Earlsfield

Earlsfield
Earlsfield
 Earlsfield shown within Greater London
Population 15,448 (Earlsfield ward 2011)[1]
OS grid referenceTQ265735
London borough Wandsworth
Ceremonial county Greater London
RegionLondon
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town LONDON
Postcode district SW18
Dialling code 020
Police Metropolitan
Fire London
Ambulance London
EU Parliament London
London Assembly Merton and Wandsworth
List of places
UK
England
London

Coordinates: 51°26′38″N 0°11′07″W / 51.4439°N 0.1854°W

Earlsfield is an area within the London Borough of Wandsworth, London, England.

Earlsfield is a typical London suburb and comprises mostly residential Victorian terraced houses[2] with a high street of shops, bars, and restaurants between Garratt Lane, Allfarthing Lane, and Burntwood Lane. According to the 2001 Census the population of Earlsfield is recorded at 12,903.[3]

Earlsfield is not as well known as its neighbouring areas such as Tooting, Clapham, Balham, and Battersea, which allows for a low key way of life while still being close to central London. The local Earlsfield railway station provides journeys to central London (three stops to Waterloo [Clapham Junction, Vauxhall, Waterloo] in 12 minutes) and other areas in South London (Victoria - changing at Clapham Junction, Wimbledon one stop). The station's redevelopment was completed in April 2013.[4]

The area was once a working class suburb of Wandsworth and as such much of the property is medium sized terraced housing, though several new developments have been or are being developed, notably the Olympian Homes development between the station and library. The area now houses young families attracted by the affordability of the area in comparison to its north, west and eastern neighbours Clapham, Wandsworth, Battersea and Putney contributing to the wider area's nickname of Nappy Valley.[5]

The River Wandle flows roughly parallel to Garratt Lane through the area, and has been the subject of a major, council funded clean-up operation, though it has been subjected to several pollution incidents in the past few years.[6] There is some light industry located between the high street and the river.

There is not a considerable history to the area as it developed around a mainline (i.e. above ground) rail station that was built at the end in April 1884 in the place of a large Victorian residence called Earlsfield. When the site was sold by the Davis family to the London and South Western Railway one of the conditions of sale was that the station would be named after their house. Thus the name of that house provided the name of the station, and thence to the suburb.[7]

Earlsfield Library has on display a range of historic photographs of the area.

High Street

The main shopping street - Garratt Lane - includes estate agents, restaurants, pubs, bars and hairdressers. The stretch of Earlsfield just to the south of the station includes chains, such as Caffe Nero, Hair Republic, Foodways, Carluccio's and a Sainsbury's Local situated next to the library in Magdalen Road.

Garratt Lane is home to cross-cultural theatre company Tara Arts and its venue Tara Theatre. Opened in 2007, the space plays host to local and national companies as well as staging its own productions.

Several businesses are based in Smiths Yard off Summerley Street, just behind Barclays Bank.

There are two churches in the centre - Earlsfield Baptist church on Magdalen Road and St Andrews (Church of England) on the corner of Garratt Lane and Waynflete Street, with St Gregory's (Catholic) and St John the Divine (CoE) further down Garratt Lane towards Wandsworth.

Famous people

Louis de Bernières lived in Earlsfield while writing Captain Corelli's Mandolin. His book and play Sunday Morning At the Centre of the World "is a homage to the diverse community of Earlsfield."[8]

Neighbours

Next stop neighbouring travel connections

References

  1. ↑ Census Information Scheme (2012). "2011 Census Ward Population Estimates". Greater London Authority. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  2. ↑ Ahluwalia, Ravneet, "Earlsfield - Southern perks, lower price", The London Paper
  3. ↑ 2001 Census - Key Statistics, 09/11/2004 Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ↑ Major Revamp for Earlsfield Station Revealed, 2011-06-20, retrieved 2012-08-13
  5. ↑ "Statistics prove Wandsworth Nappy Valley has highest birth rate", Wandsworth Guardian, 2009-06-16
  6. ↑ Clarke, Brian; Pavia, Will (2007-12-15), "Polluter pays to revive river killed by bleach", The Times (London)
  7. ↑ Gerhold, Dorian (1998), Wandsworth Past, Historical Publications, p. 68, ISBN 0-948667-47-8
  8. ↑ Jury, Louise (2011-03-09), "Captain Corelli author to star in his own 'Under Milk Wood' play", Evening Standard (London)

External links