The 'London Borough of Lewisham' is a
London borough in south east
London,
England and forms part of
Inner London. The principal settlement of the borough is
Lewisham and its council is based at
Catford.
History
The borough was formed in 1965, by the
London Government Act 1963, as an amalgamation of the former area of the
Metropolitan Borough of Lewisham and the
Metropolitan Borough of Deptford, which had been created in 1900 as divisions of the
County of London.
[1]
Minor boundary changes have occurred since its creation with the most significant amendments in 1996 when the former area of the Royal Docks in
Deptford was transferred from the
London Borough of Greenwich.
[2]
Geography and Landmarks
The borough is surrounded by the
London Borough of Greenwich to the east, the
London Borough of Bromley to the south and the
London Borough of Southwark to the west. The
River Thames forms a short section of northern boundary with the
Isle of Dogs in the
London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
Deptford Creek,
Pool River,
River Quaggy and
River Ravensbourne pass through the borough.
Lewisham, an important transport hub
Major landmarks include All Saints Church in
Blackheath, the
Citibank Tower in
Lewisham,
Dietrich Bonhoeffer Church (Sydenham's German Church, technically located in Forest Hill) and the
Horniman Museum in
Forest Hill.
Demographics
According to the 2001 census, Lewisham has a population of 248,922. Its population is 66% White, 12% Black Caribbean, and 9% Black African. Fifty percent of households are owner-occupiers.
Civic affairs
Motto
The motto of the borough is "Salus Populi Suprema Lex" which means (roughly translated) "The Welfare of the People is the Highest Law".
Administration
The current
Chief Executive is Barry Quirk. The borough is administered by the five directorates of the council: Children and Young People, Community Services, Customer Services, Resources, and Regeneration.
Twinning
The borough is
twinned with the following towns:
★
Charlottenburg,
Berlin,
Germany
★
Antony, Hauts-de-Seine,
France
★
Matagalpa,
Nicaragua
The borough has also signed a "friendship link" with
Ekurhuleni, near
Johannesburg,
South Africa.
Freedom of the Borough
The honour of
Freedom of the Borough has been awarded to:
★ Alan Milner Smith OBE (
9 Dec 1971)
★ Frederick William Winslade (
28 Nov 1975)
★ Daisy Amelia Elizabeth Hurren (
10 Oct 1985)
★ Alfred Anderson Hawkins (
30 Mar 1990)
★ The Most Reverend Desmond Mpilo Tuto (
4 May 1990)
★ Terence Hardy Waite CBE (
16 Nov 1992)
★ Sybil Theodora Phoenix MBE MS (
8 Mar 1996)
★ Dame Cicely Mary Strode Saunders OM OBE FRCP (
10 Mar 2000)
Politics
Council of the London Borough of Lewisham
Summary of council election results:
Main articles: Lewisham local elections
Unlike most English districts, its council is led by a
directly-elected mayor. The system was established at the
2002 council elections and has now run for two mayoral elections, both of which
Steve Bullock has won for the Labour party.
Westminster Parliament
The borough includes the constituencies of
Lewisham, Deptford,
Lewisham West and
Lewisham East
These are the MPs who have represented constituencies covered by the borough since its formation in
1964. Note that constituencies change their boundaries over time, even where names remain the same.
Transport and Places
Transport
Lewisham station, once known as Lewisham Junction, is located at the junction of the lines to
Dartford and
Hayes and is also the terminus of the southern branch of the
Docklands Light Railway. The
East London Line currently terminates at
New Cross and
New Cross Gate. An extension, currently under construction, and to be known as the ''East London Railway'' when complete, will serve
Brockley,
Honor Oak Park,
Forest Hill, and
Sydenham. It will form part of the
London Overground.
The
South Circular Road passes through the centre of the borough from the border with
Dulwich in the west to
Eltham in the east. Except for a short section in
Lee as it approaches Eltham, it is purely comprised of one-lane-each-way road.
List of settlements
It includes the areas:
Postcode areas within the borough
Bromley, BR1 (part),
Beckenham, BR3 (part)
SE3 (part),
SE4 (all),
SE6 (all),
SE8 (part),
SE10 (part),
SE12 (part),
SE13 (all),
SE14 (all),
SE15 (part),
SE16 (part),
SE23 (part),
SE26 (part),
Famous current and former residents
★
Danny Baker (Broadcaster) lived in
Deptford
★
Rosa May Billinghurst (Suffragette) lived in
Lewisham
★
Kate Bush (Musician) lived in
Brockley and
Lewisham
★
James Callaghan (Politician) lived in
Blackheath
★
Sir James Clark Ross (Explorer) lived in
Blackheath
★
Jim Connell (Socialist) lived in
Crofton Park and
Honor Oak
★
Ernest Dowson (Poet) lived in
Catford and
Lee
★
Gabrielle (Musician) lived in
Brockley and
Honor Oak
★
WG Grace (Cricketer) lived in
Sydenham
★
Malcolm Hardee (Comedian) lived in
Blackheath and
Lewisham
★
George Julian Harney (Chartist) lived in
Deptford
★
Sir Isaac Hayward (Politician) lived in
Deptford
★
Frederick John Horniman (Collector) lived in
Forest Hill
★
Leslie Howard (British actor) lived in
Forest Hill
★
Glenda Jackson (Politician) lived in
Blackheath
★
David Jones (Poet) lived in
Brockley
★
Jude Law (Actor) lived in
Lewisham
★
Louise Redknapp (TV Presenter) Born In
Lewisham
★
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen (Designer) lived in
Blackheath
★
Marie Lloyd (Entertainer) lived in
Lewisham and
New Cross
★
Eleanor Marx (Politician) lived in
Sydenham
★
Spike Milligan (Comedian) lived in
Catford,
Crofton Park and
Honor Oak
★
Edith Nesbit (Writer) lived in
Blackheath,
Grove Park and
Lewisham
★
Mica Paris (Musician) lived in
Lewisham
★
Russian
Tsar Peter the Great lived in
Deptford
★
Ignatius Sancho (Writer and campaigner) lived in
Blackheath
★
Dame Cicely Saunders (Founder of Hospice movement) lived in
Sydenham
★
Jason Statham (Actor) lived in
Sydenham
★
Doris Stokes (Medium) lived in
Lewisham
★
E. W. Swanton (Writer) lived in
Forest Hill
★
David Sylvian (Musician) lived in
Lewisham
★
Terry Waite (Humanitarian) lived in
Blackheath
★
Max Wall (Comedian) lived in
Lee
★
Barnes Wallis (Engineer) lived in
New Cross
★
Ian Wright (Footballer) lived in
Lewisham
★
Maxwell Confait, Colin Lattimore, Ronal Leighton and Ahmet Salih lived in
Catford
References
1. Vision of Britain - Lewisham LB
2. OPSI - The Greenwich and Lewisham (London Borough Boundaries) Order 1993
External links
★
Lewisham London Borough Council
★
Lewisham Photographs
★
Broadway Theatre based in Catford
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