Clapham Park is an area in the
Borough of Lambeth in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, to the south of central
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 west of
Brixton
Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...
.
History
The original Clapham Park Estate was a speculative development by
Thomas Cubitt
Thomas Cubitt (25 February 1788 – 20 December 1855) was a British master builder, notable for his employment in developing many of the historic streets and squares of London, especially in Belgravia, Pimlico and Bloomsbury. His great-great-g ...
, who bought of Bleak Hall Farm in 1825, and marked out plots for building around the new, broad, tree-lined streets of Kings Avenue, Clarence Avenue, Poynders Road and Atkins Road. The estate was planned to consist of large detached houses in Cubitt's characteristic
Italianate
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...
villa style, with each house set in extensive grounds. However, Cubitt's ambitions were never fulfilled, and some plots remained undeveloped at the outbreak of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Cubitt's own residence, Lincoln House, was demolished in 1905, and Rodenhurst Road, a street of large, double-fronted,
semi-detached
A semi-detached house (often abbreviated to semi) is a single family duplex dwelling house that shares one common wall with the next house. The name distinguishes this style of house from detached houses, with no shared walls, and terraced house ...
Edwardian
The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...
houses, was laid out on the site. British statesman
Arthur Henderson
Arthur Henderson (13 September 1863 – 20 October 1935) was a British iron moulder and Labour politician. He was the first Labour cabinet minister, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1934 and, uniquely, served three separate terms as Leader of th ...
once lived at number 13 and there is a
Blue Plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...
on the house indicating this. With the adoption of Poynders Road as the arterial "South Circular" road, this area is now severed from the area further south by traffic, and the streets south of Poynders Road are not generally referred to as being part of Clapham Park.
Clapham Park West Estate
Following
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Oaklands House, Oakfield House, Clarence House, and their associated grounds underwent much development as this area was heavily damaged during
the Blitz
The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'.
The Germa ...
. The area immediately to the east of the Estate had been developed by the
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 ...
(LCC) in the 1920s as
council housing
Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...
, mostly in characteristic blocks of
neo-Georgian brick flats. After 1945, most of the Cubitt houses were demolished and the northern part of the original area was redeveloped by the LCC in a very different
Modern Movement
Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
style. On completion of the scheme the Clapham Park Estate became the largest single council estate within the London Borough of Lambeth.
London Borough of Lambeth Council also built tower blocks west of Clarence Avenue, including three tower blocks (Barnsbury, Belgravia and Bloomsbury houses) commemorating Cubitt's more successful developments.
An air raid shelter is still situated within the former grounds of Clarence House, now the Clapham Park West Estate. Some of the undeveloped plots on the southern part of the estate were developed with medium-density terraced and semi-detached houses, but the majority of the grounds associated with Oakfield House were transformed into the Poynders Garden Estate and an open green space now called Agnes Riley Gardens.
Metropolitan Clapham Park
Metropolitan Clapham Park is an estate, run in partnership with Metropolitan, a housing association that was formed to take over the ownership and management of houses on the Clapham Park estate following the stock transfer of the estate from the council to Metropolitan Housing in 2006.
Since May 2006, Metropolitan Clapham Park has provided a housing management and maintenance service to Clapham Park tenants who are renting their homes. Clapham Park also offers services to leaseholders, shared ownership schemes, and private residents of the estate.
Formerly known as Clapham Park Homes, the housing association was renamed Metropolitan Clapham Park in April 2012. Metropolitan Clapham Park is a limited company and is managed by a board that is responsible for the organisation. The board is made up of residents, local authority, local councillors, nominees and independent members. All board members serve in a voluntary capacity.
New Deals for Communities
In February 1999, the Clapham Park area was selected by a borough-wide strategic partnership to be Lambeth's New Deal for Communities (NDC) neighbourhood. A successful bid led to the award of £56 million over a 10-year period, starting in April 2000. Clapham Park Project, a community led project team, was formed to take charge of the NDC programme and transform the lives and prospects of this deprived community.
From 2001, the Clapham Park Project worked with residents and partners to develop a Masterplan to regenerate the Clapham Park area up to. In March 2005, residents voted yes to a stock transfer from Lambeth Council to Clapham Park Homes, which was specifically set up to take over the ownership and management of homes on Clapham Park.
The regeneration programme has been funded in part by the Housing Corporation's Social Housing grant; the NDC grant through Clapham Park Project; and through private loans, a large proportion of which will be paid back through the outright sale of homes, mixed tenures and the balance from rental income.
The programme has so far provided (or is on site to provide) a total of 489 new build properties and 512 refurbished properties.
"Abbeville Village"
From the 1880s the area to the west of Cubitt's land holdings between
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 ...
Southside and the site of Lincoln House was also developed. This area borrowed the name of Clapham Park, presumably because of its original social cachet, and its streets have predominantly remained in owner occupation. The grid of late
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
streets around Abbeville Road is frequently referred to by estate agents, such as Jacksons estate agents, as "Abbeville Village", although many of the independent local shops that gave the area a distinct character until the 1990s have made way for restaurants, cafes and bars, as the street has become the centre of local night life for the professional middle classes, and shop rentals have increased considerably.
Agnes Riley Memorial Gardens
Frederick George Riley gifted Oakfield House and its grounds to London County Council, on the proviso that it made the site into a public open space with the name 'Agnes Riley Memorial Gardens'. Riley gifted two acres in 1937 and work began immediately to develop these, but World War II intervened and the two acres were used for allotments and occupied by the military. Riley himself remained at Oakfield until his death in 1942. However, in 1952, and against his wishes, Lambeth Council decided to drop the word ‘memorial’ from the name of the small park, which was completed in 1954. The southern part of the park is devoted to a children's playground, paddling pool, and hard games area; the rest is laid out with trees, shrubs, lawns, and an ornamental pond. A park lodge was built but this fell into disrepair and was demolished in 2002.
Since 2005, the Friends of Agnes Riley Gardens (FoARGS) had worked with Lambeth Council to convert the site of the lodge into a community garden. Although the pond is much reduced in size compared to 1938, it and the community garden together form a much-loved local amenity, and residents in the neighbourhood wanted to see it restored to its original state for the benefit of the public. In December 2008, Vernon De Maynard, (Chair – Clapham Park West Residents Association (CPWRA)) contacted Lambeth Parks to find out why the pond and community garden had been allowed to fall into a state of disrepair. He was told that funding issues and other priorities had resulted in these local amenities not being maintained to a satisfactory standard and that he should contact the FoARGS to find out what was happening with the community garden. It transpired that the FoARGS had been working on it since 2005, but due to financial constraints, and other priorities, the community garden had fallen into a state of disrepair. So, in March 2009, Vernon De Maynard discussed the issue with CPWRA and Poynders Garden TRA, and applied to
the London Community Foundation
The London Community Foundation is a registered community development charity in London, formed in 2012. Its aim is to bring about positive social change, to help Londoners facing disadvantage. Operating pan-London in 32 boroughs, it gives out g ...
for a grant to restore the community garden. In June 2009, a grant was awarded, and this was used to restore the garden.
References
External links
Clapham Park Project
{{LB Lambeth
Areas of London
Districts of the London Borough of Lambeth
Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Lambeth