Wandsworth | |
---|---|
St Anne's Church, Wandsworth |
|
Wandsworth shown within Greater London | |
Population | 61,594 (2011 census) |
OS grid reference | TQ255755 |
• Charing Cross | 4.6 mi (7.4 km) NE |
London borough | |
Ceremonial county | Greater London |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | LONDON |
Postcode district | SW18 |
Dialling code | 020 |
Police | Metropolitan |
Fire | London |
Ambulance | London |
EU Parliament | London |
UK Parliament | |
London Assembly | |
Wandsworth /ˈwɒnzwərθ/ is a district of southwest London within the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated 4.6 miles (7.4 km) southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater 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. This means 'enclosure of (a man named) Waendel', whose name is also lent to the River Wandle. To distinguish it from the London Borough of Wandsworth, and historically from the Wandsworth District of the Metropolis and the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth, which all covered larger areas, it is also known as Wandsworth Town.
At the time of the Domesday Book (1086), the manor of Wandsworth was held partly by William, son of Ansculfy, and partly by St Wandrille's Abbey. Its Domesday assets were 12 hides, with 5½ ploughs and 22 acres (89,000 m2) 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.