Kennington

Underground station, existing between the 1890s and now.

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Underground station · * · SE11 ·
October
12
2012
Kennington was a royal manor in the ancient parish of St Mary, Lambeth in the county of Surrey and was the administrative centre of the parish from 1853.

The presence of a tumulus, and other significant geographical features locally, suggest that the area was regarded in ancient times as a sacred place of assembly. The manor of Kennington was divided from the manor of Vauxhall by the River Effra, a tributary of the River Thames. A smaller river, the River Neckinger, ran through the northern part of Kennington, approximately where Brook Drive is today. Both rivers have now been diverted into underground culverts.

Harthacnut, King of Denmark and England, died at Kennington in 1041. Harold Godwinson took the Crown the day after the death of Edward the Confessor at Kennington; he is said to have placed it upon his own head. King Henry III held his court here in 1231; and, according to Matthew Paris, in 1232, Parliament was held at Kennington.

Edward III gave the manor of Kennington to his oldest son Edward, the Black Prince in 1337, and the prince then built a large royal palace in the traingle formed by Kennington Lane, Sancroft Street and Cardigan Street, near to Kennington Cross. Geoffrey Chaucer was employed at Kennington as Clerk of Works in 1389 and was paid 2 shillings. The Duchy of Cornwall still maintains a substantial property portfolio within the area.

The eighteenth century saw considerable development in Kennington. At the start of the century, the area was essentially a village on the southern roads into London, with a common on which public executions took place. The development of Kennington came about through access to London, which happened when, in 1750, Westminster Bridge was constructed. In 1751, Kennington Road was built from Kennington Common (as it then was; now Kennington Park) to Westminster Bridge. Houses along it were soon built.

On 10 May 1768, at approximately the site of the Imperial War Museum today, the Massacre of St George's Fields took place. A riot started, because of the detention at the King's Bench Prison of the radical, John Wilkes – he had written an article in which he attacked King George III. The Riot Act was read, and soldiers fired into the crowd, killing seven people.

By the 1770s, the development of Kennington into its modern form was well underway. Terraces of houses were built on the east side of Kennington Road and Cleaver Square (then called Prince's Square) was laid out in 1788. In 1796, a house in West Square became the first station in the optical telegraph, or semaphore line, between the Admiralty in London, and Chatham and Deal in Kent, and during the Napoleonic Wars transmitted messages between Whitehall and the Royal Navy.

The modern street pattern of Kennington was formed by the early nineteenth century. The village had become a semi-rural suburb with grand terraced houses. In 1852, at the initiative of the minister of St. Mark's Church, the Common was enclosed and became the first public park in south London.

The Oval cricket ground was leased to Surrey County Cricket Club from the Duchy of Cornwall in 1845, and the adjacent gasometers (themselves an international sporting landmark) were constructed in 1853. Proximity to central London was key to the development of the area as a residential suburb and it was incorporated into the metropolitan area of London in 1855.

Dense building and the carving-up of large houses for multiple occupation caused Kennington to be very seriously over-populated in 1859, when diphtheria appeared (recorded by Karl Marx in 'Das Kapital').

Kennington station was opened as Kennington (New Street) in 1890 by the City of London and Southwark Subway.

On 15 October 1940, the large trench air-raid shelter beneath Kennington Park was struck by a 50lb bomb. The number of people killed remains unknown; it is believed by local historians that 104 people died. 48 bodies were recovered.

Lambeth Council designated much of Kennington a Conservation Area in 1968, the boundary of which was extended in 1979 and in 1997. Lambeth Council's emphasis on conserving and protecting Kennington's architectural heritage and enhancing its attractive open spaces for recreation and leisure is illustrated by restoration of the centre of the listed Cleaver Square in the last decade of the twentieth century.


Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE LOCALITY

Comment
Richard Lake   
Added: 28 Sep 2022 09:37 GMT   

Trade Union Official
John William Lake snr moved with his family to 22 De Laune Street in 1936. He was the London Branch Secretary for the Street Masons, Paviours and Road Makers Union. He had previously lived in Orange St now Copperfield St Southwark but had been forced to move because the landlord didn’t like him working from home and said it broke his lease.
John William snr died in 1940. His son John William Lake jnr also became a stone mason and at the end of World War two he was responsible for the engraving of the dates of WW2 onto the Cenotaph in Whitehall.

Reply

Johnshort   
Added: 7 Oct 2017 21:07 GMT   

Hurley Road, SE11
There were stables in the road mid way - also Danny reading had a coal delivery lorry.

Reply
Reply
   
Added: 17 Dec 2023 21:57 GMT   

Hurley Road, SE11
I remember Danny reading we lived opposite him at number 15 he used to give us rides in his lorry and a bottle of cola if he was carrying it on the lorry x


Reply

LATEST LONDON-WIDE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PROJECT


Steve   
Added: 19 Mar 2024 08:42 GMT   

Road construction and houses completed
New Charleville Circus road layout shown on Stanford’s Library Map Of London And Its Suburbs 1879 with access via West Hill only.

Plans showing street numbering were recorded in 1888 so we can concluded the houses in Charleville Circus were built by this date.

Source: Charleville Circus, Sydenham, London

Reply
Comment
Steve   
Added: 19 Mar 2024 08:04 GMT   

Charleville Circus, Sydenham: One Place Study (OPS)
One Place Study’s (OPS) are a recent innovation to research and record historical facts/events/people focused on a single place �’ building, street, town etc.

I have created an open access OPS of Charleville Circus on WikiTree that has over a million members across the globe working on a single family tree for everyone to enjoy, for free, forever.

Source: Charleville Circus, Sydenham, London

Reply
Comment
Charles   
Added: 8 Mar 2024 20:45 GMT   

My House
I want to know who lived in my house in the 1860’s.

Reply

NH   
Added: 7 Mar 2024 11:41 GMT   

Telephone House
Donald Hunter House, formerly Telephone House, was the BT Offices closed in 2000

Reply
Comment
Paul Cox   
Added: 5 Mar 2024 22:18 GMT   

War damage reinstatement plans of No’s 11 & 13 Aldine Street
Whilst clearing my elderly Mothers house of general detritus, I’ve come across original plans (one on acetate) of No’s 11 & 13 Aldine Street. Might they be of interest or should I just dispose of them? There are 4 copies seemingly from the one single acetate example. Seems a shame to just junk them as the level of detail is exquisite. No worries if of no interest, but thought I’d put it out there.

Reply
Comment
Diana   
Added: 28 Feb 2024 13:52 GMT   

New Inn Yard, E1
My great grandparents x 6 lived in New Inn Yard. On this date, their son was baptised in nearby St Leonard’s Church, Shoreditch

Source: BDM London, Cripplegate and Shoreditch registers written by church clerk.

Reply
Comment
Vic Stanley   
Added: 24 Feb 2024 17:38 GMT   

Postcose
The postcode is SE15, NOT SE1

Reply
Comment
Gillian   
Added: 17 Feb 2024 00:08 GMT   

No 36 Upper East Smithfield
My great great grandfather was born at No 36 Upper East Smithfield and spent his early years staring out at a "dead wall" of St Katharine’s Docks. His father was an outfitter and sold clothing for sailors. He describes the place as being backed by tenements in terrible condition and most of the people living there were Irish.

Reply


NEARBY LOCATIONS OF NOTE
Chartist meeting, Kennington Common (1848) On 10 April 1848, William Kilburn took daguerrotypes of the Great Chartist Meeting on Kennington Common – taken from the top of The Horns tavern were the first ever photos of a crowd scene.
Street cricket (1953) Street cricket has been played across London since the rules of the game were formulated.

NEARBY STREETS
Abel House, SE11 Abel House is a block on Bowling Green Street (Oval)
Adam Court, SE11 Adam Court can be found on Kennington Lane (Kennington)
Alberta Street, SE17 Alberta Street is a road in the SE17 postcode area (Kennington)
Aldred Street, SE17 Until 1937, Aldred Street was Aldred Road (Kennington)
Ambergate Street, SE17 Ambergate Street is one of the streets of London in the SE17 postal area (Kennington)
Ashton House, SE11 Ashton House is a block on Cornwall Square Kennings Way (Lambeth)
Aulton Place, SE11 This is a street in the SE11 postcode area (Kennington)
Aveline Street, SE11 Aveline Street is a road in the SE11 postcode area (Kennington)
Averline House, SE11 Averline House is a building on Aveline Street (Kennington)
Babbage Court, SE17 Babbage Court is a block on the Brandon Estate (Kennington)
Baltimore House, SE11 Baltimore House is a block on Hotspur Street (Lambeth)
Bateman House, SE17 Bateman House can be found on Otto Street (Kennington)
Berryfield Road, SE17 Berryfield Road was created in 1877 but was Sturge Road for a couple of years until 1879 (Kennington)
Blythe House, SE11 Blythe House is located on Kennington Park Road (Oval)
Borrett Close, SE17 Borrett Close is a road in the SE17 postcode area (Kennington)
Bowden Street, SE11 Bowden Street is one of the streets of London in the SE11 postal area (Kennington)
Bowling Green Street, SE11 Bowling Green Street formerly covered the grounds of a a bowling green leased to the owners of the nearby Horns Tavern (Oval)
Braganza Street, SE17 Braganza Street is one of the streets of London in the SE17 postal area (Kennington)
Bricklayers Street, SE11 Bricklayers Street is a location in London (Lambeth)
Brutus Court, SE11 Brutus Court is located on Kennington Lane (Kennington)
Calstock House, SE11 Calstock House is a block on Cleaver Street (Kennington)
Canterbury Place, SE17 Canterbury Place is one of the streets of London in the SE17 postal area (Kennington)
Cardigan Street, SE11 Cardigan Street formed part of the Duchy of Cornwall’s local estate (Kennington)
Carrick Court, SE11 Carrick Court is a block on Kennington Park Road (Kennington)
Carter Street, SE17 Carter Street is one of the streets of London in the SE17 postal area (Kennington)
Chapter Road, SE17 Chapter Road is a road in the SE17 postcode area (Kennington)
Chester Way, SE11 Chester Way is one of the streets of London in the SE11 postal area (Lambeth)
Clayton Street, SE11 Clayton Street was named for William Clayton (Oval)
Cleaver Square, SE11 Cleaver Square is one of the streets of London in the SE11 postal area (Kennington)
Cleaver Street, SE11 Cleaver Street is one of the streets of London in the SE11 postal area (Kennington)
Conant House, SE17 Conant House is a building on Royal Road (Kennington)
Cook’s Road, SE17 Cook’s Road is a road in the SE17 postcode area (Kennington)
Copley Close, SE17 Copley Close is a side road (Kennington)
Cornish House, SE11 Cornish House is sited on Royal Road (Kennington)
Cornwall Square, SE11 Cornwall Square is in Kennings Way (Kennington)
Courtenay Square, SE11 Courtenay Square is one of a number of local streets with houses built in a neo-Georgian style (Kennington)
Courtenay Street, SE11 Courtenay Street was built in 1925 as part of the Duchy of Cornwall’s estate (Kennington)
Crampton Street, SE17 Crampton Street is one of the streets of London in the SE17 postal area (Kennington)
Cruden House, SE17 Cruden House is a block on Hillingdon Street (Kennington)
De Laune Street, SE17 De Laune Street is one of the streets of London in the SE17 postal area (Kennington)
Delverton House, SE17 Delverton House is sited on Delverton Road (Kennington)
Delverton Road, SE17 Delverton Road is a road in the SE17 postcode area (Kennington)
Denny Crescent, SE11 Denny Crescent was built as part of a small estate by the Duchy of Cornwall in 1925 (Lambeth)
Denny Street, SE11 Denny Street is a neo-Georgian development (Lambeth)
Doddington Grove, SE17 Doddington Grove is a road in the SE17 postcode area (Kennington)
Doddington Place, SE17 A street within the SE17 postcode (Kennington)
Draco Street, SE17 A street within the SE17 postcode (Kennington)
Duffell House, SE11 Duffell House is a block on Brangton Road (Kennington)
Dumain Court, SE11 Dumain Court is a block on Opal Street (Kennington)
Ebenezer House, SE11 Ebenezer House can be found on Kennington Lane (Lambeth)
Edinburgh House, SE11 Edinburgh House is located on Kennington Lane (Kennington)
Edmund House, SE17 Edmund House is a block on Doddington Grove (Kennington)
Fairford House, SE11 Fairford House is a block on Kennington Lane (Lambeth)
Falmouth House, SE11 Falmouth House is a block on White Hart Street (Lambeth)
Falstaff Court, SE11 Falstaff Court is sited on Falstaff Court (Kennington)
Faunce Street, SE17 Faunce Street is one of the streets of London in the SE17 postal area (Kennington)
Fleming Road, SE17 Fleming Road is a road in the SE17 postcode area (Kennington)
Fontenoy House, SE11 Fontenoy House is a block on Kennington Lane (Kennington)
Forsyth Gardens, SE17 Forsyth Gardens is a road in the SE17 postcode area (Kennington)
Fowey House, SE11 Fowey House is a block on White Hart Street (Kennington)
Frederick Road, SE17 A street within the SE17 postcode (Kennington)
Gateway House, SE11 Gateway House can be found on Milverton Street (Kennington)
Gaysley House, SE11 Gaysley House is a block on Hotspur Street (Lambeth)
Gaza Street, SE17 A street within the SE17 postcode (Kennington)
Gilmour Section House, SE11 Gilmour Section House is a block on Renfrew Road (Newington)
Greig Terrace, SE17 A street within the SE17 postcode (Kennington)
Hamlet Court, SE11 Hamlet Court is a building on Hamlet Court (Kennington)
Hampton Street, SE17 Hampton Street is one of the streets of London in the SE17 postal area (Elephant and Castle)
Hansom Mews, SE11 Hansom Mews is a location in London (Kennington)
Harmsworth Street, SE17 Harmsworth Street is one of the streets of London in the SE17 postal area (Kennington)
Heiron Street, SE17 Heiron Street was originally John Street (Kennington)
Helston House, SE11 Helston House is a building on White Hart Street (Kennington)
Hillingdon Street, SE17 Hillingdon Street is a road in the SE17 postcode area (Kennington)
Holyoak Road, SE11 Holyoak Road is a road in the SE11 postcode area (Kennington)
Hornby House, SE11 Hornby House is sited on Kennington Road (Oval)
Hotspur Street, SE11 Hotspur Street is a road in the SE11 postcode area (Lambeth)
Hurley House, SE11 Hurley House is a block on Kennington Lane (Lambeth)
Hurley Road, SE11 Hurley Road ran north from Lower Kennington Lane (Newington)
Iliffe Street, SE17 Iliffe Street is one of the streets of London in the SE17 postal area (Kennington)
Iliffe Yard, SE17 Iliffe Yard is one of the streets of London in the SE17 postal area (Kennington)
Irving House, SE17 Irving House is a block on Doddington Grove (Kennington)
Jephson House, SE17 Jephson House is a building on Westcott Road (Kennington)
Kean House, SE11 Kean House is a block on Cooks Road (Kennington)
Kempsford Road, SE11 Kempsford Road is a road in the SE11 postcode area (Lambeth)
Kennings Way, SE11 Kennings Way is a road in the SE11 postcode area (Kennington)
Kennington Lane, SE11 Kennington Lane is one of the streets of London in the SE11 postal area (Kennington)
Kennington Park Gardens, SE17 Kennington Park Gardens is a road in the SE17 postcode area (Kennington)
Kennington Park Place, SE17 Kennington Park Place is a road in the SE17 postcode area (Kennington)
Kennington Park Road, SE11 Kennington Park Road is one of the streets of London in the SE11 postal area (Kennington)
Kennington Park, SE11 Kennington Park is one of the streets of London in the SE5 postal area (Kennington)
Kennington Road, SE11 Kennington Road was a turnpike road created in 1751 (Lambeth)
Kerris House, SE11 Kerris House is a block on Chester Way (Lambeth)
Key House, SE11 Key House can be found on Magee Street (Oval)
Kilner House, SE11 Kilner House is a block on Clayton Street (Oval)
Knight’s Walk, SE11 Knight’s Walk is a pedestrian-only street linking Kennington Lane to Kempsford Road (Newington)
Landulph House, SE11 Landulph House is a block on Kennings Way (Kennington)
Langdale Close, SE17 Langdale Close is one of the streets of London in the SE17 postal area (Kennington)
Laune Street, SE17 A street within the SE17 postcode (Kennington)
Liskeard House, SE11 Liskeard House is a block on White Hart Street (Kennington)
Lohmann House, SE11 Lohmann House is a block on Bowling Green Street (Oval)
Lorrimore Road, SE17 Lorrimore Road is a very old Walworth road (Kennington)
Lorrimore Square, SE17 Lorrimore Square is a 1.5-acre garden square (Kennington)
Loughborough Street, SE11 Loughborough Street is one of the streets of London in the SE11 postal area (Kennington)
Maddock Way, SE17 Maddock Way is one of the streets of London in the SE17 postal area (Kennington)
Malam Court, SE11 Malam Court is sited on John Street (Lambeth)
Manley House, SE11 Manley House is a block on Black Prince Road (Lambeth)
Manor Place, SE17 Manor Place is one of the streets of London in the SE17 postal area (Kennington)
Manor Place, SE17 Manor Place is a road in the SE11 postcode area (Kennington)
Marlborough Close, SE17 A street within the SE17 postcode (Elephant and Castle)
Marsland Close, SE17 Marsland Close is one of the streets of London in the SE17 postal area (Kennington)
Matara Mews, SE17 Matara Mews is a road in the SE17 postcode area (Kennington)
Meadcroft Road, SE17 Meadcroft Road serves the Brandon Estate (Kennington)
Methley Street, SE11 Methley Street is one of the streets of London in the SE11 postal area (Kennington)
Milverton Street, SE11 Milverton Street is one of the streets of London in the SE11 postal area (Kennington)
Molesworth House, SE17 Molesworth House is located on Royal Road (Kennington)
Montford Place, SE11 Montford Place is one of the streets of London in the SE11 postal area (Kennington)
Morten House, SE17 Morten House is a block on Cook’s Road (Kennington)
Nainby House, SE11 Nainby House is a block on Hotspur Street (Lambeth)
Napier House, SE17 Napier House is a block on Cooks Road (Kennington)
Needham House, SE11 Needham House can be found on Lollard Street (Lambeth)
Newburn Street, SE11 Newburn Street is one of the streets of London in the SE11 postal area (Kennington)
Newington Butts, SE11 Newington Butts is one of the streets of London in the SE11 postal area (Kennington)
Newington Industrial Estate, SE17 Newington Industrial Estate lies in SE17 (Kennington)
Olney Road, SE17 The original line of Olney Road now runs from Draco Street to Heiron Street (Kennington)
Olney Road, SE17 There are both old and new versions of Olney Road in the area (Kennington)
Olney Street, SE17 Olney Street formerly ran along part of the line of Fielding Street (Kennington)
Opal Street, SE11 Opal Street is one of the streets of London in the SE11 postal area (Kennington)
Otto Street, SE17 Otto Street is one of the streets of London in the SE17 postal area (Kennington)
Pasley Close, SE17 Pasley Close is a road in the SE17 postcode area (Kennington)
Peacock Street, SE17 Peacock Street is a road in the SE17 postcode area (Kennington)
Peacock Yard, SE17 Peacock Yard is one of the streets of London in the SE17 postal area (Kennington)
Pegasus Place, SE11 Pegasus Place is one of the streets of London in the SE11 postal area (Oval)
Pelier Street, SE17 Pelier Street is one of the streets of London in the SE17 postal area (Kennington)
Penmayne House, SE11 Penmayne House is a block on Kennings Way (Kennington)
Penrose Grove, SE17 Penrose Grove is one of the streets of London in the SE17 postal area (Kennington)
Penrose Street, SE17 Penrose Street is one of the streets of London in the SE17 postal area (Kennington)
Penton Place, SE11 Penton Place is a road in the SE11 postcode area (Kennington)
Penton Place, SE17 Penton Place is one of the streets of London in the SE17 postal area (Kennington)
Portia Court, SE11 Portia Court is a block on Opal Street (Kennington)
Pullens Buildings, SE17 Pullens Buildings is one of the streets of London in the SE17 postal area (Kennington)
Radcot Street, SE11 Radcot Street is one of the streets of London in the SE11 postal area (Kennington)
Ravensdon Street, SE11 Ravensdon Street is a road in the SE11 postcode area (Kennington)
Reedworth Street, SE11 Reedworth Street is one of the streets of London in the SE11 postal area (Lambeth)
Renfrew Road, SE11 Renfrew Road is one of the streets of London in the SE11 postal area (Newington)
Robert Dashwood Way, SE17 Robert Dashwood Way is one of the streets of London in the SE17 postal area (Walworth)
Royal Road, SE17 Royal Road is one of the streets of London in the SE17 postal area (Kennington)
Rutley Close, SE17 A street within the SE17 postcode (Kennington)
Sambrook House, SE11 Sambrook House is a block on Hotspur Street (Lambeth)
Sedley House, SE11 Residential block (Kennington)
Sharsted Street, SE17 This is a street in the SE17 postcode area (Kennington)
Sherwin House, SE11 Sherwin House is a building on Clayton Street (Oval)
Silk Mews, SE11 Silk Mews is a road in the SE11 postcode area (Kennington)
Slade Walk, SE17 A street within the SE17 postcode (Kennington)
St Agnes Place, SE11 St Agnes Place was once the most famous squatted street in London (Kennington)
St Pauls Church, SE17 St Pauls Church is one of the streets of London in the SE17 postal area (Kennington)
Stannary Place, SE11 Stannary Place is a location in London
Stannary Street, SE11 Stannary Street is one of the streets of London in the SE11 postal area (Kennington)
Steedman Street, SE17 Steedman Street is one of the streets of London in the SE17 postal area (Elephant and Castle)
Stopford Road, SE17 Stopford Road is a road in the SE17 postcode area (Kennington)
Sturgeon Road, SE17 Sturgeon Road is a road in the SE17 postcode area (Kennington)
Suffield House, SE17 Suffield House is a block on Ambergate Street (Kennington)
Suffield Road, SE17 Suffield Road was laid out after the demise of the Royal Surrey Zoological Gardens (Kennington)
Tarver Road, SE17 Tarver Road is a road in the SE17 postcode area (Kennington)
Territorial House, SE11 Territorial House is a block on Reedworth Street (Lambeth)
The Dog House, SE11 The Dog House is a block on Kennington Road (Lambeth)
Thrush Street, SE17 A street within the SE17 postcode (Kennington)
Tolpaide House, SE11 Tolpaide House is located on Hotspur Street (Lambeth)
Trematon House, SE11 Trematon House can be found on Kennings Way (Kennington)
Vantrey House, SE11 Vantrey House is a block on Marylee Way (Lambeth)
Walters House, SE17 Walters House is a block on Meadcroft Road (Kennington)
Waylett House, SE11 Waylett House is a block on Loughborough Street (Kennington)
Wesley Close, SE11 A street within the SE17 postcode (Kennington)
Westcott Road, SE17 Westcott Road is one of the streets of London in the SE17 postal area (Kennington)
White Hart Street, SE11 White Hart Street is one of the streets of London in the SE11 postal area (Kennington)
Winchester Close, SE11 A street within the SE17 postcode (Kennington)
Windmill Row, SE11 Windmill Row is one of the streets of London in the SE11 postal area (Kennington)
Wynyard Terrace, SE11 Wynyard Terrace is a road in the SE11 postcode area (Kennington)

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