Lewisham

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

See also Lewisham, New South Wales.

Location
Lewisham
<tr><td colspan="2"> Image:Greater london outline map bw.png </div></div> </div> </div> </td></tr>
OS grid reference:	TQ385755
Latitude:	51.461456°
Longitude:	-0.00537°
Administration
London borough:	Lewisham
County level:	Greater London
Region:	London
Constituent country:	England
Sovereign state:	United Kingdom
Other
Ceremonial county:	Greater London
Historic county:	Kent
Services
Police force:	Metropolitan Police
Fire brigade:	London Fire Brigade
Ambulance service:	London Ambulance
Post office and telephone
Post town:	LONDON
Postal district:	SE13
Dialling code:	020
Politics
UK Parliament:
London Assembly:	Greenwich and Lewisham
European Parliament:	London
London \| List of places in London

Lewisham [[1]]is an area within the London Borough of Lewisham in south-east London, England. It is a major transport hub, lying on the A20 road towards Dover and at the start of A21 to Hastings, with its own bus station, mainline railway station and the southern terminus of the Docklands Light Railway. A small area in the north of Lewisham, around the Orchard Estate, comes under the London Borough of Greenwich.

It is most likely to have been founded by a pagan 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 Quaggy (from Farnborough) and Ravensbourne (Caesar's Well, Keston), so the village expanded north into the wetter area as drainage techniques improved. In the mid-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 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, completed in 1900 to commemorate 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 ([2]).

In 1977, the 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.