From
Petersfield the
Battersea Boys,
Central School
had to be
absorbed by the
surrounding
villages. As
the party
included over
240 children,
the party was
divided into
two, one-third
(80) going to
Hawkley and two
thirds to
Rowlands
Castle. More
information is
shown under the
icons on the
left.
Clarification
needed CLICK
here, please
History of
Battersea
Battersea
was the site of
a Saxon
settlement (Batrices
Ege) and its
manor once
belonged to the
Abbey of
Westminster.
The area was a
market garden
for London with
successive
draining of the
marshland
producing fine
farmland until
the coming of
the railways
when extensive
tracks were
laid
throughout. The
railways, of
course, brought
industrialisation
and Battersea
has a rich
heritage from
the 19th
century.
Close to the
heart of the
original
village sits
the parish
church of St
Mary. The
present
building dates
from 1775
although a
church is
believed to
have stood on
the site since
before Norman
times. Old
Battersea House
in nearby
Vicarage
Crescent boasts
a sundial dated
1699 but the
house itself is
older still.
The
American-born
artist James
McNeill
Whistler
rebuilt
Battersea
Bridge in 1890
with the
current
structure
replacing a
wooden bridge
(late 18th
century) that
was the subject
of a nocturne.
Battersea
Park has a
turbulent
history to
rival Putney.
In 1671 Thomas
Blood hid in
the marsh near
what is now the
boating lake,
to shoot King
Charles II as
he bathed; and
in 1829 the
Duke of
Wellington,
when Prime
Minister,
fought a duel
here with Lord
Winchilsea over
his
introduction of
the Catholic
Emancipation
Bill.
Queen
Victoria opened
Battersea Park
itself in 1853
on the Thames
riverfront and
many of the
park's notable
features date
from the late
19th century.
It contains a
children's zoo,
a boating lake,
a deer park,
athletic
grounds and
courts, and the
Japanese
Buddhist Peace
Pagoda, which
was opened in
1985.
The stretch
of river
between here
and Wandsworth
has in the past
been dominated
by factories
with the
Price's Candle
Works (opened
in 1843) - the
best surviving
example and of
course Sir
Giles Gilbert
Scott's
Battersea Power
Station
dominates the
skyline to the
west of the
City as it has
since 1933.
Clapham in
the centre of
the borough is
famous mainly
for Clapham
Junction
station -
reputedly the
busiest station
in Europe.
Before the
railways
arrived,
Clapham was a
country
crossroads and
favourite stop
for the gentry
travelling
between London
and the estates
of the Home
Counties.
The
department
store Arding
and Hobbs that
together with
the station
dominates
Clapham has
been there
since 1885 and
is a good
example of
Victorian
architecture on
the grand
scale.
Clapham
Common is an
alternatively
sedate park and
a wild
commonland.
Graham Greene's
book, The End
of the Affair -
reflects the
sometimes bleak
aspect of the
common and the
recent film
starring Ralph
Fiennes was
largely made on
location in the
area.
On a more
historical
note, the
Clapham Sect
was a group of
evangelical
Christians,
centred on the
church of John
Venn, rector of
Clapham. The
group was
prominent in
England from
about 1790 to
1830,
campaigning for
the abolition
of slavery and
promoting
missionary work
at home and
abroad. Much
credit for the
abolition of
slavery and the
slave trade in
Britain was
given to Venn
and his
compatriots.
World War 2
killed 30,000
civilians in
London, and
injured another
50,000, as well
as destroying
most of the
docks and much
of the
industrial,
commercial and
residential
buildings. This
meant that when
the war ended
there was a
huge housing
shortage,
exacerbated by
the return of
thousands who
had been
temporarily
evacuated to
rural areas for
safety during
the bombing.
Planning
controls were
imposed and
much
"excess"
population was
exported to New
Towns in a ring
between 25 and
50 miles
outside London.
