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Lewisham
*** Shopping-Tip: Lewisham
: ''See also
Lewisham, New South Wales for the suburb of
Sydney, Australia''
{{infobox London place|
|Place= Lewisham
|Borough=
London Borough of Lewisham Lewisham
|Traditional=
Kent
|Constituency=
|PostTown= LONDON
|PostCode=
London SE13 SE13
|DiallingCode= 020
|GridReference= TQ385755
|GLA=
Greenwich and Lewisham
}}
'''Lewisham''' is an area within the
London Borough of Lewisham in south-east
London. It is a major transport hub, lying on the
A20 road towards
Dover and at the start of
A21 road A21 to
Hastings, with its own bus station,
Lewisham station mainline railway station and the southern
terminal station terminus of the
Docklands Light Railway.
It is most likely to have been founded by a pagan
Jutes Jute, Leof, who settled (by burning his boat) near
St Mary's Church (
Ladywell) where the ground was drier, in the
6th Century. 'Leofshema' was an important settlement at the confluence of the rivers
River Quaggy Quaggy (from Farnborough) and
River Ravensbourne Ravensbourne (Caesar's Well, Keston), so the village expanded north into the wetter area as drainage techniques improved. In the mid-
15th century fifteenth century the then vicar of Lewisham, Abraham Colfe, built a
grammar school,
primary school and six
almshouses for the inhabitants.
The village of Lewisham was originally centred further south around the parish church of St Mary, towards the present site of
University Hospital Lewisham. The centre migrated north with the coming of the North Kent
railway line to
Dartford in
1849, encouraging commuter housing.
Lewisham's
High Street is particularly long and wide for a London suburb. The town centre was bombed in
1944, commemorated by a plaque outside the Lewisham
shopping mall Shopping Centre (opened in
1977). This area at the north end of the High Street was
pedestrianised in
1994. It is home to a daily street market and a local landmark, the
Clock tower Clock Tower, completed in
1900 to commemorate
Victoria of the United Kingdom Queen Victoria's
Diamond Jubilee in
1897.
The
police station, which was opened in
2004 to replace the station in Ladywell, is reputedly one of the largest in Europe. The A20 roundabout (installed in good faith in
1999) is to be removed and a new road system put in place as part of 'Urban Renaissance Lewisham' which will see a greater appreciation of the rivers upon which the village was founded ([http://qwag.org.uk]).
In 1977, the [http://www.libcom.org/history/articles/battle-of-lewisham-1977/ Battle of Lewisham] saw the biggest street battle against fascists since the
Battle of Cable Street in 1936. Over 10000 people turned out to oppose a
National Front march which was organised on the back of increasing electoral success at that time.
Lewisham is twinned with
Charlottenburg in
Berlin,
Germany. There is a street there called Lewishamstraße
Notable former inhabitants
*
Ginger Baker — drummer, musician
*
Daniel Bedingfield — singer
*
Natasha Bedingfield — singer
*
Rosa May Billinghurst Suffragette
*
Kate Bush — singer
*
Walter de la Mare — novelist
*
James Elroy Flecker — poet
*
Malcolm Hardee Comedian and Compere
*
Frederick Lanchester — car manufacturer
*
Jude Law — actor and
Hollywood Film Star.
*
Marie Lloyd Music Hall performer (lived at 196 Wickham Terrace, Lewisham Way in the early 1890's)
*
Edith Nesbit writer and Fabian
*
Mica Paris singer
*
David Sylvian singer
*
Ian Wright — Former
England national football team England football player
External links
-
The Battle of Lewisham - an article on london based website libcom.org
-
Lewisham News
{{London Districts}}
Category:Districts of London
Category:Lewisham
no:Lewisham
Image:LondonLewisham.png 200px|Lewisham
Category:Districts of London
*** Shopping-Tip: Lewisham
