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 experienced some slight growth in the medieval period as part of the manor of
Lambeth Palace. By the Victorian era the area had seen significant development as London expanded, with dense industrial, commercial and residential buildings located adjacent to one another. The changes brought by
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 opposing ...
altered much of the fabric of Lambeth. Subsequent development in the late 20th and early 21st centuries has seen an increase in the number of high-rise buildings. The area is home to the
International Maritime Organization. Lambeth is home to one of the largest
Portuguese-speaking communities in the UK, and is the second most commonly spoken language in Lambeth after
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
.
History
Medieval
The origins of the name of Lambeth come from its first record in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'', meaning 'landing place for lambs', and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. 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 manus ...
, Lambeth is called "Lanchei", which is plausibly derived from Brittonic Lan meaning a river bank and Chei being Brittonic for a quay The name refers to a harbour where lambs were either shipped from or to. It is formed from the
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...
'lamb' and 'hythe'.
South Lambeth is recorded as ''Sutlamehethe'' in 1241 and North Lambeth is recorded in 1319 as ''North Lamhuth''.
The manor of Lambeth is recorded as being under ownership of the
Archbishop of Canterbury from at least 1190.
[ The Archbishops led the development of much of the manor, with Archbishop Hubert Walter creating the residence of Lambeth Palace in 1197.][ Lambeth and the palace were the site of two important 13th-century international treaties; the Treaty of Lambeth 1217 and the Treaty of Lambeth 1212. ]Edward, the Black Prince
Edward of Woodstock, known to history as the Black Prince (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), was the eldest son of King Edward III of England, and the heir apparent to the English throne. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II, suc ...
lived in Lambeth in the 14th century in an estate that incorporated the land not belonging to the Archbishops, which also included Kennington (the Black Prince road in Lambeth is named after him). As such, much of the freehold land of Lambeth to this day remains under Royal ownership as part of the estate of the Duchy of Cornwall. Lambeth was also the site of the principal medieval London residence of the Dukes of Norfolk
Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...
, but by 1680 the large house had been sold and ended up as a pottery manufacturer, creating some of the first examples of English delftware
English delftware is tin-glazed pottery made in the British Isles between about 1550 and the late 18th century. The main centres of production were London, Bristol and Liverpool with smaller centres at Wincanton, Glasgow and Dublin. English ...
in the country.[ The road names, Norfolk Place and Norfolk Row reflect the history and legacy of the house today.]
River crossings
Lambeth Palace lies opposite the southern section of the Palace of Westminster on the Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
. The two were historically linked by a horse ferry across the river. In fact, Lambeth could only be crossed by the left-bank by ferry or fords until 1750. Until the mid-18th century the north of Lambeth was marshland, crossed by a number of roads raised against floods. This marshland was also known as ''Lambeth Marshe''. It was drained in the 18th century but is remembered in the Lower Marsh
Lower Marsh is a street in the Waterloo neighbourhood of London, England. It is adjacent to Waterloo railway station in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is the location of Lower Marsh Market.
History
Until the early 19th century much of nor ...
street name. With the opening of 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 ...
in 1750, followed by the Blackfriars Bridge
Blackfriars Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, between Waterloo Bridge and Blackfriars Railway Bridge, carrying the A201 road. The north end is in the City of London near the Inns of Court and Temple Ch ...
, Vauxhall Bridge
Vauxhall Bridge is a Grade II* listed steel and granite deck arch bridge in central London. It crosses the River Thames in a southeast–northwest direction between Vauxhall on the south bank and Pimlico on the north bank. Opened in 1906, i ...
and Lambeth Bridge
Lambeth Bridge is a road traffic and footbridge crossing the River Thames in an east–west direction in central London. The river flows north at the crossing point. Downstream, the next bridge is Westminster Bridge; upstream, the next bridge i ...
itself, a number of major thoroughfares were developed through Lambeth, such as Westminster Bridge Road, Kennington Road and Camberwell New Road. Until the 18th century Lambeth was sparsely populated and still rural in nature, being outside the boundaries of central London, although it had experienced growth in the form of taverns
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that ...
and entertainment venues, such as theatres and Bear pit
A bear pit was historically used to display bears, typically for entertainment and especially bear-baiting. The pit area was normally surrounded by a high fence, above which the spectators would look down on the bears.
The most traditional form o ...
s (being outside inner city regulations). The subsequent growth in road and marine transport, along with the development of industry in the wake of 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 ...
brought great change to the area.
Early modern
The area grew with an ever-increasing population at this time, many of whom were considerably poor. As a result, Lambeth opened a parish 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 1726. In 1777 a parliamentary report recorded a parish workhouse in operation accommodating up to 270 inmates. On 18 December 1835 the Lambeth Poor Law Parish was formed, comprising the parish of St Mary, Lambeth, "including the district attached to the new churches of St John, Waterloo, Kennington, Brixton, Norwood". Its operation was overseen by an elected Board of twenty Guardians. Following in the tradition of earlier delftware manufacturers, the Royal Doulton
Royal Doulton is an English ceramic and home accessories manufacturer that was founded in 1815. Operating originally in Vauxhall, London, and later moving to Lambeth, in 1882 it opened a factory in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, in the centre of Engl ...
Pottery company had their principal manufacturing site in Lambeth for several centuries. The Lambeth factory closed in 1956 and production was transferred to Staffordshire. However the Doulton offices, located on Black Prince Road still remain as they are a listed building, which includes the original decorative tiling.
Between 1801 and 1831 the population of Lambeth trebled and in ten years alone between 1831 and 1841 it increased from 87,856 in to 105,883. The railway first came to Lambeth in the 1840s, as construction began which extended the London and South Western Railway
The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter ...
from its original station at Nine Elms to the new terminus at London Waterloo via the newly constructed Nine Elms to Waterloo Viaduct. With the massive urban development of London in the 19th century and with the opening of the large Waterloo railway station in 1848 the locality around the station and Lower Marsh became known as Waterloo, becoming an area distinct from Lambeth itself.
The Lambeth Ragged school was built in 1851 to help educate the children of destitute facilities, although the widening of the London and South Western Railway
The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter ...
in 1904 saw the building reduced in size. Part of the school building still exists today and is occupied by the Beaconsfield Gallery. The Beaufoy Institute was also built in 1907 to provide technical education for the poor of the area, although this stopped being an educational institution at the end of the 20th century.
Modern
Lambeth Walk and Lambeth High Street were the two principal commercial streets of Lambeth, but today are predominantly residential in nature. Lambeth Walk was site of a market for many years, which by 1938 had 159 shops, including 11 butchers. The street and surrounding roads, like most of Lambeth were extensively damaged in the Second World War
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 opposi ...
.[ This included the complete destruction of the Victorian Swimming Baths (themselves built in 1897) in 1945, when a ]V2 Rocket
The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), with the technical name ''Aggregat 4'' (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was developed ...
hit the street resulting in the deaths of 37 people.
In 1948 when the first wave of immigrants of Afro-Caribbean descent arrived from Jamaica on the Windrush cruise ship, they were housed in several areas within Brixton, especially 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 ...
. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society's headquarters were located in Lambeth High Street from 1976 until 2015.
Today, the center of government in Brixton has a strong Afro-Caribbean community. Other significant minorities include Africans, South Asians, and Chinese; they make up one third of Lambeth's population. The borough is a very densely populated area within London with a large young population. One third of its working age population are considered living in poverty. Lambeth ranks 8th out of 22 of the most deprived boroughs in London.
Local governance
The current district of Lambeth was part of the large ancient parish of Lambeth St Mary in the Brixton hundred of Surrey. It was an elongated north–south parish with a River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
frontage to the west. In the north it lay opposite the cities of London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...
and Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
and extended southwards to cover the contemporary districts of Brixton, West Dulwich
West Dulwich ( ) is a neighbourhood in South London on the southern boundary of Brockwell Park, which straddles the London Borough of Lambeth and the London Borough of Southwark. Croxted Road and South Croxted Road mark the boundary between S ...
and West Norwood
West Norwood is a largely residential area of south London within the London Borough of Lambeth, located 5.4 miles (8.7 km) south south-east of Charing Cross. The centre of West Norwood sits in a bowl surrounded by hillsides on its east, ...
, almost reaching Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
. Lambeth became part of the Metropolitan Police District in 1829. It continued as a single parish for Poor Law purposes after the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834
The ''Poor Law Amendment Act 1834'' (PLAA) known widely as the New Poor Law, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the Whig government of Earl Grey. It completely replaced earlier legislation based on the ''Poor Relie ...
and a single parish governed by a vestry after the introduction of the Metropolitan Board of Works
The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the principal instrument of local government in a wide area of Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent, defined by the Metropolis Management Act 1855, from December 1855 until the establishment of the London Cou ...
in 1855. In 1889 it became part of the 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 ...
and the parish and vestry were reformed in 1900 to become 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 t ...
, governed by Lambeth Borough Council. In the reform of local government in 1965, the Streatham and Clapham areas that had formed part of the 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 190 ...
were combined with Lambeth to form the responsible area of local government under the London Borough of Lambeth. The current mayor is Annie Gallop as of May 2021.
Local politics
The council is run by a leader and cabinet
In England, local authorities are required to adopt one of three types of executive arrangements, having either an "elected mayor and cabinet", a "leader and cabinet", or a "committee system". The type of arrangement used determines how decisions ...
. All cabinet members are from the Labour Party.
The leader of the opposition is Green Party Co-leader Jonathan Bartley
Jonathan Charles Bartley (born 16 October 1971) is a British politician and was Co-Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, a position he shared with Caroline Lucas and then, from 4 September 2018, with Siân Berry. He was the Green Pa ...
and the leader of the Conservative opposition is Timothy Briggs.
The chief executive is Andrew Travers.
Mark Bennett became mayor in March 2013, and died in February 2014. The current mayor as of May 2018, is Cllr Christopher Wellbelove.
[Mayor, the leader of the Council and Cabinet members – guide"](_blank)
Lambeth Council. 23 May 2018.
In the 2016 EU referendum
The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar to ask the electorate whether the country shoul ...
, Lambeth issued the highest "Remain" vote in the United Kingdom (besides Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
) with almost 79% of residents advocating the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
staying in the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
.
At the 2015 general election, all three Labour candidates were elected Kate Hoey
Catharine Letitia Hoey, Baroness Hoey (born 21 June 1946), better known as Kate Hoey, is a Northern Irish politician and life peer who served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Home Affairs from 1998 to 1999 and Minister for Sport from 1999 t ...
for Vauxhall, Chuka Umunna
Chuka Harrison Umunna (; born 17 October 1978) is a British retired politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Streatham from 2010 until 2019. A former member of the Labour Party, he was part of the Shadow Cabinet from 2011 to ...
for Streatham & Helen Hayes for Dulwich and West Norwood. The Conservative Party finished the runners up in all three seats.
At the snap 2017 general election, Hoey, Umunna and Hayes were re-elected with increased majorities. The Liberal Democrat candidate George Turner finished the runner up in Vauxhall achieving a 5% swing in his favour. The Conservative candidates Rachel Wolf and Kim Caddy finished the runner up in Dulwich & West Norwood and Streatham respectively.
At the 2018 local elections, Labour remained in control of the council with 57 of the 63 seats, (down 2 seats from 2014). The Greens gained 4 seats and achieved a total 5 seats. The Conservatives were reduced down to a single seat, and the Liberal Democrats failed to gain any seats, but did make some inroads into Wards in Northern Vauxhall and Southern Streatham.
In the 2019 EU elections, the Liberal Democrats won Lambeth with 33% of the vote, Labour were second with 21%, The Greens third with 19% and Change UK
The Independent Group for Change, also known as Change UK, was a British centrist, pro-European Union political party, founded in February 2019 and dissolved ten months later, shortly after all its MPs lost their seats in the 2019 general e ...
and The Brexit Party joint fourth on 8%.
In June 2019, Umunna defected to the Liberal Democrats.
Hoey stood down at the 2019 General Election and was replaced with Labour MP Florence Eshalomi
Florence Dauta Eshalomi ('' née'' Nosegbe; born 18 September 1980) is a British Labour and Co-operative politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) representing Vauxhall since 2019. She previously served as the Member of the London As ...
, who was the sitting London Assembly Member for Lambeth and Southwark. Ummuna stood down as an MP and was replaced with Bell Ribeiro-Addy
Bellavia Janet Ribeiro-Addy (born 1 March 1985) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for Streatham since the 2019 general election. Solidly on the left of the Party, she considers herself a "life-long ...
where the Labour majority was cut by almost 10,000 by the 2nd placed Lib Dems. Hayes stood for re-election with the Green Party's Jonathan Bartley
Jonathan Charles Bartley (born 16 October 1971) is a British politician and was Co-Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, a position he shared with Caroline Lucas and then, from 4 September 2018, with Siân Berry. He was the Green Pa ...
finishing in second place, for the first time.
Buildings and churches
The church of St Mary-at-Lambeth is the oldest above ground structure in Lambeth, the oldest structure of any kind being the crypt of Lambeth Palace itself. The church has pre-Norman origins, being recorded as early as 1062 as a church built by Goda, sister of Edward the Confessor. It was rebuilt in flint and stone between the years 1374 and 1377. The tower is the only original part still to survive, as much of the church was reconstructed by 1852. The church was de-consecrated in 1972 and since 1977 it has been the home of the Garden Museum
The Garden Museum (formerly known as the Museum of Garden History) in London is Britain's only museum of the art, history and design of gardens. The museum re-opened in 2017 after an 18-month redevelopment project.
The building is largely th ...
.
Lambeth Palace is the home of the Archbishop of Canterbury and has been occupied as a residence by the Archbishops since the early 13th century. The oldest parts of the palace are Langton's Chapel and its crypt, both of which date back to the 13th century. Although they suffered greatly from damage in the Second World War
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 opposi ...
, they have seen been extensively repaired and restored.[ Morton's Tower, the main entrance to the palace, was built in 1490.][ The Great Hall, rebuilt over different centuries but primarily following damage during the ]English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
, contains the vast collections of the Lambeth Palace Library.[ Later additions to the palace including the Blore Building, a newer private residence for the Archbishop, which was completed in 1833.][
]
The Albert Embankment
Albert may refer to:
Companies
* Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic
* Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands
* Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia
* Albert Productions, a record label
* Alber ...
, finished in 1869 and created by the engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette
''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
under the Metropolitan Board of Works
The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the principal instrument of local government in a wide area of Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent, defined by the Metropolis Management Act 1855, from December 1855 until the establishment of the London Cou ...
, forms the boundary of Lambeth. The embankment includes land reclaimed from the river and various small timber and boat-building yards, and was intended to protect low-lying areas of Lambeth from flooding while also providing a new highway to bypass local congested streets. Unlike the Thames Embankment
The Thames Embankment is a work of 19th-century civil engineering that reclaimed marshy land next to the River Thames in central London. It consists of the Victoria Embankment and Chelsea Embankment.
History
There had been a long history of ...
on the opposite side of the river, the Albert Embankment does not incorporate major interceptor sewers. This allowed the southern section of the embankment (upstream from Lambeth Bridge) to include a pair of tunnels leading to a small slipway, named White Hart Draw Dock, whose origins can be traced back to the 14th century. Centuries later, Royal Doulton's pottery works used the docks to load clay and finished goods for transport to and from the Port of London
The Port of London is that part of the River Thames in England lying between Teddington Lock and the defined boundary (since 1968, a line drawn from Foulness Point in Essex via Gunfleet Old Lighthouse to Warden Point in Kent) with the North Se ...
. The refurbishment of White Hart Dock was carried out as part of a local art project in 2009, which included the addition of wooden sculptures and benches to the 1868 dock boundary wall.
Located on the Albert Embankment is the purpose-built headquarters of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The IMO is a specialised agency of the United Nations
United Nations Specialized Agencies are autonomous organizations working with the United Nations and each other through the co-ordinating machinery of the United Nations Economic and Social Council at the intergovernmental level, and through th ...
responsible for regulating shipping
Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...
. The building was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 17 May 1983. The architects of the building were Douglass Marriott, Worby & Robinson. The front of the building is dominated by a seven-metre high, ten-tonne bronze sculpture of the bow of a ship, with a lone seafarer maintaining a look-out from Lambeth to the Thames.
From 1937 until 2007 the headquarters of the London Fire Brigade were in Lambeth, on Albert Embankment.[ The headquarters building, constructed in an ]art deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
style, was designed by architects of the London City Council
London City Council is the governing body of the city of London, Ontario, Canada.
Composition
London is divided into 14 wards, with residents in each ward electing one councillor. The mayor is elected citywide, who along with the councillors for ...
and opened in 1937. Occupying a prominent position on the Thames it is, however, still an operating fire station, although future plans have been submitted which may see redevelopment of the listed building. A planning decision is expected by July 2023.
The Lambeth Mission is a church of the united Methodist Anglican denomination, located on 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 ...
. The original church was founded in 1739 but was entirely destroyed by a bomb in the Second World War
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 opposi ...
. A new church for the mission was constructed in 1950 and continues to function as an active church today.[
The Beaconsfield gallery is a public contemporary art gallery in Lambeth, which was established in 1995 and specialises in temporary exhibitions and art classes.] Morley College
Morley College is a specialist adult education and further education college in London, England. The college has three main campuses, one in Waterloo on the South Bank, and two in West London namely in North Kensington and in Chelsea, the la ...
is an adult education college, founded in the 1880s, that occupies sites on either side of the boundary between the London boroughs of Southwark and Lambeth.
Literary Lambeth
In 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. ...
's epic '' Milton: A Poem in Two Books'', the poet John Milton leaves Heaven and travels to Lambeth, in the form of a falling comet, and enters Blake's foot. This allows Blake to treat the ordinary world as perceived by the five senses as a sandal formed of "precious stones and gold" that he can now wear. Blake ties the sandal and, guided by Los
LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to:
Science and technology
* Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation
* Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers
* Level of significance, a measure of statistical significance ...
, walks with it into the City of Art, inspired by the spirit of poetic creativity. The poem was written between 1804 and 1810.
'' Liza of Lambeth'', the first novel by W. Somerset Maugham
William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...
, is about the life and loves of a young factory worker living in Lambeth near 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 C ...
.
''Thyrza'', a novel by George Gissing
George Robert Gissing (; 22 November 1857 – 28 December 1903) was an English novelist, who published 23 novels between 1880 and 1903. His best-known works have reappeared in modern editions. They include '' The Nether World'' (1889), '' New Gr ...
first published in 1887, is set in late Victorian Lambeth, particularly Newport Street, Lambeth Walk and Walnut Tree Walk. The novel was intended by Gissing to "contain the very spirit of London working-class life". The story tells of Walter Egremont, an Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
-trained idealist who gives lectures on literature to workers, some of them from his father's Lambeth factory.
Leisure and recreation
Lambeth has several areas of public parks and gardens. This includes Old Paradise Gardens
Old Paradise Gardens (formerly known as Lambeth High Street Recreation Ground, and informally as the Rec) is a park in Lambeth in the London Borough of Lambeth in London, England, and opened to the public in 1884. Before it became a park, it ...
, which is a park occupying a former burial ground on Lambeth High Street and Old Paradise Street. A watch-house for holding the 'drunk and disorderly' existed on the site, from 1825 until 1930 and is today marked by a memorial stone. Lambeth Walk Open Space is a small public park to the east of Lambeth on Fitzalan Walk and includes several open spaces and play areas. Pedlars' Park is another small public park in Lambeth, which was created in 1968 on the site of the former St. Saviour's Salamanca Street School. Archbishop's Park is open to the public and borders the edge of Lambeth Palace and the neighbouring area of Waterloo and the hospital of St Thomas.
Transport
The nearest London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.
The ...
stations are Waterloo, Southwark and Lambeth North. London Waterloo is also a National Rail
National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the ...
station as is Waterloo East which is located in-between both Waterloo and Southwark stations. Vauxhall station
Vauxhall (, ) is a National Rail, London Underground and London Buses interchange station in central London. It is at the Vauxhall Cross road junction opposite the southern approach to Vauxhall Bridge over the River Thames in the district of ...
is also nearby in Vauxhall, situated more towards the South Lambeth area near Kennington as is Oval
An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.) it is given a more precise definition, which may include either one ...
station nearby. The South West Main Line
The South West Main Line (SWML) is a 143-mile (230 km) major railway line between Waterloo station in central London and Weymouth on the south coast of England. A predominantly passenger line, it serves many commuter areas including south we ...
runs through Lambeth on the Nine Elms to Waterloo Viaduct.
The principal road through the area is 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 ...
(the A3203). Lambeth Walk adjoins Lambeth Road. The current Lambeth Bridge
Lambeth Bridge is a road traffic and footbridge crossing the River Thames in an east–west direction in central London. The river flows north at the crossing point. Downstream, the next bridge is Westminster Bridge; upstream, the next bridge i ...
opened on 19 July 1932. It replaced an earlier suspension bridge which itself was built between 1862 and 1928, but was eventually closed and demolished following the 1928 Thames flood
The 1928 Thames flood was a disastrous flood of the River Thames that affected much of riverside London on 7 January 1928, as well as places further downriver. Fourteen people died and thousands were made homeless when floodwaters poured ove ...
.
Notable people
See also
* List of schools in Lambeth
References
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
london-se1.co.uk
– local news website
– Lambeth history resource
* Digital Public Library of America
Works related to Lambeth
various dates
{{Authority control
Districts of the London Borough of Lambeth
Areas of London
Districts of London on the River Thames
History of the London Borough of Lambeth
Burial sites of the House of Valois-Saint-Remy