Lewisham

: See also Lewisham, New South Wales for the suburb of Sydney, Australia

Related Topics:
Lewisham, New South Wales - Sydney, Australia

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Lewisham is an area within the London Borough of Lewisham in south-east London. It is a major transport hub, lying on the A20 road towards Dover and at the start of A21 to Hastings, with its own bus station, mainline railway station and the southern terminus of the Docklands Light Railway.

Related Topics:
London Borough of Lewisham - London - A20 road - Dover - A21 - Hastings - Mainline railway station - Terminus - Docklands Light Railway

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It is most likely to have been founded by a pagan Jute, Leof, who settled (by burning his boat) near St Mary's Church (Ladywell) where the ground was drier, in the 6th Century. 'Leofshema' was an important settlement at the confluence of the rivers Quaggy (from Farnborough) and Ravensbourne (Caesar's Well, Keston), so the village expanded north into the wetter area as drainage techniques improved. In the mid-fifteenth century the then vicar of Lewisham, Abraham Colfe, built a grammar school, primary school and six almshouses for the inhabitants.

Related Topics:
Jute - St Mary - Ladywell - 6th Century - Quaggy - Ravensbourne - Fifteenth century - Grammar school - Primary school - Almshouse

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The village of Lewisham was originally centred further south around the parish church of St Mary, towards the present site of University Hospital Lewisham. The centre migrated north with the coming of the North Kent railway line to Dartford in 1849, encouraging commuter housing.

Related Topics:
University Hospital Lewisham - Railway - Dartford - 1849

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Lewisham's High Street is particularly long and wide for a London suburb. The town centre was bombed in 1944, commemorated by a plaque outside the Lewisham Shopping Centre (opened in 1977). This area at the north end of the High Street was pedestrianised in 1994. It is home to a daily street market and a local landmark, the Clock Tower, completed in 1900 to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897.

Related Topics:
High Street - 1944 - Shopping Centre - 1977 - Pedestrian - 1994 - Clock Tower - 1900 - Queen Victoria - Diamond Jubilee - 1897

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The police station, which was opened in 2004 to replace the station in Ladywell, is reputedly one of the largest in Europe. The A20 roundabout (installed in good faith in 1999) is to be removed and a new road system put in place as part of 'Urban Renaissance Lewisham' which will see a greater appreciation of the rivers upon which the village was founded (http://qwag.org.uk).

Related Topics:
Police - 2004 - 1999

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