Wandsworth () is a

London borough The London boroughs are the 32 local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London; each is governed by a London borough council. The present London boroughs were all created at ...

in southwest

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 ...

; it forms part of

Inner London Inner London is the name for the group of London boroughs which form the interior part of Greater London and are surrounded by Outer London. With its origins in the bills of mortality, it became fixed as an area for statistics in 1847 and was ...

and has an estimated population of 329,677 inhabitants. Its main named areas are Battersea, Balham, Putney,

Tooting Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth and partly in the London Borough of Merton. It is located south south-west of Charing Cross. History Tooting has been settled since pre-Saxon times. Th ...

and Wandsworth Town. The borough borders the London Borough of Lambeth to the east, the

London Borough of Merton The London Borough of Merton () is a borough in Southwest London, England. The borough was formed under the London Government Act 1963 in 1965 by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Mitcham, the Municipal Borough of Wimbledon and the Mer ...

and the

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a borough in southwest London. The main town is Kingston upon Thames and it includes Surbiton, Chessington, Malden Rushett, New Malden and Tolworth. It is the oldest of the four royal boroughs ...

to the south, the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames to the west, and to the north (across 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 ...

) three boroughs, namely the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the City of Westminster. The local authority is

Wandsworth London Borough 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, eac ...

History

Until 1889, the current area of Wandsworth was part of the county of Surrey. In 1855 the Wandsworth District of the Metropolis was formed comprising the parishes of Battersea (excluding Penge), Clapham, Putney, Streatham,

Tooting Graveney Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth and partly in the London Borough of Merton. It is located south south-west of Charing Cross. History Tooting has been settled since pre-Saxon times. Th ...

and Wandsworth. Battersea was removed from the district in 1888. In 1900 the remaining district became the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth and Battersea became the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea. The London Borough of Wandsworth was formed in 1965 from the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea and the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth, but excluding the former parish of Clapham and most of the former parish of Streatham, which were transferred to the London Borough of Lambeth. The areas to the west of Clapham Common in the current borough of Wandsworth are often incorrectly referred to as Clapham, but are in fact part of Battersea parish.

Geography

Clapham Junction railway station is in Battersea, rather than Clapham in the borough. There are many new or refurbished buildings along the borough's prosperous riverside including the large Chelsea Bridge Wharf. The Peace Pagoda, one of many such international pagodas, is in Battersea Park, a sprawling rectangle often hosting circuses beside the Thames. The London Heliport, London's main and busiest heliport, is just beyond Battersea Park, and south of this is

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 ...

. In terms of size, South Thames College, Southside Shopping Centre, Wandsworth and The Exchange Shopping Centre, Putney are among the largest secular structures. Secular architecturally most highly listed buildings include: Battersea Power Station, the

Battersea Arts Centre The Battersea Arts Centre ("BAC") is a performance space specialising in theatre productions. Located near Clapham Junction railway station in Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, it was formerly Battersea Town Hall. It is a Grade I ...

(formerly town hall),

Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability The Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability, in Putney, South West London, is an independent medical charity that provides rehabilitation and long-term care to people with complex neurological disabilities caused by damage to the brain or other par ...

Wandsworth Town Hall Wandsworth Town Hall is a municipal building on the corner of Wandsworth High Street and Fairfield Street in Wandsworth, London. The building, which is the headquarters of Wandsworth London Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building. Histo ...

, as well as particularly the interiors of the large Gala Bingo Club, Tooting, the former Granada Theatre, St John's Hill, Clapham Junction by Theodore Komisarjevsky, and in terms of ornate mansions a cluster of five large stone and brick buildings mostly converted to diverse public uses in and around

Queen Mary's Hospital, Roehampton Queen Mary's Hospital, formerly Queen Mary's Convalescent Auxiliary Hospitals, is a community hospital in Roehampton in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is run by St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospita ...

at grade II* or above. In Old Battersea two fine masonry mansions survived

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 ...

: Old Battersea House and Downshire House—both hold rare Grade II* status.

Demographics

Population

According to the 2021 census, Wandsworth has a population of 327,506. In 2021, 67.8% of the population was white, 10.1% black and 11.6% Asian. A 2017 study b
Trust for London
and th
New Policy Institute
found that Wandsworth has the lowest rate of unemployment of any London borough. It also has the 2nd lowest rate of local employees who are low-paid.

Ethnicity

Civic affairs

Mayor

The first Mayor of Wandsworth was John Lidiard, elected by the first Wandsworth Borough Council in November 1900. Lidiard's initials are highlighted in the diamonds in the centre of the Mayor's chain of office. The second Mayor was Sir William Lancaster. The current Mayor is Jane Cooper.

Armorial bearings

The armorial bearings retain many of the features of the arms of the former Metropolitan Borough of Battersea and Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth. The fess, or crossing, of the shield is chequered blue and gold representing the arms of William de Warren, created first Earl of Surrey by William Rufus. Each gold square bears a teardrop representing the tears of the French

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

s, many of whom settled in Wandsworth from 1685. The ship at the top may refer to the Wendels, a tribe of sea-raiders from the Continent who supposedly gave their name to the district, for Wendelsworth was an early variation of Wandsworth. The four shields and oars on the ship represent the four parishes of Battersea, Putney, Tooting and Wandsworth. The dove to the left is taken from the former Battersea coat of arms and the black dragon to the right was taken from the former Wandsworth arms and also refers to London, being similar to the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

coat of arms.

Twin and partner towns

Villers-Plouich,

The Borough is informally twinned with the village of Villers-Plouich, in Northern France. This association dates back to World War I, following the role played by the Wandsworth Battalion in the liberation of Villers-Plouich in 1917, and again, following recapture, in 1918. Writing in the 'Wandsworth Borough News' in 1920, Robert H Harker, a Lieutenant in the Battalion, described the cemetery in the village as ''"an inseparable link between our great Borough and that village of Villers-Plouich, near the Somme"''. For his courage and determination during the hostilities, Corporal Edward Foster, of Tooting, was awarded both the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...

and the Médaille militaire. A green heritage plaque was unveiled at his former home at Tooting in 2017, and in 2018 a memorial in his name was established on the outskirts of Villers-Plouich. Following the end of the War the village was adopted by the then Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth under the British 'League of Help' scheme, and funds were donated towards its reconstruction. A deputation from Wandsworth regularly visits to commemorate this connection, most recently in 2018.

Schiedam,

Wandsworth first established a twin town arrangement with Schiedam, in the Netherlands, in 1946. A number of refugees from Schiedam who had lived for a time in Wandsworth during World War II hoped to maintain their connections with the London Borough during peacetime. The twinning was organised within the scope of the Dutch-English Sports Plan. In subsequent years multiple sporting fixtures between teams from the two areas were arranged including football, swimming, gymnastics, korfball (Wandsworth has a korfball club, at Tooting) and cricket (Shiedam is one of the strongholds for cricket in the Netherlands). For many years the wartime connections were acknowledged during annual Remembrance Day commemorations in the two municipalities, either through an exchange of wreaths or by sending a representative. Within the context of both inter-business exchange and sporting fixtures, visits were also arranged by specific Wandsworth organisations such as Small Electric Motors and the Rediffusion factory, as guests of their counterparts at Schiedam companies such as Wilton Personnel and Pieterman Glass. In 1970 a large delegation from Wandsworth visited Schiedam for celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of the town's liberation. Further sporting and cultural exchanges continued through to at least 1977. However, in 1997, an article in the Dutch local press observed that the relationship with Wandsworth had lapsed.

Politics

Wandsworth London Borough Council

Wandsworth is administered by 58 councillors. After the May 2022 election, 35 of these councillors were Labour and 22 were Conservatives, with 1 independent. The Conservatives had had an overall majority on the council since 1978 until Labour won control in the 2022 election.

Summary results of elections

Westminster Parliament

The borough contains three parliamentary constituencies: * Battersea * Putney *

Transport

Bridges

Five bridges join Wandsworth to the three London Boroughs on the north side of the Thames (from downstream following the river up): * Chelsea Bridge * Albert Bridge * Battersea Bridge * Wandsworth Bridge * Putney Bridge There are also a number of bridges crossing the

River Wandle The River Wandle is a right-bank tributary of the River Thames in south London, England. With a total length of about , the river passes through the London boroughs of Croydon, Sutton, Merton and Wandsworth, where it reaches the Thames. A sho ...

which runs through the centre of Wandsworth town and divides the borough in two.

National Rail Stations

* Clapham Junction * Earlsfield * Putney * Battersea Park * Balham *

Wandsworth Common Wandsworth Common is a public common in Wandsworth, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, south London. It is and is maintained and regulated by Wandsworth Council. It is also a Ward of the London Borough of Wandsworth. The population of the ward ...

(on border with

) * Queenstown Road (Battersea) * Wandsworth Town

Tube Stations

*On 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, t ...

: ** Battersea Power Station ** Clapham South ** Balham ** Tooting Bec **

Tooting Broadway Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth and partly in the London Borough of Merton. It is located south south-west of Charing Cross. History Tooting has been settled since pre-Saxon times. Th ...

*On the District line: ** East Putney ** Southfields National Rail services are operated from

London Waterloo Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a central London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station o ...

by South Western Railway to Earlsfield, Putney, Queenstown Road (Battersea), Wandsworth Town and the borough's largest station, Clapham Junction. This last station is also served from London Victoria by

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

as are Balham, Battersea Park and

. London Overground services mainly serve Clapham Junction, which is the southern terminus for the West London Line that has services to Stratford via Shepherd's Bush, though some trains terminate at the West London Line's northern terminus at

Willesden Junction Willesden Junction is a railway station in Harlesden, north-west London, UK. It is served by both London Overground and London Underground services. History The station developed on three contiguous sites: the West Coast Main Line (WCML) st ...

. The western terminus for the East London Line also is at Clapham Junction that has services to Highbury & Islington via Denmark Hill. There is also a limited one train a day parliamentary train service that terminates at Battersea Park instead of Clapham Junction.

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 ...

services are provided on the District line to East Putney and Southfields and on the

to Battersea Power Station, Balham, Clapham South, Tooting Bec and

Cycling and walking

Wandsworth London Borough Council and Transport for London (TfL) maintain cycling infrastructure in the Borough. Cycle Superhighway 7 (CS7) is an unbroken, signposted cycle route running through the southeastern portion of the Borough. The route runs along the A24 and A3 roads, through

, Balham, and Clapham. Northbound the route links the Borough directly to the

via Kennington, Elephant and Castle, and Southwark. Southbound, the route runs unbroken to

Colliers Wood Colliers Wood is an area in south west London, England, in the London Borough of Merton. It is a mostly residential area, but has a busy high street around Colliers Wood tube station on London Underground's Northern line. The high street is p ...

. Cycle Superhighway 8 (CS8) is an unbroken, signposted cycle route running through the northern edge of Wandsworth, through Battersea. The route runs east-west along the A3205/Battersea Park Road, but the route leaves the Borough to the north over Chelsea Bridge. The route begins in Wandsworth Town and runs to Millbank, City of Westminster, passing Chelsea and the Tate Britain ''en route''. Although CS8 leaves the Borough to the north, cycling infrastructure is provided along the entire A3205 route between Wandsworth Town and Nine Elms. This means that there is a continuous, signposted cycle route - primarily along designated cycle lanes - from Wandsworth Town and Battersea to Vauxhall, Lambeth, and the South Bank. Quietway 4 (Q4) runs from Clapham Common to Earlsfield in the Borough, through

. The Wandle Trail is a shared-use trail for cyclists and pedestrians between Wandsworth Town and

Waddon Waddon () is a neighbourhood in the London Borough of Croydon, at the western end of the town of Croydon. The area borders the London Borough of Sutton. History It is not known when the manor of Croydon was granted to the See of Canterbury, ...

. The route is signposted and mainly traffic-free. It runs through Earlsfield, Colliers Wood, Morden, Mitcham, and Carshalton along the way. The Santander Cycles bike-sharing system operates in Putney, Wandsworth Town, and Battersea.

Travel to work

In March 2011, the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were (of all residents aged 16–74): * underground, metro, light rail, tram, 20.7% ; * train, 10.6%; * driving a car or van, 10.6%; * bus, minibus or coach, 9.7%; * on foot, 5.6%; * bicycle, 5.4%; * work mainly at or from home, 4.0%.

Education

Whitelands College was founded Chelsea in 1842 by the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

, and heavily under the influence of

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and pol ...

. In 1930/1931 the college relocated to West Hill (Wandsworth Borough) and occupied an enormous purpose-built site, with buildings designed by

Sir Giles Gilbert Scott Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (9 November 1880 – 8 February 1960) was a British architect known for his work on the New Bodleian Library, Cambridge University Library, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, Battersea Power Station, Liverpool Cathedral, and ...

. These buildings, now listed, were one of the Borough's largest educational sites until 2005 when the College, again moved, this time to a site in

Roehampton Roehampton is an area in southwest London, in the Putney SW15 postal district, and takes up a far western strip running north to south of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It contains a number of large council house estates and is home to the U ...

, where it is now a constituent College of Roehampton University. The borough's schools include Emanuel School, Graveney School,

Southfields Academy Southfields Academy (formerly Southfields Community College) is a secondary school and sixth form with academy status in Southfields (Wandsworth), south west London. It has about 1300 students. Southfields Academy has been rated by Ofsted as ei ...

Burntwood School Burntwood School is a girls' secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in Wandsworth, London, England, opened in September 1986. It is one of the largest state schools for girls at the secondary level in the country. History ...

Ashcroft Technology Academy Ashcroft Technology Academy, formerly ADT College, is a state secondary school in Putney, London. The school has been awarded with the Charter Mark, Investors in People and the School Achievement Award. As of September 2006, organisations involv ...

, Ernest Bevin College, Ark Bolingbroke Academy and Ark Putney Academy.

Religion

The dominant religion of the borough is

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

, although the area is also home to a number of other religious communities. The community is home to a number of Sikhs,

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

Buddhists Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

. According to the 2011 Census, approximately 35% of Wandsworth identified as being non-religious, or chose not to state their faith. The following shows the religious identity of residents residing in Wandsworth according to the 2001, 2011 and the 2021 censuses.

Places

Parks and open spaces

Wandsworth has responsibility for three Metropolitan Open Spaces: * Battersea Park *

Tooting Commons The Tooting Commons consist of two adjacent areas of common land lying between Balham, Streatham and Tooting, in south west London: Tooting Bec Common and Tooting Graveney Common. Since 1996, they have been wholly within the London Borough of ...

– the historically separate, but adjoining, Tooting Bec Common and Tooting Graveney Common These three large green spaces together with a range of smaller parks and playgrounds (such as Wandsworth Park) are patrolled by Wandsworth Council's own parks police known from 1984 to 2012 as the Wandsworth Parks Police. From April 2012 the Parks Police team of 23 officers was replaced by a smaller Wandsworth Events Police Service (WEPS) working with a team of 12 Metropolitan Police Officers. This system was deemed unsuccessful, and in 2015 the WEPS was rebranded as Wandsworth Parks and Events Police (WPEP) and returned to full staffing levels of 33 police officers and support officers. Also within the borough's boundaries are

Putney Heath Wimbledon Common is a large open space in Wimbledon, southwest London. There are three named areas: Wimbledon Common, Putney Heath, and Putney Lower Common, which together are managed under the name Wimbledon and Putney Commons totalling 4 ...

and part of Putney Lower Common, which are managed as part of

Wimbledon Common Wimbledon Common is a large open space in Wimbledon, southwest London. There are three named areas: Wimbledon Common, Putney Heath, and Putney Lower Common, which together are managed under the name Wimbledon and Putney Commons totalling 46 ...

, and the west side of Clapham Common, which is managed by the London Borough of Lambeth.

Theatres

* Theatre503 *

Putney Arts Theatre Putney Arts Theatre ("PAT") is based in Putney, in the London Borough of Wandsworth and operates as a community space specialising in theatre productions. The Putney Arts Theatre stands in the Union Chapel built by Sir Samuel Morton Peto in t ...

* Tara Arts Theatre

Localities

* Balham * Battersea * Earlsfield *

Furzedown Furzedown is a ward, in both the districts of Streatham (Streatham West and part of Streatham Park) and Tooting, wholly in the Tooting Parliamentary Constituency, within the London Borough of Wandsworth in South West London. It is a mainly resid ...

* Nine Elms * Putney *

Putney Vale Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in 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. History Putney is an ancient paris ...

* Southfields * Streatham Park * Summerstown *

* Tooting Bec/Upper Tooting * Wandsworth * West Hill

Postcode areas

SW4 (part), SW8 (part), SW11 (all), SW12 (part),

SW15 The SW (South Western) postcode area, also known as the London SW postcode area, is a group of 20 postcode districts within the London post town in England. The area comprises the South Western operational district (covering the subdivisions of ...

(part), SW16 (part), SW17 (part), SW18 (part), SW19 (part)

References

External links

London Borough of WandsworthWandsworth RadioThe Wandsworth SocietyFreecycle WandsworthWandsworth Art Studios
{{Authority control 1965 establishments in the United Kingdom Wandsworth Wandsworth