, London, adjacent to Clapham Junction railway station, although some have since passed into Right to Buy, private ownershi ...

), Ashley Crescent, Badric Court, Carey Gardens, Chatham Road, Ethelburga, Falcon Road, Gideon Road, Honeywell Road, Kambala, Peabody, Robertson Street, Savona, Somerset, Wilditch and Wynter Street.

Governance

The tradition of local government in England was based in part of Manor, and later on the

Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

. Battersea's governance can be traced back to 693, when the manor was held by the nunnery of St. Mary at

Barking Abbey Barking Abbey is a former royal monastery located in Barking, in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It has been described as having been "one of the most important nunneries in the country". Originally established in the 7th century, fr ...

. After the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

of 1066, control of the manor passed to

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

, ending at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1540. Battersea was one of only three of the Abbey's

demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...

directly supervised by monks, rather than being let to tenants. Local control rested with an officer appointed by the abbey, variously termed a

beadle A beadle, sometimes spelled bedel, is an official of a church or synagogue who may usher, keep order, make reports, and assist in religious functions; or a minor official who carries out various civil, educational, or ceremonial duties on the ...

, reeve or

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

, whose responsibility it was supervise the farm servants of the manor, and to enforce and direct customary work performed by manorial tenants. After 1540

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

assumed ownership of the manor, and let it on short leases to a succession of individuals, until in about 1590 it came into the hands of the St. John family of

Lydiard Tregoze Lydiard Tregoze is a small village and civil parish on the western edge of Swindon in the county of Wiltshire, in the south-west of England. It has in the past been spelt as Liddiard Tregooze and in many other ways. The parish includes the small ...

in Wiltshire, who later became the St John Baronets of Lydiard Tregoze and ultimately the Viscounts Bolingbroke. Bolingbrokes exercised control of the manor for some 173 years, showing varying levels of interest and competence in running the estate's affairs, until in 1763 the disastrously dissolute

Frederick St John, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke Frederick St John, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke, 3rd Viscount St John (21 December 1732 – 5 May 1787), was a British Viscount and landowner. His father was John St John, 2nd Viscount St John, half-brother of Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke ...

sold the manor to help to settle his many debts. Battersea now passed into the

Spencer family The Spencer family is an aristocratic family in the United Kingdom. From the 16th century, its members have held numerous titles including the dukedom of Marlborough, the earldoms of Sunderland and Spencer, and the Churchill barony. Two prom ...

John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer () was a British peer and politician. Early life Spencer was born on 19 December 1734 at Althorp, his family's home in Northamptonshire. He was the only son of the Hon. John Spencer and his wife, the former ...

being related to Frederick's wife. The Survey of London identified the period of Frederick's tenure with the development of the

Vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

in Battersea; absent a competent lord of the manor, this local secular and ecclesiastical government took it upon itself to establish a

workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse'' ...

in 1733, and met monthly from 1742. The period of Spencer ownership of the manor saw important land ownership changes introduced to the area. The family had many estates, such as at

Althorp Althorp (popularly pronounced ) is a Grade I listed stately home and estate in the civil parish of Althorp, in West Northamptonshire, England of about . By road it is about northwest of the county town of Northampton and about northwest of c ...

in Northamptonshire and

Wiseton Wiseton is a small village, country estate and civil parish, Nottinghamshire, England, situated between the villages of Gringley-on-the-Hill and Everton, approximately southeast of Bawtry and west of Gainsborough. There is also a nearby haml ...

in Nottinghamshire. Locally, their interests were concentrated on

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

. During their tenure, large tracts of land were sold, notably around 1761, and from 1835 to 1838, leading to the development of a plurality of smaller estates, which had implications for the later development of the area. The scope of governance throughout this period was relatively slight. Lords of the manor were responsible for church appointments and maintenance of the fabric of the church; for drainage, and for the direction of the duties of the manor's tenants. From time to time work was done under manorial direction on the Thames foreshore; and a Spencer was responsible for the construction of first local bridge across the Thames,

from 1771 to 1772. And albeit Battersea saw some slow change over the first seven centuries of the second millennium, it was not until a later period that an imperative for greater local government arose. The vestry of Battersea continued to increase in importance from 1742, notably concerning itself with

Poor Law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

administration and drainage. Responsibility for the latter was removed from the vestry in 1855 with the establishment of Metropolitan Boards of Work under the

Metropolis Management Act 1855 The Metropolis Management Act 1855 (18 & 19 Vict. c.120) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created the Metropolitan Board of Works, a London-wide body to co-ordinate the construction of the city's infrastructure. The Act al ...

; a Metropolitan Board concerned itself with cross-London drainage and sewerage, whilst a local Wandsworth Metropolitan Board assumed responsibility for minor sewers and the connection of houses to sewerage systems. It was during the tenure of the Wandsworth board that much of Battersea was developed; but such was the pace of development in Battersea that by 1887 it had a population sufficient to win the case for renewed local autonomy under the Metropolis Management (Battersea and Westminster) Act of 1887. The Battersea vestry continued through to 1899, when it became the

Metropolitan Borough of Battersea Battersea was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in the County of London, England. In 1965, the borough was abolished and its area combined with parts of the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth to form the London Borough of Wandsworth. The b ...

as a result of the

London Government Act 1899 The London Government Act 1899 (62 & 63 Vict. c. 14) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the administration of the capital. The Act divided the County of London into 28 metropolitan boroughs, replacing the 41 parish ...

. The Metropolitan Borough of Battersea was in 1965 combined with the neighbouring

Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth The Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth was a Metropolitan borough under the London County Council, from 1900 to 1965. History The borough was formed from five civil parishes: Clapham, Putney, Streatham, Tooting Graveney and Wandsworth. In 1904 t ...

to form the

. The former

Battersea Town Hall Battersea Town Hall, originally the New Parochial Offices, Battersea, is a Grade II* listed municipal building in Battersea, south London, designed by Edward Mountford and erected between 1891 and 1893 by the Battersea vestry to provide pub ...

, opened in 1893, is now the

Battersea Arts Centre The Battersea Arts Centre ("BAC") is a performance space specialising in theatre productions. Located near Clapham Junction railway station in Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, it was formerly Battersea Town Hall. It is a Grade ...

. In the period from 1880 onwards, Battersea was known as a centre of radical politics in the United Kingdom.

founded a branch of the

Social Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James Con ...

, Britain's first organised socialist political party, in the borough and after the turmoil of dock strikes affecting the populace of north Battersea, was elected to represent the borough in the newly formed

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

. In 1892, he expanded his role, being elected to Parliament for Battersea North as one of the first

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

member of Parliament. Battersea's radical reputation gave rise to the

Brown Dog affair The Brown Dog affair was a political controversy about vivisection that raged in Britain from 1903 until 1910. It involved the infiltration of University of London medical lectures by Swedish feminists, battles between medical students and the ...

, when in 1904 the National Anti-Vivisection Society sought permission to erect a drinking fountain celebrating the life of a dog killed by

vivisection Vivisection () is surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure. The word is, more broadly, used as a pejorative catch-all term for experiment ...

. The fountain, forming a plinth for the statue of a brown dog, was installed in the Latchmere Recreation Ground, became a cause célèbre, fought over in riots and battles between medical students and the local populace until its removal in 1910. The borough elected the first black mayor in London in 1913 when John Archer took office, and in 1922 elected the

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

-born

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

member

Shapurji Saklatvala Shapurji Dorabji Saklatvala (28 March 1874 – 16 January 1936) was a communist activist and British politician of Indian Parsi heritage. Saklatvala is notable for being the first person of Indian heritage to become a British Member of Parliamen ...

as MP for Battersea; one of only two communist members of Parliament. Battersea is currently divided into five Wandsworth wards. The Member of Parliament for the Battersea constituency since 8 June 2017 has been Labour MP

Marsha de Cordova Marsha Chantal de Cordova (born 23 January 1976) is a British Labour Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Battersea since 2017. She was Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities from 6 April 2020 until her resig ...

Geography

Battersea is on the curved south bank of the

.Map

Victoria County History The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History or the VCH, is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of En ...

, London, H.E. Malden (Ed), 1911

Riverside

Battersea's northern limit is thus the

Tideway The Tideway is a part of the River Thames in England which is subject to tides. This stretch of water is downstream from Teddington Lock. The Tideway comprises the upper Thames Estuary including the Pool of London. Tidal activity Depending on ...

, the Thames below

Teddington Teddington is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2021, Teddington was named as the best place to live in London by ''The Sunday Times''. Historically in Middlesex, Teddington is situated on a long m ...

. Battersea's riverside is just over long. Immediately to the west is

Wandsworth Town Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its n ...

. To the north-east are

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...

and then

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

, including Waterloo.

Other boundaries

Battersea at one end of its riverside has a western corner at a point 350 metres east northeast of

Wandsworth Bridge Wandsworth Bridge crosses the River Thames in west London. It carries the A217 road between the area of Battersea, near Wandsworth Town Station, in the London Borough of Wandsworth on the south of the river, and the areas of Sands End and Par ...

, and Battersea tapers SSE to almost a point, roughly three miles (5 km) from Battersea's northeastern corner – but two miles (3 km) from the western corner.

Neighbouring districts

To the east are

South Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area ...

and

Stockwell Stockwell is a district in south west London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. It is situated south of Charing Cross. Battersea, Brixton, Clapham, South Lambeth, Oval and Kennington all border Stockwell. History The na ...

; to the south is

Balham Balham () is an area in south London, England, mostly within the London Borough of Wandsworth with small parts within the neighbouring London Borough of Lambeth. The area has been settled since Saxon times and appears in the Domesday Book as B ...

; to the southeast is

Clapham Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Early history T ...

; and to the west is

, south of which is

. Two large neighbourhoods within the larger Battersea are: *

(the central and most commercial part of Battersea), *

(to the north-east, east of

)

Crime

Some parts of Battersea have become known for drug-dealing. The Winstanley and York Road council estates have developed a reputation for such offences and were included in a zero-tolerance "drug exclusion zone" in 2007.'Battersea', Special report: Class B for Battersea
(2007), pp.1.

Demography

In 2011, Battersea had a population of 73,345. The district was 52.2% of

White British White British is an ethnicity classification used for the native white population identifying as English, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Northern Irish, or British in the United Kingdom Census. In the 2011 census, the White British population wa ...

origin, as against an average for Wandsworth of 53.3%.

Landmarks

London Heliport - Battersea - London - 2 helicopters awaiting takeoff - evening - 030604

Within the bounds of modern Battersea are (from east to west): *

New Covent Garden Market New Covent Garden Market in Nine Elms, London, is the largest wholesale fruit, vegetable and flower market in the United Kingdom. It covers a site of and is home to about 200 fruit, vegetable and flower companies. The market serves 40% of the ...

, a major fruit and vegetable wholesale market, resited from

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

in 1974. (Also considered by many to be in

). *

, an iconic edifice designed by

Sir Giles Gilbert Scott Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (9 November 1880 – 8 February 1960) was a British architect known for his work on the New Bodleian Library, Cambridge University Library, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, Battersea Power Station, Liverpool Cathedral, and ...

, built between 1929 and 1939 (featured, with flying pig, on the sleeve art of

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

's album ''

Animals Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in ...

''). There have been a number of failed regeneration projects since the late 1980s. The current proposals are to convert the disused shell into a mass entertainments and commercial complex, with dedicated transport links (a proposed extension of the

Northern line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs from North London to South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. The Northern line is unique on the Underground network in having two different routes through central London, two ...

from

Kennington Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between the ...

could be complete by 2020). *

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home Battersea Dogs & Cats Home (now known as Battersea) is an animal rescue centre for dogs and cats. Battersea rescues dogs and cats until an owner or a new one can be found. It is one of the UK's oldest and best known animal rescue centres. It w ...

, formerly ''Battersea Dogs Home'' and prior to that the ''Temporary Home for Lost and Starving Dogs'', established in Holloway in 1860 and moved to Battersea in 1871. It is the United Kingdom's most famous refuge for stray dogs. Also the main location for ITV 1's '' Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs''Chris Roberts, Heavy Words Lightly Thrown: The Reason Behind Rhyme, Thorndike Press,2006 () *

, a 200-acre green space laid out by Sir

James Pennethorne Sir James Pennethorne (4 June 1801 – 1 September 1871) was a British architect and planner, particularly associated with buildings and parks in central London. Life Early years Pennethorne was born in Worcester, and travelled to London in 1 ...

between 1846 and 1864 and opened in 1858, and home to a

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for Conservation biology, conservation purposes. The term ''zoological g ...

and the London

Peace Pagoda A Peace Pagoda is a Buddhist stupa; a monument to inspire peace, designed to provide a focus for people of all races and creeds, and to help unite them in their search for world peace. Most, though not all, peace pagodas built since World War II ...

. *

, conservation area consisting of over a thousand Victorian houses preserved in their original style. *

, in the former Battersea

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

Northcote Road Northcote Road is a shopping street In Battersea, south London, which stretches over half a mile. It is close to Clapham Junction station. It is the epicentre of the so-called 'Nappy Valley', named because of the young, affluent and productive ...

, a bustling and famous local shopping street with its own market at the centre of the so-called

Nappy Valley Nappy Valley is a colloquial epithet applied to pleasant places with high (demographic) reproduction. It resonates linguistically with Happy Valley such as that in Kenya, noted for its wealthy white population before 1963 independence where mu ...

. *

Clapham Junction railway station Clapham Junction railway station () is a major railway station and transport hub near St John's Hill in south-west Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is from and from ; it is on both the South West Main Line and Brighton Main L ...

, by at least one measure – passenger interchanges— the busiest station in the United Kingdom and named after the neighbouring town of

although it lies in the geographic heart of Battersea, SW11. *Arding & Hobbs building, completed in 1912, now occupied by

Debenhams Debenhams plc was a British department store chain operating in the United Kingdom, Denmark and the Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 1778 as a single store in London and grew to 178 locations across those countries, also owning the Danish ...

. *Large 24-hour

Asda Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of York ...

supermarket, adjacent to Clapham Junction station. * 92 St John's Hill, Grade II listed building. *

St Mary's Church, Battersea St Mary's Church, Battersea, is the oldest of the churches in Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth, in the inner south-west of the UK's capital city. Its parish shared by three Anglican churches is in the diocese of Southwark. Christian ...

is buried here. Four stained glass windows celebrate Arnold,

William Curtis William Curtis (11 January 1746 – 7 July 1799) was an English botanist and entomologist, who was born at Alton, Hampshire, site of the Curtis Museum. Curtis began as an apothecary, before turning his attention to botany and other natural his ...

and J. M. W. Turner. * Sir Walter St John's School, now Thomas's day school, was founded in 1700. Parts of the present building date back to 1859. *

Royal Academy of Dance "Health and happiness" , predecessor = , successor = , formation = 1920 , extinction = , type = NGO , status = Registered charity , purpose = Examination board – dance education and training , headquarters = 36 Battersea SquareSW11 3 ...

, containing several studios and associated with the

University of Surrey The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its royal charter in 1966, along with a number of other institutions following recommendations in the Robbins Report. The institut ...

. *The

London Heliport London Heliport , previously called Battersea Heliport and currently known officially as the Edmiston London Heliport for sponsorship reasons, is London's only licensed heliport. The facility, which was built by W. & C. French and opened on 23 ...

, London's busiest

heliport A heliport is a small airport suitable for use by helicopters and some other vertical lift aircraft. Designated heliports typically contain one or more touchdown and liftoff areas and may also have limited facilities such as fuel or hangars. I ...

, sited on the Thames a half-mile north of Clapham Junction station. *

Price's Candles Price's Patent Candles, founded in 1830, is an importer and retailer of candles. The firm is headquartered in Bedford in England, and holds the Royal Warrant of Appointment (United Kingdom), Royal Warrant for the supply of candles. It is today ...

on York Road, was the largest manufacturers of candles in the UK; now it has been converted into office space from which Hanne & Co Solicitors firm operates. * Newton Preparatory School, in an Edwardian building (with modern extension) formerly occupied by

Clapham College Clapham College was a Roman Catholic secondary school for boys in South London. Background It opened in 1897 and closed in 1989. Its history falls into three phases: for half a century it was a private school, for three decades it was a publicl ...

, Notre Dame School and Raywood Street School. * Falconbrook Primary School, resides in a large Victorian building, situated in the

, Battersea. It is a ten-minute walk from Clapham Junction Station.

Transport

National Rail

Battersea is served by three National Rail stations:

, and Queenstown Road (Battersea). All three stations are in London Travelcard Zone 2.

Battersea Park

Battersea Park is served by some

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

trains. Trains northbound terminate at

London Victoria Victoria station, also known as London Victoria, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Victoria, in the City of Westminster, managed by Network Rail. Named after the nearby Victoria Street (not the Q ...

, which is the next stop along the line. Southbound, Southern's "

metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

" services run to Clapham Junction,

, and

. After Balham, trains head towards

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

London Bridge Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It r ...

, and

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

, amongst other destinations. The first station to carry the name "Battersea Park" was opened by the

London, Brighton and South Coast Railway The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR; known also as the Brighton line, the Brighton Railway or the Brighton) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its ...

(LB&SCR) as "Battersea" on 1 October 1860 and was located at the southern end of what is now Grosvenor Bridge. It closed on 1 November 1870. The LB&SCR opened another station on a high-level line on 1 May 1867 called

. Another station existed closed to the current station called

Battersea Park Road railway station Battersea Park Road railway station in Battersea, South London was opened by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway in 1867. It closed in 1916 along with other inner-London stations on Main Line. Battersea Park railway station, nearby on a diff ...

by the

London, Chatham and Dover Railway The London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR or LC&DR) was a railway company in south-eastern England created on 1 August 1859, when the East Kent Railway was given parliamentary approval to change its name. Its lines ran through London and nor ...

in 1867 and closed in 1916.

Clapham Junction

The largest railway station in Battersea is Clapham Junction, to the southwest of the district. The station is a busy interchange, and it serves destinations across London, the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

, and

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and ...

. Train operators from Clapham Junction include: *

London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a ...

, which operates trains northbound towards Stratford, calling at major destinations such as

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, i ...

Willesden Junction Willesden Junction is a railway station in Harlesden, north-west London, UK. It is served by both London Overground and London Underground services. History The station developed on three contiguous sites: the West Coast Main Line (WCML) st ...

Camden Road Camden Road is a main road in London running from the junction of Camden High Street and Camden Town Underground station up to Holloway Road. It is part of the A503 which continues east as Tollington Road. History The route was created and d ...

, and

Hackney Central Hackney Central is a sub-district of Hackney in the London Borough of Hackney in London, England and is four miles (6.4 km) northeast of Charing Cross. The Hackney Central area is focused on Mare Street and the retail areas to the north o ...

. London Overground also runs trains eastbound towards Dalston, passing through

, Denmark Hill, Peckham, Canada Water station, Canada Water, and Whitechapel station, Whitechapel along the way. *

, which principally operates northbound services towards London Victoria. Southbound services run to destinations such as Balham, Brighton, Croydon, Epsom, and Gatwick Airport (). Southern also operates a service towards Milton Keynes from East Croydon station, East Croydon. North of Clapham Junction, the services calls at Shepherd's Bush, Wembley Central station, Wembley Central, Watford Junction railway station, Watford Junction, and Hemel Hempstead, amongst other destinations. * South Western Railway (train operating company), South Western Railway, which runs services towards London Waterloo station, London Waterloo and

northbound. Major destinations to the southwest include

, Richmond, London, Richmond, Kingston upon Thames, Reading, Berkshire, Reading, Guildford, Southampton, Bournemouth, and Salisbury. In terms of the number of train movements, Clapham Junction is Europe's busiest railway station. It opened on 21 May 1838.

Queenstown Road (Battersea)

Queenstown Road (Battersea) is served by some South Western Railway (train operating company), South Western Railways trains. Northbound, most trains call at Vauxhall en route to London Waterloo. Southbound passengers can travel towards Richmond, Twickenham, Hounslow, and Windsor & Eton Riverside railway station, Windsor & Eton direct. Queenstown Road (Battersea) railway station, Queenstown Road opened up the line on 1 November 1877 by the London and South Western Railway, as ''Queen's Road (Battersea)''. British Rail renamed the station to ''Queenstown Road (Battersea)'' on 12 May 1980.

London Underground

As part of Northern line extension to Battersea, Battersea is connected to the London Underground network at Battersea Power Station tube station in September 2021.

Bus

London Buses, London Bus routes London Buses route 44, 44, London Buses route 137, 137, London Buses route 156, 156, London Buses route 344, 344, London Buses route 436, 436, London Buses route 19, 19, London Buses route 49, 49, London Buses route 319, 319, London Buses route 345, 345 and London Buses route 452, 452 serve the Battersea area during the daytime. Night buses London Buses route N19, N19, London Buses route N137, N137 and London Buses route N44, N44, as well as the 344 and 345 route, run overnight.

Cycling

Cycling infrastructure in Battersea is provided by the

and Transport for London (TfL). * List of cycle routes in London, Cycle Superhighway 8 passes through Battersea. The route runs unbroken from Wandsworth, Wandsworth Town to Millbank, which is near the Palace of Westminster. It is a signposted route, and runs through the district largely along A3205/Battersea Park Road. To the east, however, the route turns northwards (along A3216/Queenstown Road), leaving Battersea over Chelsea Bridge. * A cycle lane links Battersea to

along A3205/Nine Elms Lane.

In popular culture

Battersea features in the books of Michael de Larrabeiti, who was born and brought up in the area: ''A Rose Beyond the Thames'' recounts the working-class Battersea of the 1940s and 1950s; ''The Borrible Trilogy'' presents a fictional Battersea, home to fantasy creatures known as the Borribles. ''The Optimists of Nine Elms'', a 1973 film starring Peter Sellers, is set in Battersea. Battersea is also the setting for Penelope Fitzgerald's 1979 Booker Prize–winning novel, ''Offshore (novel), Offshore''. Kitty Neale's ''Nobody's Girl'' is set in a fictional café and the surrounding Battersea High Street Market. Nell Dunn's 1963 novel ''Up the Junction'' (later adapted for both television and cinema) depicts contemporary life in the industrial slums of Battersea near

. Battersea provides the backdrop for the real world scenes in the audio book and app series ''Rockford's Rock Opera''. Michael Flanders, half of the 1960s comedy duo Flanders and Swann, often made fun of Donald Swann for living in Battersea. Morrissey mentions Battersea in his song "You're the One for Me, Fatty". Babyshambles recorded the song "Bollywood to Battersea" for a 2005 charity album ''Help!: A Day in the Life''. Hooverphonic recorded the song "Battersea" for the 1999 album Blue Wonder Power Milk. Battersea is the setting for Joan Aiken's ''Black Hearts in Battersea'', the second published volume in the Wolves Chronicles.

is featured on the cover of the

album ''

''. A number of race courses in the Nintendo DS version of the 2009 racing video game ''Dirt 2'' are set in the general area of Battersea. Its famous abandoned power station is also the site of a few race tracks in a few console and PC games from the ''Dirt (series), Dirt'' series.

Prominent people

The following people have lived, or currently live, in Battersea: *Ben Adams – musician from the group a1 (band), a1 *Adele – singer *James Aldridge – writer *Lionel Barber – journalist, editor of the ''Financial Times'' *L. S. Bevington – anarchist poet and essayist, was born and grew up in a Quaker family on St Johns Hill *Ronnie Biggs – thief who took part in the Great Train Robbery (1963), Great Train Robbery *Johnny Briggs (actor), Johnny Briggs – actor, best known for playing Mike Baldwin in ''Coronation Street'' *Ada Buisson - author and novelist *Kathleen Byron – actress *Emma Chambers – actress, known for her role as 'Alice' in ''The Vicar of Dibley'' *G. K. Chesterton – writer *Adrian Chiles – television presenter *Noël Coward – dramatist, actor and cabaret artist *Brian Cox (physicist), Brian Cox – physicist, host of science shows for the BBC *Colin Douglas (actor), Colin Douglas – stage and television actor *Nell Dunn – playwright *Howard Eastman – boxer *Craig Eastmond – footballer *Hero Fiennes-Tiffin – model and actor *Edwin Flavell (Royal Air Force officer) – pilot of the first British aircraft to drop a live atomic bomb *Freddie Foreman – criminal and associate of the Kray Twins, born in Sheepcote Lane *Bob Geldof – singer and songwriter *Pixie Geldof – socialite and model *Graham Greene – writer, playwright, critic *Rich Hall – comedian *Reginald Hammond – first-class cricketer and Royal Navy officer *Pamela Hansford Johnson – writer *Ainsley Harriott – chef *Harry Hill – comedian *Ada Florence Kinton - artist and Salvation Army officer *Derek Laud – political lobbyist and ''Big Brother'' contestant *Simon Le Bon – musician *Katie Leung – actress, best known for playing Cho Chang in Harry Potter films *Monie Love – mc and radio personality *Kate Maberly – actress *Terry Manning – music producer *Noel McKoy – singer and songwriter *Buster Merryfield – actor, best known as Uncle Albert in ''Only Fools and Horses'' *Dannii Minogue – musician *Seán O'Casey – writer *John O'Farrell (author), John O'Farrell – writer *William Page (historian), William Page – historian and general editor of the

*Rick Parfitt – singer with Status Quo (band), Status Quo *Polly Paulusma – musician *Mervyn Peake – author *Rupert Penry-Jones – actor *Gordon Ramsay – chef *Joely Richardson – actress *J.K. Rowling – author *Greg Rusedski – tennis player *John Scott (sociologist), John Scott – sociologist and British Academy, Fellow of the British Academy *Peter Serafinowicz – comedian *George Shearing – pianist *Ed Sheeran – musician *Timothy Spall – actor *Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke *Donald Swann – musician – of Flanders and Swann *Gabriel Thomson – stars in ''My Family'' *Baroness Trumpington – member of the House of Lords *Paul Joseph Watson – YouTube personality and radio host *Arthur Webb (co-operator) – Building Society Movement *William Wilberforce – prominent campaigner against the slave trade *Edward Adrian Wilson – English physician, polar explorer, natural historian, painter and ornithologist

References

External links

*
Wandsworth CouncilBattersea.co.uk - Battersea Information
{{Authority control Battersea, Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Wandsworth Districts of London on the River Thames

History

Agriculture

Industry

Railway age

Social housing estates

Governance

Geography

Riverside

Other boundaries

Neighbouring districts

Crime

Demography

Landmarks

Transport

National Rail

Battersea Park

Clapham Junction

Queenstown Road (Battersea)

London Underground

Bus

Cycling

In popular culture

Prominent people

See also

References

Further reading

External links