Wandsworth

Coordinates: 51°27′52″N 0°11′33″W / 51.4644°N 0.1924°W / 51.4644; -0.1924

Wandsworth /ˈwɒnzwərθ/ is a district of south west London within the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated 4.6 miles (7.4 km) southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.

Toponymy

Wandsworth takes its name from the River Wandle, which enters the Thames at Wandsworth. Wandsworth appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Wandesorde and Wendelesorde. This means 'enclosure of (a man named) Waendel', whose name is also lent to the River Wandle. To distinguish it from the London Borough of Wandsworth, and historically from the Wandsworth District of the Metropolis and the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth, which all covered larger areas, it is also known as Wandsworth Town.

History

At the time of the Domesday Book (1086), the manor of Wandsworth was held partly by William, son of Ansculfy, and partly by St Wandrille's Abbey. Its Domesday assets were 12 hides, with 5½ ploughs and 22 acres (89,000 m²) of meadow. It rendered £9. Since at least the early 16th century, Wandsworth has offered accommodation to consecutive waves of immigration, from Protestant Dutch metalworkers fleeing persecution in the 1590s to recent Eastern European members of the European Union.

Wandsworth (UK Parliament constituency)

Wandsworth was the name of a borough constituency in the Wandsworth area of South London. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

The constituency was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election, and abolished for the 1918 general election.

Boundaries

In 1885 this was a parliamentary borough constituency located in the northern part of the county of Surrey.

In 1889 the County of London was created. Wandsworth formed part of the new county. In 1900 the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth was formed, as a local authority within the County of London. The Metropolitan Borough included a larger area than the parliamentary constituency, as it added Clapham to the areas which had been in the parliamentary borough.

The constituency grouped a number of communities in northern Surrey, which were converted into South London suburbs, due to the rapid expansion of the London conurbation before and during the existence of the constituency. When the County of London was created most of the comparatively empty land within its boundaries was in South London.

London Borough of Wandsworth

The London Borough of Wandsworth ⁱ/ˈwɒndzwɜːrθ/ is a London borough in England, and forms part of Inner London. The local authority is Wandsworth London Borough Council.

History

Until 1889, the current area of Wandsworth was part of the county of Surrey. In 1855 the Wandsworth District of the Metropolis was formed comprising the parishes of Battersea (excluding Penge), Clapham, Putney, Streatham, Tooting Graveney and Wandsworth. Battersea was removed from the district in 1888. In 1900 the remaining district became the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth and Battersea became the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea. The London Borough of Wandsworth was formed in 1965 from the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea and the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth, but excluding Clapham and most of Streatham which were transferred to the London Borough of Lambeth.

Geography

The borough borders the London Borough of Lambeth to the east, the London Borough of Merton and the Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames to the south, the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames to the west and to the north (across the River Thames) three boroughs, namely the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the City of Westminster.