Clapham
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Clapham is an area of South London, England, located mostly in the London Borough of Lambeth.
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[edit] History
Clapham dates back to Anglo-Saxon times; the name is thought to derive from the Anglo-Saxon word for "Clappa's farm".
Clapham appears in Domesday Book as Clopeham. It was held by Goisfrid (Geoffrey) de Mandeville. Its domesday assets were: 3 hides; 6 ploughs, 5 acres of meadow. It rendered £7 10s 0d.[1]
In the late seventeenth century large country houses began to be built there, and throughout the eighteenth and early nineteenth century it was favoured by the wealthier merchant classes of the City of London, who built many large and gracious houses and villas around Clapham Common and in the Old Town. Samuel Pepys spent the last two years of his life in Clapham, living with his friend and former servant William Hewer, until his death there in 1703.
In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, the Clapham Sect were a group of upper class (mostly evangelical Anglican) social reformers who lived around the Common. They included William Wilberforce, Henry Thornton and Zachary Macaulay, father of the historian Thomas Macaulay, as well as William Smith, M.P., the dissenter and Unitarian. They were very prominent in campaigns for the abolition of slavery and child labour, and for prison reform. They also promoted missionary activities in Britain's colonies.
After the coming of the railways, Clapham developed as a suburb for daily commuters into central London, and by 1900 it had fallen from favour with the upper classes. Most of their grand houses had been demolished by the middle of the twentieth century, though a few remain around the Common and in the Old Town, as do a substantial number of fine late eighteenth and early nineteenth century houses. In the twentieth century, Clapham was seen as an unremarkable suburb, often cited as representing the ordinary people: the so-called "man on the Clapham omnibus".
[edit] Present Day
Today Clapham covers a large area surrounding Clapham Common, with Holy Trinity Church (1776) close to the North Side. At the end of the twentieth century and beginning of the twenty-first, local property prices rose steeply, the face of the area changed greatly and Clapham is now home to affluent young white collar workers in their twenties and thirties; the "man on the Clapham omnibus" is nowadays likely to be a trainee accountant, lawyer or investment banker. However, as the area was not so affluent just a few years ago, many poorer people still live in Clapham, especially around Clapham North and in the housing estates. Despite this, there has been little conflict noted between these two very different groups living side-by-side.
As a result of the area's demographic change, many of Clapham's bars and restaurants now cater for highly-paid young workers and weekend nightlife is vibrant, if costly. There are now many expensive restaurants and boutiques in the area.
The West side of the Common, an area sometimes considered part of Clapham but more accurately part of Battersea, and encompassing Battersea Rise, the 'valley' with Northcote Road running along its bottom and the area known as "Between the Commons" - the other common being Wandsworth Common - is popular with young upper-middle-class professional families. This is partially driven (as are the upward property prices) by the presence of several exclusive prep schools, some of which are known feeder schools for the likes of Harrow and Eton.[citation needed] The great number of young families living in this area has led it to being referred to as "Nappy Valley".
The Lambeth / Wandsworth boundary intersects Clapham Common from Wix's Lane (on Clapham Common North Side) to Balham Hill, just south of Clapham South station,[2] leaving the Common in the unusual position of being under the control of two local authorities.
[edit] Famous former and current residents
- Natasha Bedingfield
- Graham Greene
- Ainsley Harriott
- Gerry Healy
- Doon Mackichan
- Piers Morgan
- John O'Farrell
- Samuel Pepys
- Corin Redgrave
- Vanessa Redgrave
- Henry Thornton
- John Thornton
- Vivienne Westwood
- Jacquetta Wheeler
- William Wilberforce[3]
[edit] Transport
The main railway station Clapham Junction (which is actually in Battersea) is the largest and busiest railway junction in the UK, being the place where routes to the west and southwest of London converge. Other stations include:
Clapham has three tube stations, all on the Northern Line:
- Clapham North tube station (border with Stockwell)
- Clapham Common tube station
- Clapham South tube station (border with Balham)
[edit] Nearest places
[edit] Sport
Association football (soccer) club Clapham Rovers F.C., previous winners of the FA Cup, are based in Clapham.
[edit] References and Notes
- ^ Surrey Domesday Book
- ^ Detailed boundary maps can be found through the London Borough of Lambeth & Wandsworth Borough websites.
- ^ English Heritage Blue Plaque listing
- ^ Surrey Domesday Book
- ^ Detailed boundary maps can be found through the London Borough of Lambeth & Wandsworth Borough websites.
- ^ English Heritage Blue Plaque listing
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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| Districts |
Brixton · Clapham · Crystal Palace · Gipsy Hill · Herne Hill · Kennington · Lambeth · Oval · Stockwell · Streatham · Streatham Hill · Tulse Hill · Vauxhall · Waterloo · West Dulwich · West Norwood |
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| Attractions | ||
| Bridges |
Waterloo · Hungerford · Lambeth · Westminster · Vauxhall |
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| Constituencies | ||
| Parks and open spaces in Lambeth | ||
