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London Borough of Lewisham
London borough
The A21 passing through Lewisham
Coat of armsCouncil logo
Lewisham shown within Greater London
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	London
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Created	1 April 1965
Admin HQ	Catford
Government
• Type	London borough council
• Body	Lewisham London Borough Council
• London Assembly	Len Duvall AM for Greenwich and Lewisham
• MPs	Ellie Reeves (Labour) Vicky Foxcroft (Labour) Janet Daby (Labour)
Area
• Total	13.57 sq mi (35.15 km)
• Rank	271st (of 296)
Population
• Total	298,653
• Rank	49th (of 296)
• Density	22,000/sq mi (8,500/km)
Time zone	UTC (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
Postcodes	SE, BR
Area code	020
ISO 3166 code	GB-LEW
ONS code	00AZ
GSS code	E09000023
Police	Metropolitan Police
Website	Council Website

Lewisham (/ˈluːɪʃəm/ LOO-ish-əm) is a London borough in south-east London, England. It forms part of Inner London. The principal settlement of the borough is Lewisham. The local authority is Lewisham London Borough Council, based in Catford. The Prime Meridian passes through Lewisham. Blackheath, Goldsmiths, University of London and Millwall F.C. are located within the borough.

History

The modern borough broadly corresponds to the area of the ancient parishes of Lee and Lewisham, plus the later parish of Deptford St Paul, created in 1730 when the ancient parish of Deptford was subdivided. (The other Deptford parish created in 1730, Deptford St Nicholas, went instead to the borough of Greenwich.) Most of the area was historically in the county of Kent, although Deptford St Paul straddled the boundary with Surrey, with its chapelry of Hatcham (the area now known as New Cross) being in the latter county. From 1856 the area was governed by the Metropolitan Board of Works, which was established to provide services across the metropolis of London.

In 1889 the Metropolitan Board of Works' area was made the County of London. From 1856 until 1900 the lower tier of local government within the metropolis comprised various parish vestries and district boards. In 1900 the lower tier was reorganised into metropolitan boroughs, two of which were Lewisham (covering the parishes of Lewisham and Lee) and Deptford (covering the parish of Deptford St Paul).

The larger London Borough of Lewisham was created in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963, as an amalgamation of the former area of the metropolitan boroughs of Lewisham and Deptford.

Minor boundary changes have occurred since its creation. The most significant amendments were made in 1996, when the former area of the Royal Docks in Deptford was transferred from the London Borough of Greenwich.

Geography

The borough is surrounded by the Royal Borough of Greenwich to the east (where the border runs between Deptford and Horn Park), the London Borough of Bromley to the south (where the border runs between Horn Park and Crystal Palace Park), and the London Borough of Southwark to the west (where the border runs between Crystal Palace Park and Rotherhithe). 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. 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. Millwall F.C. are based in the borough, their stadium The Den being located in South Bermondsey.

Governance

The local authority is Lewisham Council, based at Lewisham Town Hall and the adjoining Laurence House in the Catford area of the borough. Since 2002 the council has been led by the directly elected Mayor of Lewisham. A speaker fulfils the civic and ceremonial roles previously undertaken by the (non-political) mayor prior to 2002. The current mayor, Brenda Dacres, was the first black woman directly elected mayor in England when elected in March 2024.

Greater London representation

Since 2000, for elections to the London Assembly, the borough forms part of the Greenwich and Lewisham constituency.

Westminster Parliament

The borough includes the constituencies of Lewisham Deptford, Lewisham West and Penge and Lewisham East.

These are the MPs who have represented constituencies covered by the borough since its formation in 1964. Constituencies change their boundaries over time, even where names remain the same.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, Lewisham has a population of 275,885, is 53% white and 47% BME, and 43% of households are owner-occupiers.

A 2017 report by Trust for London and the New Policy Institute found that Lewisham has a poverty rate of 26%, close to the London-wide figure of 27%.

Ethnicity

Religion

The following table shows the religious identity of residents residing in Lewisham according to 2021 census results

Age and sex

The male population in Lewisham is 157,820, and the female population is 142,733. The average age of people living in Lewisham is 37 years old.

The following table shows the age distributions of residents residing in Lewisham according to 2021 census results.

Education

The London's Poverty Profile, a report by Trust for London and the New Policy Institute, found that 42% of 19-year-olds in Lewisham lack level 3 qualifications. This is the 3rd worst rate out of 32 boroughs.

In 2018, Lewisham had the third highest rate of exclusions of pupils from secondary schools of any area in England.

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 (on the London Underground network) terminated at New Cross and New Cross Gate until December 2007. An extension to this line opened on 23 May 2010, serving Brockley, Honor Oak Park, Forest Hill, and Sydenham. This forms part of the London Overground network.

The South London Line runs along the extreme North West of the borough, at present there are no stations that are within the borough. There is a proposal for a new station at New Bermondsey providing a link to Clapham Junction.

Railway stations

DLR stations

• Deptford Bridge – on the border between Lewisham and Greenwich.
• Elverson Road – on the border between Lewisham and Greenwich.
• Lewisham

London Underground

There are no Tube stations currently in the borough, as the East London Line has been part of London Overground since 2006. However, an extension of the Bakerloo line beyond Elephant & Castle to Lewisham and Hayes has been proposed.

Cycling

Quietway one links Lewisham to Greenwich and in toward central London

One Cycle Superhighways will operate through Lewisham in the future.

• CS4 – Will along Deptford's Evelyn Street (A200). Will operate between Greenwich and Tower Bridge. Construction will start in Summer 2019

Main roads

• A2 from the border with Old Kent Road in the west to Kidbrooke in the east.
• A20 from New Cross to the border with Eltham in the east.
• A21 from Lewisham to the border with Bromley in the south.
• A202 from New Cross Gate to the border with Peckham in the west.
• A205 (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 a one-lane-each-way road.

Travel to work

In March 2011, the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were: train, 18.6% of all residents aged 16–74; driving a car or van, 11.2%; bus, minibus or coach, 11.2%; underground, metro, light rail, tram, 9.7%; on foot, 4.3%; work mainly at or from home, 2.8%; bicycle, 2.6%.

48% of households in the borough are car free, compared to 42% across Greater London.

Culture

Lewisham won London Borough of Culture for 2020. The prestigious award, is a major initiative launched by the Mayor of London in June 2017, will see Lewisham receive £1.35 million to stage an ambitious, year-long programme of cultural events celebrating the wealth of creative talent in the borough and delivering lasting social change.

Sport and leisure

Millwall Football Club was originally formed in 1885, in Millwall on the Isle of Dogs, East London. They retained the name, even though they moved across the river to New Cross, South London in 1910. In 1993 they moved to their current stadium, The Den which is in Bermondsey, but falls under the Borough of Lewisham. The Borough has a Non-League football club Lewisham Borough Football Club, who play at the Ladywell Arena, Catford.

Civic affairs

Motto

The motto of the borough is "Salus Populi Suprema Lex", which means (roughly translated) "The welfare of the people the highest law."

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, Town Clerk (9 December 1971)
• Frederick William Winslade, appointed OBE for services to local government in Lewisham and Camberwell New Year Honours 1967 and CBE for services to local government in Lewisham Birthday Honours 1978(28 November 1975)
• Daisy Amelia Elizabeth Hurren (10 October 1985)
• Alfred Anderson Hawkins (30 March 1990)
• Desmond Tutu (4 May 1990)
• Terry Waite (16 November 1992)
• Sybil Theodora Phoenix,(8 March 1996)
• Dame Cicely Saunders, (10 March 2000)
• James Leslie Hicks ('Les') Eytle (8 June 2007)
• Dame Erica Pienaar (2013)
• Baroness (Doreen) Lawrence of Clarendon, (2014)
• Dame Joan Ruddock (2016)
• Bridget Prentice (2016)

See also

• List of people from Lewisham
• List of public art in Lewisham

References

1. Metropolis Management Act 1855 (18 & 19 Vict. c. 120)
2. London Government Act 1899 (62 & 63 Vict. c. 14)
3. Vision of Britain Archived 11 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine – Lewisham LB
4. OPSI – The Greenwich and Lewisham (London Borough Boundaries) Order 1993
5. "First black woman wins directly elected mayoralty". BBC News. 8 March 2024. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
6. "2011 Census Second Release December 2012" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 March 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
7. "London's Poverty Profile". Trust for London. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
8. "Lewisham: Total Population". A Vision of Britain Through Time. Great Britain Historical GIS Project. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
9. "Migration and London's growth" (PDF). LSE.
10. Equality, Commission for Racial (1985). "Ethnic minorities in Britain: statistical information on the pattern of settlement". Commission for Racial Equality: Table 2.2.
11. "1991 census – theme tables". NOMIS. Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
12. "KS006 - Ethnic group". NOMIS. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
13. "Ethnic Group by measures". NOMIS. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
14. "Ethnic group - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
15. ^ "Religion - Religion by local authorities, ONS".
16. "Lewisham Area Information - Map | Demographics". postcodeinfo.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
17. "London's Poverty Profile". Trust for London. Archived from the original on 3 July 2018. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
18. Children and Young People Select Committee (5 September 2018). "Exclusions from school – an in-depth review" (PDF). London Borough of Lewisham. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 July 2019.
19. "Bakerloo line extension". Transport for London.
20. "2011 Census: QS701EW Method of travel to work, local authorities in England and Wales". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 23 November 2013. Percentages are of all residents aged 16–74 including those not in employment. Respondents could only pick one mode, specified as the journey’s longest part by distance.
21. 2011 Census, Car or Van Availability (QS416EW)
22. Supplement to the London Gazette 1 January 1967, p. 15
23. "Supplement to the London Gazette 3 June 1978, p. 6237" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 November 2012.

External links

• Lewisham London Borough Council

v t e London Borough of Lewisham
Districts	Bell Green Bellingham Blackheath Brockley Catford Chinbrook Crofton Park Crystal Palace Deptford Downham Forest Hill Grove Park Hither Green Honor Oak Ladywell Lee Lewisham Lower Sydenham Mottingham New Cross Perry Vale Southend St Johns Sydenham Sydenham Hill Upper Sydenham Telegraph Hill
Attractions	Albany Theatre Broadway Theatre Brockley Jack Theatre The Den (Millwall Football Club) Deptford Market Horniman Museum Lewisham Shopping Centre Rivoli Ballroom St Paul's, Deptford Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance
Parks and open spaces	Beckenham Place Park Blythe Hill Fields Bridgehouse Meadows Brookmill Park Brookmill Road Local Nature Reserve Burnt Ash Pond Chinbrook Meadows Dacres Wood Deptford Park Downham Fields Downham Woodland Walk Folkestone Gardens Fordham Park Forster Memorial Park Grove Park Nature Reserve Hilly Fields Park Ladywell Fields Lewisham Park Manor House Gardens Mayow Park Mountsfield Park New Cross Gate Cutting Northbrook Park Pepys Park Sayes Court Sue Godfrey Nature Park Sydenham Wells Park
Constituencies	Lewisham West and Penge Lewisham East Lewisham Deptford
Rail stations	Beckenham Hill Bellingham Blackheath Brockley Catford Catford Bridge Crofton Park Deptford Deptford Bridge Elveson Road Forest Hill Grove Park Hither Green Honor Oak Park Ladywell Lewisham Lee Lower Sydenham New Cross New Cross Gate St Johns Sydenham
Other topics	Council Grade I and II* listed buildings People Public art Schools
Category Commons

51°25′N 0°02′W / 51.417°N 0.033°W / 51.417; -0.033

• London Borough of Lewisham
• London boroughs
• Local authorities adjoining the River Thames
• 1965 establishments in the United Kingdom