The A3036 is an
A road in
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 ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
, running from
Waterloo
Waterloo most commonly refers to:
* Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat
* Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place.
Waterloo may also refer to:
Other places
Antarctica
*King George Island (S ...
to
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 as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
Toponymy
Wandsworth takes its name ...
.
Route
It starts at the southern tip of the
County Hall roundabout where the
A302 Westminster Bridge,
York Road and
A23 Westminster Bridge Road all intersect.
Lambeth Palace Road
This stretch of the route is called
Lambeth Palace Road and heads southwest, past
St Thomas' Hospital and at the southern end meets
Palace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...
itself, the London base of the
Archbishop of Canterbury at the roundabout junction with the
A3203 at
Lambeth Bridge, where it runs along the south side of the
Thames.
History
The road was constructed in the 1860s at the same time as the Albert Embankment as part of the land reclamation that allowed the construction of St Thomas' Hospital. The road originally ran in a straight line parallel to the river, with views between the pavilion blocks of the hospital to the Thames.
Since the redevelopment of the hospital in the 1960s, the road now follows a route further inland, although its original alignment through the hospital as a continuation of Belvedere Road can still be seen between later buildings. Because the expansion of the hospital and the new road layout eliminated Stangate Triangle, a protected London square, an area of land on the east of the road was provided as an extension to
Archbishop's Park in compensation.
Notable residents
* Dr
Thomas Neill Cream, serial killer, lodged at number 103, near
St Thomas's Hospital, from 1891 to 1892.
Albert Embankment
After this, the road is called
Albert Embankment and continues to run alongside the river, until it passes the
MI6 headquarters at the major junction known as
Vauxhall Cross
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 ...
, where the
A202 Vauxhall Bridge, Durham Street and Harleyford Road, the
A203 South Lambeth Road, and the
A3205 Nine Elms Lane all converge.
Albert Embankment is part of the river bank on the south side of the
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 ...
in
Central London. It stretches approximately one mile (1.6 km) northward from
Vauxhall Bridge to
Westminster Bridge, and is located in the
London Borough of Lambeth
Lambeth () is a 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 is at Frazier ...
.
History
The Albert Embankment was built for 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 Coun ...
under the immediate direction of engineer John Grant (not
Sir Joseph Bazalgette, as is commonly supposed; Bazalgette was chief engineer to the Board). It was commenced in September 1865, and opened in May 1868. The purpose was to create a new highway and open space, and to help even out irregularities in the riverfront (since malodorous mud accumulated in the wider places). It is sometimes said the Albert Embankment was created to prevent flooding in the Lambeth area, but that was not its purpose. In fact the Albert Embankment was built on arches to permit vessels to continue to access landside business premises, such as
draw docks; these already had their own defensive walls —
as did most of the tidal Thames. After the Embankment was completed, floods continued to occur owing to defects in these walls (e.g. in 1877 and 1928). Any flood protection the Embankment gave was incidental.
Unlike Bazalgette's
Thames Embankment (including
Chelsea Embankment and
Victoria Embankment), 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 onto a small slipway, named White Hart Draw Dock, whose origins can be traced back to the 14th century. This is contrary to the popular myth that the dock was built and used by the nearby Royal Doulton's pottery works to transport clay and finished goods 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 Sea ...
. From spring 2009, refurbishment of White Hart Dock commenced as part of an ongoing public art project being delivered by Lambeth council.
Some of the reclaimed land was sold to the trustees of
St Thomas' Hospital. To the north of Lambeth Bridge, the embankment is a narrower pedestrian promenade in front of the hospital, with motor traffic carried behind the hospital on Lambeth Palace Road.
In common with other 'Bazalgatte' works, the original embankment is adorned with
sturgeon lamp standards to the designs of
George Vulliamy
George John Vulliamy (19 May 1817 – 1886) was a British architect who designed some buildings in Victoria Street London, several fire-brigade stations, the pedestal and sphinxes for Cleopatra's Needle on the Thames Embankment, and the stur ...
. The southern limit of Bazalgatte's embankment was opposite Tinworth Street, where the road moves away from the riverside.
The stretch south of Tinworth Street was occupied by industrial and wharf premises until after
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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. These areas have subsequently been redeveloped as offices, with extensions to the embankment being constructed to a more utilitarian design than the Bazalgatte/Vulliamy stretch. Public pedestrian access to this newer embankment was only secured in the 1990s. Parts of this section of the embankment have a provisional appearance, as the landowners still have hopes for future redevelopment that could move the embankment line further into the river. However, encroachment of the tidal river bed habitat is contrary to the current planning policies of Lambeth.
Albert Embankment is also the name given to the part of the A3036 road between Vauxhall Bridge and
Lambeth Bridge, where it adjoins
Lambeth Palace Road and
Lambeth Road. On the west side of this road adjacent to Vauxhall Bridge is the
SIS Building, while on the east side nearer to Lambeth Bridge are the
International Maritime Organization (IMO) building and the former headquarters of the
London Fire Brigade. In the Thames opposite is London's only river fire station, home to two
fireboat
A fireboat or fire-float is a specialized watercraft with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard fires. The first fireboats, dating to the late 18th century, were tugboats, retrofitted with firefighting equipm ...
s.
Wandsworth Road
From
Vauxhall, the route is then called Wandsworth Road until it crosses the
A3216 Queenstown Road / Cedars Road junction in
Battersea.
Lavender Hill
At that point the street name changes to
Lavender Hill, continuing until
Clapham Junction.
Lavender Hill is a hill, and a shopping and residential street, near
Clapham Junction in
Battersea, south London. Lavender Hill forms the section of the A3036 as it rises eastwards out of the
Falconbrook valley at Clapham Junction, and retains that name for approximately to the corner of Queenstown Road in
Battersea, beyond which it is called Wandsworth Road towards
Vauxhall.
History
=Origin of the name
=
The earliest known reference to the name 'Lavender Hill' is in 1774 when a Mr Porter, advertising a reward for the return of his lost pony, described it as having strayed or been stolen from 'a Field on Lavender-Hill', suggesting that the name was already widely known.
The road formed part of the Southwark to Kingston Turnpike from 1717.
The name refers to the commercial cultivation of
lavender on the gentle north-facing slopes of this part of the Thames estuary – helped by well-drained soil, fresh air and several natural springs.
The first building to reflect the name was Lavender Hall on the south side of the road in 1790. The road itself, which ran just below the crest of the hill, was not widely referred to as Lavender Hill until the later 1800s. Several smaller streets developed in the Victoria era, including Lavender Gardens, Lavender Walk (an ancient farm lane) and Lavender Sweep, also reflect the area's historic lavender industry.
=Early development
=
In an 1848 painting, the painter refers to Lavender Hill, although this cannot reasonably be said to be from the Lavender Hill (road), more the north slope of the topographic feature. Until the 1860s Lavender Hill was mostly an area of open farmland, with small-scale development at both ends. At the western end there was a crossing of the
Falconbrook river with several farms. The Chestnuts, a farmhouse built in 1812, survived and has been incorporated into the modern street plan halfway along Mossbury Road. The earliest reference to the still-existing ''
Falcon
Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene.
Adult falcons ...
''
public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...
at the west end of the street is in 1767.
After the 1780s a few large villas were built on the hillside, owned by wealthy residents attracted by the expansive views over Battersea Fields and the Thames towards London. The earliest was Rush Hill House, developed in around 1770, whose fate was typical of many of these early buildings: as the area developed, its grounds were sold off in 1872 and developed as a new street and terrace of houses (Rush Hill Terrace), and the house itself survived until 1887 before being replaced by a further terrace of houses (Crombie Mews).
Lavender Place was developed in around 1826 as a row of cottages at the eastern end of what is now Lavender Hill. The clean air and supply of fresh water meant Lavender Place became home in the early-to-mid nineteenth century to several laundresses, who bleached and dried linen on the grassland behind the houses. Lavender Place extended some distance into what is now Wandsworth Road, and remained a separate street for many years (one ceramic street name for 'Lavender Place' is still visible). An
acetic acid
Acetic acid , systematically named ethanoic acid , is an acidic, colourless liquid and organic compound with the chemical formula (also written as , , or ). Vinegar is at least 4% acetic acid by volume, making acetic acid the main componen ...
distillery, ''Beaufoy's Acetic Acid Works'', was also located at the eastern end (for many years a public house called the Beaufoy remained at this end of Lavender Hill; the only surviving trace of the distillery is now a short street called Beaufoy Road). In the 1870s the houses on Lavender Terrace were adapted to form a terrace of shops, and the houses on Lavender Place were eventually renumbered to become part of Lavender Hill.
=Victorian era
=
The opening of
Clapham Junction railway station in 1863 led to rapid residential and commercial development along the street, with construction of a large number of houses as well as many major civic and commercial buildings. By 1885 it was such a busy commercial district that
Arding & Hobbs, the largest
department store
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
south of the
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 ...
, was built.
The imposing
Church of the Ascension, designed by
James Brooks, was built in 1883 to cater to the growing population of the neighbouring
Shaftesbury 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 ...
. A
Welsh Methodist chapel was built on Beauchamp Road, reflecting what was once a significant
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
population.
Battersea Central Library was opened in March 1890, following an architectural competition that was won by
Edward William Mountford
Edward William Mountford (22 September 1855 – 7 February 1908) was an English architect, noted for his Edwardian Baroque style, who designed a number of town halls – Sheffield, Battersea and Lancaster – as well as the Old Bailey in London ...
(who also designed the
Old Bailey) with a mildly
Flemish Renaissance design that was described as "inexpensively devised and designed to not needlessly clash with the adjoining houses which are of the speculating builders' type of work". It quickly proved popular and saw several subsequent extensions, notably with the addition in 1924 of a reference library on Altenburg Gardens (in a part of the original plot that had originally been intended for a museum) that was designed by Henry Hyams.
Battersea Town Hall was opened in 1893, as the administrative headquarters of the
Metropolitan Borough of Battersea, and the large Grade II* listed building is one of Lavender Hill's most prominent features. When the Borough was abolished in 1965, the Town Hall became redundant. After being threatened with demolition for some years, plans to build a new library and swimming pool on the site were finally rejected following a campaign by residents to save the building, and it was then converted into a community arts centre in 1974.
[Battersea Arts Centre - Our History]
/ref> The Battersea Arts Centre is now a major arts venue.
The Shakespeare Theatre was built in 1896, next to the Town Hall. It was severely damaged in the Second World War, before being demolished in 1957 and replaced by an office building called Shakespeare House.
A large Central Post Office, designed by Jasper Wager, was built in 1898, and extended with a sorting office designed by John Rutherford in around 1913 (although the original buildings were replaced by a modern structure designed by an unknown architect at the Ministry of Works in 1961).
In popular culture
The street is known in popular culture thanks to the BAFTA Award-winning 1951 Ealing comedy '' The Lavender Hill Mob''. The film was so-named because the lead character, Henry Holland, lives in a seedy boarding house on the street, the 'Balmoral Private Hotel' where he and fellow resident (and foundry owner) Alfred Pendlebury meet and hatch the 'perfect' plot to steal a load of gold bullion.
Lavender Hill is featured with a chapter of its own in the historical novel ''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 ...
'' by Edward Rutherfurd, with descriptions of it in the 19th century from the pre-industrial era.
Lavender Hill featured as a site location for many British TV shows, including '' On the Buses'' and '' The Sweeney'', in the 1970s.
In 1967 the English group The Kinks recorded a whimsical song entitled " Lavender Hill" which may have been under consideration as a follow-up single to Waterloo Sunset, but was rejected in favour of Autumn Almanac
"Autumn Almanac" is a song written by Ray Davies and recorded by the rock group the Kinks in 1967. "Autumn Almanac" has since been noted for being an "absolute classic", "a finely observed slice of English custom", and a "weird character study" ...
. The song was eventually released in the U.S. in 1973 on ''The Great Lost Kinks Album
''The Great Lost Kinks Album'' is a compilation album by the English rock band the Kinks. Released in the United States in January1973, it features material recorded by the group between 1966 and 1970 that had mostly gone unreleased. The compi ...
'', and has been described as "a southerner's counterpoint to the Beatles' Penny Lane".
Notable former inhabitant include Sarah, Duchess of York, who lived in a flat in Lavender Gardens before her marriage. The first black Mayor in London, John Archer, was elected at Battersea Town Hall in 1913 after serving as a councillor for the Battersea Latchmere ward, north of Lavender Hill.
Contemporary
=Retail
=
Lavender Hill is now principally a shopping and restaurant street along much of its length, with around 200 retail units in total. The Lavender Hill Traders' Association runs the annual Lavender Festival, to raise the profile of the street as a shopping and entertainment destination.
The western end of the street has the highest footfall, due to large commuter flows towards Clapham Junction station. Its architecture is dominated by the landmark Arding & Hobbs building (the greater part of which is still a department store, now Debenhams), a number of restaurants and cafes (including a branch of Pizza Express with decoration loosely themed on The Lavender Hill Mob). There is a large 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 Yorks ...
supermarket with an underground car park, and a branch of Whole Foods Market. This section also includes the Battersea central Post Office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...
and telephone exchange, and the Grade II listed Battersea Reference Library.
The flatter central section of the road, at the top of the hill, includes approximately 15 estate agents (including Courtenay, Winkworth and Foxtons), as well as Lavender Hill police station
A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, al ...
(the main police station for the Battersea area) and the Battersea Arts Centre. There is a concentration of restaurants and bars along the central section.
The eastern end of the street is anchored by smaller branches of Sainsbury's and Tesco
Tesco plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues an ...
at the crossroads with Queenstown Road. It includes a wide variety of restaurants and bars, helped by wide pavements that provide outdoor seating. There are also clusters of shops from sectors including cycling, music equipment, interior design, decorators merchants, and contemporary furniture. This section of the road is dominated by independent businesses with relatively few national operators (with the exception of a few cafes such as Caffè Nero).
In 2011, Wandsworth Borough Council completed the first phase of the ''Clapham Junction Exemplar'' project, which extensively de-cluttered and upgraded the streetscape of the western part of Lavender Hill to make it a more attractive and welcoming retail environment. This included widening of pavements, new street lighting, safer pedestrian crossings, and extensive use of granite paving.
=Business
=
Although primarily residential, Lavender Hill includes significant office space, notably at the Battersea Business Centre, which provides workspace for around 140 businesses in a converted Victorian paper mill at 99-109 Lavender Hill.
The area around Lavender Hill included a small proportion of industrial land use (including the area now occupied by the 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 Yorks ...
supermarket which was originally a rail yard). Some small sites continued into the early 2000s (with manufacturers such as Rotoplas precision engineering on Stormont Road); however, almost all industrial land has been converted to residential development as the area has gentrified.
=Residential
=
Lavender Hill is in the centre of a high density middle class
The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Co ...
residential neighbourhood, of predominantly Victorian architecture
Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the styles known as Victorian w ...
, including the large 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 ...
.
There is a Travelodge hotel on Falcon Lane close to the western end of Lavender Hill, and a new Premier Inn has been constructed near the eastern end of Lavender Hill (in a former Temperance Hall at the junction with Wandsworth Road).
Transport
Lavender Hill has a Public transport accessibility level of 5 along most of its length, rising to the highest level of 6b at its western end, indicating a high density of public transport.
Transport at the western end of Lavender Hill is dominated by Clapham Junction railway station, one of the busiest in Europe. The eastern end is an approximately ten-minute walk from several smaller stations, notably Wandsworth Road railway station, Clapham Common Underground station and Queenstown Road railway station.
In the 1890s Lavender Hill was developed as a major tram route, with tram route 26 running along Lavender Hill on the way from Kew Bridge to London Bridge, and route 28 running from Harrow Road to Victoria. The tram lines were removed in the early 1950s and replaced by several bus services (currently including the 77, 87 and 156
Year 156 ( CLVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Silvanus and Augurinus (or, less frequently, year 909 '' Ab urbe co ...
buses). These services still follow the same route between Wandsworth and Vauxhall, and Lavender Hill has an eastbound bus lane along much of its length.
There are three Santander Cycles public cycle hire docking stations on or close to Lavender Hill (on Dorothy Road at the western end, on Lavender Hill itself close to the junction with Sugden Road, and on Ashley Crescent at the eastern end).
Safety
* On 10 August 2017, a 77 bus left the road and collided with a shopfront on the street, injuring 10 people. The driver was described as having lost consciousness at the time of the crash.
Notable people
* Catherine Gurney
Catherine Gurney OBE (19 June 1848 – 11 August 1930) was a British activist in the temperance movement, and is remembered for her work in establishing police convalescent homes, orphanages and schools, including St George's House, in Harrogate ...
, OBE, (1848–1930), activist
* Jonathan Jack Whicher, Detective, (1814-1881): one of Scotland Yard's original eight Detectives. Died at 2, Cumberland Villas, Lavender Hill.
* Stereo MC's, musicians
St John's Hill
The A3 follows roughly the same southwesterly course as this route and after St John's Hill, Clapham Junction, the two routes merge at the 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 as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
Toponymy
Wandsworth takes its name ...
one-way system where the road continues as the A3.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:3-3036
Roads in England
Streets in the London Borough of Wandsworth
Streets in the London Borough of Lambeth