![Imperial War Museum Front](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Imperial_War_Museum_Front.JPG)
Kennington Road is a long straight road, approximately a mile in length, in the
London Borough of Lambeth
Lambeth () is a London boroughs, London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London ...
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 ...
, England, running south from
Westminster Bridge Road
Westminster Bridge Road is a road in London, England. It runs on an east–west axis and passes through the boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark.
Between 1740 and 1746, the Commissioners of Westminster Bridge bought land from the Archbishop of ...
(at the junction with
Baylis Road
Baylis Road is a thoroughfare in Lambeth, London SE postcode area, SE1, England running between Westminster Bridge Road to the South-West and Waterloo Road, London, Waterloo Road to the North-East.
At its northern end Baylis Road continues Nor ...
to the north-east) to
Kennington Park Road
Kennington Park Road is a main road in south-east London, England, and is part of the A3 trunk road. It runs from Newington Butts at its Y-junction with Kennington Lane, south-west to the Oval, where the A3 continues as Clapham Road, towards ...
.
The road is designated as the
A23. Formerly open land, in 1751, a year after
Westminster Bridge
Westminster Bridge is a road-and-foot-traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, linking Westminster on the west side and Lambeth on the east side.
The bridge is painted predominantly green, the same colour as the leather seats in the H ...
was opened, it was constructed by the Turnpike Trustees to improve communication from the bridge to routes south of the river Thames. With the growing popularity of
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
as a resort in the later eighteenth century it became part of the route there, used by
George IV
George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...
on his excursions there and later for other
London to Brighton events
London to Brighton refers to a variety of races, tours, charity bicycle rides and rallies that take place between London and Brighton in the United Kingdom.
The route often follows the A23 (and, often, nearby minor roads). The route is full ...
such as the
London to Brighton Veteran Car Run
The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run is the world's longest-running motoring event, held on a course between London () and Brighton (), England. To qualify, participating cars must have been built before 1905. It is also the world's largest g ...
.
Lambeth North Underground station is located at the north end of the road at the junction with Westminster Bridge Road. The
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...
(formerly the
Bethlem Royal Hospital
Bethlem Royal Hospital, also known as St Mary Bethlehem, Bethlehem Hospital and Bedlam, is a psychiatric hospital in London. Its famous history has inspired several horror books, films and TV series, most notably '' Bedlam'', a 1946 film with ...
) is to the east, in
Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park
Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park is a public park in Kennington, South London. Maintained by the London Borough of Southwark, it is bounded by Lambeth Road, Kennington Road, St George's Road and Brook Drive. It covers an area of . The grounds of ...
, south of the junction with
Lambeth Road
Lambeth Road is a road in Lambeth (to the west) and Southwark (to the east), London running between Lambeth Bridge over the River Thames at the western end and St George's Circus at the eastern end. The road is designated the A3203. The boro ...
(A3203).
Kennington Park
Kennington Park is a public park in Kennington, south London and lies between Kennington Park Road and St. Agnes Place. It was opened in 1854 on the site of what had been Kennington Common, where the Chartists gathered for their biggest "mons ...
is to the south.
The
Lincoln Tower built by
Christopher Newman Hall
Christopher Newman Hall (22 May 1816 – 18 February 1902), born at Maidstone
Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 ...
in the late nineteenth century in memory of
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
and the
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the Civil War. The Proclamation changed the legal sta ...
is situated close to the junction with
Westminster Bridge Road
Westminster Bridge Road is a road in London, England. It runs on an east–west axis and passes through the boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark.
Between 1740 and 1746, the Commissioners of Westminster Bridge bought land from the Archbishop of ...
along with the modernist ''Christ Church and Upton Chapel'' that replaces
Newman Hall's Victorian gothic chapel that was destroyed during the Second World War.
Though there has been much rebuilding and demolition, many of the grand
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
terraces lining Kennington Road still survive. The
Old Town Hall
Old or OLD may refer to:
Places
*Old, Baranya, Hungary
*Old, Northamptonshire, England
*Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD)
*OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...
for the
Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth
Lambeth was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in south London, England. It was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. The parish was included in the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1855 and became part of th ...
also still survives.
Notable residents
Sir
Julian Corbett
Sir Julian Stafford Corbett (12 November 1854 at Walcot House, Kennington Road, Lambeth – 21 September 1922 at Manor Farm, Stopham, Pulborough, Sussex) was a prominent British naval historian and geostrategist of the late 19th and ear ...
, 1854–1922, prominent
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
naval historian
Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Even in the interior of large la ...
and
geostrategist
Geostrategy, a subfield of geopolitics, is a type of foreign policy guided principally by geographical factors as they inform, constrain, or affect political and military planning. As with all strategies, geostrategy is concerned with matching mea ...
of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, whose works helped shape the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
's reforms of that era, was born at Walcot House, 139 Kennington Road.
Felix Slade
Felix Joseph Slade (6 August 1788 – 29 March 1868) was an English lawyer and collector of glass, books and prints.
A fellow of the Society of Antiquaries (1866) and a philanthropist who endowed three Slade Professorships of Fine Art at the ...
(1788-1868) lawyer and collector, lived at Slade House, Walcot Place East, 173 Kennington Road (pulled down sometime after World War 1). He endowed professorships of fine art at Oxford, Cambridge and University College London, and founded the Slade School of Art.
The artist
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...
(1853–1890) lived at Ivy Cottage, 395 Kennington Road, from August to October 1874 and from December 1874 to May 1875.
Ray Ellington
Henry Pitts Brown (17 March 1916 – 27 February 1985), known professionally as Ray Ellington, was an English singer, drummer and bandleader. He is best known for his appearances on ''The Goon Show'' from 1951 to 1960. The Ray Ellington Quartet h ...
(1916-1985), the popular singer, jazz musician, and bandleader, was born Henry Pitts Brown at 155 Kennington Road. The Ray Ellington Quartet achieved fame as the resident band on
The Goon Show
''The Goon Show'' is a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme. The first series, broadcast from 28 May to 20 September 19 ...
, which ran from 1951 to 1960.
Victoria Drummond
Victoria Alexandrina Drummond MBE (14 October 1894 – 25 December 1978), was the first woman marine engineer in the UK and the first woman member of Institute of Marine Engineers. In World War II she served at sea as an engineering officer in th ...
(1894-1978), Queen Victoria's god-daughter and Britain's first qualified female marine engineer, lived at 143, and later at 160 Kennington Road, from 1929 until near the end of her life.
Sir
Michael Grylls
Sir William Michael John Grylls (21 February 1934 – 7 February 2001) was a British Conservative politician. He was implicated in the cash-for-questions affair, a political scandal of the 1990s. He was the father of adventurer and the Scout Ass ...
, 1934–2001, Conservative politician, lived at Walcot House, 139 Kennington Road. His son,
Bear Grylls, the
Chief Scout A Chief Scout is the principal or head scout for an organization such as the military, colonial administration or expedition or a talent scout in performing, entertainment or creative arts, particularly sport. In sport, a Chief Scout can be the prin ...
, lived there as a child.
Sir
Christopher Chataway
Sir Christopher John Chataway (31 January 1931 – 19 January 2014) was a British middle- and long-distance runner, television news broadcaster, and Conservative politician.
Education
He was born in Chelsea, London, the son of James Denys ...
, 1931–2014, Olympic athlete and politician, lived at 145 Kennington Road.
As a child,
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...
lived at 287 Kennington Road (now marked by a
plaque
Plaque may refer to:
Commemorations or awards
* Commemorative plaque, a plate or tablet fixed to a wall to mark an event, person, etc.
* Memorial Plaque (medallion), issued to next-of-kin of dead British military personnel after World War I
* Pla ...
) and at various other locations on the road and in the immediate vicinity, such as 3 Pownall Terrace (since demolished). In the 19th century this area, near the Canterbury and Gatti's
music halls
Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...
in Westminster Bridge Road, was much favoured as a residence by performers in the music hall tradition such as Charlie Chaplin's parents. Public houses on Kennington Road such as
The Three Stags (which still exists and now has a 'Chaplin Bar'), 'The White Horse', 'The Tankard' (which exists now as the Grand Union) and the famous 'Horns Tavern' (demolished in the 1960s) were also patronised by music hall professionals.
South London criminal
Brian "Little Legs" Clifford
Brian Benham "Little Legs" Clifford (29 February 1940 - 28 September 1985) was a south London criminal and club owner who was murdered at home as he slept. His murder has never been solved.
Early life
Brian Clifford was born on 29 February 1940 i ...
lived at 126 Kennington Road where he was murdered in 1985.
Adjournment (Christmas).
HC Deb 18 December 1985 vol 89 cc350-92, ''Hansard''. Retrieved 10 September 2017. The case has never been solved.
References
External links
Survey of London entry (1951)
The Three Stags pub website
{{coord, 51.494, N, 0.11088, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title, format=dms
Streets in the London Borough of Lambeth