Approximate Population: 259,881
Wandsworth is a town on the south bank of the River Thames in south-west London. 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. It was held partly by William, son of Ansculf and partly by St Wandrille’s Abbey. Its domesday assets were: 12 hides. It had 5½ ploughs, 22 acres 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.
An influx of French Huguenot refugees in the early 17th century is remembered in many local street names. There is a band of small and expensive terraced housing (known as The Tonsleys) behind Old York Road — the former centre of old Wandsworth — rising to an area of grander, terraced, semi-detached and detached housing along the roads bounded by West Side Wandsworth Common, Earlsfield Road and East Hill. In contrast, at the base of East Hill is a collection of high-rise council blocks.
UK Hub
Town:
London,
Wandsworth
Approximate Population: 181,766
Westminster is an area of Central London, within the City of Westminster. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and 0.5 miles (0.8 km) southwest of Charing Cross. It has a large concentration of London’s historic and prestigious landmarks and visitor attractions, including Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and much of the West End of London.
Historically a part of Middlesex, the name Westminster was the ancient description for the area around Westminster Abbey–the West Minster, or monastery church, that gave the area its name–which had been the seat of the government of England for almost a thousand years. Since its construction in the mid-19th century, Westminster has been location of the Palace of Westminster, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which houses the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
UK Hub
Town:
London,
Westminster
FEBRUARY 23RD, 2010
By ADMINISTRATOR
Approximate Population: 213,800
Harrow is a town in the London Borough of Harrow, North West London. It is a suburb situated 12.2 miles (16.4 km) west northwest of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan.
Harrow is widely known for Harrow School, attended by Winston Churchill and Indian Prime Minister Nehru, however Harrow County School also had a tradition of noted staff and pupils, e.g. Sir Paul Nurse, Sir Nigel Sheinwald, Michael Portillo, Clive Anderson and Geoffrey Perkins. Harrow is home to a large University of Westminster campus near Northwick Park Hospital (although both these landmarks actually lie within the London Borough of Brent). Harrow was a municipal borough of Middlesex before its inclusion in Greater London in 1965.
Harrow’s name comes from Old English hearg = “(heathen) temple”, which was probably on the hill of Harrow, where St. Mary’s Church stands today.
The town centre also has a major bus station adjacent to Harrow-on-the-Hill station that serves as an important hub for buses in the area. Many routes to North and West London pass through this station. Notable routes serving Harrow include:
* The 140 route starting and terminating at Harrow Weald and Heathrow Airport
* The 182 route starting and terminating at Harrow Weald and Brent Cross
* The 183 route starting and terminating at Pinner and Golders Green Bus Station
* The N18 nightbus which starts at Trafalgar Square and terminates at Harrow Weald
* The 258 route starting and terminating at Watford Junction and South Harrow Station
* The 114 route starting and terminating at Ruislip Station and Mill Hill.
Harrow Greater London UK Hub
Town:
Harrow,
London
FEBRUARY 13TH, 2010
By ADMINISTRATOR
Approximate Population: 232,700
Greenwich is a district in south-east London, England, on the south bank of the River Thames in the London Borough of Greenwich. It is best known for its maritime history and as giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian (0° longitude) and Greenwich Mean Time.
The town became the site of a Royal palace, the Palace of Placentia from the 15th century, and was the birthplace of many in the House of Tudor, including Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. The palace fell into disrepair during the English Civil War and was rebuilt as the Royal Naval Hospital for Sailors by Sir Christopher Wren and his assistant Nicholas Hawksmoor. These buildings became the Royal Naval College in 1873, and they remained an establishment for military education until 1998 when they passed into the hands of the Greenwich Foundation. The historic rooms within these buildings remain open to the public; other buildings are used by University of Greenwich and the Trinity College of Music.
The town became a popular resort in the 17th century with many grand houses, such as Vanbrugh castle established on Maze Hill, next to the park. From the Georgian period estates of houses were constructed above the town centre. The maritime connections of Greenwich were celebrated in the 20th century, with the sitting of the Cutty Sark and Gipsy Moth IV next to the river front, and the National Maritime Museum in the former buildings of the Royal Hospital School in 1934. Greenwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created.
The town and hospital lie on a broad platform to the south of the outside of a broad meander in the River Thames, with a safe deep water anchorage lying in the river. To the south, the land rises steeply, 100 feet (30 m) through the park to the town of Blackheath. The higher areas consist of a sedimentary layer of gravely soils, known as the Blackheath Beds, that spread through much of the south east over a chalk outcrop – with sands, loam and seams of clay at the lower levels by the river.
Greenwich Greater London UK Hub
Town:
London,
Greenwich
FEBRUARY 9TH, 2010
By ADMIN
Approximate Population: 181,279
Westminster is an area of Central London, within the City of Westminster. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and 0.5 miles (0.8 km) southwest of Charing Cross. It has a large concentration of London’s historic and prestigious landmarks and visitor attractions, including Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and much of the West End of London.
Historically a part of Middlesex, the name Westminster was the ancient description for the area around Westminster Abbey–the West Minster, or monastery church, that gave the area its name–which had been the seat of the government of England for almost a thousand years. Since its construction in the mid-19th century, Westminster has been location of the Palace of Westminster, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which houses the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The name Westminster was historically used to describe the area around Westminster Abbey–the West Minster, or monastery church, that gave the area its name–which has been the seat of the government of England for almost a thousand years. The name is also used for the larger City of Westminster which covers a wider geographical area; and, since 1965, has included the former boroughs of St Marylebone and Paddington.
The historic core of Westminster is the former Thorney Island on which Westminster Abbey was built. The Abbey became the traditional venue of the coronation of the kings and queens of England. The nearby Palace of Westminster came to be the principal royal residence after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, and later housed the developing Parliament and law courts of England. It can be said that London thus has developed two distinct focal points: an economic one in the City of London; and a political and cultural one in Westminster, where the Royal Court had its home. This division is still very apparent today.
Town:
London,
Westminster
FEBRUARY 2ND, 2010
By ADMIN
Approximate Population: 7,556,900
London has a temperate marine climate, like much of the British Isles, so the city rarely sees extremely high or low temperatures. Summers are warm with average high temperatures of 23 °C (73 °F) and lows of 14 °C (57 °F), however, temperatures can exceed 25 °C (77 °F) on many days. Winters in London are chilly, but rarely below freezing with daytime temperatures around 2 - 8 °C (36 - 46 °F), while spring has mild days and cool evenings.
London has regular but generally light precipitation throughout the year, with average precipitation of 583.6 millimetres (22.98 in) every year. Snow is relatively uncommon, particularly because heat from the urban area can make London up to 5 °C (9 °F) hotter than the surrounding areas in winter. Some snowfall, however, is usually seen up to a few times a year. London is in USDA Hardiness zone 9, and AHS Heat Zone 2.
In the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th, London was noted for its dense fogs and smogs. Following the deadly Great Smog of 1952, the Clean Air Act 1956 was passed, leading to the decline of such severe pollution in the capital.
Town:
London
JANUARY 14TH, 2010
By ADMIN
Approximate Population: 316,283
Croydon is a large town and major commercial centre in South London, and the principal settlement of the London Borough of Croydon. It is 9.5 miles (15.3 km) south of Charing Cross, and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It is located on the natural transport corridor between London and England’s south coast, just to the north of a gap in the North Downs.
Historically a part of Surrey, at the time of the Norman conquest of England Croydon had a church, a mill and around 365 inhabitants (as recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086). Croydon expanded during the Middle Ages as a market town and a centre for charcoal production, leather tanning and brewing. The Surrey Iron Railway from Croydon to Wandsworth opened in 1803 and was the world’s first horse-drawn railway, which later developed into an important means of transport – facilitating Croydon’s growth as a commuter town for the City of London and beyond.
In the early 20th century Croydon was an important industrial area, known for metal working, car manufacture and its airport. In the mid 20th century these sectors were replaced with retailing and service economy, brought about as a result of a massive redevelopment of office blocks and the Whitgift shopping centre. Croydon was amalgamated into Greater London in 1965. Road traffic is now diverted away from a largely pedestrianised town centre, but its main railway station, East Croydon, is still a major hub within the national railway transport system. The town is expected to have its urban planning changed as part of Croydon Vision 2020.
Town:
Croydon,
London
JANUARY 8TH, 2010
By ADMIN
Approximate Population: 267,785
Lambeth appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Lanchei. It was held partly by Lambeth Church and partly by Count Robert of Mortain. Its domesday assets were: 2½ hides; 1 church, 10 ploughs, 22 acres (89,000 m2) of meadow, woodland worth 3 hogs, 19 burgesses in London paid £1 16s 0d. It rendered £15.
The ancient settlement of Lambeth Marsh was immediately opposite the Palace of Westminster. The Archbishop of Canterbury has had his official residence at Lambeth Palace since the 15th century. The village was home to boatmen serving the City of London and Westminster.
The riverside village had an extensive parish, which stretched for six miles (10 km) south, including the manors of Kennington and Vauxhall. It formed part of Surrey until the creation of the County of London in 1889. The parish, and the subsequent Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth (1900–1965), included the later settlements at Brixton and Norwood.
Town:
London,
Lambeth
JANUARY 6TH, 2010
By ADMIN
Approximate Population: 248,922
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. As to the etymology of the name, Daniel Lysons (1796) wrote:
“In the most ancient Saxon records this place is called Levesham, that is, the house among the meadows; leswe, læs, læse, or læsew, in the Saxon, signifies a meadow, and ham, a dwelling. It is now written, as well in parochial and other records as in common usage, Lewisham.”
‘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-seventeenth century the then vicar of Lewisham, Abraham Colfe, built a grammar school, primary school and six almshouses for the inhabitants. The Earl of Dartmouth became the (hereditary) Viscount Lewisham in 1711.
Town:
London,
Lewisham
DECEMBER 21ST, 2009
By ADMIN
Approximate Population: 273,203
Enfield Town used to be a small market town on the edge of the forest about a day’s travel north of London. As Greater London has grown, Enfield Town and its surrounds have become a residential suburb, with fast transport links into central London.
The current borough was formed in 1965 from the former area of the Municipal Borough of Southgate, the Municipal Borough of Enfield and the Municipal Borough of Edmonton. The armorial bearings of these three boroughs were also merged.
The creature on the shield of the Enfield coat of arms is known in heraldry as an “Enfield” (or colloquially as the Enfield beast), and is used extensively as a logo representing Enfield, particularly by the borough council.
In Roman times, Enfield was connected to Londinium by Ermine Street, the great Roman road which stretched all the way up to York. Artefacts found in the early 1900s reveal that there were Roman settlements in the areas that are now Edmonton and Bush Hill Park.
Town:
London,
Enfield
