Lewisham
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lewisham is a district in south-east London, England and the principal settlement of the London Borough of Lewisham.
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[edit] History
It is most likely to have been founded by a pagan Jute, Leof, who settled (by burning his boat) near St Mary's Church (Ladywell) where the ground was drier, in the 6th Century. 'Leofshema' was an important settlement at the confluence of the rivers Quaggy (from Farnborough) and Ravensbourne (Caesar's Well, Keston), so the village expanded north into the wetter area as drainage techniques improved. In the mid-seventeenth century the then vicar of Lewisham, Abraham Colfe, built a grammar school, primary school and six almshouses for the inhabitants.
The village of Lewisham was originally centred further south around the parish church of St Mary, towards the present site of University Hospital, Lewisham. The centre migrated north with the coming of the North Kent railway line to Dartford in 1849, encouraging commuter housing. Lewisham was part of Kent until 1889 and formed part of the Metropolitan Borough of Lewisham in the County of London until 1965.
Lewisham's High Street is particularly long and wide for a London suburb. The town centre was bombed in 1944, commemorated by a plaque outside the Lewisham shopping centre (opened in 1977). This area at the north end of the High Street was pedestrianised in 1994. It is home to a daily street market and a local landmark, the Clock Tower, completed in 1900 to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897.
The police station, which was opened in 2004 to replace the station in Ladywell, is one of the largest in Europe. There is planned regeneration of Lewisham town centre.[1]
In 1977, the Battle of Lewisham saw the biggest street battle against fascists since the Battle of Cable Street in 1936. Over 10000 people turned out to oppose a National Front march which was organised on the back of increasing electoral success at that time.
[edit] Transport
Lewisham is a major transport hub, lying on the A20 road towards Dover and at the start of A21 to Hastings, with its own bus station, railway station and the southern terminus of the Docklands Light Railway. A small area in the north of Lewisham, around the Orchard Estate, comes under the London Borough of Greenwich.
[edit] Notable former inhabitants
- Ginger Baker — drummer, musician
- Daniel Bedingfield — singer
- Natasha Bedingfield — singer
- Rosa May Billinghurst — Suffragette
- Kate Bush — singer
- Walter de la Mare — novelist
- Jazz Dhiman — actor
- James Elroy Flecker — poet
- Julian Gray — footballer
- Malcolm Hardee — Comedian and Compere
- Keeley Hazell — Model
- Billy Jenkins — jazz and blues guitarist and composer
- Frederick Lanchester — car manufacturer
- Jude Law — actor and Hollywood Film Star.
- Marie Lloyd — Music Hall performer (lived at 196 Wickham Terrace, Lewisham Way in the early 1890s)
- Ray Mears — Author and TV Presenter on the subject of Bushcraft
- Edith Nesbit — writer and Fabian
- Mica Paris — singer
- Doris Stokes — medium
- David Sylvian — singer
- Ian Wright — Former England football player
- Max Clarke A famous R&B singer.
[edit] Nearest places
[edit] External links
- The Battle of Lewisham - an article on london based website libcom.org
- Lewisham News
- Lewisham Law Centre
- Lewisham at Surbubia
- Lewisham Photographs
- Lewisham Voices
