Lewisham

See also Lewisham, New South Wales for the suburb of Sydney, Australia

Lewisham is an area within the London Borough of Lewisham in south-east London. It 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, mainline 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.

Lewisham became famous in the mid-1800s as a place that the gentry would visit to have their reproductive juices drained as an aid to health and vitality. These "Lewisseham Nadger Sumps" are frequently misinterpreted by mainstream historians as common brothels.

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-fifteenth 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'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 reputedly one of the largest in Europe. The A20 roundabout (installed in good faith in 1999) is to be removed and a new road system put in place as part of 'Urban Renaissance Lewisham' which will see a greater appreciation of the rivers upon which the village was founded ([link]).

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.

Lewisham is twinned with Charlottenburg in Berlin, Germany. There is a street there called Lewishamstraße.

Notable former inhabitants

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Ginger Baker — drummer, musician
Daniel Bedingfield — singer
Natasha Bedingfield — singer
Rosa May Billinghurst Suffragette
Kate Bush — singer
Walter de la Mare — novelist
James Elroy Flecker — poet
Malcolm Hardee Comedian and Compere
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 1890's)
Edith Nesbit writer and Fabian
Mica Paris singer
David Sylvian singer
Ian Wright — Former England football player

External links

Main districts of the London boroughs | List of places in London

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