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'''Stockwell''' is a district in [[South London|south]] [[London]], England, located in the [[London Borough of Lambeth]]. It is situated {{convert|2.4|mi|km|1}} south south-east of [[Charing Cross]]. Once one of London's poorest neighbourhoods, it is now considered one of the city's most up-and-coming areas, owing to its close proximity to central London, excellent transport links, and diverse ethnic and cultural mix. Stockwell has a high crime rate and is known for gang crime in particular.
'''Stockwell''' is a area in [[South London|south]] [[London]], England, located in the [[London Borough of Lambeth]]. It is situated {{convert|2.4|mi|km|1}} south south-east of [[Charing Cross]]. Once one of London's poorest neighbourhoods, it is now an up-and-coming area, owing to its close proximity to central London, excellent transport links, and diverse ethnic and cultural mix. Stockwell has a high crime rate and is known for gang crime in particular. The A3 road runs through Stockwell.


==History==
==History==

Revision as of 02:24, 15 August 2010

Stockwell
OS grid referenceTQ305755
London borough
Ceremonial countyGreater London
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLONDON
Postcode districtSW4, SW8,SW9
Dialling code020
PoliceMetropolitan
FireLondon
AmbulanceLondon
UK Parliament
London Assembly
List of places
UK
England
London

Stockwell is a area in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated 2.4 miles (3.9 km) south south-east of Charing Cross. Once one of London's poorest neighbourhoods, it is now an up-and-coming area, owing to its close proximity to central London, excellent transport links, and diverse ethnic and cultural mix. Stockwell has a high crime rate and is known for gang crime in particular. The A3 road runs through Stockwell.

History

Stockwell probably got half its name from a well, the other half is from "stoc", which was old English for a tree trunk or post. From the thirteenth to the start of the nineteenth century, Stockwell was a rural manor at the edge of London. It included market gardens and John Tradescant's botanical garden – commemorated in Tradescant Road, which was built over it in 1880, and in a memorial outside St Stephen's church. In the nineteenth century it developed as an elegant middle class suburb. Residents included the artist Arthur Rackham, who was born in South Lambeth Road in 1867, moving with his family to Albert Square when he was 15.

Its social and architectural fortunes in the twentieth century were more mixed. The area immediately around Stockwell tube station was extensively rebuilt following the Second World War, and the original domed Victoria tube station was replaced first in the 1920s, then again with the opening of the Victoria line in 1971.

The area also has much social housing - the main estates are Lansdowne Green, Spurgeon, Mursell, Stockwell Gardens and Studley. However, many remnants of the area's nineteenth century grandeur can be found in the side and back streets of Stockwell, notably in the Stockwell Park Conservation Area,[1] mostly built between 1825 and 1840 and centred on Stockwell Park Road[2] and Stockwell Park Crescent,[3] in Durand Gardens, home to some very grand villas built for city merchants early in the nineteenth century, and in the area's own Albert Square. The only twentieth century building of significant architectural interest in the area is Stockwell Bus Garage. Before creation of the County of London in 1889, Stockwell was part of Surrey.

Politics

Stockwell[4] is a ward in the London Borough of Lambeth. Since the elections on 6 May 2010, it has been represented by three Labour councillors: Alex Bigham[5], Pete Bowyer[6] and Imogen Walker[7]. The website Stand Up for Stockwell has more details about politics in Stockwell.[8]

Churches

In addition to Anglican and Catholic churches, Afro-Caribbean communities have influenced the expression of Christianity in this local area, with a variety of congregations, some sharing churches with more long established Anglican and Catholic congregations.

Schools

There are three schools in Stockwell ward[9] - St Stephen's[10], Allen Edwards[11] and Stockwell Primary School - and also a campus of Lambeth College.[12] In the Stockwell area (on Clapham Road) there is also Stockwell Park School,[13] a secondary school currently undergoing a rebuilding and expansion project, and numerous primary schools.

Population of Stockwell

Stockwell and neighbouring South Lambeth are home to the UK's biggest Portuguese communities, with the area being known as 'Little Portugal'. Most of the local Portuguese people originate from Madeira and Lisbon and have established many cafes, restaurants, bakeries, neighbourhood associations and delicatessens. Stockwell is also home to many people of the carribean including countries such as Jamaica and grenada. and of West African origin are also well represented in the local population, and cafes, grocers, barbers' shops and salons run by people from these communities are scattered around Stockwell.

Stockwell war memorial and shelter

Famous former and current residents of Stockwell include James Loizou, Gary Raymond Lilian Bayliss, Edward Thomas, Vincent Van Gogh (briefly), French Resistance heroine Violette Szabo, Dominic Hyde, Joanna Lumley, Jerry Dammers, Roger Moore, Roots Manuva, Adam Buxton, Will Self, and Robert Kilroy-Silk.[14]

Stockwell Shooting

See Jean Charles de Menezes. Following the 21 July 2005 London bombings, Stockwell gained a certain unexpected and unwelcome notoriety as the scene of the shooting by police of an innocent Brazilian electrician, Jean Charles de Menezes, in the tube station and of the arrests of other suspects in nearby housing.

Transport and locale

Nearest places

Nearest tube station

Nearest railway stations

References

  • Stand Up for Stockwell Website with news about Stockwell and the 3 local Labour councillors in Stockwell
  • We Love Larkhall Community website for residents of Larkhall ward in Stockwell, run by Labour councillor
  • Stockwell News News, features and history relating to Stockwell
  • [1] About Stockwell ward on Lambeth Council website.