London Borough of Lewisham
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| London Borough of Lewisham | |
 Shown within Greater London |
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| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Status | London borough |
| Area — Total |
Ranked 329th 35.15 km² (13.6 sq mi) |
| ONS code | 00AZ |
| Admin HQ | Catford |
| Demographics | |
| Population — Total (2006 est.) — Density |
Ranked 34th (of 354) 255,700 7,275 /km² (18,842 /sq mi) |
| Ethnicity White British White Irish Other White White & Black Caribbean White & Black African White & Asian Other Mixed Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi Other Asian Black Caribbean Black African Other Black Chinese Other |
(2005 estimates)[1] 55.7% 2.4% 7.1% 1.7% 0.7% 0.7% 1.1% 2.3% 0.7% 0.7% 1.6% 11.5% 9.0% 1.9% 1.4% 1.4% |
| Politics | |
| Lewisham London Borough Council | |
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| Leadership | Mayor & Cabinet |
| Mayor | Sir Steve Bullock |
| Executive | Labour mayor |
| MPs | Jim Dowd Bridget Prentice Joan Ruddock |
| London Assembly — Member |
Greenwich and Lewisham Len Duvall |
| Coat of Arms | |
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| Official website | http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/ |
The London Borough of Lewisham (pronunciation ) is a London borough in south east London, England and forms part of Inner London. The principal settlement of the borough is Lewisham and its council is based at Catford.
Contents |
[edit] History
The borough was formed in 1965, by the London Government Act 1963, as an amalgamation of the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of Lewisham and the Metropolitan Borough of Deptford, which had been created in 1900 as divisions of the County of London.[2]
Minor boundary changes have occurred since its creation with the most significant amendments in 1996 when the former area of the Royal Docks in Deptford was transferred from the London Borough of Greenwich.[3]
[edit] Geography and Landmarks
The borough is surrounded by the London Borough of Greenwich to the east, the London Borough of Bromley to the south and the London Borough of Southwark to the west. The River Thames forms a short section of northern boundary with the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Deptford Creek, Pool River, River Quaggy and River Ravensbourne pass through the borough. Major landmarks include All Saints Church in Blackheath, the Citibank Tower in Lewisham, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Church (Sydenham's German Church, technically located in Forest Hill) and the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill.
[edit] Demographics
According to the 2001 census, Lewisham has a population of 248,922. Its population is 66% White, 12% Black Caribbean, and 9% Black African. Fifty percent of households are owner-occupiers.
[edit] Civic affairs
[edit] Motto
The motto of the borough is "Salus Populi Suprema Lex" which means (roughly translated) "The Welfare of the People is the Highest Law".
[edit] Administration
The current Chief Executive is Barry Quirk. The borough is administered by the five directorates of the council: Children and Young People, Community Services, Customer Services, Resources, and Regeneration.
[edit] Twinning
The borough is twinned with the following towns:
The borough has also signed a "friendship link" with Ekurhuleni, near Johannesburg, South Africa.
[edit] Freedom of the Borough
The honour of Freedom of the Borough has been awarded to:
- Alan Milner Smith OBE (9 Dec 1971)
- Frederick William Winslade (28 Nov 1975)
- Daisy Amelia Elizabeth Hurren (10 Oct 1985)
- Alfred Anderson Hawkins (30 Mar 1990)
- The Most Reverend Desmond Mpilo Tuto (4 May 1990)
- Terence Hardy Waite CBE (16 Nov 1992)
- Sybil Theodora Phoenix MBE MS (8 Mar 1996)
- Dame Cicely Mary Strode Saunders OM OBE FRCP (10 Mar 2000)
- James Leslie Eytle (8 Jun 2007)
[edit] Politics
[edit] Wards
The London Borough of Lewisham is divided into 18 wards, first used in the 2002 elections, they are:
- Bellingham
- Blackheath
- Brockley
- Catford South
- Crofton Park
- Downham
- Evelyn
- Forest Hill
- Grove Park
- Ladywell
- Lee Green
- Lewisham Central
- New Cross
- Perry Vale
- Rushey Green
- Sydenham
- Telegraph Hill
- Whitefoot
[edit] Previous wards
Previously the borough was divided into 26 wards and 6 areas, used for elections from 1978 to 1998, some of these wards have the same names as the present wards but their borders where different, when the wards were revised for 2002 some wards became bigger and absorbed other wards that where abolished. The previous wards and areas were:
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Lewisham central
Lewisham North East
Lewisham North West
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Lewisham South
Lewisham South East
Lewisham South West
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[edit] Council of the London Borough of Lewisham
Summary of council election results:
| Overall control | Labour | Lib Dem | Green | Conservative | Others | |
| 2006 | No overall control | 26 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 2 |
| 2002 | Labour | 45 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 1998 | Labour | 61 | 4 | - | 2 | - |
| 1994 | Labour | 63 | 3 | - | 1 | - |
| 1990 | Labour | 58 | 3 | - | 6 | - |
| 1986 | Labour | 50 | - | - | 17 | - |
| 1982 | Labour | 43 | - | - | 24 | - |
| 1978 | Labour | 44 | - | - | 23 | - |
| 1974 | Labour | 51 | - | - | 9 | - |
| 1971 | Labour | 55 | - | - | 5 | - |
| 1968 | Conservative | 19 | - | - | 41 | - |
| 1964 | Labour | 45 | - | - | 15 | - |
Unlike most English districts, its council is led by a directly-elected mayor. The system was established at the 2002 council elections and has now run for two mayoral elections, both of which Steve Bullock has won for the Labour party.
[edit] Westminster Parliament
The borough includes the constituencies of Lewisham, Deptford, Lewisham West and Lewisham East
These are the MPs who have represented constituencies covered by the borough since its formation in 1964. Note that constituencies change their boundaries over time, even where names remain the same.
| MP | Party | Represented | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christopher Chataway | Conservative | Lewisham North | 1964-66 |
| James Dickens | Labour | Lewisham West | 1966-70 |
| Jim Dowd | Labour | Lewisham West | 1992-present |
| John Selwyn Gummer | Conservative | Lewisham West | 1970-74(Feb) |
| Carol Johnson | Labour | Lewisham South | 1964-74(Feb) |
| Patrick McNair-Wilson | Conservative | Lewisham West | 1964-66 |
| John Maples | Conservative | Lewisham West | 1983-92 |
| Roland Moyle | Labour | Lewisham North Lewisham East |
1966-74(Feb) 1974(Feb)-79 |
| Colin Moynihan | Conservative | Lewisham East | 1983-92 |
| Bridget Prentice | Labour | Lewisham East | 1992-present |
| Christopher Price | Labour | Lewisham West | 1974(Feb)-79 |
| Joan Ruddock | Labour | Lewisham, Deptford | 1987-present |
| John Silkin | Labour | Deptford Lewisham, Deptford |
1964-74(Feb) 1974(Feb)-87 |
[edit] Transport and Places
[edit] Transport
Lewisham station, once known as Lewisham Junction, is located at the junction of the lines to Dartford and Hayes and is also the terminus of the southern branch of the Docklands Light Railway. The East London Line currently terminates at New Cross and New Cross Gate. An extension, currently under construction, and to be known as the East London Railway when complete, will serve Brockley, Honor Oak Park, Forest Hill, and Sydenham. It will form part of the London Overground.
The South Circular Road passes through the centre of the borough from the border with Dulwich in the west to Eltham in the east. Except for a short section in Lee as it approaches Eltham, it is purely a one-lane-each-way road.
[edit] List of settlements
It includes the areas:
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[edit] Postcode areas within the borough
Bromley, BR1 (part), Bromley, BR2 (small part), Beckenham, BR3 (part)
SE3 (part), SE4 (all), SE6 (all), SE8 (part), SE9 (small part), SE10 (part), SE12 (part), SE13 (all), SE14 (all), SE15 (part), SE16 (part), SE23 (part), SE26 (part),
[edit] Famous current and former residents
- Danny Baker (Broadcaster) lived in Deptford
- Rosa May Billinghurst (Suffragette) lived in Lewisham
- Kate Bush (Musician) lived in Brockley and Lewisham
- James Callaghan (Politician) lived in Blackheath
- Sir James Clark Ross (Explorer) lived in Blackheath
- Jim Connell (Socialist) lived in Crofton Park and Honor Oak
- Ernest Dowson (Poet) lived in Catford and Lee
- Gabrielle (Musician) lived in Brockley and Honor Oak
- W. G. Grace (Cricketer) lived in Sydenham
- Malcolm Hardee (Comedian) lived in Blackheath and Lewisham
- George Julian Harney (Chartist) lived in Deptford
- Sir Isaac Hayward (Politician) lived in Deptford
- Frederick John Horniman (Collector) lived in Forest Hill
- Leslie Howard (British actor) lived in Forest Hill
- Glenda Jackson (Politician) lived in Blackheath
- David Jones (Poet) lived in Brockley
- Jude Law (Actor) lived in Lewisham
- Louise Redknapp (TV Presenter) Born In Lewisham
- Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen (Designer) lived in Blackheath
- Marie Lloyd (Entertainer) lived in Lewisham and New Cross
- Eleanor Marx (Politician) lived in Sydenham
- Spike Milligan (Comedian) lived in Catford, Crofton Park and Honor Oak
- Edith Nesbit (Writer) lived in Blackheath, Grove Park and Lewisham
- Mica Paris (Musician) lived in Lewisham
- Russian Tsar, Peter the Great, lived in Deptford
- Ignatius Sancho (Writer and campaigner) lived in Blackheath
- Dame Cicely Saunders (Founder of Hospice movement) lived in Sydenham
- Sir Ernest Shakleton, Antarctic explorer, lived in Sydenham
- Timothy Spall (Actor) lives in Forest Hill
- Jason Statham (Actor) lived in Sydenham
- Doris Stokes (Medium) lived in Lewisham
- E. W. Swanton (Writer) lived in Forest Hill
- David Sylvian (Musician) lived in Lewisham
- Terry Waite (Humanitarian) lived in Blackheath
- Max Wall (Comedian) lived in Lee
- Barnes Wallis (Engineer) lived in New Cross
- Ian Wright (Footballer) lived in Lewisham
- Maxwell Confait, Colin Lattimore, Ronal Leighton and Ahmet Salih lived in Catford
[edit] References
- ^ Data Management and Analysis Group, Greater London Authority, Demography Update October 2007, (2007)
- ^ Vision of Britain - Lewisham LB
- ^ OPSI - The Greenwich and Lewisham (London Borough Boundaries) Order 1993
[edit] External links
- Lewisham London Borough Council
- Lewisham Photographs
- Broadway Theatre based in Catford
- Lewisham Freecycle
- Lewisham and Greenwich CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament)
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