Nine Elms is an area of south-west

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, within 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 ...

. It lies on 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 ...

, with

Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batter ...

to the west, South Lambeth to the south and

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 ...

to the east. The area was formerly mainly industrial but is now becoming more residential and commercial in character. It is dominated by

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) ...

, various railway lines and

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 ...

. The

Battersea Dogs & 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 ...

is also in the area. Nine Elms has residential developments along the riverside, including Chelsea Bridge Wharf and Embassy Gardens, and also three large council estates: Carey Gardens, 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 ...

and the Savona.

History

Nine Elms Lane was named around the year 1645, from a row of

elm tree Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of Nort ...

s bordering the road, though a path probably existed between York House and Vauxhall from the 1200s. In 1838, at the time of construction of the London and Southampton Railway, the area was described as "a low swampy district occasionally overflowed by the

hoseosier beds, pollards and windmille and the river give it a Dutch effect".

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 ...

opened on 21 May 1838 as the first London terminus of the

London & 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 ...

, (LSWR) which that day changed its name from the London & Southampton Railway. The neo-classical building was designed by

William Tite Sir William Tite (7 February 179820 April 1873) was an English architect who twice served as President of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He was particularly associated with various London buildings, with railway stations and cemetery ...

. The station was connected to points between Vauxhall and

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 ...

by Thames steam boats. It closed in 1848 when the railway was extended via the Nine Elms to Waterloo Viaduct to a new terminus at Waterloo (then called Waterloo Bridge). The redundant station and the adjacent area, to the north of the new main line, became the LSWR's carriage and wagon works and main locomotive works until their relocation to

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, o ...

in 1909. The company's largest locomotive depot was located on the south side of the main line. The buildings were damaged by bombs in

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 ...

, and closed in 1967. They were demolished in 1968 and replaced by the flower section of the

. Gasworks were established in 1853, close to the existing waterworks of the

Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company The Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company was a utility company supplying water to parts of south London in England. The company was formed by the merger of the Southwark and Vauxhall water companies in 1845 and became part of the publicly ...

. Later

was built on the site.

Vauxhall Motors Vauxhall Motors LimitedCompany No. 00135767. Incorporated 12 May 1914, name changed from Vauxhall Motors Limited to General Motors UK Limited on 16 April 2008, reverted to Vauxhall Motors Limited on 18 September 2017. () is a British car compa ...

was formed in 1857 by Scottish engineer Alexander Wilson at Nine Elms, originally as Alex Wilson and Company, before moving to

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...

in 1907. There was a plaque commemorating the site of the original factory at the

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company ...

Nine Elms petrol station on Wandsworth Road which has now been demolished and replaced with a new Sainsbury's superstore and high rise apartments as part of the current Nine Elms regeneration. From the 2010s, the area has been redeveloped with new residential and commercial developments - including the new United States Embassy. In 2021, an extension of the Northern line at

serves the area at a Tube station at Nine Elms.

Local politics

The bulk of Nine Elms is represented by three councillors who are elected to

Wandsworth Council Wandsworth London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Wandsworth in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Wandsworth is divided into 20 wards, e ...

every four years. However, a small part of Nine Elms is in the jurisdiction of

Lambeth Council Lambeth London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Lambeth in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, and one of the 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. The council meets at Lambeth Town Hall ...

. The next election for both wards is scheduled to take place in May 2022. One

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

Member of Parliament represents Nine Elms,

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 ...

Future

Battersea Power Station, Nine Elms, London

In October 2008 the

United States Embassy in London The Embassy of the United States of America in London is the diplomatic mission of the United States in the United Kingdom. It is located in Nine Elms and is the largest American embassy in Western Europe and the focal point for events relating ...

announced that it would relocate to the area, moving from Grosvenor Square,

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...

; the new embassy was completed in December 2017, and began operating in January 2018. The Embassy of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in London also announced in April 2013 that it was relocating to the area from its current location in

Hyde Park Gate Hyde Park Gate is a street in Central London, England, which applies to two parallel roads in Kensington on the southern boundary of Kensington Gardens. These two roads run south, perpendicular to Kensington Road, but the name Hyde Park Gate als ...

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

. On 16 February 2012, Wandsworth Council approved

Ballymore Group Ballymore Group is an Ireland-based international property development company. The majority of the company's employees and business activities are located in the UK. History Ballymore Group was founded in 1982 by Sean Mulryan, who is the c ...

's plans for a 15-acre development. Embassy Gardens is set to provide "up to 1,982 new homes alongside shops, cafes, bars, restaurants, business space, a 100 bed hotel, a health centre, children's playgrounds and sports pitches". In 2014, it was reported that Ballymore had engaged

Lazard Lazard Ltd (formerly known as Lazard Frères & Co.) is a financial advisory and asset management firm that engages in investment banking, asset management and other financial services, primarily with institutional clients. It is the world's la ...

and

CBRE Group CBRE Group, Inc. is an American commercial real estate services and investment firm. The abbreviation CBRE stands for Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis. It is the world's largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2021 reven ...

to raise about €2.5bn to fund the Embassy Gardens development. Houseboat, Nine Elms - geograph

Work commenced in 2013 on regeneration of the area around Battersea Power Station, including shops, cafes, restaurants, art and leisure facilities, office space and residential buildings. An essential part of the work is an extension of the

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 ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

to service the area. The

extension Extension, extend or extended may refer to: Mathematics Logic or set theory * Axiom of extensionality * Extensible cardinal * Extension (model theory) * Extension (predicate logic), the set of tuples of values that satisfy the predicate * E ...

will branch from 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 ...

at Kennington and run west to Nine Elms and

, adding two new stations. The power station structure itself was expected to be repaired and secure by 2016, with completion of the whole project by late 2020. In 2015, Wandsworth council chose a design by Bystrup for a £40m pedestrian bridge between Nine Elms and

Pimlico Pimlico () is an area of Central London in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by London V ...

, although as of 2021 there are no firm plans to construct this.

References

External links

* {{Use dmy dates, date=February 2015 Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Wandsworth Districts of London on the River Thames Privately owned public spaces

History

Local politics

Future

See also

References

External links