Editing Wandsworth

{{Short description|District of London, England}}
{{distinguish|London Borough of Wandsworth}}
{{other places}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2013}}
{{infobox UK place
| country = England
| region = London
| official_name = Wandsworth Town
| coordinates = {{coord|51.455|-0.192|display=inline,title}}
| london_borough = Wandsworth
| constituency_westminster = [[Putney (UK Parliament constituency)|Roehampton and Putney Heath]]
| post_town = LONDON
| postcode_area = SW
| postcode_district = SW18
| dial_code = 020
| os_grid_reference = TQ255755
| static_image_name = (former) Ram Brewery complex and Brewery Tap pub.jpg
| static_image_caption = The former Ram Brewery, a landmark in Wandsworth's town centre
| population = 18,072
| population_ref = (Wandsworth Town as of [[United Kingdom Census 2021|2021 census]])<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.datawand.info/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Census-2021-results-Wandsworth-APRIL-23-PUB.pdf |title=Census Data 2021 Wandsworth |page=13 |first1=Kate |last1=Ive |first2=Sally |last2=Bahri |date=4 April 2023 |access-date=26 November 2023 |publisher=[[Wandsworth Borough Council]]}}</ref>
| charingX_distance_mi = 4.2
| charingX_direction = NE
| constituency_westminster1 = [[Battersea (UK Parliament constituency)|Battersea]] and [[Tooting (UK Parliament constituency)|Tooting]]
}}
'''Wandsworth Town''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|ɒ|n|z|w|ər|θ}}) is a district of [[south London]], within the [[London Borough of Wandsworth]] {{convert|4.2|mi|km|1}} southwest of [[Charing Cross]]. The area is identified in the [[London Plan]] as one of 35 major centres in [[Greater London]].<ref name=london_plan_f08>{{cite web|url=https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/the_london_plan_consolidated_with_alterations_since_2004_reduced.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171021055850/https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/the_london_plan_consolidated_with_alterations_since_2004_reduced.pdf |archive-date=2017-10-21 |url-status=live|author=Mayor of London|author-link=Mayor of London|publisher=[[Greater London Authority]]|title=London Plan (Consolidated with Alterations since 2004)|date=February 2008}}</ref>

==Toponymy==
Wandsworth takes its name from the [[River Wandle]], which enters the [[River Thames|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.<ref>Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names. p 482.</ref> To distinguish it from the London Borough of Wandsworth, and historically from the [[Wandsworth District (Metropolis)|Wandsworth District of the Metropolis]] and the [[Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth]], which all covered larger areas, it is also known as '''Wandsworth Town'''.

==History==
[[File:Vincent wandsworth.png|thumb|left|''Middle Mill, Wandsworth'' by George Vincent (1796–1839), Government Art Collection]]
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 [[hide (unit)|hide]]s, with {{frac|5|1|2}} [[plough]]s and {{convert|22|acre|m2}} of [[meadow]]. It rendered £9.<ref>[http://www.gwp.enta.net/surrnames.htm Surrey Domesday Book] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071030192829/http://www.gwp.enta.net/surrnames.htm|date=30 October 2007}}</ref> Since at least the early 16th century, Wandsworth has offered accommodation to consecutive waves of immigration, from Protestant [[Netherlands|Dutch]] metalworkers fleeing persecution in the 1590s, [[Huguenot Burial Site|Huguenots]] in the 17th century, to recent [[Eastern Europe]]an members of the [[European Union]].<ref name=timeout>{{cite book|title="Time Out" London for Londoners|publisher=Ebury Publishing|year=2006|location=London|isbn=978-1-904978-52-7}}</ref>

[[File:Wandsworth Met. B Ward Map 1916.svg|thumb|left|A map showing the wards of Wandsworth Metropolitan Borough as they appeared in 1916.]]
[[File:Wandsworth Town Hall-13492313114.jpg|thumb|left|[[Wandsworth Town Hall]]]]
===Brewing===
Between Wandsworth town centre and the river is the site of [[Young's Brewery|Young & Co's Ram Brewery]]. [[Shire horse]]-drawn brewery [[Wagon|drays]] were still used to deliver beer to local pubs. Whilst brewing by Young's stopped in September 2006 when Young & Co merged its operations with [[Charles Wells Ltd|Charles Wells]] of [[Bedford]], brewing does continue on the site by a master brewer albeit in small amounts. A planning application to redevelop the site for residential and shopping/leisure "mixed use" was submitted in 2012<ref name=rambreweyredevelopment>{{cite news|url=http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/news/article/11553/exhibitions_for_new_ram_brewery_proposal|title=Exhibitions for new Ram Brewery proposal|date=20 November 2012|publisher=[[Wandsworth Borough Council]] website|access-date=3 May 2018}}</ref> and approved in 2013.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://europe-re.com/ram-brewery-development-gains-planning-consent-uk/41757|title=Ram Brewery development gains planning consent|date=25 July 2013 |publisher=Europe Real Estate website|access-date=8 November 2022}}</ref> In 2019 it was announced that Sambrook's Brewery will continue to brew beer on the site moving from their brewhouse on York Road in 2020 with John Hatch (former master brewer of Youngs Brewery) taking an active role in tours.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cask-marque.co.uk/sambrooks-set-to-move-to-site-of-the-old-youngs-brewery/|title=Sambrook's set to move to site of the old Young's Brewery|work=cask-marque.co.uk|date=10 July 2019}}</ref>

===Gas and power===
Wandsworth [[Gasworks|gas plant]] was built in 1834 against the River Thames near [[Wandsworth Bridge]].<ref name=Archives>{{cite web|url=http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/3d635472-970c-45ba-8b69-28f4984e9651#0|title=Wandsworth and District Gas Company|work=Access to Archives|publisher=[[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]]|access-date=3 May 2018}}</ref> The undertaking became the [[Wandsworth and District Gas Company|Wandsworth and Putney Gaslight and Coke Company]] in 1854 and was incorporated by an act of Parliament, the [[Wandsworth and Putney Gas Act 1856]] ([[19 & 20 Vict.]] c. lxii).<ref name=Archives/> Coal for making [[coal gas]] was brought by sea from [[North East England]] and unloaded on the Thames beside the gasworks.<ref name=Archives/> The firm grew by a series of mergers and takeovers so that by 1936 it served a considerable area of south-west London.<ref name=Archives/> The company's name evolved each time it merged with or took over neighbouring gas companies, but from 1936 it was the [[Wandsworth and District Gas Company]].<ref name=Archives/> The company was nationalised in 1949 and became part of the [[gas board|South Eastern Gas Board]].<ref name=Archives/>

[[Wandsworth power station]] was built on The Causeway and supplied electricity to the district of Wandsworth from 1897 to 1964.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Garcke|first=Emile|title=Manual of Electrical Undertakings 1898-99 vol. 3|publisher=P. S. King and Son|year=1898|location=London|pages=154–160}}</ref> It was owned and operated by the County of London Electric Supply Company Limited until the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. The power station was decommissioned in 1964.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Garrett|first=Frederick C.|title=Garcke's Manual of Electricity Supply vol. 56|publisher=Electrical Press|year=1959|location=London|pages=A-105, A-137}}</ref> There is an operational 132 kV national grid substation to the east of the River Wandle.

===World War I: The Wandsworth Battalion===
[[File:Cap badge, 13th Battalion, East Surrey Regiment, Wandsworth 1915-19.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Cap badge of the 13th East Surreys, incorporating the arms of Wandsworth.]]
{{main|13th (Service) Battalion, East Surrey Regiment (Wandsworth)}}
On the outbreak of [[World War I]] in August 1914 [[Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|Lord Kitchener]] issued his famous call to arms: 'Your King and Country Need You'. The flood of volunteers overwhelmed the ability of the Army to absorb them, and units began to be raised by local initiative from men who wished to serve together: these were known as '[[Pals battalions]]'. The 'Pals' phenomenon quickly spread across the country, and Kitchener approached the mayors of the 28 [[Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London]] to raise units of local men.<ref name = McCue>Paul McCue, ''Wandsworth and Battersea Battalions in the Great War, 1915–1918'', Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2010, ISBN 978-1-84884194-9, pp. 10–1, 22–164.</ref> 

Alderman Archibald Dawnay, Mayor of Wandsworth, raised a complete infantry battalion, the [[13th (Service) Battalion, East Surrey Regiment (Wandsworth)]], which served on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]]. On 24 April 1917 the battalion distinguished itself in an attack on the fortified village of [[Villers-Plouich]], in which Corporal [[Edward Foster (VC)|Edward 'Tiny' Foster]], a Wandsworth Council [[dustman]] in civilian life, won the [[Victoria Cross]]. It also fought at the [[Battle of Cambrai (1917)|Capture of Bourlon Wood]]. Most of the battalion was overrun and captured during the [[German spring offensive]] of 1918, and the remnant became a training unit.<ref name = McCue/>

After the war, Wandsworth raised money for the rebuilding of Villers-Plouich and the unofficial twinning was revived in the 1990s. Among the memorial tablets in the garden of Wandsworth Town Hall are those to the 13th Battalion, 'The Wandsworth Regulars', and to Corporal Foster, after whom a path in [[King George's Park]] is named.<ref>McCue, pp. 253–6.</ref><ref>[https://www.londonremembers.com/memorials/wandsworth-regulars Wandsworth Regulars at London Remembers.]</ref><ref>[https://www.londonremembers.com/memorials/wandsworth-army-units-1914-1945 Wandsworth Army Units 1914–1945 at London Remembers.]</ref><ref>[https://www.londonremembers.com/memorials/edward-foster-vc Edward Foster VC at London Remembers.]</ref><ref name = QRSFoster>[https://www.queensroyalsurreys.org.uk/vc_gc/vc09.shtml Foster VC at Queen's Royal Surreys.]</ref>

==Geography==
The former [[wharf]] area of the river-front is now lined with new apartment blocks, with several bars and restaurants including near the  [[Wandsworth Bridge]].
[[File:Church Row 01.JPG|thumb|Church Row, 1–6, Wandsworth Plain, London SW18]]

[[Wandsworth Common]] is set back from the river, at the top of East Hill, and is adjoined by an area known locally as "the Toast Rack" that has some of the most expensive townhouses in London,<ref name=timeout/> as well as the restaurant ''[[Chez Bruce]]'', formerly ''Harveys'', where chef [[Gordon Ramsay]] learned his trade, and for which co-owner Bruce Poole gained a Michelin star in 1999. Also in the area is the [[Royal Victoria Patriotic Building]], which now contains flats, a theatre school and a restaurant.

The Tonsleys/Old York Road is a residential area of old Wandsworth close to the river and town centre, so called because many of the street names have the word "Tonsley" included. It has a village feel with the Old York Road's cafes and shops at its heart. The area has three notable pubs: the Royal Standard, the East Hill and the Alma. East Hill is an area of large Victorian houses bordered by the west side of Wandsworth Common. From 2007 to 2014 the area was used as the location for the BBC TV series ''[[Outnumbered (UK TV series)|Outnumbered]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/08_august/17/outnumbered_production.shtml|title=Press Office: Outnumbered: Production notes |publisher=BBC|date=17 August 2007|access-date=8 November 2022}}</ref>

[[Wandsworth High Street]] is dominated by the regenerated [[Southside Wandsworth|Southside shopping centre]], cinema and restaurant complex (formerly called the [[Arndale Centre]]). Behind the shopping centre, and following the River Wandle upstream towards [[Earlsfield]] and further south to [[Wimbledon, London|Wimbledon]], is [[King George's Park]].

[[Wandsworth Museum]] previously occupied the former Victorian library in [[West Hill, Wandsworth|West Hill]] having been moved there in 2007. The museum closed in March 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://artuk.org/visit/venues/bac-moving-museum-wandsworth-collection-4895|title=BAC Moving Museum: Wandsworth Collection |website= Art UK |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220829163112/https://artuk.org/visit/venues/bac-moving-museum-wandsworth-collection-4895 |archive-date= Aug 29, 2022 }}</ref>  The [[De Morgan Centre]] is currently situated in Wandsworth Museum and houses a collection of Victorian artwork. A green plaque to commemorate aviation pioneer [[Alliott Verdon Roe]] was unveiled by Wandsworth Council and members of the Verdon-Roe family beside the A3 close to Wandsworth Fire Station on the site of Roe's first workshop in the stables of his brother's house at 47 West Hill.

The underpass beneath the Wandsworth Bridge roundabout was the location for the scene in [[Stanley Kubrick]]'s ''[[A Clockwork Orange (film)|A Clockwork Orange]]'' in which a tramp is attacked.{{cn|date=August 2022}}

There are several schools in Wandsworth including Shaftesbury Park Primary School.

Wandsworth Town Library is on Garratt Lane.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.better.org.uk/library/london/wandsworth/wandsworth-town-library|title=Wandsworth Town Library &#124; Wandsworth |website= Better libraries |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230527130226/https://www.better.org.uk/library/london/wandsworth/wandsworth-town-library |archive-date= May 27, 2023 }}</ref> The library opened in 2009 and is located in the former court house, a listed building.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wandsworthguardian.co.uk/news/11549357.15m-library-which-opened-in-2009-could-be-relocated-under-new-proposals/|title=£1.5m library which opened in 2009 could be relocated under new proposals|date=22 October 2014|work=Wandsworth Guardian |first1=Sophia |last1=Sleigh |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231226165730/https://www.wandsworthguardian.co.uk/news/11549357.15m-library-which-opened-in-2009-could-be-relocated-under-new-proposals/ |archive-date= Dec 26, 2023 }}</ref>

==Transport==
The nearest railway stations are [[Wandsworth Town railway station|Wandsworth Town]]; [[Wandsworth Common railway station|Wandsworth Common]] (one stop from [[Clapham Junction railway station|Clapham Junction]], and 12 minutes' train ride from [[London Victoria railway station|London Victoria]]); and [[Earlsfield railway station|Earlsfield]], (one stop from [[Clapham Junction railway station|Clapham Junction]], and 12 minutes' train ride from [[London Waterloo railway station|London Waterloo]]). Wandsworth Town is also served by [[Southfields tube station]] in the [[Southfields]] area of the Town.

==Churches==
[[All Saints Church, Wandsworth|All Saints']] is the original parish church of Wandsworth, dating back to the 13th century, although the present building is mostly of the 18th century.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://southwark.anglican.org/church/wandsworth-all-saints/|title=Wandsworth, All Saints |website=The Diocese of Southwark |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929080428/https://southwark.anglican.org/church/wandsworth-all-saints/ |archive-date= Sep 29, 2023 }}</ref> [[St Anne's Church, Wandsworth|St Anne's]] and Holy Trinity churches were built in the 19th century to accommodate a growing population.

==Wandsworth Prison==
Built in 1851, [[HM Prison Wandsworth|Wandsworth Prison]] is a [[Category B Prison|Category B]] men's prison. It is the largest prison in London and one of the largest in Europe,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/02/jails-britain-chris-atkins-book/606730/|title=In Britain, Even Jails Have a Class System|last=Lewis|first=Helen|date=20 February 2020|work=The Atlantic}}</ref> with a similar capacity to [[HM Prison Liverpool|Liverpool Prison]].

==See also==
*[[List of people from Wandsworth]]
*[[List of schools in Wandsworth]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{Citation |publisher = John Murray |location = London |title = Handbook to the Environs of London |author = James Thorne |date = 1876 |chapter= Wandsworth |hdl = 2027/mdp.39015063815677?urlappend=%3Bseq=261 |chapter-url= http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015063815677?urlappend=%3Bseq=261 }}

==External links==
*{{wikivoyage-inline|London/Wandsworth|Wandsworth}}
{{Commons category|Wandsworth Town}}
{{LB Wandsworth}}
{{London Districts}}

[[Category:Areas of London]]
[[Category:Districts of the London Borough of Wandsworth]]
[[Category:Districts of London on the River Thames]]
[[Category:Major centres of London]]
[[Category:Former civil parishes in the London Borough of Wandsworth]]