Kennington
Encyclopedia
Kennington is a district of South London
, England
, mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth
, although part of the area is within the London Borough of Southwark
.
It is the location of the Imperial War Museum
, a national museum
, and The Oval
, an international cricket ground.
Kennington is situated 1.4 miles (2.3 km) south-east of Charing Cross
. It is primarily a residential area
, and it is a Royal manor
. Kennington covers the SE11 postcode and is within the 020 London dialling code. Most subscriber numbers begin 77xx.
Three London Borough of Lambeth wards include Kennington: Oval, Prince's and Vassall. One London Borough of Southwark ward includes Kennington: Cathedrals (ward). The Member of Parliament
for Kennington (within the Vauxhall borough constituency) is Kate Hoey
(Labour Party
). The population of Kennington, recorded by the 2001 Census (taking into account Oval and Prince's wards), was 23,619.
For local government administrative purposes, the London Borough of Lambeth treats Kennington as part of the North Lambeth Town Centre, which also embraces Waterloo
and Vauxhall
.
, and other significant geographical features locally, point inconclusively towards the theory that the area was regarded in ancient times as a sacred place of assembly.
Kennington appears in the Domesday Book
of 1086 as Chenintune, later Kyning-ton, which may mean "place of the King", or "town of the King". It was held by Teodric (Theodoric) the Goldsmith
. It contained: 1 hide
and 3 virgate
s; 3 plough
s, 4 acres (16,187.4 m²) of meadow
. It rendered £3 annually. The manor of Kennington was divided from the manor of Vauxhall
by the River Effra
, a tributary of the River Thames
which today flows through an underground culvert.
Harthacnut, King of Denmark and King of England, died at Kennington in 1041. It was at Kennington that Harold Godwinson
took the Crown the day after the death of Edward the Confessor
; he is said to have placed it upon his own head. King Henry III
held his court here in 1231; and, according to Matthew Paris
, in 1232, Parliament
was held at Kennington.
Edward III
gave the manor of Kennington to his oldest son Edward, the Black Prince
in 1337, and the prince then built a large royal palace between what is now Black Prince Road and Sancroft Street, near to Kennington Cross. In 1376, according to John Stow
, John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
came to Kennington to escape the fury of the populace of London. Geoffrey Chaucer
was employed at Kennington as Clerk of Works in 1389. He was paid 2 shillings. The manor house of Kennington remained a royal palace until the time of Henry VIII of England
; Kennington was the occasional residence of Henry IV
and Henry VI
, and Henry VII
was here before his coronation
. Catherine of Aragon
stayed at Kennington Palace in 1501. In 1531, at the order of King Henry VIII, most of Kennington Palace was dismantled, and the materials were used in the construction of the Palace of Whitehall
.
The manor of Kennington continues to be owned by the current monarch's elder son (HRH the Prince of Wales
, Duke of Cornwall: see Dukes of Cornwall
). The Duchy of Cornwall
maintains a substantial property portfolio within the area.
was assumed by Prince William, Duke of Cumberland.
In 1746, Francis Towneley
and eight men who had taken part in the Jacobite Rising
were hanged, drawn and quartered at Kennington Common.
The development of Kennington is attributable to the construction, in 1750, of Westminster Bridge
. In 1751, Kennington Road
was cut from Kennington Common (as it then was; now Kennington Park) to Westminster Bridge.
On 10 May, 1768, at approximately the site of the Imperial War Museum today, the Massacre of St George's Fields
took place. A riot started, because of the detention at the King's Bench Prison
of the radical, John Wilkes
- he had written an article in which he attacked King George III. The Riot Act
was read, and soldiers fired upon the crowd, killing seven people.
Several houses forming a terrace on the east side of Kennington Road were constructed in the 1770s.
Cleaver Square (then called Prince's Square) was laid out in 1788. Michael Searles
, architect and developer, built semi-detached houses along Kennington Park Road
in the 1790s, and is credited with Marlborough House on Kennington Road.
In 1796, a house in West Square
became the first station in the optical telegraph, or semaphore line, between the Admiralty
in London, and Chatham and Deal in Kent, and during the Napoleonic Wars
transmitted messages between Whitehall
and the Royal Navy
.
A fraudster from Camberwell
, by the name Badger, was the last person to be hanged at Kennington Common, in 1799.
In 1824, St. Mark's Church was built to the south of Kennington Common, where once there had been gallows. One of the four "Waterloo Churches" of south London - so named following the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo
- the church was opened by the Archbishop of Canterbury
. The vicar of the church was instrumental in enclosing the Common as a park.
The Royal Surrey Gardens
, which occupied 15 acres of land to the east of Kennington Park Road, were created in 1831 by Edward Cross (zoo proprietor)
. There were separate cages for lions, a rhinoceros, tigers and giraffes. The gardens included a lake of about three acres and contained a variety of exotic trees and plants. In the face of competition from the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace
, the site was redeveloped in 1856 for the Surrey Music Hall: with a capacity of 12,000 seated spectators, this was the largest building of its kind in London. The music hall was destroyed by fire in 1861, and the site was used temporarily by St. Thomas' Hospital before being sold for residential development in 1877.
Imperial Court, on Kennington Lane, was built in 1836 for the Licensed Victuallers' School
, and from 1921 to 1992 it was the headquarters of the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes
(NAAFI). The first stone was laid by Viscount Melbourne
, in the name of King William IV.
The Oval cricket ground was leased to Surrey County Cricket Club
from the Duchy of Cornwall in 1845, and the adjacent gasometers (themselves an international sporting landmark) were constructed in 1853.
Dense building and the carving-up of villas for multiple occupation caused Kennington to be "very seriously over-populated in 1859, when diphtheria appeared" (recorded by Karl Marx
in Das Kapital
).
The church of St John the Divine, Kennington
, which was to be described by the poet John Betjeman
as "the most magnificent church in South London", was designed by George Edmund Street
(architect of the Royal Courts of Justice
on Strand, London
), and was built between 1871 and 1874.
The Durning Library, at Kennington Cross
, was designed in 1889 by S Sidney RJ Smith, architect of the Tate Gallery (as it then was; now Tate Britain
), and is a fine example of the Gothic Revival style. The library was a gift to the people of Kennington from Jemina Durning Smith.
Also in 1889, the County of London
was created, bringing within the ambit of the London County Council
areas, including Kennington, which had theretofore been within the ancient county of Surrey
.
Kennington station was opened as "Kennington (New Street)" in 1890 by the City of London and Southwark Subway.
The poverty map of London, created by Charles Booth
in 1898-99, identifies a mixture of classifications for the streets of the district; Kennington Park Road, for example, corresponds with the description "Middle class. Well-to-do". Most streets are classified as "Mixed. Some comfortable, others poor". There are also several scattered streets which are considered to be "Poor. 18s. to 21s. a week for a moderate family". The map shows that there existed in the district a great disparity of wealth and comfort between near-neighbours.
, several buildings were destroyed or damaged by the Luftwaffe
, although the area was not so adversely affected as many other districts of inner London.
Kennington ceased to be the administrative centre for the Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth
(as it then was) in 1908. The Town Hall, built as the Lambeth Vestry Hall (Surrey) for the business of the Parish, in a neoclassical style on Kennington Road, was not large enough for the Council to properly carry out its functions. A new Town Hall was erected in Brixton, and today, the Old Town Hall is the registered office of the Countryside Alliance
.
In 1913, Maud Pember Reeves
selected Kennington for Round About a Pound a Week
, which was a survey of social conditions in the district. She found "respectable but very poor people [who] live over a morass of such intolerable poverty that they unite instinctively to save those known to them from falling into it".
In an initiative to improve the district, between 1913 and 1915, the Duchy of Cornwall set about redeveloping land. Courtenay Square, Courtenay Street, Cardigan Street, Denny Street and Denny Crescent were laid out to a design by architects Stanley Davenport Adshead, Stanley Churchill Ramsay and JD Coleridge, in a Neo-Georgian style.
In 1915, Of Human Bondage
, by W. Somerset Maugham
, was published. Philip Carey, the protagonist, finds lodgings in the "vulgar respectability" of Kennington.
In 1922, Lambeth Hospital on Brook Drive was created by merging the Lambeth Infirmary with the adjacent Renfrew Road Workhouse. Under the control of the London County Council, Lambeth Hospital, which had a capacity of 1,250 patients in 1939, was one of the largest hospitals in London. After the National Health Service
was formed, Lambeth Hospital became an acute general hospital. In 1976, the North Wing of St. Thomas' Hospital opened; services transferred there, and Lambeth Hospital was closed. A substantial part of the site has today been redeveloped for apartments, although some buildings are occupied by the Lambeth Community Care Centre. It was in the vicinity of Lambeth Hospital that the music video for the song Come On Eileen
, released in 1982 by the pop group Dexys Midnight Runners
, was filmed.
Kennington station was substantially remodelled in 1925 to accommodate the Charing Cross branch of the Northern Line
. Because tram and bus routes converged at Kennington, in the 1920s St. Mark's became known as the "tramwayman's church", and Kennington was referred to as the "Clapham Junction of the southern roads".
By 1926, construction of the Belgrave Hospital for Children - designed by Henry Percy Adams and Charles Holden
- was complete. The hospital was subsumed within the King's College Hospital Group and closed in 1985. Restoration and conversion for use as apartments was undertaken in 1994.
The London County Council erected an estate of seven blocks of flats to the south of Kennings Way and White Hart Street in 1928.
The Duchy of Cornwall, in the 1930s, engaged Louis de Soissons
, architect of Welwyn Garden City
, to design a number of buildings in Kennington in a Neo-Georgian style.
On 15 October 1940, the large trench air-raid shelter
beneath Kennington Park was struck by a 50 lb bomb. The number of people killed remains unknown; it is believed by local historians that 104 people died. 48 bodies were recovered.
In 1945, London Belongs to Me
, by Norman Collins
, was published. The central setting for the novel is a boarding-house at 10, Dulcimer Street, Kennington.
Scenes from the film Passport to Pimlico
were filmed in and around Kennington. The film was released in 1949.
For the United Kingdom general election, 1950
, the borough constituency of Kennington - which was created for the United Kingdom general election, 1885
- was abolished.
The Brandon estate was endowed in 1962 by the London County Council with Reclining Figure No. 3: a sculpture by Henry Moore
.
In 1969, the first house in St. Agnes Place was squatted. The unit was vacant, in the possession of Lambeth Council, and was to be demolished to extend Kennington Park. Squatters entered the other empty properties in St. Agnes Place and established a Rastafari temple. Lambeth Council moved, unsuccessfully, to evict the squatters in 1977. Pursuant to an Order of the High Court obtained by the Council in 2005, 21 of the houses were demolished after the squatters were evicted from those houses; the Rastafari temple was subsequently demolished in 2007.
Scenes from the 1990 film, The Krays (film)
, were shot in Kennington.
In June 1996, a protest took place outside Kennington Police Station. Brian Douglas, who sustained serious brain injury and a fractured skull during police restraint, was placed in a cell at Kennington for fourteen hours before being escorted to St. Thomas' Hospital, where he died.
Lambeth Council designated a substantial part of Kennington a Conservation Area
in 1968, the boundary of which was extended in 1979 and in 1997.
A pub, "The Jolly Gardeners", on Black Prince Road, was adopted for Snatch (film)
and cast as "The Drowned Trout", in 2000.
In 2001, London Boulevard
, by Ken Bruen
, was published; Kennington is a setting within the novel, and features in the 2010 film of the same name.
Oval station was the target of one of the four attempted 21 July 2005 London bombings
.
The 2011 film Attack the Block
takes place in Kennington.
, driven by the advantages of its location and good transport links to the West End
and the City of London
. In "London: A Social History", Roy Porter
describes "Victorian villas in...Kennington, long debased by use as lodging-houses, were transformed into luxury flats for young professionals or snips for first-time buyers - or were repossessed by the class of family for whom they had first been built..."; and "Chambers London Gazetteer" observes the "reuniting of formerly subdivided properties" as "decline is being reversed".
It is difficult to identify one catalyst for this change. The principal factors are location and transport, but other factors which may have contributed include the widening of the corporate-professional employment sector in central London, starting in the 1980s and the effect of rising property prices in districts north of the river, and (more recently), nearby Clapham
and Battersea
, causing Kennington to be "rediscovered". The good architectural and structural quality of many properties in Kennington - characterised by Georgian and Victorian terraces of yellow London stock brick
, typically three storeys or higher, fronting the main roads and squares - has unquestionably contributed to the gentrification of the area, and so has a perception of "good value" - that investment in a property in the district will yield a decent return.
, laid out by Victorian architect
James Pennethorne
, and St Mark's Churchyard now cover the site of Kennington Common. The Park was the first public park in south London, and was created when the Common was enclosed in 1852, and designated one of the Royal Parks of London
(today, management of the Park is undertaken by Lambeth Council).
The Park, historically, was a place for executions, a Speakers' Corner for public gatherings for political and religious purposes, and a place for entertainment and sporting events.
In the 1730s, Methodists John Wesley
and George Whitefield
preached to thousands here. In 1746 the Surrey County Gallows at the southern end of the Common was used for the execution of nine leaders of the Jacobite rebellion of 1745. The Common was also where the Chartists
gathered for their biggest demonstration in 1848. "The Gymnastic Society
" met regularly at Kennington Common during the second half of the eighteenth century to play football
. The Society — sometimes claimed to be the world's first football club — consisted of London-based natives of Cumberland
and Westmorland
.
The tradition of political gathering at Kennington Park in advance of marches upon Parliament
returned in the 1970s. In 1986, the Park was the location for the Gay Pride
march of that year, and for several years thereafter. On March 31, 1990, some 200,000 people amassed at Kennington Park to march upon Trafalgar Square
, in protest against the Community Charge
. This, during the course of the day, escalated into mass disturbances: the Poll Tax Riots
. In April 1997, a march organised by Reclaim the Streets
set off from the Park for central London; and in May 2004, the Park was the starting point for a march to the Cannabis Festival at Brockwell Park
. In March 2007, the Archbishop of Canterbury
preached at Kennington Park to mark the passing of the Slave Trade Act 1807. The Park had been a significant location for important anti-slave trade rallies. In March 2011, the Park was the South London starting point for a feeder march to the 2011 anti-cuts protest in London
.
(Fuller details of the Common's history are in the Kennington Park
article).
and hosts the final Test match
of the English summer season. The Oval was the first ground in the United Kingdom to host Test cricket, was the location for the England v Scotland representative matches (1870-1872), the first ever international football match, the first FA Cup
final in 1872, and held the second ever Rugby Union
international match between England and Scotland in 1872. England's unfortunate performance against Australia here in 1882 gave rise to The Ashes
. The Oval has been labelled with the sobriquet "the Grand Old Lady" in recognition of the significant role the ground has played in the development of modern sport.
(also known as Bedlam) relocated from Moorfields to St. George's Fields, at the north end of Kennington, in 1815. Buildings were laid out to a design by James Lewis, and in 1846, a cupola was added by Sydney Smirke
. In 1930, the Bethlem Royal Hospital moved to Beckenham
, in outer London. Viscount Rothermere
, proprietor of the Daily Mail
, purchased the old hospital, and had the east and west wings demolished to create space for Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park, which was given to the London County Council
in memory of his mother. The central wing was retained, and since 1936 has been occupied by the Imperial War Museum.
The nearest London Underground
station to the Museum is Lambeth North tube station
, on the Bakerloo Line
.
to Chichester via the gap in the North Downs
at Box Hill
near Dorking
. Another Roman road branched off opposite Kennington Road and went through what is now Kennington Park and down the Brixton Road. It carried on through the North Downs near Caterham to Hassocks, just north of the South Downs
.
The dominant geodemographic profiles for Kennington accord with the ACORN (demographics)
("A Classification Of Residential Neighbourhoods") Types 15 and 18: that is, an area of "Urban Prosperity" characterised as a "young, multi-ethnic community" of "Educated Urbanites" and "Affluent Urban Professionals", who typically are educated to degree level, enjoy a high income, have a high interest in current affairs, use public transport regularly, do not drive a car regularly and do not have children.
Kennington is within the Division bell
zone for the Houses of Parliament, and a number of Members of Parliament and civil servants live within the area. An article in The Sunday Times
in 2010 - in connection with David Laws
- described Kennington as "the politicians' enclave across the Thames from Westminster"; in 2009, The Times
observed that "Kennington...is the suburb that has featured the most in the MPs' expenses scandal. Hazel Blears
and Alistair Darling
are only two of the ministers with Kennington second homes".
Kennington Road and Kennington Lane, south of Kennington Cross, could properly be described as the "shopping area" of Kennington. This area is identified as a "Local Centre" in the London Plan
. There is a range of local shops, restaurants, cafés and estate agents, and there is a Barclays Bank branch and a Post Office
. There is a Tesco
supermarket on Kennington Lane.
The area has a range of pubs and some bars, as well as the only nightclub, the South London Pacific.
There are two theatres in Kennington: the White Bear Theatre and the Oval House Theatre.
The Cinema Museum, London, established in 1986, occupies a converted part of the former Lambeth Hospital, off Renfrew Road.
The area has an active residents' association
: the Kennington Association.
The Friends of Kennington Park
is a local organisation, involved with the promotion of Kennington Park as a valuable resource for the community.
A weekly farmers' market
takes place at St. Mark's Church.
The distillery of Beefeater Gin
- the only premium gin still distilled in London - is situated in Montford Place, Kennington.
The City and Guilds of London Art School
, one of the longest-established art colleges in the country, has been at Kennington Park Road since 1879.
Cactus TV
, a television show production company, is situated in Kennington Road.
Kennington is also home of the
The Cinema Museum
a popular local venue for watching films and learning about the history of cinema.
Archbishop Sumner School (Church of England); Henry Fawcett Primary School; St. Anne's Primary School (Roman Catholic); St. Mark's Primary School (Church of England); Vauxhall Primary and Walnut Tree Walk Primary School.
There are two secondary schools within the Kennington area:
Archbishop Tenison's School (admits boys aged 11 – 19; admits girls into the Sixth Form), and Lilian Baylis Technology School (admits boys and girls aged 11 – 16).
Nearest places:
stations:
Nearest National Rail
stations:
"Barclays Cycle Superhighway" and "Barclays Cycle Hire":
"Barclays Cycle Superhighway 7", from Morden
to the City of London
runs through Kennington, along Kennington Park Road. Kennington is also the southernmost point in the "Barclays Cycle Hire
" scheme; there are several docking stations within the area, but there are no docking stations further south.
Congestion Charging Zone:
Part of the area is within the Central London Congestion Charge
Zone. Kennington Lane, a constituent road of the Inner Ring Road, marks the boundary of the Zone. South of Kennington Lane is outside the Zone; north of Kennington Lane is inside the Zone.
Bus services (from Kennington Cross and Kennington Oval):
N3 (Night bus), towards Oxford Circus or Bromley North, from Kennington Road;
36 (24-hour service), towards Queen's Park or New Cross Bus Garage, from Harleyford Street;
N109 (Night bus), towards Oxford Circus or Croydon, from Kennington Road;
N133 (Night bus), towards Liverpool Street or Mitcham, from Kennington Park Road;
N136 (Night bus), towards Oxford Circus via Victoria or Chislehurst, from Harleyford Street;
N155 (Night bus), towards Aldwych or Morden, from Kennington Park Road;
159 (24-hour service), towards Paddington Basin (via Parliament Square and Oxford Circus) or Streatham, from Kennington Road.
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth
London Borough of Lambeth
The London Borough of Lambeth is a London borough in south London, England and forms part of Inner London. The local authority is Lambeth London Borough Council.-Origins:...
, although part of the area is within the London Borough of Southwark
London Borough of Southwark
The London Borough of Southwark is a London borough in south east London, England. It is directly south of the River Thames and the City of London, and forms part of Inner London.-History:...
.
It is the location of the Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
, a national museum
National museum
A national museum is a museum maintained by a nation.The following is a list of national museums:-Australia:*Australian National Aviation Museum*Australian National Maritime Museum*, Sydney*Australian War Memorial*Museum Victoria...
, and The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
, an international cricket ground.
Kennington is situated 1.4 miles (2.3 km) south-east of Charing Cross
Charing Cross
Charing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...
. It is primarily a residential area
Residential area
A residential area is a land use in which housing predominates, as opposed to industrial and commercial areas.Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include single family housing, multi-family residential, or mobile homes. Zoning for residential use may permit...
, and it is a Royal manor
Royal Manor
A royal manor is an area of land in the United Kingdom owned by the Crown, such as the Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, the Prince of Wales, a Duke/Duchess, or a Lord. One such example is the Isle of Portland in Dorset....
. Kennington covers the SE11 postcode and is within the 020 London dialling code. Most subscriber numbers begin 77xx.
Three London Borough of Lambeth wards include Kennington: Oval, Prince's and Vassall. One London Borough of Southwark ward includes Kennington: Cathedrals (ward). The Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Kennington (within the Vauxhall borough constituency) is Kate Hoey
Kate Hoey
Catharine Letitia Hoey is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Vauxhall since 1989. She served in the Blair Government as Minister for Sport from 1999 to 2001.-Background:...
(Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
). The population of Kennington, recorded by the 2001 Census (taking into account Oval and Prince's wards), was 23,619.
For local government administrative purposes, the London Borough of Lambeth treats Kennington as part of the North Lambeth Town Centre, which also embraces Waterloo
Waterloo, London
Waterloo is a district of London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated east of Charing Cross. The area is part of a business improvement district known as Waterloo Quarter, which includes The Cut and the Old Vic and Young Vic theatres, including some sections in the...
and Vauxhall
Vauxhall
-Demography:Many Vauxhall residents live in social housing. There are several gentrified areas, and areas of terraced townhouses on streets such as Fentiman Road and Heyford Avenue have higher property values in the private market, however by far the most common type of housing stock within...
.
Early history
The presence of a tumulusTumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
, and other significant geographical features locally, point inconclusively towards the theory that the area was regarded in ancient times as a sacred place of assembly.
Kennington appears in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086 as Chenintune, later Kyning-ton, which may mean "place of the King", or "town of the King". It was held by Teodric (Theodoric) the Goldsmith
Goldsmith
A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Since ancient times the techniques of a goldsmith have evolved very little in order to produce items of jewelry of quality standards. In modern times actual goldsmiths are rare...
. It contained: 1 hide
Hide (unit)
The hide was originally an amount of land sufficient to support a household, but later in Anglo-Saxon England became a unit used in assessing land for liability to "geld", or land tax. The geld would be collected at a stated rate per hide...
and 3 virgate
Virgate
The virgate or yardland was a unit of land area measurement used in medieval England, typically outside the Danelaw, and was held to be the amount of land that a team of two oxen could plough in a single annual season. It was equivalent to a quarter of a hide, so was nominally thirty acres...
s; 3 plough
Plough
The plough or plow is a tool used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed or planting. It has been a basic instrument for most of recorded history, and represents one of the major advances in agriculture...
s, 4 acres (16,187.4 m²) of meadow
Meadow
A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...
. It rendered £3 annually. The manor of Kennington was divided from the manor of Vauxhall
Vauxhall
-Demography:Many Vauxhall residents live in social housing. There are several gentrified areas, and areas of terraced townhouses on streets such as Fentiman Road and Heyford Avenue have higher property values in the private market, however by far the most common type of housing stock within...
by the River Effra
River Effra
The River Effra is a river in south London, England. It is now mainly underground. The name cannot be traced back much earlier than 1840 , so speculation that it came from a Celtic word for torrent is unwarranted...
, a tributary of the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
which today flows through an underground culvert.
Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson was the last Anglo-Saxon King of England.It could be argued that Edgar the Atheling, who was proclaimed as king by the witan but never crowned, was really the last Anglo-Saxon king...
took the Crown the day after the death of Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
; he is said to have placed it upon his own head. King Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
held his court here in 1231; and, according to Matthew Paris
Matthew Paris
Matthew Paris was a Benedictine monk, English chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire...
, in 1232, Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
was held at Kennington.
Edward III
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
gave the manor of Kennington to his oldest son Edward, the Black Prince
Edward, the Black Prince
Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Prince of Aquitaine, KG was the eldest son of King Edward III of England and his wife Philippa of Hainault as well as father to King Richard II of England....
in 1337, and the prince then built a large royal palace between what is now Black Prince Road and Sancroft Street, near to Kennington Cross. In 1376, according to John Stow
John Stow
John Stow was an English historian and antiquarian.-Early life:The son of Thomas Stow, a tallow-chandler, he was born about 1525 in London, in the parish of St Michael, Cornhill. His father's whole rent for his house and garden was only 6s. 6d. a year, and Stow in his youth fetched milk every...
, John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster , KG was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the third surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault...
came to Kennington to escape the fury of the populace of London. Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey...
was employed at Kennington as Clerk of Works in 1389. He was paid 2 shillings. The manor house of Kennington remained a royal palace until the time of Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
; Kennington was the occasional residence of Henry IV
Henry IV of England
Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...
and Henry VI
Henry VI of England
Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...
, and Henry VII
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
was here before his coronation
Coronation
A coronation is a ceremony marking the formal investiture of a monarch and/or their consort with regal power, usually involving the placement of a crown upon their head and the presentation of other items of regalia...
. Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
stayed at Kennington Palace in 1501. In 1531, at the order of King Henry VIII, most of Kennington Palace was dismantled, and the materials were used in the construction of the Palace of Whitehall
Palace of Whitehall
The Palace of Whitehall was the main residence of the English monarchs in London from 1530 until 1698 when all except Inigo Jones's 1622 Banqueting House was destroyed by fire...
.
The manor of Kennington continues to be owned by the current monarch's elder son (HRH the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
, Duke of Cornwall: see Dukes of Cornwall
Duchy of Cornwall
The Duchy of Cornwall is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch inherits the duchy and title of Duke of Cornwall at the time of his birth, or of his parent's succession to the throne. If the monarch has no son, the...
). The Duchy of Cornwall
Duchy of Cornwall
The Duchy of Cornwall is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch inherits the duchy and title of Duke of Cornwall at the time of his birth, or of his parent's succession to the throne. If the monarch has no son, the...
maintains a substantial property portfolio within the area.
18th century development
In 1726, the title Earl of Kennington in the Peerage of Great BritainPeerage of Great Britain
The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain after the Act of Union 1707 but before the Act of Union 1800...
was assumed by Prince William, Duke of Cumberland.
In 1746, Francis Towneley
Francis Towneley
Francis Towneley , was an English Jacobite who was executed for his role in the rebellion of 1745.-Early life:He was the fifth son of Charles Towneley of Towneley Hall, Lancashire, by his wife Ursula, daughter of Richard Fermor of Tusmore, Oxfordshire.His family were Roman catholics and Jacobite...
and eight men who had taken part in the Jacobite Rising
Jacobite rising
The Jacobite Risings were a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in Great Britain and Ireland occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings were aimed at returning James VII of Scotland and II of England, and later his descendants of the House of Stuart, to the throne after he was deposed by...
were hanged, drawn and quartered at Kennington Common.
The development of Kennington is attributable to the construction, in 1750, of Westminster Bridge
Westminster Bridge
Westminster Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames between Westminster on the north side and Lambeth on the south side, in London, England....
. In 1751, Kennington Road
Kennington Road
Kennington Road is a long straight road, approximately a mile in length, in the London Borough of Lambeth in London, England, running south from Westminster Bridge Road to Kennington Park Road....
was cut from Kennington Common (as it then was; now Kennington Park) to Westminster Bridge.
On 10 May, 1768, at approximately the site of the Imperial War Museum today, the Massacre of St George's Fields
Massacre of St George's Fields
On 10 May 1768, the imprisonment in King's Bench Prison of the radical John Wilkes prompted a riot at St George's Fields. After the reading of the Riot Act, six or seven people were killed by troops, starting with a young man named William Allen...
took place. A riot started, because of the detention at the King's Bench Prison
King's Bench Prison
The King's Bench Prison was a prison in Southwark, south London, from medieval times until it closed in 1880. It took its name from the King's Bench court of law in which cases of defamation, bankruptcy and other misdemeanours were heard; as such, the prison was often used as a debtor's prison...
of the radical, John Wilkes
John Wilkes
John Wilkes was an English radical, journalist and politician.He was first elected Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlesex election dispute, he fought for the right of voters—rather than the House of Commons—to determine their representatives...
- he had written an article in which he attacked King George III. The Riot Act
Riot Act
The Riot Act was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain that authorised local authorities to declare any group of twelve or more people to be unlawfully assembled, and thus have to disperse or face punitive action...
was read, and soldiers fired upon the crowd, killing seven people.
Several houses forming a terrace on the east side of Kennington Road were constructed in the 1770s.
Cleaver Square (then called Prince's Square) was laid out in 1788. Michael Searles
Michael Searles
Regency architect Michael Searles was famous as an English commercial architect of large houses, particularly in London. His most notable achievement is perhaps The Paragon in Blackheath....
, architect and developer, built semi-detached houses along Kennington Park Road
Kennington Park Road
Kennington Park Road is a main road in south-east London, England, and is part of the A3 trunk road. It runs from Newington Butts at its Y-junction with Kennington Lane, south-west to the Oval, where the A3 continues as Clapham Road, towards Stockwell...
in the 1790s, and is credited with Marlborough House on Kennington Road.
In 1796, a house in West Square
West Square
West Square is an historic square in south London, England, just south from St George's Road. The Square is within the London Borough of Southwark, but as it is located in postcode it is commonly said to be in Lambeth....
became the first station in the optical telegraph, or semaphore line, between the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
in London, and Chatham and Deal in Kent, and during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
transmitted messages between Whitehall
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road in Westminster, in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square...
and the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
.
A fraudster from Camberwell
Camberwell
Camberwell is a district of south London, England, and forms part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is a built-up inner city district located southeast of Charing Cross. To the west it has a boundary with the London Borough of Lambeth.-Toponymy:...
, by the name Badger, was the last person to be hanged at Kennington Common, in 1799.
19th century
The modern street pattern of Kennington was formed by the early nineteenth century; the village had become a semi-rural suburb with grand terraced houses.Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
- the church was opened by the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
. The vicar of the church was instrumental in enclosing the Common as a park.
The Royal Surrey Gardens
Royal Surrey Gardens
Royal Surrey Gardens were pleasure gardens in Kennington, London in the Victorian period, slightly east of The Oval. The gardens occupied about to the east side of Kennington Road, including a lake of about . It was the site of Surrey Zoological Gardens and Surrey Music Hall.The gardens were the...
, which occupied 15 acres of land to the east of Kennington Park Road, were created in 1831 by Edward Cross (zoo proprietor)
Edward Cross (zoo proprietor)
Edward Cross was an English zoo proprietor and dealer in animals.Cross was born in London and baptised at St Andrew's, Holborn, presumably within days of his birth...
. There were separate cages for lions, a rhinoceros, tigers and giraffes. The gardens included a lake of about three acres and contained a variety of exotic trees and plants. In the face of competition from the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in...
, the site was redeveloped in 1856 for the Surrey Music Hall: with a capacity of 12,000 seated spectators, this was the largest building of its kind in London. The music hall was destroyed by fire in 1861, and the site was used temporarily by St. Thomas' Hospital before being sold for residential development in 1877.
Imperial Court, on Kennington Lane, was built in 1836 for the Licensed Victuallers' School
Licensed Victuallers' School
LVS Ascot is an independent non-selective secondary school in Ascot, in the English county of Berkshire.-History:...
, and from 1921 to 1992 it was the headquarters of the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes
Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes
The Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes is an organisation created by the British government in 1921 to run recreational establishments needed by the British Armed Forces, and to sell goods to servicemen and their families...
(NAAFI). The first stone was laid by Viscount Melbourne
Viscount Melbourne
Viscount Melbourne, of Kilmore in the County of Cavan, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland held by the Lamb family. This family descended from Matthew Lamb, who represented Stockbridge and Peterborough in the House of Commons. In 1755 he was created a Baronet, of Brocket Hall in the County of...
, in the name of King William IV.
The Oval cricket ground was leased to Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
from the Duchy of Cornwall in 1845, and the adjacent gasometers (themselves an international sporting landmark) were constructed in 1853.
Dense building and the carving-up of villas for multiple occupation caused Kennington to be "very seriously over-populated in 1859, when diphtheria appeared" (recorded by Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
in Das Kapital
Das Kapital
Das Kapital, Kritik der politischen Ökonomie , by Karl Marx, is a critical analysis of capitalism as political economy, meant to reveal the economic laws of the capitalist mode of production, and how it was the precursor of the socialist mode of production.- Themes :In Capital: Critique of...
).
The church of St John the Divine, Kennington
St John the Divine, Kennington
St John the Divine, Kennington is an Anglican church in London. The parish of Kennington is within the Anglican Diocese of Southwark. The church was designed by the architect George Edmund Street in the Decorated Gothic style, and was built between 1871 and 1874...
, which was to be described by the poet John Betjeman
John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
as "the most magnificent church in South London", was designed by George Edmund Street
George Edmund Street
George Edmund Street was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex.- Life :Street was the third son of Thomas Street, solicitor, by his second wife, Mary Anne Millington. George went to school at Mitcham in about 1830, and later to the Camberwell collegiate school, which he left in 1839...
(architect of the Royal Courts of Justice
Royal Courts of Justice
The Royal Courts of Justice, commonly called the Law Courts, is the building in London which houses the Court of Appeal of England and Wales and the High Court of Justice of England and Wales...
on Strand, London
Strand, London
Strand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. The street is just over three-quarters of a mile long. It currently starts at Trafalgar Square and runs east to join Fleet Street at Temple Bar, which marks the boundary of the City of London at this point, though its historical length...
), and was built between 1871 and 1874.
Kennington Cross
Kennington Cross is a locality in the London Borough of Lambeth....
, was designed in 1889 by S Sidney RJ Smith, architect of the Tate Gallery (as it then was; now Tate Britain
Tate Britain
Tate Britain is an art gallery situated on Millbank in London, and part of the Tate gallery network in Britain, with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is the oldest gallery in the network, opening in 1897. It houses a substantial collection of the works of J. M. W. Turner.-History:It...
), and is a fine example of the Gothic Revival style. The library was a gift to the people of Kennington from Jemina Durning Smith.
Also in 1889, the County of London
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 Act 1888. The Act created an administrative County of...
was created, bringing within the ambit of the London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
areas, including Kennington, which had theretofore been within the ancient county of Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
.
Kennington station was opened as "Kennington (New Street)" in 1890 by the City of London and Southwark Subway.
The poverty map of London, created by Charles Booth
Charles Booth (philanthropist)
Charles Booth was an English philanthropist and social researcher. He is most famed for his innovative work on documenting working class life in London at the end of the 19th century, work that along with that of Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree influenced government intervention against poverty in the...
in 1898-99, identifies a mixture of classifications for the streets of the district; Kennington Park Road, for example, corresponds with the description "Middle class. Well-to-do". Most streets are classified as "Mixed. Some comfortable, others poor". There are also several scattered streets which are considered to be "Poor. 18s. to 21s. a week for a moderate family". The map shows that there existed in the district a great disparity of wealth and comfort between near-neighbours.
Modern history of Kennington
Two social forces were at work in Kennington at different times during the twentieth century: decline, and - later - gentrification. Decline began in the early part of the twentieth century. Middle-class households ceased to employ servants and no longer sought the large houses of Kennington, preferring the suburbs of outer London. Houses in Kennington were suited to multiple occupation and were divided into flats and bedsits, providing cheap lodgings for lower-paid workers. During the BlitzThe Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
, several buildings were destroyed or damaged by the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
, although the area was not so adversely affected as many other districts of inner London.
Kennington ceased to be the administrative centre for the Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth
Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth
The Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth was a Metropolitan borough under London County Council from 1900 to 1965.-History:The borough covered the area of the former Lambeth parish vestry. In addition to the historic riverside area of Lambeth, this included Kennington, Vauxhall, Stockwell, Brixton, the...
(as it then was) in 1908. The Town Hall, built as the Lambeth Vestry Hall (Surrey) for the business of the Parish, in a neoclassical style on Kennington Road, was not large enough for the Council to properly carry out its functions. A new Town Hall was erected in Brixton, and today, the Old Town Hall is the registered office of the Countryside Alliance
Countryside Alliance
The Countryside Alliance is a British organisation promoting issues relating to the countryside such as country sports, including hunting, shooting and angling...
.
In 1913, Maud Pember Reeves
Maud Pember Reeves
Maud Pember Reeves was a feminist, writer and member of the Fabian Society. She spent most of her life in New Zealand and Britain....
selected Kennington for Round About a Pound a Week
Round About a Pound a Week
Round About a Pound a Week was an influential 1913 survey of poverty and infant mortality in London, by feminist and socialist Maud Pember Reeves, co-authored by anarchist activist Charlotte Wilson. The project was conceived and carried out under the auspices of the Fabian Society's Women's Group,...
, which was a survey of social conditions in the district. She found "respectable but very poor people [who] live over a morass of such intolerable poverty that they unite instinctively to save those known to them from falling into it".
In an initiative to improve the district, between 1913 and 1915, the Duchy of Cornwall set about redeveloping land. Courtenay Square, Courtenay Street, Cardigan Street, Denny Street and Denny Crescent were laid out to a design by architects Stanley Davenport Adshead, Stanley Churchill Ramsay and JD Coleridge, in a Neo-Georgian style.
In 1915, Of Human Bondage
Of Human Bondage
Of Human Bondage is a novel by W. Somerset Maugham. It is generally agreed to be his masterpiece and to be strongly autobiographical in nature, although Maugham stated, "This is a novel, not an autobiography, though much in it is autobiographical, more is pure invention." Maugham, who had...
, by W. Somerset Maugham
W. Somerset Maugham
William Somerset Maugham , CH was an English playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and, reputedly, the highest paid author during the 1930s.-Childhood and education:...
, was published. Philip Carey, the protagonist, finds lodgings in the "vulgar respectability" of Kennington.
In 1922, Lambeth Hospital on Brook Drive was created by merging the Lambeth Infirmary with the adjacent Renfrew Road Workhouse. Under the control of the London County Council, Lambeth Hospital, which had a capacity of 1,250 patients in 1939, was one of the largest hospitals in London. After the National Health Service
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
was formed, Lambeth Hospital became an acute general hospital. In 1976, the North Wing of St. Thomas' Hospital opened; services transferred there, and Lambeth Hospital was closed. A substantial part of the site has today been redeveloped for apartments, although some buildings are occupied by the Lambeth Community Care Centre. It was in the vicinity of Lambeth Hospital that the music video for the song Come On Eileen
Come on Eileen
"Come On Eileen" was a single released by Dexys Midnight Runners in 1982. The song was written by Kevin Rowland, "Big" Jim Paterson, and Billy Adams; it was produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. It also appeared on the album Too-Rye-Ay...
, released in 1982 by the pop group Dexys Midnight Runners
Dexys Midnight Runners
Dexys Midnight Runners are a British pop group with soul influences, who achieved their major success in the early to mid 1980s. They are best known for their songs "Come On Eileen" and "Geno", both of which went No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart....
, was filmed.
Kennington station was substantially remodelled in 1925 to accommodate the Charing Cross branch of the Northern Line
Northern Line
The Northern line is a London Underground line. It is coloured black on the Tube map.For most of its length it is a deep-level tube line. The line carries 206,734,000 passengers per year. This is the highest number of any line on the London Underground system, but the Northern line is unique in...
. Because tram and bus routes converged at Kennington, in the 1920s St. Mark's became known as the "tramwayman's church", and Kennington was referred to as the "Clapham Junction of the southern roads".
By 1926, construction of the Belgrave Hospital for Children - designed by Henry Percy Adams and Charles Holden
Charles Holden
Charles Henry Holden, Litt. D., FRIBA, MRTPI, RDI was a Bolton-born English architect best known for designing many London Underground stations during the 1920s and 1930s, for Bristol Central Library, the Underground Electric Railways Company of London's headquarters at 55 Broadway and for the...
- was complete. The hospital was subsumed within the King's College Hospital Group and closed in 1985. Restoration and conversion for use as apartments was undertaken in 1994.
The London County Council erected an estate of seven blocks of flats to the south of Kennings Way and White Hart Street in 1928.
The Duchy of Cornwall, in the 1930s, engaged Louis de Soissons
Louis de Soissons
Louis E J G de Savoie-Carignan de Soissons , was the younger son of Charles, the Count de Soissons. An architect, he was called for professional purposes Louis de Soissons...
, architect of Welwyn Garden City
Welwyn Garden City
-Economy:Ever since its inception as garden city, Welwyn Garden City has attracted a strong commercial base with several designated employment areas. Among the companies trading in the town are:*Air Link Systems*Baxter*British Lead Mills*Carl Zeiss...
, to design a number of buildings in Kennington in a Neo-Georgian style.
On 15 October 1940, the large trench air-raid shelter
Air-raid shelter
Air-raid shelters, also known as bomb shelters, are structures for the protection of the civil population as well as military personnel against enemy attacks from the air...
beneath Kennington Park was struck by a 50 lb bomb. The number of people killed remains unknown; it is believed by local historians that 104 people died. 48 bodies were recovered.
In 1945, London Belongs to Me
London Belongs to Me
London Belongs to Me is a 1948 British film directed by Sidney Gilliat and starring Richard Attenborough and Alastair Sim. It was based on the novel of the same name by Norman Collins...
, by Norman Collins
Norman Collins
Norman Collins was a British writer, and later a radio and television executive, who became one of the major figures behind the establishment of the Independent Television network in the UK...
, was published. The central setting for the novel is a boarding-house at 10, Dulcimer Street, Kennington.
Scenes from the film Passport to Pimlico
Passport to Pimlico
Passport to Pimlico is a 1949 British comedy film made by Ealing Studios and starred Stanley Holloway, Margaret Rutherford, and Hermione Baddeley. It was directed by Henry Cornelius....
were filmed in and around Kennington. The film was released in 1949.
For the United Kingdom general election, 1950
United Kingdom general election, 1950
The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...
, the borough constituency of Kennington - which was created for the United Kingdom general election, 1885
United Kingdom general election, 1885
-Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...
- was abolished.
The Brandon estate was endowed in 1962 by the London County Council with Reclining Figure No. 3: a sculpture by Henry Moore
Henry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA was an English sculptor and artist. He was best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art....
.
In 1969, the first house in St. Agnes Place was squatted. The unit was vacant, in the possession of Lambeth Council, and was to be demolished to extend Kennington Park. Squatters entered the other empty properties in St. Agnes Place and established a Rastafari temple. Lambeth Council moved, unsuccessfully, to evict the squatters in 1977. Pursuant to an Order of the High Court obtained by the Council in 2005, 21 of the houses were demolished after the squatters were evicted from those houses; the Rastafari temple was subsequently demolished in 2007.
Scenes from the 1990 film, The Krays (film)
The Krays (film)
The Krays is a 1990 film based on the lives and crimes of the British gangsters Ronald and Reginald Kray, twins who are often referred to as The Krays...
, were shot in Kennington.
In June 1996, a protest took place outside Kennington Police Station. Brian Douglas, who sustained serious brain injury and a fractured skull during police restraint, was placed in a cell at Kennington for fourteen hours before being escorted to St. Thomas' Hospital, where he died.
Lambeth Council designated a substantial part of Kennington a Conservation Area
Conservation area
A conservation areas is a tract of land that has been awarded protected status in order to ensure that natural features, cultural heritage or biota are safeguarded...
in 1968, the boundary of which was extended in 1979 and in 1997.
A pub, "The Jolly Gardeners", on Black Prince Road, was adopted for Snatch (film)
Snatch (film)
Snatch is a 2000 crime film written and directed by British filmmaker Guy Ritchie, featuring an ensemble cast. Set in the London criminal underworld, the film contains two intertwined plots: one dealing with the search for a stolen diamond, the other with a small-time boxing promoter named Turkish ...
and cast as "The Drowned Trout", in 2000.
In 2001, London Boulevard
London Boulevard
London Boulevard is a 2010 British film noir released in the United Kingdom on 26 November 2010. It is based on a novel by Ken Bruen with screenplay and direction by William Monahan, marking his directorial debut...
, by Ken Bruen
Ken Bruen
Ken Bruen is an Irish writer of hard-boiled and noir crime fiction.He was born in Galway, and educated at Gormanston College, County Meath and later at Trinity College Dublin, where he earned a Ph.D. in metaphysics. He spent twenty-five years as an English teacher in Africa, Japan, S.E. Asia and...
, was published; Kennington is a setting within the novel, and features in the 2010 film of the same name.
Oval station was the target of one of the four attempted 21 July 2005 London bombings
21 July 2005 London bombings
On 21 July 2005, four attempted bomb attacks disrupted part of London's public transport system two weeks after the 7 July 2005 London bombings. The explosions occurred around midday at Shepherd's Bush, Warren Street and Oval stations on London Underground, and on a bus in Shoreditch...
.
The 2011 film Attack the Block
Attack the Block
Attack the Block is a 2011 British science fiction action film written and directed by Joe Cornish. The film stars Jodie Whittaker, John Boyega, Alex Esmail, Franz Drameh, Leeon Jones, Simon Howard. Set on a council estate in South London on Bonfire night, the film follows a street gang which have...
takes place in Kennington.
21st century gentrification
In recent years, Kennington has experienced gentrificationGentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
, driven by the advantages of its location and good transport links to the West End
West End of London
The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
and the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
. In "London: A Social History", Roy Porter
Roy Porter
Roy Sydney Porter was a British historian noted for his prolific work on the history of medicine.-Life:...
describes "Victorian villas in...Kennington, long debased by use as lodging-houses, were transformed into luxury flats for young professionals or snips for first-time buyers - or were repossessed by the class of family for whom they had first been built..."; and "Chambers London Gazetteer" observes the "reuniting of formerly subdivided properties" as "decline is being reversed".
It is difficult to identify one catalyst for this change. The principal factors are location and transport, but other factors which may have contributed include the widening of the corporate-professional employment sector in central London, starting in the 1980s and the effect of rising property prices in districts north of the river, and (more recently), nearby Clapham
Clapham
Clapham is a district in south London, England, within the London Borough of Lambeth.Clapham covers the postcodes of SW4 and parts of SW9, SW8 and SW12. Clapham Common is shared with the London Borough of Wandsworth, although Lambeth has responsibility for running the common as a whole. According...
and Battersea
Battersea
Battersea is an area of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is an inner-city district of South London, situated on the south side of the River Thames, 2.9 miles south-west of Charing Cross. Battersea spans from Fairfield in the west to Queenstown in the east...
, causing Kennington to be "rediscovered". The good architectural and structural quality of many properties in Kennington - characterised by Georgian and Victorian terraces of yellow London stock brick
London stock brick
London stock brick is the type of hand-made brick which was used for the majority of building work in London and South East England until the growth in the use of Flettons and other machine-made bricks in the early 20th century. Its distinctive yellow colour and soft appearance come from the...
, typically three storeys or higher, fronting the main roads and squares - has unquestionably contributed to the gentrification of the area, and so has a perception of "good value" - that investment in a property in the district will yield a decent return.
Kennington Common (Kennington Park)
Kennington ParkKennington Park
Kennington Park is in Kennington in London, England, and lies between Kennington Park Road and St Agnes Place. It was opened in 1854. Previously the site had been Kennington Common. This is where the Chartists gathered for their biggest 'monster rally' on 10 April 1848...
, laid out by Victorian architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
James Pennethorne
James Pennethorne
Sir James Pennethorne was a notable 19th century English architect and planner, particularly associated with buildings and parks in central London.-Life:...
, and St Mark's Churchyard now cover the site of Kennington Common. The Park was the first public park in south London, and was created when the Common was enclosed in 1852, and designated one of the Royal Parks of London
Royal Parks of London
The Royal Parks of London are lands originally owned by the monarchy of the United Kingdom for the recreation of the royal family...
(today, management of the Park is undertaken by Lambeth Council).
The Park, historically, was a place for executions, a Speakers' Corner for public gatherings for political and religious purposes, and a place for entertainment and sporting events.
In the 1730s, Methodists John Wesley
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
and George Whitefield
George Whitefield
George Whitefield , also known as George Whitfield, was an English Anglican priest who helped spread the Great Awakening in Britain, and especially in the British North American colonies. He was one of the founders of Methodism and of the evangelical movement generally...
preached to thousands here. In 1746 the Surrey County Gallows at the southern end of the Common was used for the execution of nine leaders of the Jacobite rebellion of 1745. The Common was also where the Chartists
Chartism
Chartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
gathered for their biggest demonstration in 1848. "The Gymnastic Society
The Gymnastic Society
The Gymnastic Society was an eighteenth-century London sports club for the pursuit of football and wrestling. It is arguably the first football club.-Background:...
" met regularly at Kennington Common during the second half of the eighteenth century to play football
Football
Football may refer to one of a number of team sports which all involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball with the foot to score a goal. The most popular of these sports worldwide is association football, more commonly known as just "football" or "soccer"...
. The Society — sometimes claimed to be the world's first football club — consisted of London-based natives of Cumberland
Cumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
and Westmorland
Westmorland
Westmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...
.
The tradition of political gathering at Kennington Park in advance of marches upon Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
returned in the 1970s. In 1986, the Park was the location for the Gay Pride
Gay pride
LGBT pride or gay pride is the concept that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity...
march of that year, and for several years thereafter. On March 31, 1990, some 200,000 people amassed at Kennington Park to march upon Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...
, in protest against the Community Charge
Community Charge
The Community Charge, popularly known as the "poll tax", was a system of taxation introduced in replacement of the rates to part fund local government in Scotland from 1989, and England and Wales from 1990. It provided for a single flat-rate per-capita tax on every adult, at a rate set by the...
. This, during the course of the day, escalated into mass disturbances: the Poll Tax Riots
Poll Tax Riots
The UK Poll Tax Riots were a series of mass disturbances, or riots, in British towns and cities during protests against the Community Charge , introduced by the Conservative government led by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher...
. In April 1997, a march organised by Reclaim the Streets
Reclaim the Streets
Reclaim The Streets is a collective with a shared ideal of community ownership of public spaces. Participants characterize the collective as a resistance movement opposed to the dominance of corporate forces in globalization, and to the car as the dominant mode of transport.-Protests:Reclaim The...
set off from the Park for central London; and in May 2004, the Park was the starting point for a march to the Cannabis Festival at Brockwell Park
Brockwell Park
Brockwell Park is a 50.8 hectare park located between Brixton, Herne Hill and Tulse Hill, bordered by Brixton Water Lane, Norwood Road, Tulse Hill , and Dulwich Road in South London....
. In March 2007, the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
preached at Kennington Park to mark the passing of the Slave Trade Act 1807. The Park had been a significant location for important anti-slave trade rallies. In March 2011, the Park was the South London starting point for a feeder march to the 2011 anti-cuts protest in London
2011 anti-cuts protest in London
The 2011 anti-cuts protest in London, also known as the March for the Alternative, was a demonstration held in central London on 26 March 2011...
.
(Fuller details of the Common's history are in the Kennington Park
Kennington Park
Kennington Park is in Kennington in London, England, and lies between Kennington Park Road and St Agnes Place. It was opened in 1854. Previously the site had been Kennington Common. This is where the Chartists gathered for their biggest 'monster rally' on 10 April 1848...
article).
Kennington Oval (The Oval)
The Oval, officially currently known as "The Kia Oval", is the home ground for Surrey County Cricket ClubSurrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
and hosts the final Test match
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
of the English summer season. The Oval was the first ground in the United Kingdom to host Test cricket, was the location for the England v Scotland representative matches (1870-1872), the first ever international football match, the first FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
final in 1872, and held the second ever Rugby Union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
international match between England and Scotland in 1872. England's unfortunate performance against Australia here in 1882 gave rise to The Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
. The Oval has been labelled with the sobriquet "the Grand Old Lady" in recognition of the significant role the ground has played in the development of modern sport.
Imperial War Museum
The Bethlem Royal HospitalBethlem Royal Hospital
The Bethlem Royal Hospital is a psychiatric hospital located in London, United Kingdom and part of the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. Although no longer based at its original location, it is recognised as the world's first and oldest institution to specialise in mental illnesses....
(also known as Bedlam) relocated from Moorfields to St. George's Fields, at the north end of Kennington, in 1815. Buildings were laid out to a design by James Lewis, and in 1846, a cupola was added by Sydney Smirke
Sydney Smirke
Sydney Smirke, architect, was born in London, England, the younger brother of Sir Robert Smirke, also an architect. Their father, also Robert Smirke, had been a well-known 18th Century painter.Sydney Smirke's works include:...
. In 1930, the Bethlem Royal Hospital moved to Beckenham
Beckenham
Beckenham is a town in the London Borough of Bromley, England. It is located 8.4 miles south east of Charing Cross and 1.75 miles west of Bromley town...
, in outer London. Viscount Rothermere
Viscount Rothermere
Viscount Rothermere, of Hemsted in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1919 for the press lord Harold Harmsworth, 1st Baron Harmsworth. He had already been created a Baronet, of Horsey in the County of Norfolk, on 14 July 1910, and Baron...
, proprietor of the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
, purchased the old hospital, and had the east and west wings demolished to create space for Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park, which was given to the London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
in memory of his mother. The central wing was retained, and since 1936 has been occupied by the Imperial War Museum.
The nearest London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
station to the Museum is Lambeth North tube station
Lambeth North tube station
Lambeth North tube station is a London Underground station in the neighbourhood of Lambeth, at the junction of Westminster Bridge Road and Baylis Road. It is on the Bakerloo line, between Elephant & Castle and Waterloo, and is in Travelcard Zone 1...
, on the Bakerloo Line
Bakerloo Line
The Bakerloo line is a line of the London Underground, coloured brown on the Tube map. It runs partly on the surface and partly at deep level, from Elephant and Castle in the south-east to Harrow & Wealdstone in the north-west of London. The line serves 25 stations, of which 15 are underground...
.
Stane Street
Kennington Park Road and Clapham Road is a long and straight stretch of road because it follows the old Roman Stane Street. This ran down from the Roman London BridgeLondon Bridge
London Bridge is a bridge over the River Thames, connecting the City of London and Southwark, in central London. Situated between Cannon Street Railway Bridge and Tower Bridge, it forms the western end of the Pool of London...
to Chichester via the gap in the North Downs
North Downs
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. The North Downs lie within two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty , the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs...
at Box Hill
Box Hill, Surrey
Box Hill is a summit of the North Downs in Surrey, approximately south west of London. The hill takes its name from the ancient box woodland found on the steepest west-facing chalk slopes overlooking the River Mole. The western part of the hill is owned and managed by the National Trust, whilst...
near Dorking
Dorking
Dorking is a historic market town at the foot of the North Downs approximately south of London, in Surrey, England.- History and development :...
. Another Roman road branched off opposite Kennington Road and went through what is now Kennington Park and down the Brixton Road. It carried on through the North Downs near Caterham to Hassocks, just north of the South Downs
South Downs
The South Downs is a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen Valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, in the east. It is bounded on its northern side by a steep escarpment, from whose...
.
Kennington community
The majority of the population is within the ABC1 social group.The dominant geodemographic profiles for Kennington accord with the ACORN (demographics)
ACORN (demographics)
ACORN is a geodemographic information system categorising all United Kingdom postcodes into various types based upon census data and other information such as lifestyle surveys....
("A Classification Of Residential Neighbourhoods") Types 15 and 18: that is, an area of "Urban Prosperity" characterised as a "young, multi-ethnic community" of "Educated Urbanites" and "Affluent Urban Professionals", who typically are educated to degree level, enjoy a high income, have a high interest in current affairs, use public transport regularly, do not drive a car regularly and do not have children.
Kennington is within the Division bell
Division bell
A division bell is a bell rung in or around a parliament to signal a division and thus call all members of the chamber so affected to vote in it.- In the United Kingdom :...
zone for the Houses of Parliament, and a number of Members of Parliament and civil servants live within the area. An article in The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
in 2010 - in connection with David Laws
David Laws
David Anthony Laws is a British politician. He is Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Yeovil and former Chief Secretary to the Treasury....
- described Kennington as "the politicians' enclave across the Thames from Westminster"; in 2009, The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
observed that "Kennington...is the suburb that has featured the most in the MPs' expenses scandal. Hazel Blears
Hazel Blears
Hazel Anne Blears is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Salford and Eccles since 2010 and was previously the MP for Salford since 1997...
and Alistair Darling
Alistair Darling
Alistair Maclean Darling is a Scottish Labour Party politician who has been a Member of Parliament since 1987, currently for Edinburgh South West. He served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2007 to 2010...
are only two of the ministers with Kennington second homes".
Kennington Road and Kennington Lane, south of Kennington Cross, could properly be described as the "shopping area" of Kennington. This area is identified as a "Local Centre" in the London Plan
London Plan
The London Plan is a planning document written by the Mayor of London, England in the United Kingdom and published by the Greater London Authority. The plan was first published in final form on 10 February 2004 and has since been amended. The current version was published in February 2008...
. There is a range of local shops, restaurants, cafés and estate agents, and there is a Barclays Bank branch and a Post Office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
. There is a Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
supermarket on Kennington Lane.
The area has a range of pubs and some bars, as well as the only nightclub, the South London Pacific.
There are two theatres in Kennington: the White Bear Theatre and the Oval House Theatre.
The Cinema Museum, London, established in 1986, occupies a converted part of the former Lambeth Hospital, off Renfrew Road.
The area has an active residents' association
Residents' association
Residents' associations are organisations formed by groups of people from a specific geographic community who come together to address issues within their local area and act as a voice for their local community....
: the Kennington Association.
The Friends of Kennington Park
Kennington Park
Kennington Park is in Kennington in London, England, and lies between Kennington Park Road and St Agnes Place. It was opened in 1854. Previously the site had been Kennington Common. This is where the Chartists gathered for their biggest 'monster rally' on 10 April 1848...
is a local organisation, involved with the promotion of Kennington Park as a valuable resource for the community.
A weekly farmers' market
Farmers' market
A farmers' market consists of individual vendors—mostly farmers—who set up booths, tables or stands, outdoors or indoors, to sell produce, meat products, fruits and sometimes prepared foods and beverages...
takes place at St. Mark's Church.
The distillery of Beefeater Gin
Beefeater Gin
Beefeater Gin is a brand of gin bottled, and distributed in the United Kingdom, by the company of James Burrough. It is a 47% alcohol product in the US and New Zealand, and a 40% alcohol product elsewhere in the world . 40% alcohol is 80 proof in the US...
- the only premium gin still distilled in London - is situated in Montford Place, Kennington.
The City and Guilds of London Art School
City and Guilds of London Art School
The City and Guilds of London Art School is an art college in London, England, United Kingdom. It is one of the country's longest established art colleges, and offers courses ranging from Foundation, through B.A. degree, Postgraduate Diploma and M.A...
, one of the longest-established art colleges in the country, has been at Kennington Park Road since 1879.
Cactus TV
Cactus TV
Cactus TV is an English based television show production company.They produce the shows Richard & Judy for Watch, and "Saturday Kitchen" for BBC One.-Company:...
, a television show production company, is situated in Kennington Road.
Kennington is also home of the
The Cinema Museum
Cinema Museum (London)
The Cinema Museum is a charitable organisation founded in 1986 by Ronald Grant and Martin Humphries from their own private collection of cinema history and memorabilia. It is based at 2 Dugard Way in the London Borough of Lambeth, the administration block of the former Lambeth Workhouse...
a popular local venue for watching films and learning about the history of cinema.
Notable residents
- William HogarthWilliam HogarthWilliam Hogarth was an English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic and editorial cartoonist who has been credited with pioneering western sequential art. His work ranged from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like series of pictures called "modern moral subjects"...
, artist, lived in Kennington in the early part of the eighteenth century. - David RicardoDavid RicardoDavid Ricardo was an English political economist, often credited with systematising economics, and was one of the most influential of the classical economists, along with Thomas Malthus, Adam Smith, and John Stuart Mill. He was also a member of Parliament, businessman, financier and speculator,...
, the celebrated political economist, lived in Kennington in the 1790s. - William BlakeWilliam BlakeWilliam Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
, artist and visionary, occupied a house at Hercules Road, at the boundary of Kennington and Lambeth, between 1790 and 1800. - Eliza CookEliza CookEliza Cook was an English author, Chartist poet and writer born in London Road, Southwark.- Background :...
, author, ChartistChartismChartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
poet and writer, lived in Kennington in the first half of the nineteenth century. - William BlighWilliam BlighVice Admiral William Bligh FRS RN was an officer of the British Royal Navy and a colonial administrator. A notorious mutiny occurred during his command of HMAV Bounty in 1789; Bligh and his loyal men made a remarkable voyage to Timor, after being set adrift in the Bounty's launch by the mutineers...
, Captain of HMS BountyHMS BountyHMS Bounty , famous as the scene of the Mutiny on the Bounty on 28 April 1789, was originally a three-masted cargo ship, the Bethia, purchased by the British Admiralty, then modified and commissioned as His Majesty's Armed Vessel the...
, against whom the Mutiny on the BountyMutiny on the BountyThe mutiny on the Bounty was a mutiny that occurred aboard the British Royal Navy ship HMS Bounty on 28 April 1789, and has been commemorated by several books, films, and popular songs, many of which take considerable liberties with the facts. The mutiny was led by Fletcher Christian against the...
was brought, occupied a house at Lambeth Road, near the Imperial War Museum. He died in 1817, and was buried at St. Mary's, Lambeth. - John Alexander Reina NewlandsJohn Alexander Reina NewlandsJohn Alexander Reina Newlands was an English chemist who invented the Periodic Table.Newlands was born in London and was the son of a scottish Presbyterian minister and his Italian wife....
, chemist, was born in West Square in 1837. Newlands prepared the first periodic table of elements arranged in order of relative atomic massAtomic massThe atomic mass is the mass of a specific isotope, most often expressed in unified atomic mass units. The atomic mass is the total mass of protons, neutrons and electrons in a single atom....
. - William HoskingWilliam HoskingWilliam Hosking FSA was a writer, lecturer, and architect who had an important influence on the growth and development of London in Victorian times...
, architect and civil engineer, who claimed to have formed the design for the British Museum Reading RoomBritish Museum Reading RoomThe British Museum Reading Room, situated in the centre of the Great Court of the British Museum, used to be the main reading room of the British Library. In 1997, this function moved to the new British Library building at St Pancras, London, but the Reading Room remains in its original form inside...
, and was the first Professor of Architecture at King's College LondonKing's College LondonKing's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
, occupied a house in Walcot Square in the 1840s. - Sir William Chandler Roberts-AustenWilliam Chandler Roberts-AustenSir William Chandler Roberts-Austen, , was a metallurgist noted for his research on the physical properties of metals and their alloys. Austenite is named in his honor....
metallurgist - after whom austeniteAusteniteAustenite, also known as gamma phase iron, is a metallic non-magnetic allotrope of iron or a solid solution of iron, with an alloying element. In plain-carbon steel, austenite exists above the critical eutectoid temperature of ; other alloys of steel have different eutectoid temperatures...
is named - was born in Kennington in 1843. - William BoothWilliam BoothWilliam Booth was a British Methodist preacher who founded The Salvation Army and became its first General...
, founder and General of The Salvation ArmyThe Salvation ArmyThe Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
, found work and lodging at a pawnbroker shop in Kennington Park Road in 1849. - E. NesbitE. NesbitEdith Nesbit was an English author and poet whose children's works were published under the name of E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on over 60 books of fiction for children, several of which have been adapted for film and television...
, children's author, best-known for The Railway ChildrenThe Railway ChildrenThe Railway Children is a children's book by Edith Nesbit, originally serialised in The London Magazine during 1905 and first published in book form in 1906...
, was born in Kennington in 1858. - Samuel ProutSamuel Proutthumb|right|Samuel Prout painted by [[John Jackson]] in 1831thumb|right|Market Day by Samuel Proutthumb|right|A View in Nuremberg by Samuel Proutthumb|right|Utrecht Town Hall by Samuel Prout in 1841...
, watercolorist, lived for a time in Kennington Road. - Felix SladeFelix SladeFelix Joseph Slade FRA , was an English lawyer and collector of glass, books and engravings.A fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and a philanthropist who endowed three Slade Professorships of Fine Art at Oxford University and Cambridge University, and at University College London, where he also...
- a lawyer and philanthropist, who endowed three Slade Professorships of Fine Art at Oxford University, Cambridge University and University College LondonUniversity College LondonUniversity College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
, and bequeathed most of his art collection to the British MuseumBritish MuseumThe British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
- lived and died in Walcot Place, off Kennington Road. - Roy RedgraveRoy RedgraveRoy Redgrave was an English stage and silent film actor. Redgrave was the founder of the Redgrave acting family.-Early life:...
, actor, and patriarch of the RedgraveRedgrave familyThe Redgrave family is an English acting dynasty, spanning four generations. Members of the family worked in theatre beginning in the nineteenth century, and later in film and television. Some family members have also written plays and books. Vanessa Redgrave is the most prominent, having won...
acting family, was born in Kennington in 1873. - Vincent van GoghVincent van GoghVincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
, artist, lived at Ivy Cottage, 395 Kennington Road, from August to October 1874, and from December 1874 to May 1875. - Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of AlameinBernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of AlameinField Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO, PC , nicknamed "Monty" and the "Spartan General" was a British Army officer. He saw action in the First World War, when he was seriously wounded, and during the Second World War he commanded the 8th Army from...
, was born in Harleyford Street in 1887. - Charlie ChaplinCharlie ChaplinSir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
, actor, born in 1889, grew up in Kennington, and lived in several different houses at different times, in West Square, Methley Street and Kennington Road. - Harry RobertsHarry Roberts (murderer)Harry Maurice Roberts is a career criminal who instigated the Shepherd's Bush Murders in which three police officers were shot dead in 1966. The killings happened after the plain-clothed officers approached the van which Roberts and two other men were sitting in, in Braybrook Street, near Wormwood...
, who was jailed for life for murdering three policemen in the Massacre of Braybrook StreetMassacre of Braybrook StreetThe Shepherd's Bush murders, also known as the Massacre of Braybrook Street, was the murder of three police officers in London by Harry Roberts and two others in 1966....
in 1966, was born in Kennington in 1936. He remains in prison. - Don LettsDon LettsDon Letts is a British film director and musician. He is credited as the man who through his DJing at clubs like The Roxy brought together punk and reggae music.-Biography:...
, film director and musician, born in 1956, was educated in Kennington. - Bob MarleyBob MarleyRobert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
, Jamaican musician, stayed at a property in St. Agnes Place on occasions in the 1970s. - James CallaghanJames CallaghanLeonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...
, who was Prime Minister of the United KingdomPrime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
in 1976, insisted that he did not want to inflict upon his wife the "discomforts" of living at 10 Downing Street10 Downing Street10 Downing Street, colloquially known in the United Kingdom as "Number 10", is the headquarters of Her Majesty's Government and the official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury, who is now always the Prime Minister....
, and elected to stay at his flat on Kennington Park Road. He was eventually persuaded, in the interests of security, to move to 10 Downing Street. - William TallonWilliam TallonWilliam John Stephenson Tallon, RVM was a steward and extrovert member of the Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother's staff at Clarence House.-Early life:Tallon was born in Coventry where he also went to school...
, Steward and Page of the Backstairs in the household of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, typically referred to by newspapers as "Backstairs Billy", moved from Clarence HouseClarence HouseClarence House is a royal home in London, situated on The Mall, in the City of Westminster. It is attached to St. James's Palace and shares the palace's garden. For nearly 50 years, from 1953 to 2002, it was home to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, but is since then the official residence of The...
in 2002 to a Duchy of Cornwall flat in Kennington. He died in 2007. - David LawsDavid LawsDavid Anthony Laws is a British politician. He is Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Yeovil and former Chief Secretary to the Treasury....
, politician, was involved in a controversy concerning a property which he occupied in Kennington. - Lembit ÖpikLembit ÖpikLembit Öpik is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Montgomeryshire in Wales from 1997 until he lost his seat in the 2010 General Election...
, politician. - Kevin SpaceyKevin SpaceyKevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
, actor. - Sarah WatersSarah WatersSarah Waters is a British novelist. She is best known for her novels set in Victorian society, such as Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith.-Childhood:Sarah Waters was born in Neyland, Pembrokeshire, Wales in 1966....
, author, who wrote (among other novels) Tipping the VelvetTipping the VelvetTipping the Velvet is an historical novel written by Sarah Waters published in 1998. Set in Victorian England during the 1890s, it tells a coming of age story about a young woman named Nan who falls in love with a male impersonator, follows her to London, and finds various ways to support herself...
. - Oliver LetwinOliver LetwinOliver Letwin MP FRSA is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he is currently the Minister of State at the Cabinet Office, and a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of West Dorset...
, Member of ParliamentMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, who was the victim of a confidence trick at his Kennington home. - Michael ConnartyMichael ConnartyMichael Connarty is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Linlithgow and Falkirk East since 2005, and a variation of the same seat since 1992.-Early life:...
, Member of Parliament. - Jack StrawJack StrawJack Straw , British politician.Jack Straw may also refer to:* Jack Straw , English* "Jack Straw" , 1971 song by the Grateful Dead* Jack Straw by W...
, Member of ParliamentMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
; former Home SecretaryHome SecretaryThe Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
; former Foreign Secretary; former Lord Privy SealLord Privy SealThe Lord Privy Seal is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and above the Lord Great Chamberlain. The office is one of the traditional sinecure offices of state...
and Leader of the House of CommonsLeader of the House of CommonsThe Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Commons...
; former Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain and Secretary of State for Justice. - Anthony SteenAnthony SteenAnthony David Steen is a British Conservative Party politician who was a Member of Parliament from 1974 to 2010, and the chairman of the Human Trafficking Foundation. Having represented Totnes in Devon since 1997, he was previously MP for South Hams from 1983, and had also been the MP for...
, politician. - Stephen HesfordStephen HesfordStephen Hesford is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Wirral West from 1997 to 2010...
, politician. - Alistair DarlingAlistair DarlingAlistair Maclean Darling is a Scottish Labour Party politician who has been a Member of Parliament since 1987, currently for Edinburgh South West. He served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2007 to 2010...
, Member of Parliament and former Chancellor of the ExchequerChancellor of the ExchequerThe Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
. - Hazel BlearsHazel BlearsHazel Anne Blears is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Salford and Eccles since 2010 and was previously the MP for Salford since 1997...
, Member of Parliament and former Secretary of State for Communities and Local GovernmentSecretary of State for Communities and Local GovernmentThe Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, is a Cabinet position heading the UK's Department for Communities and Local Government....
. - Charles KennedyCharles KennedyCharles Peter Kennedy is a British Liberal Democrat politician, who led the Liberal Democrats from 9 August 1999 until 7 January 2006 and is currently a Member of Parliament for the Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency....
, Member of Parliament and former leader of the Liberal DemocratLiberal DemocratsThe Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
Party. - Phil Willis, Baron Willis of Knaresborough, politician.
- Kenneth ClarkeKenneth ClarkeKenneth Harry "Ken" Clarke, QC, MP is a British Conservative politician, currently Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. He was first elected to Parliament in 1970; and appointed a minister in Edward Heath's government, in 1972, and is one of...
, Member of Parliament, Secretary of State for Justice and Lord ChancellorLord ChancellorThe Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
.
Schools in Kennington
There are six primary schools within the Kennington area:Archbishop Sumner School (Church of England); Henry Fawcett Primary School; St. Anne's Primary School (Roman Catholic); St. Mark's Primary School (Church of England); Vauxhall Primary and Walnut Tree Walk Primary School.
There are two secondary schools within the Kennington area:
Archbishop Tenison's School (admits boys aged 11 – 19; admits girls into the Sixth Form), and Lilian Baylis Technology School (admits boys and girls aged 11 – 16).
Geography
Kennington has no official boundaries, so classifications of which areas fall within the district vary. The modern layout of Kennington reflects development as a linear settlement. The SE11 postcode captures most of the district, although the peripheries of Kennington are within the SE1, SE17, SW8 and SW9 postcodes. The south-western part of the district - Kennington Oval - protrudes towards Vauxhall.Nearest places:
- Vauxhall
- WaterlooWaterloo, LondonWaterloo is a district of London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated east of Charing Cross. The area is part of a business improvement district known as Waterloo Quarter, which includes The Cut and the Old Vic and Young Vic theatres, including some sections in the...
- WalworthWalworth, LondonWalworth is an inner-city district in the London Borough of Southwark. Walworth probably derives its name from the Old English "Wealhworth" which meant Welsh farm. It is located south east of Charing Cross and near to Camberwell and Elephant and Castle.The major streets in Walworth are the Old...
- NewingtonNewington, LondonNewington is a district of London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It was an ancient parish and the site of the early administration of the county of Surrey...
— usually known as Elephant and CastleElephant and CastleThe Elephant and Castle is a major road intersection in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Southwark. It is also used as a name for the surrounding area.... - StockwellStockwellStockwell is a district in inner south west London, England, located in the London Borough of Lambeth.It is situated south south-east of Charing Cross. Brixton, Clapham, Vauxhall and Kennington all border Stockwell...
- CamberwellCamberwellCamberwell is a district of south London, England, and forms part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is a built-up inner city district located southeast of Charing Cross. To the west it has a boundary with the London Borough of Lambeth.-Toponymy:...
- BrixtonBrixtonBrixton is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in south London, England. It is south south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
- Lambeth North
Transport
Nearest London UndergroundLondon Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
stations:
- Kennington tube stationKennington tube stationKennington tube station is a London Underground station in Newington/ Walworth on Kennington Park Road, on both the Charing Cross and Bank branches of the Northern Line. Its neighbours to the north are Waterloo on the Charing Cross branch and Elephant & Castle on the Bank branch; the next station...
: Northern LineNorthern LineThe Northern line is a London Underground line. It is coloured black on the Tube map.For most of its length it is a deep-level tube line. The line carries 206,734,000 passengers per year. This is the highest number of any line on the London Underground system, but the Northern line is unique in...
, Bank branch and Charing Cross branch interchange. - Oval tube stationOval tube stationOval tube station in Kennington is a station on the Northern line of the London Underground between Stockwell and Kennington stations. It is the only station on the Morden branch of the Northern line whose name begins with a vowel and is one of only two stations on the London Underground with only...
: Northern LineNorthern LineThe Northern line is a London Underground line. It is coloured black on the Tube map.For most of its length it is a deep-level tube line. The line carries 206,734,000 passengers per year. This is the highest number of any line on the London Underground system, but the Northern line is unique in...
, Bank branch only at off-peak times. Customers travelling at off-peak times must change at Kennington tube stationKennington tube stationKennington tube station is a London Underground station in Newington/ Walworth on Kennington Park Road, on both the Charing Cross and Bank branches of the Northern Line. Its neighbours to the north are Waterloo on the Charing Cross branch and Elephant & Castle on the Bank branch; the next station...
for the Charing Cross branch. - Lambeth North tube stationLambeth North tube stationLambeth North tube station is a London Underground station in the neighbourhood of Lambeth, at the junction of Westminster Bridge Road and Baylis Road. It is on the Bakerloo line, between Elephant & Castle and Waterloo, and is in Travelcard Zone 1...
: Bakerloo lineBakerloo LineThe Bakerloo line is a line of the London Underground, coloured brown on the Tube map. It runs partly on the surface and partly at deep level, from Elephant and Castle in the south-east to Harrow & Wealdstone in the north-west of London. The line serves 25 stations, of which 15 are underground... - Vauxhall tube station: Victoria LineVictoria LineThe Victoria line is a deep-level London Underground line running from the south to the north-east of London. It is coloured light blue on the Tube map...
Nearest National Rail
National Rail
National Rail is a title used by the Association of Train Operating Companies as a generic term to define the passenger rail services operated in Great Britain...
stations:
- Vauxhall: (South West Trains mainline and suburban services to London Waterloo and the south and south-west of England)
- Elephant & Castle stationElephant & Castle railway stationElephant & Castle railway station serves the area of Elephant & Castle in London, England. The station is managed by First Capital Connect, with services operated by both First Capital Connect and Southeastern...
: (First Capital Connect and Southeastern Trains suburban services to London Blackfriars, City Thameslink, St. Pancras International and north towards Luton, St. Alban's and Bedford; and outer South London and south towards Kent)
"Barclays Cycle Superhighway" and "Barclays Cycle Hire":
"Barclays Cycle Superhighway 7", from Morden
Morden
Morden is a district in the London Borough of Merton. It is located approximately South-southwest of central London between Merton Park , Mitcham , Sutton and Worcester Park .- Origin of name :...
to the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
runs through Kennington, along Kennington Park Road. Kennington is also the southernmost point in the "Barclays Cycle Hire
Barclays Cycle Hire
Barclays Cycle Hire is a public scheme bicycle sharing scheme that was launched on 30 July 2010 in London, United Kingdom. The scheme's bicycles are informally referred to as Boris bikes, after Boris Johnson, who was the Mayor of London at the time of the official launch.BCH commenced operations...
" scheme; there are several docking stations within the area, but there are no docking stations further south.
Congestion Charging Zone:
Part of the area is within the Central London Congestion Charge
London congestion charge
The London congestion charge is a fee charged for some categories of motor vehicle to travel at certain times within the Congestion Charge Zone , a traffic area in London. The charge aims to reduce congestion, and raise investment funds for London's transport system...
Zone. Kennington Lane, a constituent road of the Inner Ring Road, marks the boundary of the Zone. South of Kennington Lane is outside the Zone; north of Kennington Lane is inside the Zone.
Bus services (from Kennington Cross and Kennington Oval):
| 3 London Buses route 3 London Buses route 3 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Abellio London.-History:... |
Oxford Circus Oxford Circus Oxford Circus is the area of London at the busy intersection of Regent Street and Oxford Street, in the West End. It is served by Oxford Circus tube station, which is directly beneath the junction itself.- History :... via Parliament Square Parliament Square Parliament Square is a square outside the northwest end of the Palace of Westminster in London. It features a large open green area in the middle, with a group of trees to its west. It contains statues of famous statesmen and is the scene of rallies and protests, as well as being a tourist... and Piccadilly Circus Piccadilly Circus Piccadilly Circus is a road junction and public space of London's West End in the City of Westminster, built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with the major shopping street of Piccadilly... |
Crystal Palace Crystal Palace - United Kingdom :* The Crystal Palace, an 1851 building in south London destroyed by fire in 1936** The Great Exhibition, the event the building was built for, sometimes also known as Crystal Palace... |
Abellio London |
| 59 London Buses route 59 London Buses route 59 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Arriva London.-History:... |
King's Cross via Waterloo Waterloo, London Waterloo is a district of London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated east of Charing Cross. The area is part of a business improvement district known as Waterloo Quarter, which includes The Cut and the Old Vic and Young Vic theatres, including some sections in the... and Holborn Holborn Holborn is an area of Central London. Holborn is also the name of the area's principal east-west street, running as High Holborn from St Giles's High Street to Gray's Inn Road and then on to Holborn Viaduct... |
Streatham Streatham Streatham is a district in Surrey, England, located in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:... |
Arriva London Arriva London Arriva London is a division of Arriva which operates bus services in London, UK. It is made up of many previous bus operators including previously independent Grey Green... |
| 133 London Buses route 133 London Buses route 133 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Arriva London.-History:... |
Liverpool Street Liverpool Street Liverpool Street can refer to:*Liverpool Street station, a major mainline railway station in Central London, England*Liverpool Street, Hobart, a major street in the Hobart city centre.... via London Bridge London Bridge London Bridge is a bridge over the River Thames, connecting the City of London and Southwark, in central London. Situated between Cannon Street Railway Bridge and Tower Bridge, it forms the western end of the Pool of London... and Bank Bank A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:... |
Streatham Streatham Streatham is a district in Surrey, England, located in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:... |
Arriva London Arriva London Arriva London is a division of Arriva which operates bus services in London, UK. It is made up of many previous bus operators including previously independent Grey Green... |
| 155 | Elephant & Castle | Tooting Tooting Tooting is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated south south-west of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:... |
London General London General London General is a bus company operating in Surrey ang Greater London. It is owned by the Go-Ahead Group and operates most buses under contract to London Buses... |
| 159 London Buses route 159 London Buses route 159 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Arriva London.-History:... |
Paddington Basin Paddington Basin Paddington Basin is an area of Paddington, London named after the nearby canal basin.The junction of the Regent's Canal and the Grand Junction Canal is close to this point but the basin itself is the terminus of the Paddington Arm of the Grand Junction Canal. It was opened in 1801... via Marble Arch Marble Arch Marble Arch is a white Carrara marble monument that now stands on a large traffic island at the junction of Oxford Street, Park Lane, and Edgware Road, almost directly opposite Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park in London, England... |
Streatham Streatham Streatham is a district in Surrey, England, located in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:... |
Arriva London Arriva London Arriva London is a division of Arriva which operates bus services in London, UK. It is made up of many previous bus operators including previously independent Grey Green... |
| 196 London Buses route 196 London Buses route 196 is a Transport for London-contracted bus route in London, U.K. The service is currently contracted to Go-Ahead London.-Service:... |
Norwood Junction via Brixton Brixton Brixton is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in south London, England. It is south south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.... |
Elephant & Castle | Go-Ahead London Go-Ahead London Go-Ahead London is the trading name used collectively for the London bus operations of the Go-Ahead Group. The name first appeared in August 2008, before which the company had traded under separate names and brands... |
| 333 | Elephant & Castle | Tooting | London General London General London General is a bus company operating in Surrey ang Greater London. It is owned by the Go-Ahead Group and operates most buses under contract to London Buses... |
| 360 London Buses route 360 London Buses route 360 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Go-Ahead London.-History:... |
South Kensington South Kensington South Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is a built-up area located 2.4 miles west south-west of Charing Cross.... via Pimlico Pimlico Pimlico is a small area of central London in the City of Westminster. Like Belgravia, to which it was built as a southern extension, Pimlico is known for its grand garden squares and impressive Regency architecture.... |
Elephant & Castle | Go-Ahead London Go-Ahead London Go-Ahead London is the trading name used collectively for the London bus operations of the Go-Ahead Group. The name first appeared in August 2008, before which the company had traded under separate names and brands... |
| 415 | Elephant & Castle | Tulse Hill Tulse Hill Tulse Hill is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in South London, England. It lies to the south of Brixton, east of Brixton Hill, north of West Norwood and west of West Dulwich.-History:... |
Arriva London Arriva London Arriva London is a division of Arriva which operates bus services in London, UK. It is made up of many previous bus operators including previously independent Grey Green... |
| 36 London Buses route 36 London Buses route 36 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Go-Ahead London.-The Beginning:... |
Queen's Park Queen's Park There are a number of places in the world called Queen's Park or Queens Park.- Australia :* Queens Park, New South Wales, suburb* Queens Park, Victoria ** Queens Park, Newtown, Victoria Queen's Park Golf Course... via Hyde Park Corner Hyde Park Corner Hyde Park Corner is a place in London, at the south-east corner of Hyde Park. It is a major intersection where Park Lane, Knightsbridge, Piccadilly, Grosvenor Place and Constitution Hill converge... and Royal Oak Royal Oak The Royal Oak is the English oak tree within which King Charles II of England hid to escape the Roundheads following the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The tree was located in Boscobel Wood, which was part of the park of Boscobel House. Charles confirmed to Samuel Pepys in 1680 that while he was... |
New Cross New Cross New Cross is a district and ward of the London Borough of Lewisham, England. It is situated 4 miles south-east of Charing Cross. The ward covered by London post town and the SE 14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, Telegraph Hill, Nunhead, Peckham, Brockley, Deptford and Greenwich... , Bus Garage |
Go-Ahead London Go-Ahead London Go-Ahead London is the trading name used collectively for the London bus operations of the Go-Ahead Group. The name first appeared in August 2008, before which the company had traded under separate names and brands... |
| 436 London Buses route 436 London Buses route 436 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Go-Ahead London.-History:... |
Paddington Paddington Paddington is a district within the City of Westminster, in central London, England. Formerly a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965... |
Lewisham Lewisham Lewisham is a district in South London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:... via Peckham Peckham Peckham is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Southwark. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London... |
Go-Ahead London Go-Ahead London Go-Ahead London is the trading name used collectively for the London bus operations of the Go-Ahead Group. The name first appeared in August 2008, before which the company had traded under separate names and brands... |
| 185 London Buses route 185 London Buses route 185 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Go-Ahead London.-History:... |
Victoria station Victoria station Victoria station may refer to:Railway stations:* London Victoria station, a National Rail and London Underground station* Manchester Victoria station* Norwich Victoria railway station * Nottingham Victoria railway station... |
Lewisham Lewisham Lewisham is a district in South London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:... via Dulwich Dulwich Dulwich is an area of South London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth... and King's College Hospital King's College Hospital King's College Hospital is an acute care facility in the London Borough of Lambeth, referred to locally and by staff simply as "King's" or abbreviated internally to "KCH"... |
Go-Ahead London Go-Ahead London Go-Ahead London is the trading name used collectively for the London bus operations of the Go-Ahead Group. The name first appeared in August 2008, before which the company had traded under separate names and brands... |
N3 (Night bus), towards Oxford Circus or Bromley North, from Kennington Road;
36 (24-hour service), towards Queen's Park or New Cross Bus Garage, from Harleyford Street;
N109 (Night bus), towards Oxford Circus or Croydon, from Kennington Road;
N133 (Night bus), towards Liverpool Street or Mitcham, from Kennington Park Road;
N136 (Night bus), towards Oxford Circus via Victoria or Chislehurst, from Harleyford Street;
N155 (Night bus), towards Aldwych or Morden, from Kennington Park Road;
159 (24-hour service), towards Paddington Basin (via Parliament Square and Oxford Circus) or Streatham, from Kennington Road.