Lambeth (/ˈlæmbəθ/ ⓘ)[1] is aLondon borough inSouth London,England, which forms part ofInner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 asLambehitha ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 asLambeth. The geographical centre ofLondon is at Frazier Street nearLambeth North tube station,[2] though nearbyCharing Cross on the other side of the Thames in the City of Westminster is traditionally considered the centre of London.[3]
The area of the modern borough had historically been part of the county ofSurrey, and generally corresponds to the threeancient parishes ofLambeth,Clapham andStreatham.
The parish of Lambeth included the archiepiscopalLambeth Palace, and formed part of theHundred of Brixton. It was an elongated north–south parish with two miles (three kilometres) ofRiver Thames frontage opposite the cities ofLondon andWestminster. Lambeth became part of theMetropolitan Police District in 1829.
From 1856 the area of the modern borough was governed by theMetropolitan Board of Works, which was established to provide services across themetropolis of London.[4] In 1889 the Metropolitan Board of Works' area was made theCounty of London. From 1856 until 1900 the lower tier of local government within the metropolis comprised variousparish vestries and district boards; the parish of Lambeth was governed by itsvestry, whilst Clapham and Streatham were both included in theWandsworth District. In 1900 the lower tier was reorganised intometropolitan boroughs. The parish of Lambeth became theMetropolitan Borough of Lambeth, and the old Wandsworth District became theMetropolitan Borough of Wandsworth.[5]
The modern London borough was created in 1965 under theLondon Government Act 1963. It was a merger of the old borough of Lambeth and the Clapham and Streatham areas from the old Wandsworth borough.[6]
When the government was drafting the boundaries for the London boroughs in the early 1960s, it initially suggested that the Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth and theMetropolitan Borough of Southwark be merged into a new borough; the southern and eastern sections of theMetropolitan Borough of Wandsworth (includingClapham,Streatham andTooting) would form another. South Shields town clerk R.S. Young was commissioned to make final recommendations to the government on the shape of the future London boroughs, and he noted that the Wandsworth council opposed the partition of its borough. However, Wandsworth's suggestion to merge Lambeth with theMetropolitan Borough of Battersea was rejected by both councils involved. Young believed that residents of Clapham and Streatham would be more familiar with Brixton than with Wandsworth, and recommended a new borough formed from the Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth and six wards and portions of two others from the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth.[7]
In the2016 European Union referendum, Lambeth had the highest share of Remain votes in the United Kingdom at 78.62%, second to overseas territoryGibraltar's 95.9%.[8]
Lambeth is a long, thin borough, about three miles (five kilometres) wide and seven miles (eleven kilometres) long.Brixton is its civic centre, and there are other town centres. The largest shopping areas are (in order of size)Streatham,Brixton,Vauxhall,Clapham andWest Norwood.
In the northern part of the borough are thecentral London districts of theSouth Bank,Vauxhall andLambeth; in the south are the suburbs ofGipsy Hill,Streatham,West Dulwich andWest Norwood. In between are the developed and inner-city districts ofBrixton,Brixton Hill,Streatham Hill,Clapham,Clapham Park,Herne Hill,Stockwell,Tulse Hill andKennington, each at different stages ofgentrification with suburban and urban elements.Vauxhall andSouth Lambeth are central districts in the process of redevelopment with high-densitybusiness and residential property.Streatham lies between suburban London and inner-cityBrixton, with the suburban and developed areas ofStreatham,Streatham Hill andStreatham Vale.
TheLondon Borough of Southwark lies to the east of the Borough of Lambeth. To the west is theLondon Borough of Wandsworth; to the south-west is theLondon Borough of Merton; and to the south is theLondon Borough of Croydon and theLondon Borough of Bromley.
Lambeth's open spaces includeBrockwell Park andLido,Streatham Common, half ofClapham Common,West Norwood Cemetery,Archbishop's Park,Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens andRuskin Larkhall andKennington Parks.
Along and around theSouth Bank, a tourist area has developed around the formerGreater London Council headquarters ofCounty Hall and theSouthbank Centre andNational Theatre. Also on the river is theLondon Eye andShell Centre. Nearby isSt Thomas' Hospital,Lambeth Palace and theFlorence Nightingale Museum. Nearby isBrixton, home ofLambeth Town Hall and theBrixton Murals andMI6 headquarters.
Landmark church buildings include:
The Oval cricket ground inKennington is the home of Surrey County Cricket.
The Basaveshwara statue at the Albert Embankment erected by the former Mayor of LambethNeeraj Patil was unveiled by thePrime Minister of India on 14 November 2015.[9]
The bedrock of the London Borough of Lambeth is London Clay Formation, clay and silt formed in thePalaeogene period between 56 and 47.8 million years ago (mya)[10] with one small arc of Lambeth Group clay, silt and sand (at the base of the London Clay Formation) of the same period, leading from the southeast of Brockwell Park and under Croxted Road, formed between 59.2 and 47.8 mya.[11][12]
There are a number of members of overlying superficial rocks from theQuaternary period. Close to the Thames, around Waterloo Station for example, the rock is estuarine alluvium made of clay, silt, sand and peat formed from 11.8 thousand years ago (tya) to the present.[13] South of that is a Kempton Park Gravel member, formed between 116 and 11.8 tya[14] which extends south past Stockwell station approximately to Jeffrey's Road, with small areas ofLangley Silt of the same age in the east and west.[15] In the east, along Herne Hill and Denmark Hill is a Boyn Hill Gravel member, deposited between 423 and 126 tya.[16] Further south are areas of Head (poorly sorted clay, silt, sand and gravel laid up to 2.588 mya associated with slow-moving, waterlogged soil)[17] e.g. from Clapham North station to Atkins road and Streatham Hill, Lynch Hill Gravel (sand and gravel, 326 to 126 tya)[18] under most of Clapham Commom, Hackney Gravel (sand and gravel, 326 to 126 tya)[19] west of Clapham North station,Black Park Gravel (sand and gravel, 480 to 423 tya)[20] making up the high parts of Streatham Hill and Knights Hill and Taplow Gravel (sand and gravel, 362 to 126 tya)[21] under Brixton, the southern part of Stockwell Road and up to Camberwell New Road. In the very southeast and southwest is more Head, along with Hackney Gravel under Streatham Vale. In the south and southeast around Leigham Court Road, Crown Lane, Central Hill and Westow Hill are unnamed sand and gravel deposits.[12]
Elevations in Lambeth range from 0 metres at the intertidal area of the Thames, 3 to 4 metres in flat, built-on areas at the river bank up to 111 metres in the southeast by the junction of Westow Hill and Crystal Palace Parade.[12]
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The local authority is Lambeth Council, which meets atLambeth Town Hall in theBrixton area of the borough and has its main offices at the nearby Civic Centre.
Since 2000, for elections to theLondon Assembly, the borough forms part of theLambeth and Southwark constituency.
The borough has threeParliamentary constituencies:Dulwich and West Norwood (shared withSouthwark),Clapham and Brixton Hill, andVauxhall and Camberwell Green (also shared withSouthwark).
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1801 | 34,135 | — |
| 1811 | 49,511 | +45.0% |
| 1821 | 68,458 | +38.3% |
| 1831 | 102,524 | +49.8% |
| 1841 | 131,131 | +27.9% |
| 1851 | 158,559 | +20.9% |
| 1861 | 204,252 | +28.8% |
| 1871 | 249,945 | +22.4% |
| 1881 | 295,637 | +18.3% |
| 1891 | 332,619 | +12.5% |
| 1901 | 357,316 | +7.4% |
| 1911 | 383,848 | +7.4% |
| 1921 | 388,779 | +1.3% |
| 1931 | 393,782 | +1.3% |
| 1941 | 355,970 | −9.6% |
| 1951 | 321,795 | −9.6% |
| 1961 | 315,184 | −2.1% |
| 1971 | 308,740 | −2.0% |
| 1981 | 244,153 | −20.9% |
| 1991 | 256,406 | +5.0% |
| 2001 | 266,170 | +3.8% |
| 2011 | 303,086 | +13.9% |
| Note:[22] | ||
Initial migration from the West Indies accounted for a significant part of the population since the 1960s onwards. Around 10,000 Afro-Caribbeans were apart of Lambeths population in 1963.[23]
| Ethnic Group | Year | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 estimations[24][25] | 1971 estimations[26] | 1981 estimations[27][28] | 1991 census[29][30] | 2001 census[31] | 2011 census[32] | 2021 census[33] | ||||||||
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
| White: Total | – | 93.3% | – | 86.2% | 189,718 | 76.3% | 178,168 | 69.4% | 166,058 | 62.39% | 173,025 | 57.09% | 174,778 | 55% |
| White:British | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 131,939 | 49.57% | 118,250 | 39.02% | 119,395 | 37.6% |
| White:Irish | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8,689 | 3.26% | 7,456 | 2.46% | 6,828 | 2.1% |
| White:Gypsy or Irish Traveller | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 195 | 0.06% | 146 | 0.0% |
| White: Roma | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1,537 | 0.5% |
| White:Other | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 25,430 | 9.55% | 47,124 | 15.55% | 46,872 | 14.8% |
| Asian or Asian British: Total | – | – | – | – | 10,663 | 4.3% | 15,609 | 6.1% | 15,526 | 5.83% | 20,938 | 6.91% | 23,051 | 7.3% |
| Asian or Asian British:Indian | – | – | – | – | 4,328 | 1.7% | 5,500 | 2.1% | 5,316 | 2.00% | 4,983 | 1.64% | 6,054 | 1.9% |
| Asian or Asian British:Pakistani | – | – | – | – | 1,632 | 0.6% | 2,120 | 0.8% | 2,634 | 0.99% | 3,072 | 1.01% | 3,868 | 1.2% |
| Asian or Asian British:Bangladeshi | – | – | – | – | 917 | 0.4% | 1,646 | 0.6% | 2,169 | 0.81% | 2,221 | 0.73% | 2,502 | 0.8% |
| Asian or Asian British:Chinese | – | – | – | – | 2,104 | 0.8% | 3,224 | 1.3% | 3,362 | 1.26% | 4,573 | 1.51% | 4,986 | 1.6% |
| Asian or Asian British: Other Asian | – | – | – | – | 1,682 | 0.7% | 3,119 | 1.2% | 2,045 | 0.77% | 6,089 | 2.01% | 5,641 | 1.8% |
| Black or Black British: Total | – | – | – | – | 43,978 | 17.7% | 56,793 | 22.1% | 68,554 | 25.76% | 78,542 | 25.91% | 76,145 | 24% |
| Black or Black British:African | – | – | – | – | 10,883 | 4.4% | 17,018 | 6.6% | 30,836 | 11.59% | 35,187 | 11.61% | 37,359 | 11.8% |
| Black or Black British:Caribbean | – | – | – | – | 27,564 | 11.1% | 32,702 | 12.7% | 32,139 | 12.07% | 28,886 | 9.53% | 28,991 | 9.1% |
| Black or Black British:Other Black | – | – | – | – | 5,531 | 2.2% | 7,073 | 2.7% | 5,579 | 2.10% | 14,469 | 4.77% | 9,795 | 3.1% |
| Mixed or British Mixed: Total | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 12,854 | 4.83% | 23,160 | 7.64% | 25,630 | 8% |
| Mixed: White and Black Caribbean | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 5,322 | 2.00% | 8,302 | 2.74% | 8,348 | 2.6% |
| Mixed: White and Black African | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2,159 | 0.81% | 4,301 | 1.42% | 4,006 | 1.3% |
| Mixed: White and Asian | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2,100 | 0.79% | 3,574 | 1.18% | 4,541 | 1.4% |
| Mixed: Other Mixed | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3,273 | 1.23% | 6,983 | 2.30% | 8,735 | 2.7% |
| Other: Total | – | – | – | – | 4,331 | 1.7% | 6,031 | 2.4% | 3,177 | 1.19% | 7,421 | 2.45% | 18,046 | 5.6% |
| Other: Arab | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1,728 | 0.57% | 2,649 | 0.8% |
| Other: Any other ethnic group | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3,177 | 1.19% | 5,693 | 1.88% | 15,397 | 4.8% |
| Ethnic minority: Total | – | 6.7% | – | 13.8% | 58,972 | 23.7% | 78,433 | 30.6% | 100,111 | 37.61% | 130,061 | 42.91% | 142,872 | 45% |
| Total | – | 100% | – | 100% | 248,690 | 100% | 256,601 | 100% | 266,169 | 100.00% | 303,086 | 100.00% | 317,650 | 100% |
| Ethnic Group | Ethnicity of Pupils in Lambeth | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000[34] | 2014[34] | 2023[34] | |
| % | % | % | |
| White: Total | 38.6% | 29.3% | 30.7% |
| White:British | 24.9% | 13.7% | 15.3% |
| White:Irish | 1.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% |
| White: Portuguese | 4.4% | 5.9% | 3% |
| White: Turkish | 0.6% | 0.4% | 0.3% |
| White: Greek | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| White:Other | 7% | 8.7% | 11.6% |
| Asian or Asian British: Total | 6.7% | 5.7% | 6.2% |
| Asian or Asian British:Indian | 1.6% | 0.7% | 0.9% |
| Asian or Asian British:Pakistani | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.5% |
| Asian or Asian British:Bangladeshi | 1.9% | 1.5% | 1.3% |
| Asian or Asian British:Chinese | 1.1% | 0.8% | 0.5% |
| Asian or Asian British: Vietnamese | 0.9% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Asian or Asian British: Other Asian | – | 1.3% | 1.8% |
| Black or Black British: Total | 54.8% | 44.7% | 38.4% |
| Black or Black British:African | 21.2% | 24.2% | 21.7% |
| Black or Black British:Caribbean | 22.6% | 16% | 12.4% |
| Black or Black British:Other Black | 11% | 4.5% | 4.3% |
| Mixed or British Mixed: Total | – | 12.9% | 15.7% |
| Mixed: White and Black Caribbean | – | 4.6% | 4.5% |
| Mixed: White and Black African | – | 2% | 2.2% |
| Mixed: White and Asian | – | 0.9% | 1.5% |
| Mixed: Other Mixed | – | 5.4% | 7.5% |
| Other: Total | – | 4.6% | 5.9% |
| Ethnic minority: Total | 61.4% | 70.7% | 69.3% |
| Total | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Language | 1992 | 2014 | 2023[34] |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | 76.0% | 49.6% | 51.8% |
| Portuguese | 1.5% | 7.6% | 6% |
| Spanish | 0.9% | 5.1% | 7.1% |
| Somali | 0.1% | 4.5% | 3.8% |
| French | 1.0% | 3.7% | 3.1% |
| Yoruba | 3.2% | 3.4% | 2.1% |
| Akan/TwiFante | 1.5% | 2.7% | 2.1% |
| Polish | 0.1% | 2.6% | 2.8% |
| Arabic | 1.2% | 2.5% | 3.1% |
| Bengali | 1.9% | 1.6% | 1.2% |
| Religion | 2011[36] | 2021[37] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | |
| Christian | 160,944 | 53.1 | 138,714 | 43.7 |
| Buddhist | 2,963 | 1.0 | 2,437 | 0.8 |
| Hindu | 3,119 | 1.0 | 3,179 | 1.0 |
| Jewish | 1,134 | 0.4 | 1,344 | 0.4 |
| Muslim | 21,500 | 7.1 | 25,871 | 8.1 |
| Sikh | 440 | 0.1 | 527 | 0.2 |
| Other religion | 1,682 | 0.6 | 2,351 | 0.7 |
| No religion | 84,803 | 28.0 | 119,123 | 37.5 |
| Religion not stated | 26,501 | 8.7% | 24,110 | 7.6 |
| Total | 303,086 | 100.00 | 317,600 | 100.0 |
Lambeth is the local authority with the highest relativegay orlesbian population in the UK, at 5.5%, with the borough containing thegay village of Vauxhall and the area around Clapham Common.[38]
The borough coversLondon Waterloo railway station, theWaterloo tube station network and (until 2007) theLondon terminus forEurostar.National Rail service in Lambeth is provided bySouth Western Railway,Southeastern,Southern,Thameslink andLondon Overground.
In March 2011, the primary forms of transport borough residents used to travel to work were the London Underground, metro, light rail or tram (21.4 percent of residents aged 16–74); bus, minibus or coach (10 percent); train (10 percent); automobile (8.6 percent); bicycle (5.7 percent), or walking (5.4 percent). A small percentage (3.2 percent) worked mainly at—or from—home.[39]
The formerMetropolitan Borough of Lambeth and its successor have beentwinned with theVincennes district of Paris in France since 1955. Lambeth is also twinned withBluefields,Nicaragua;Brooklyn, New York; andSpanish Town, Jamaica.
The borough's coat of arms is that of the formerMetropolitan Borough of Lambeth, with two gold stars (mullets) in the second and third quarters of the shield indicating the addition of the districts ofClapham andStreatham. Its motto is"Spectemur agendo" ("Let us be judged according to our conduct").
None the less, by 1963 a survey' carried out by the London Council of Social Service estimated that there were 10,000 West Indians in Lambeth, and according to well-informed West Indians living in the area this is almost certainly an underestimate.
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{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) CS1 maint: publisher location (link)The scale of the area for which one makes the definition will clearly affect the percentage. For example, in Great Britain the coloured ethnic population may form 4 per cent of the population; in England 4.6 per cent; in Greater London 14.3 per cent; in Lambeth 23.0 per cent; in Ferndale ward 43.3 percent and in certain streets, 100 per cent. In making statistical analyses of riots there is a major problem of the appropriate a real scale
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
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