Hackbridge is a suburb in the

London Borough of Sutton The London Borough of Sutton () is a London borough in south-west London, England and forms part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the 80th largest local authority in England by population. It borders the London Borough of Croydon to ...

, south-west London, just over two miles north-east of the town of Sutton itself. It is 8.8 miles (15 km) south-west 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; ...

Toponymy

The district takes its name from Hack Bridge, a bridge over 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 London Borough of Croydon, Croydon, London Borough of Sutton, Sutton, Londo ...

, which serves the area. The origin of the name is obscure; it may mean "Haka's bridge", or "bridge of the hogs". Early versions include ''Hakebridge'', ''Hagbridge'' and ''Hogbridge''.

Hackbridge Masterplan and New Mill Quarter

The

is working to make Hackbridge the "UK's first truly sustainable suburb". There has been a regeneration scheme in Hackbridge which has a number of developments on many sites. These are mentioned as part of the Hackbridge Regeneration. Detailed plans include proposals for new eco-friendly homes, more shops, leisure and community facilities, jobs, sustainable transport and pedestrian/cycle initiatives, improved networks and open spaces. A key part of this is a £150m plan to redevelop the one million square foot former Felnex industrial estate, which in 2016 gained redevelopment approval from the Greater London Authority. The development, described as "one of the greenest places to live in the UK", is to be centred on a public square and will see 725 homes built, as well as a new supermarket, doctor's surgery, care home, offices and workshops, additional shops and a bus interchange. Work was expected to begin as soon as detailed consent was obtained for the first phase, which was expected to be in early 2013. Felnex-supermarket-drawing1

One of the housing developments is the Barratt-built New Mill Quarter which is providing 440 new homes with commercial and retail space. It is the largest new residential development in the area.

BedZED

Hackbridge has already achieved success in its green agenda in the form of the BedZED (Beddington Zero Energy Development) eco-friendly housing development, around 500 yards north of Hackbridge railway station, which is in Zone 4. Designed to create zero carbon emissions, it was the first large scale community to do so. BedZED utilises a number of innovative technologies to enable it to operate with zero energy use. It has attracted wide interest over the past decade since it was built, and, among other examples of recognition, it was shortlisted for the

Stirling Prize The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize is a British prize for excellence in architecture. It is named after the architect James Stirling, organised and awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The S ...

for architecture in 2003. Key features of BedZED include: * Zero energy — The project is designed to use only energy from renewable sources generated on site. There are 777 square metres (8,360 sq ft) of solar panels. * High quality — The apartments are finished to a high standard to attract the eco-minded urban professional. * Energy efficient — The houses face south to take advantage of solar gain, are triple glazed, and have high thermal insulation. * Water efficient — Most rain water falling on the site is collected and reused.

Geography

Hackbridge is located three miles away from the town of Mitcham and is located 1.3 miles away from the area of Wallington ;Location Hackbridge is located on the

in the

, about almost three miles north east of the town of Sutton itself. ;Architecture Hackbridge has a fairly wide range of architecture, but is mainly Edwardian and early 20th century in the central shopping area with surrounding suburbs in

Tudorbethan Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...

semi-detached A semi-detached house (often abbreviated to semi) is a single family duplex dwelling house that shares one common wall with the next house. The name distinguishes this style of house from detached houses, with no shared walls, and terraced hou ...

style - a number of Post War Modernist social housing schemes have been demolished in recent years. There are also a number of 21st century buildings, the most notable being the environmentally-friendly BedZED development (see above); but a further example is the large and just completed (in 2013) Centrale apartment building (see photo) located in London Road, opposite the railway station. The former Durand Close Council estate is also being regenerated as a mixed tenure development by the Lavender Housing Partnership over the period 2003–2018. ;Churches The parish church of Hackbridge was built in 1931 (see photo of interior). The architect was H.P. Burke-Downing, and it is located opposite BedZED on the London Road. ;Open Space Bridge over the Wandle, Beddington Park - geograph

Bridge over the Wandle, Beddington Park - geograph

Beddington Park, through which the

flows, is a quarter of a mile (400 metres) south of Hackbridge railway station. It is nearly 100 acres (40 hectares) in size and is maintained by the London Borough of Sutton. It was originally part of the Deer Park attached to Carew Manor, a grand country house built in the Tudor period, which stands to this day. It is a large area of open grassland with small clumps of trees, with an area of more formal gardens near the Grange restaurant, as well as the lake and pond. The main lake in the south west of the park was originally a mill pond. There are many paths and a number of ornamental bridges (see photo), which cross the stream which feeds the lake: this is part of the River Wandle (a Thames tributary), and the park is on the Wandle Trail. Part of the park is managed as a wildlife site.

Sport

Nearest professional football clubs: * Crystal Palace F.C. * Sutton United Nearest Non League football clubs: * Tooting and Mitcham United F.C. play approximately 0.5 miles away from Hackbridge. * Carshalton Athletic F.C. play approximately 0.5 miles away from Hackbridge. *Streatham-Croydon RFC play approximately 3.2 - 4.0 miles away from Hackbridge

Education

Primary education * Hackbridge Primary School

Famous past residents

* Tracey Ullman grew up in Hackbridge. * Tony Power: Songwriter

Transport

;Rail Hackbridge railway station is served by train services to London Victoria,

London Blackfriars Blackfriars, also known as London Blackfriars, is a central London railway station and connected London Underground station in the City of London. It provides Thameslink services: local (from North to South London), and regional (Bedford and ...

, London Bridge, Sutton, Wimbledon, London St Pancras,

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roma ...

and

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 a ...

. Trains are operated by

Thameslink Thameslink is a 24-hour main-line route in the British railway system, running from , , , and via central London to Sutton, , , Rainham, , , , and . The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying ...

and Southern. The station is in Travel Card Zone 4 and the journey time to London Victoria is 25 minutes. ;Bus Hackbridge is served by Transport for London bus routes: 80,

127 127 may refer to: *127 (number), a natural number *AD 127, a year in the 2nd century AD *127 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC *127 (band), an Iranian band See also *List of highways numbered 127 Route 127 or Highway 127 can refer to multiple roads ...

and 151. ;Tram The nearest

Tramlink London Trams, previously Tramlink and Croydon Tramlink, is a light rail tram system serving Croydon and surrounding areas in South London, England. It began operation in 2000, the first tram system in the London region since 1952. It is manage ...

stop to Hackbridge is at

Mitcham Junction Mitcham Junction is a National Rail station served by Southern and Thameslink trains, and a Tramlink stop. It is in the London Borough of Merton and is in Travelcard Zone 4. The station opened on 1 October 1868 specifically to provide an interc ...

. Trams go to Wimbledon and

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 extens ...

Dogs' Home

Hackbridge was home to the first country dogs' home, opened by the Duke and Duchess of Portland in 1898.Historic England
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External links

Hackbridge Network - Local community website for the Hackbridge neighbourhood

* ttp://abouthackbridge.co.uk/ About Hackbridge - Community website with information on local transport, schools, parks and healthcare options

References

{{Areas of London Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Sutton