Borough of Lewisham

This London borough situated in the southeast part of London derives its name from Saxon origins meaning “house among the meadows.”  Starting as small hamlets and villages, the area was wooded providing wood for charcoal and later brick making.  Parts of the current borough that were situated on the River Thames became the centre for Royal shipbuilding.  Deptford, meaning “deep ford”, provided the ideal space for Henry VIII to initiate the Royal Dockyard in 1513.  Other maritime industries also sprang up around the area making the area prosperous especially in times of war.  In 1698, the Tsar of Russia, Peter the Great, studied shipbuilding at the Royal Dockyard. Ships eventually gave way to rails.  In 1836, London’s first railway ran through the area of Deptford on its way to neighboring Greenwich.  Trains began running north and south under the Thames in 1869. Unfortunately, Lewisham was the site of one of the worst train disasters in 1957 causing major wreckage and 90 fatalities.

The Guilds have invested in the area of Lewisham with the Haberdashers Company purchasing land to build houses for schools and the Goldsmiths Company acquiring buildings such as the former Deptford Town Hall to continue the expansion of Goldsmiths College.  In 1944, during World War II, Lewisham’s town centre was hit by a V-1 bomb killing over 300 people. A plaque commemorating this is located outside the Lewisham shopping centre.  The largest police station in Europe is also located in Lewisham.  Notable figures having links to the borough are Samuel Pepys, known for his diary but also Clerk to the Navy Board.  Edith Nesbit authored The Railway Children. Archbishop Desmond Tutu lived in the borough from 1972-1975.   Horatio Hornblower novelist CS Forrester lived in the borough during the 1930s.  The publisher, Stanley Unwin took a risk and published Tolkiens’ The Lord of the Rings.

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