Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the

London Borough of Wandsworth Wandsworth () is a 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 Town. The borough border ...

, England. It is centred southwest of

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City ...

and extends along the south bank of 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 ...

. It includes the Battersea Park.

History

Battersea is mentioned in the few surviving

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

geographical accounts as ''Badrices īeg'' meaning "Badric's Island" and later "Patrisey". As with many former parishes beside tidal flood plains the lowest land was reclaimed for agriculture by draining marshland and building culverts for streams. Alongside this was the Heathwall tide mill in the north-east with a very long mill pond regularly draining and filling to the south. The settlement appears 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 manusc ...

of 1086 as ''Patricesy'', a vast manor held by St Peter's Abbey, Westminster. Its ''Domesday'' Assets were: 18 hides and 17 ploughlands of cultivated land; 7 mills worth £42 9s 8d per year, of

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or arti ...

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

worth 50 hogs. It rendered (in total): £75 9s 8d. The present church, which was completed in 1777, hosted the marriage of William Blake and Catherine née Boucher in 1782;

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...

, his wife, Peggy Shippen and their daughter were buried in its crypt. Battersea Park, a northern rectangle by the Thames, was landscaped and founded for public use in 1858. Amenities and leisure buildings have been added to it since. Until 1889, the parish of Battersea was recognised as part of

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

, after which the newly-formed

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 ...

came into being and took over administration of the area.

Agriculture

Before 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 ...

, much of the large parish was farmland, providing food for 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 ...

and surrounding population centres; and with particular specialisms, such as growing lavender on Lavender Hill (nowadays denoted by the road of the same name), asparagus (sold as "Battersea Bundles") or pig breeding on Pig Hill (later the site of the Shaftesbury Park Estate). At the end of the 18th century, above of land in the parish of Battersea were occupied by some 20 market gardeners, who rented from five to near each. Villages in the wider area: Wandsworth, Earlsfield (hamlet of Garratt), Tooting, Balham – were separated by fields; in common with other suburbs the wealthy of London and the traditional manor successors built their homes in Battersea and neighbouring areas.

Industry

Industry in the area was concentrated to the northwest just outside the Battersea-Wandsworth boundary, at the confluence of the River Thames and 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 gave rise to the village of Wandsworth. This was settled from the 16th century by

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

craftsmen –

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 – fleeing religious persecution in Europe, who planted lavender and gardens and established a range of industries such as mills, breweries and dyeing, bleaching and calico printing. Industry developed eastwards along the bank of the Thames during the

from 1750s onwards; the Thames provided water for transport, for steam engines and for water-intensive industrial processes. Bridges erected across the Thames encouraged growth; Putney Bridge, a mile to the west, was built in 1729 and rebuilt 1882, and Battersea Bridge in the centre of the north boundary in 1771. Inland from the river, the rural agricultural community persisted. Along the Thames, a number of large and, in their field, pre-eminent firms grew; notably the Morgan Crucible Company, which survives to this day and is listed on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

; Price's Candles, which also made cycle lamp oil; and Orlando Jones' Starch Factory. The 1874

Ordnance Survey map , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...

of the area shows the following factories, in order, from the site of the as yet unbuilt Wandsworth Bridge to Battersea Park: Starch manufacturer; Silk manufacturer; (St. John's College); (St. Mary's Church); Malt house; Corn mill; Oil and grease works (Prices Candles); Chemical works; Plumbago Crucible works (later the Morgan Crucible Company); Chemical works; Saltpetre works; Foundry. Between these were numerous wharfs for shipping. In 1929, construction started on Battersea Power Station, being completed in 1939. From the late 18th century to comparatively recent times Battersea, and certainly north Battersea, was established as an industrial area with all of the issues associated with pollution and poor housing affecting it. Industry declined and moved away from the area in the 1970s, and local government sought to address chronic post-war housing problems with large scale clearances and the establishment of planned housing. Some decades after the end of large scale local industry, resurgent demand among magnates and high income earners for parkside and riverside property close to planned Underground links has led to significant construction. Factories have been demolished and replaced with modern apartment buildings. Some of the council owned properties have been sold off and several traditional working men's pubs have become more fashionable bistros. Battersea neighbourhoods close to the railway have some of the most deprived local authority housing in the Borough of Wandsworth, in an area which saw condemned slums after their erection in the Victoria era.

Railway age

Battersea was radically altered by the coming of railways. The London and Southampton Railway Company engineered their railway line from east to west through Battersea, in 1838, terminating at the original Nine Elms railway station at the north east tip of the area. Over the next 22 years five other lines were built, across which all trains from London's Waterloo and Victoria termini would – as today – travel. An interchange station was built in 1863 towards the north west of the area, at a junction of the railway. Taking the name of a fashionable village a mile and more away, the station was named ' Clapham Junction': a campaign to rename it "Battersea Junction" fizzled out as late as the early twentieth century. During the latter decades of the nineteenth century Battersea had developed into a major town railway centre with two locomotive works at Nine Elms and Longhedge and three important motive power depots (Nine Elms, Stewarts Lane and Battersea) all in an initial pocket of north Battersea. The effect was precipitate: a population of 6,000 people in 1840 was increased to 168,000 by 1910; and save for the green spaces of Battersea Park, Clapham Common,

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 ...

and some smaller isolated pockets, all other farmland was built over, with, from north to south, industrial buildings and vast railway sheds and sidings (much of which remain), slum housing for workers, especially north of the main east–west railway, and gradually more genteel residential terraced housing further south. The railway station encouraged the government to site its buildings in the area surrounding Clapham Junction, where a cluster of new civic buildings including the town hall, library, police station, court and post office was developed along Lavender Hill in the 1880s and 1890s. The

Arding & Hobbs Arding & Hobbs is a former department store and Grade II listed building at the junction of Lavender Hill and St John's Road, Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. Arding & Hobbs was established in 1876. The original building was de ...

department store, diagonally opposite the station, was the largest of its type at the time of its construction in 1885; and the streets near the station developed as a regional shopping district. The area was served by a vast music hall – The Grand – opposite the station (nowadays serving as a nightclub and venue for smaller bands) as well as a large theatre next to the town hall (the Shakespeare Theatre, later redeveloped following bomb damage). All this building around the station shifted the focus of the area southwards, and marginalised Battersea High Street (the main street of the original village) into no more than an extension of Falcon Road.

Social housing estates

Battersea has a long and varied history of social housing, and the completion of the Shaftesbury Park Estate in 1877 was one of the earliest in London or the UK. Additionally, the development of the

Latchmere Estate Latchmere Estate is a housing estate in Battersea, Greater London, which was constructed in 1903. It is the first example of a housing estate built with labour directly employed by a local council authority. Between 1832 and the 1880s, Batters ...

in 1903 was notable both for

John Burns John Elliot Burns (20 October 1858 – 24 January 1943) was an English trade unionist and politician, particularly associated with London politics and Battersea. He was a socialist and then a Liberal Member of Parliament and Minister. He was ...

involvement and for being the first estate directly built by a council's own workforce and therefore the first true "council estate". Indeed, both of these earlier estates have since been recognised as

conservation areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

due to their historical and architectural significance and are protected from redevelopment. Battersea also has a large area of mid-20th century public housing estates, almost all located north of the main railway lines and spanning from Fairfield in the west to Queenstown in the east. There are four particularly large estates. The Winstanley Estate, perhaps being the most renowned of them all, is known as being the birthplace to the garage collective So Solid Crew. Winstanley is close to Clapham Junction railway station in the northern perimeter of Battersea, and is currently being considered for comprehensive redevelopment as one of the London Mayor's new Housing Zones. Further north towards Chelsea is the Surrey Lane Estate, and on Battersea Park Road is the Doddington and Rollo Estate. East, toward Vauxhall, is 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 act ...

which is in close proximity to the Battersea Power Station. Other smaller estates include: York Road (see Winstanley Estate), Ashley Crescent, Badric Court, Carey Gardens, Chatham Road, Ethelburga, Falcon Road, Gideon Road, Honeywell Road, Kambala, Peabody, Robertson Street, Savona, Somerset, Wilditch and Wynter Street.

Governance

The tradition of local government in England was based in part of Manor, and later on the

Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

. Battersea's governance can be traced back to 693, when the manor was held by the nunnery of St. Mary at Barking Abbey. After the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...

of 1066, control of the manor passed to

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

, ending at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1540. Battersea was one of only three of the Abbey's demesne directly supervised by monks, rather than being let to tenants. Local control rested with an officer appointed by the abbey, variously termed a beadle, reeve or

sergeant Sergeant ( abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other ...

, whose responsibility it was supervise the farm servants of the manor, and to enforce and direct customary work performed by manorial tenants. After 1540

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differ ...

assumed ownership of the manor, and let it on short leases to a succession of individuals, until in about 1590 it came into the hands of the St. John family of

Lydiard Tregoze Lydiard Tregoze is a small village and civil parish on the western edge of Swindon in the county of Wiltshire, in the south-west of England. It has in the past been spelt as Liddiard Tregooze and in many other ways. The parish includes the sm ...

in Wiltshire, who later became the St John Baronets of Lydiard Tregoze and ultimately the Viscounts Bolingbroke. Bolingbrokes exercised control of the manor for some 173 years, showing varying levels of interest and competence in running the estate's affairs, until in 1763 the disastrously dissolute Frederick St John, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke sold the manor to help to settle his many debts. Battersea now passed into the Spencer family - John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer being related to Frederick's wife. The Survey of London identified the period of Frederick's tenure with the development of the Vestry in Battersea; absent a competent lord of the manor, this local secular and ecclesiastical government took it upon itself to establish a

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 1733, and met monthly from 1742. The period of Spencer ownership of the manor saw important land ownership changes introduced to the area. The family had many estates, such as at Althorp in Northamptonshire and

Wiseton Wiseton is a small village, country estate and civil parish, Nottinghamshire, England, situated between the villages of Gringley-on-the-Hill and Everton, approximately southeast of Bawtry and west of Gainsborough. There is also a nearby haml ...

in Nottinghamshire. Locally, their interests were concentrated on Wimbledon. During their tenure, large tracts of land were sold, notably around 1761, and from 1835 to 1838, leading to the development of a plurality of smaller estates, which had implications for the later development of the area. The scope of governance throughout this period was relatively slight. Lords of the manor were responsible for church appointments and maintenance of the fabric of the church; for drainage, and for the direction of the duties of the manor's tenants. From time to time work was done under manorial direction on the Thames foreshore; and a Spencer was responsible for the construction of first local bridge across the Thames, Battersea Bridge from 1771 to 1772. And albeit Battersea saw some slow change over the first seven centuries of the second millennium, it was not until a later period that an imperative for greater local government arose. The vestry of Battersea continued to increase in importance from 1742, notably concerning itself with Poor Law administration and drainage. Responsibility for the latter was removed from the vestry in 1855 with the establishment of Metropolitan Boards of Work under the

Metropolis Management Act 1855 The Metropolis Management Act 1855 (18 & 19 Vict. c.120) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created the Metropolitan Board of Works, a London-wide body to co-ordinate the construction of the city's infrastructure. The Act ...

; a Metropolitan Board concerned itself with cross-London drainage and sewerage, whilst a local Wandsworth Metropolitan Board assumed responsibility for minor sewers and the connection of houses to sewerage systems. It was during the tenure of the Wandsworth board that much of Battersea was developed; but such was the pace of development in Battersea that by 1887 it had a population sufficient to win the case for renewed local autonomy under the Metropolis Management (Battersea and Westminster) Act of 1887. The Battersea vestry continued through to 1899, when it became the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea as a result of the London Government Act 1899. The Metropolitan Borough of Battersea was in 1965 combined with the neighbouring Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth to form the

. The former

Battersea Town Hall Battersea Town Hall, originally the New Parochial Offices, Battersea, is a Grade II* listed municipal building in Battersea, south London, designed by Edward Mountford and erected between 1891 and 1893 by the Battersea vestry to provide publi ...

, opened in 1893, is now 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 ...

. In the period from 1880 onwards, Battersea was known as a centre of radical politics in the United Kingdom.

founded a branch of the

Social Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James C ...

, Britain's first organised socialist political party, in the borough and after the turmoil of dock strikes affecting the populace of north Battersea, was elected to represent the borough in the newly formed

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kn ...

. In 1892, he expanded his role, being elected to Parliament for Battersea North as one of the first Independent Labour Party member of Parliament. Battersea's radical reputation gave rise to the

Brown Dog affair The Brown Dog affair was a political controversy about vivisection that raged in Britain from 1903 until 1910. It involved the infiltration of University of London medical lectures by Swedish feminists, battles between medical students and th ...

, when in 1904 the National Anti-Vivisection Society sought permission to erect a drinking fountain celebrating the life of a dog killed by

vivisection Vivisection () is surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure. The word is, more broadly, used as a pejorative catch-all term for experiment ...

. The fountain, forming a plinth for the statue of a brown dog, was installed in the Latchmere Recreation Ground, became a cause célèbre, fought over in riots and battles between medical students and the local populace until its removal in 1910. The borough elected the first black mayor in London in 1913 when John Archer took office, and in 1922 elected the

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

-born

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel ...

member Shapurji Saklatvala as MP for Battersea; one of only two communist members of Parliament. Battersea is currently divided into five Wandsworth wards. The Member of Parliament for the Battersea constituency since 8 June 2017 has been Labour MP Marsha de Cordova.

Geography

Battersea is on the curved south bank of the

.Map

Victoria County History The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History or the VCH, is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of E ...

, London, H.E. Malden (Ed), 1911

Riverside

Battersea's northern limit is thus the

Tideway The Tideway is a part of the River Thames in England which is subject to tides. This stretch of water is downstream from Teddington Lock. The Tideway comprises the upper Thames Estuary including the Pool of London. Tidal activity Depending on ...

, the Thames below Teddington. Battersea's riverside is just over long. Immediately to the west is Wandsworth Town. To the north-east are Vauxhall and then

Lambeth 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 e ...

, including Waterloo.

Other boundaries

Battersea at one end of its riverside has a western corner at a point 350 metres east northeast of Wandsworth Bridge, and Battersea tapers SSE to almost a point, roughly three miles (5 km) from Battersea's northeastern corner – but two miles (3 km) from the western corner.

Neighbouring districts

To the east are South Lambeth and

Stockwell Stockwell is a district in south west London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. It is situated south of Charing Cross. Battersea, Brixton, Clapham, South Lambeth, Oval and Kennington all border Stockwell. History The name ...

; to the south is Balham; to the southeast is Clapham; and to the west is Wandsworth Town, south of which is Wandsworth. Two large neighbourhoods within the larger Battersea are: * Clapham Junction (the central and most commercial part of Battersea), * Nine Elms (to the north-east, east of Battersea Park)

Crime

Some parts of Battersea have become known for drug-dealing. The Winstanley and York Road council estates have developed a reputation for such offences and were included in a zero-tolerance "drug exclusion zone" in 2007.'Battersea', Special report: Class B for Battersea
(2007), pp.1.

Demography

In 2011, Battersea had a population of 73,345. The district was 52.2% of

White British White British is an ethnicity classification used for the native white population identifying as English, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Northern Irish, or British in the United Kingdom Census. In the 2011 census, the White British population wa ...

origin, as against an average for Wandsworth of 53.3%.

Landmarks

London Heliport - Battersea - London - 2 helicopters awaiting takeoff - evening - 030604

Within the bounds of modern Battersea are (from east to west): *

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 ...

, a major fruit and vegetable wholesale market, resited from Covent Garden in 1974. (Also considered by many to be in Nine Elms). * Battersea Power Station, an iconic edifice 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 ...

, built between 1929 and 1939 (featured, with flying pig, on the sleeve art of

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

's album '' Animals''). There have been a number of failed regeneration projects since the late 1980s. The current proposals are to convert the disused shell into a mass entertainments and commercial complex, with dedicated transport links (a proposed extension of 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 ...

from Kennington could be complete by 2020). * Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, formerly ''Battersea Dogs Home'' and prior to that the ''Temporary Home for Lost and Starving Dogs'', established in Holloway in 1860 and moved to Battersea in 1871. It is the United Kingdom's most famous refuge for stray dogs. Also the main location for ITV 1's '' Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs''Chris Roberts, Heavy Words Lightly Thrown: The Reason Behind Rhyme, Thorndike Press,2006 () * Battersea Park, a 200-acre green space laid out by Sir James Pennethorne between 1846 and 1864 and opened in 1858, and home to a

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to z ...

and the London Peace Pagoda. * Shaftesbury Park Estate, conservation area consisting of over a thousand Victorian houses preserved in their original style. *

, in the former Battersea Town Hall * Northcote Road, a bustling and famous local shopping street with its own market at the centre of the so-called Nappy Valley. * Clapham Junction railway station, by at least one measure – passenger interchanges— the busiest station in the United Kingdom and named after the neighbouring town of Clapham although it lies in the geographic heart of Battersea, SW11. *Arding & Hobbs building, completed in 1912, now occupied by Debenhams. *Large 24-hour Asda supermarket, adjacent to Clapham Junction station. * 92 St John's Hill, Grade II listed building. *

St Mary's Church, Battersea St Mary's Church, Battersea, is the oldest of the churches in Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth, in the inner south-west of the UK's capital city. Its parish shared by three Anglican churches is in the diocese of Southwark. Christians ...

is buried here. Four stained glass windows celebrate Arnold, William Blake, William Curtis and

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbul ...

. * Sir Walter St John's School, now Thomas's day school, was founded in 1700. Parts of the present building date back to 1859. *

Royal Academy of Dance "Health and happiness" , predecessor = , successor = , formation = 1920 , extinction = , type = NGO , status = Registered charity , purpose = Examination board – dance education and training , headquarters = 36 Battersea SquareSW11 3 ...

, containing several studios and associated with the University of Surrey. *The London Heliport, London's busiest heliport, sited on the Thames a half-mile north of Clapham Junction station. * Price's Candles on York Road, was the largest manufacturers of candles in the UK; now it has been converted into office space from which Hanne & Co Solicitors firm operates. *

Newton Preparatory School Newton Prep School is located in Battersea, South London. It opened in September, 1991 with 70 pupils. The founder is Dr Farouk Walji. Newton Prep has over 600 pupils. It accepts pupils aged 3 to 13, from nursery until year 8. Since its founda ...

, in an Edwardian building (with modern extension) formerly occupied by

Clapham College Clapham College was a Roman Catholic secondary school for boys in South London. Background It opened in 1897 and closed in 1989. Its history falls into three phases: for half a century it was a private school, for three decades it was a publicl ...

, Notre Dame School and Raywood Street School. * Falconbrook Primary School, resides in a large Victorian building, situated in the Winstanley Estate, Battersea. It is a ten-minute walk from Clapham Junction Station.

Transport

National Rail

Battersea is served by three National Rail stations: Battersea Park, Clapham Junction, and Queenstown Road (Battersea). All three stations are in London Travelcard Zone 2.

Battersea Park

Battersea Park is served by some

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 ...

trains. Trains northbound terminate at London Victoria, which is the next stop along the line. Southbound, Southern's " metro" services run to Clapham Junction,

, and Balham. After Balham, trains head towards

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an exten ...

, Epsom,

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 re ...

, and Sutton, amongst other destinations. The first station to carry the name "Battersea Park" was opened by the

London, Brighton and South Coast Railway The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR; known also as the Brighton line, the Brighton Railway or the Brighton) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its ...

(LB&SCR) as "Battersea" on 1 October 1860 and was located at the southern end of what is now Grosvenor Bridge. It closed on 1 November 1870. The LB&SCR opened another station on a high-level line on 1 May 1867 called Battersea Park. Another station existed closed to the current station called Battersea Park Road railway station by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway in 1867 and closed in 1916.

Clapham Junction

The largest railway station in Battersea is Clapham Junction, to the southwest of the district. The station is a busy interchange, and it serves destinations across London, the South, and

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities ...

. Train operators from Clapham Junction include: * London Overground, which operates trains northbound towards Stratford, calling at major destinations such as Shepherd's Bush,

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 ...

, Camden Road, and Hackney Central. London Overground also runs trains eastbound towards Dalston, passing through Clapham, Denmark Hill, Peckham,

Canada Water Canada Water is an area of the Docklands in south-east London. It is named after a freshwater lake and wildlife refuge. Canada Water tube, Overground and bus station is immediately north of the lake, along with Canada Water Library which ov ...

, and Whitechapel along the way. *

, which principally operates northbound services towards London Victoria. Southbound services run to destinations such as Balham, Brighton, Croydon, Epsom, and

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after ...

(). Southern also operates a service towards

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

from

East Croydon East Croydon is a railway station and tram stop in Croydon, Greater London, England, and is located in Travelcard Zone 5. At from , it is one of the busiest non-terminal stations in London, and in the United Kingdom as a whole. It is one of th ...

. North of Clapham Junction, the services calls at Shepherd's Bush, Wembley Central, Watford Junction, and

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500. Developed after the Second World War as a new ...

, amongst other destinations. * South Western Railway, which runs services towards

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 ...

and Vauxhall northbound. Major destinations to the southwest include Wimbledon,

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spell ...

, Guildford,

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, Bournemouth, and

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

. In terms of the number of train movements, Clapham Junction is Europe's busiest railway station. It opened on 21 May 1838.

Queenstown Road (Battersea)

Queenstown Road (Battersea) is served by some South Western Railways trains. Northbound, most trains call at Vauxhall en route to London Waterloo. Southbound passengers can travel towards Richmond, Twickenham, Hounslow, and Windsor & Eton direct. Queenstown Road opened up the line on 1 November 1877 by the London and South Western Railway, as ''Queen's Road (Battersea)''.

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four (British ra ...

renamed the station to ''Queenstown Road (Battersea)'' on 12 May 1980.

London Underground

As part of

Northern line extension to Battersea The Northern line extension to Battersea is an extension of the London Underground from to Battersea in South West London, terminating at the redeveloped Battersea Power Station. The extension formed a continuation of the Northern line's br ...

, Battersea is connected to 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 counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

network at Battersea Power Station tube station in September 2021.

Bus

London Bus Buses have been used as a mode of public transport in London since 1829, when George Shillibeer started operating a horse-drawn ''omnibus'' service from Paddington to the City of London. In the decades since their introduction, the red London ...

routes 44, 137, 156, 344,

436 __NOTOC__ Year 436 ( CDXXXVI) 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 Isodorus and Senator (or, less frequently, year 1189 ' ...

, 19, 49,

319 __NOTOC__ Year 319 ( CCCXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantinus and Licinius (or, less frequently, year 1 ...

345 The Year 345 ( CCCXLV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Amantius and Albinus (or, less frequently, year 1098 ''Ab urb ...

and

452 __NOTOC__ Year 452 ( CDLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Herculanus and Sporacius (or, less frequently, year 1205 ' ...

serve the Battersea area during the daytime. Night buses N19, N137 and N44, as well as the 344 and 345 route, run overnight.

Cycling

Cycling infrastructure in Battersea is provided by the

and Transport for London (TfL). * Cycle Superhighway 8 passes through Battersea. The route runs unbroken from Wandsworth Town to Millbank, which is near the Palace of Westminster. It is a signposted route, and runs through the district largely along A3205/Battersea Park Road. To the east, however, the route turns northwards (along A3216/Queenstown Road), leaving Battersea over Chelsea Bridge. * A cycle lane links Battersea to Vauxhall along A3205/Nine Elms Lane.

In popular culture

Battersea features in the books of Michael de Larrabeiti, who was born and brought up in the area: '' A Rose Beyond the Thames'' recounts the working-class Battersea of the 1940s and 1950s; ''

The Borrible Trilogy ''The Borrible Trilogy'' is a series of young adult books written by English writer Michael de Larrabeiti. The three volumes in the trilogy are ''The Borribles'', ''The Borribles Go For Broke'', and ''The Borribles: Across the Dark Metropolis ...

'' presents a fictional Battersea, home to fantasy creatures known as the Borribles. ''

The Optimists of Nine Elms ''The Optimists of Nine Elms'', also known as ''The Optimists'', is a 1973 British drama film starring Peter Sellers and directed by Anthony Simmons, who also wrote the 1964 novel upon which the film is based. The film is about an old street mu ...

'', a 1973 film starring Peter Sellers, is set in Battersea. Battersea is also the setting for Penelope Fitzgerald's 1979 Booker Prize–winning novel, '' Offshore''. Kitty Neale's ''Nobody's Girl'' is set in a fictional café and the surrounding Battersea High Street Market. Nell Dunn's 1963 novel '' Up the Junction'' (later adapted for both television and cinema) depicts contemporary life in the industrial slums of Battersea near Clapham Junction. Battersea provides the backdrop for the real world scenes in the audio book and app series ''

Rockford's Rock Opera ''Rockford's Rock Opera'' is an ecological musical story created by Matthew Sweetapple, Steve Punt and Elaine Sweetapple. It was first released on the Internet and also as a three-album set by Sweetapple in 2010. ''Rockford's Rock Opera'' uses a ...

''. Michael Flanders, half of the 1960s comedy duo Flanders and Swann, often made fun of Donald Swann for living in Battersea. Morrissey mentions Battersea in his song "

You're the One for Me, Fatty "You're the One for Me, Fatty" is a single by Morrissey released in July 1992. It was taken from the then-unreleased ''Your Arsenal'' album and was the second Morrissey single to be co-written with Alain Whyte and produced by glam rock legend Mi ...

". Babyshambles recorded the song "Bollywood to Battersea" for a 2005 charity album '' Help!: A Day in the Life''. Hooverphonic recorded the song "Battersea" for the 1999 album Blue Wonder Power Milk. Battersea is the setting for Joan Aiken's ''

Black Hearts in Battersea ''Black Hearts in Battersea'' is a children's novel by Joan Aiken first published in 1964. The second book in the Wolves Chronicles, it is loosely a sequel to her earlier '' Wolves of Willoughby Chase''. The book is set in a slightly altered ...

'', the second published volume in the Wolves Chronicles. Battersea Power Station is featured on the cover of the

album '' Animals''. A number of race courses in the Nintendo DS version of the 2009 racing video game ''

Dirt 2 ''Colin McRae: Dirt 2'' (stylised as ''Colin McRae: DiRT 2'') is a racing video game developed and published by Codemasters in 2009, first for the Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii and Xbox 360, and then later for PC platf ...

'' are set in the general area of Battersea. Its famous abandoned power station is also the site of a few race tracks in a few console and PC games from the '' Dirt'' series.

Prominent people

The following people have lived, or currently live, in Battersea: *

Ben Adams Benjamin “Ben” Edward Stephen Adams (born 22 November 1981) is a British singer and songwriter from Ascot, England, best known as a member of the British-Norwegian boy band A1. Early life Born in Ascot, Adams attended Westminster Unde ...

– musician from the group a1 * Adele – singer *

James Aldridge Harold Edward James Aldridge (10 July 1918 – 23 February 2015) was an Australian-British writer and journalist. His World War II despatches were published worldwide and he was the author of over 30 books, both fiction and non-fiction works, ...

– writer * Lionel Barber – journalist, editor of the ''Financial Times'' * L. S. Bevington – anarchist poet and essayist, was born and grew up in a Quaker family on St Johns Hill * Ronnie Biggs – thief who took part in the Great Train Robbery * Johnny Briggs – actor, best known for playing Mike Baldwin in '' Coronation Street'' * Ada Buisson - author and novelist * Kathleen Byron – actress * Emma Chambers – actress, known for her role as 'Alice' in '' The Vicar of Dibley'' * G. K. Chesterton – writer *

Adrian Chiles Adrian Chiles (born 21 March 1967) is a British writer and television and radio presenter. He has co-presented both '' The One Show'' (2007–2010) and '' Daybreak'' (2010–2011) with Christine Lampard. He was also the chief presenter for fo ...

– television presenter * Noël Coward – dramatist, actor and cabaret artist * Brian Cox – physicist, host of science shows for the BBC * Colin Douglas – stage and television actor * Nell Dunn – playwright * Howard Eastman – boxer *

Craig Eastmond Craig Leon Eastmond (born 9 December 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for and captains League Two club Sutton United. He is also capable of playing at right-back. A product of the Arsenal Academy who came to ...

– footballer * Hero Fiennes-Tiffin – model and actor *

Edwin Flavell (Royal Air Force officer) Squadron Leader Edwin James George "Ted" Flavell (25 April 1922 – 24 February 2014) was the pilot of the No. 49 Squadron RAF Vickers Valiant bomber which dropped Britain's first live atomic bomb ('' Blue Danube'') during Operation Buffalo ...

– pilot of the first British aircraft to drop a live atomic bomb * Freddie Foreman – criminal and associate of the Kray Twins, born in Sheepcote Lane * Bob Geldof – singer and songwriter * Pixie Geldof – socialite and model *

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

– writer, playwright, critic * Rich Hall – comedian * Reginald Hammond – first-class cricketer and Royal Navy officer * Pamela Hansford Johnson – writer * Ainsley Harriott – chef * Harry Hill – comedian * Ada Florence Kinton - artist and Salvation Army officer * Derek Laud – political lobbyist and ''Big Brother'' contestant * Simon Le Bon – musician * Katie Leung – actress, best known for playing Cho Chang in Harry Potter films * Monie Love – mc and radio personality * Kate Maberly – actress * Terry Manning – music producer *

Noel McKoy Noel McKoy ( – 3 November 2022) was a British soul music singer. His music was a collection of soul, gospel, funk and Northern soul. McKoy created, produced and presented the Dutch Pot new artist nights in London – which ran for five years ...

– singer and songwriter *

Buster Merryfield Harry "Buster" Merryfield (27 November 1920England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916–2007 – 23 June 1999) was an English actor best known for starring as Uncle Albert in the BBC comedy ''Only Fools and Horses''. Early life Merr ...

– actor, best known as Uncle Albert in '' Only Fools and Horses'' *

Dannii Minogue Danielle Jane Minogue () is an Australian singer, television personality, and actress. She initially gained recognition for her appearances on the television show '' Young Talent Time'' (1982–1988) and for her role as Emma Jackson on t ...

– musician * Seán O'Casey – writer * John O'Farrell – writer * William Page – historian and general editor of the

* Rick Parfitt – singer with Status Quo *

Polly Paulusma Polly Paulusma (born 10 November 1976) is an English singer-songwriter. Career Her first album, ''Scissors in my Pocket'', was largely recorded and produced by herself at her home. A second album, ''Cosmic Rosy Spine Kites'' (a virtual anagra ...

– musician *

Mervyn Peake Mervyn Laurence Peake (9 July 1911 – 17 November 1968) was an English writer, artist, poet, and illustrator. He is best known for what are usually referred to as the '' Gormenghast'' books. The four works were part of what Peake conceived ...

– author * Rupert Penry-Jones – actor * Gordon Ramsay – chef * Joely Richardson – actress * J.K. Rowling – author * Greg Rusedski – tennis player * John Scott – sociologist and Fellow of the British Academy *

Peter Serafinowicz Peter Szymon Serafinowicz ( ; born 10 July 1972) is an English actor, comedian, director and screenwriter, best known for his roles as the title character in the 2016 live-action series of ''The Tick'', Pete in '' Shaun of the Dead'' (2004) an ...

– comedian * George Shearing – pianist * Ed Sheeran – musician * Timothy Spall – actor * Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke * Donald Swann – musician – of Flanders and Swann *

Gabriel Thomson Gabriel Francis Marshall Thomson (born 27 October 1986) is an English former actor, best known for his role as Michael Harper in the British situation comedy series ''My Family''. Career Thomson began his acting career at the age of four, perf ...

– stars in '' My Family'' * Baroness Trumpington – member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

* Paul Joseph Watson – YouTube personality and radio host * Arthur Webb (co-operator) – Building Society Movement *

William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 175929 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becom ...

– prominent campaigner against the

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

* Edward Adrian Wilson – English physician, polar explorer, natural historian, painter and ornithologist

References

External links

*
Wandsworth CouncilBattersea.co.uk - Battersea Information
{{Authority control Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Wandsworth Districts of London on the River Thames