Bellingham, London

History

According to author and historian Nick Barratt, there was certainly a Saxon community at Bellingham. In 10th-century Anglo-Saxon charters, the place is referred to as Beringaham and by 1198 the name had changed from starting with 'Ber' to 'Bel' through Norman influence. Some streets in Bellingham are named after the Saxon king Alfred the Great and his extended family: King Alfred Avenue, Elfrida Crescent and Arnulf Street.

The area was farmland for centuries, but the London County Council developed a cottage estate from 1919 to 1923 on the former Bellingham Farm, and was completed before World War II. The estate is bordered to the east and west by railway lines running south from Catford. Along the south it is bordered by Southend Lane, the A2218 main road. The River Ravensbourne runs through Bellingham, although it is either underground or part of a man-made section of the river. The Greenwich Prime Meridian passes to the east of Bellingham.

Amenities

Randlesdown Road serves as a mini 'High Street' for Bellingham providing a local supermarket, men's and women's hair dressers, dry cleaner, off licence, news agent, fish and chip shop, The Fellowship pub and cinema, various takeaways and a gym (situated on Bellingham playing fields). It is known for being a very multicultural area.

Bellingham Green is a hexagonal public park at the centre of the estate.

Transport

Bellingham railway station serves the area with services to Kentish Town (London Blackfriars off peak) via Catford and to Sevenoaks via Swanley. Bellingham is served by many Transport for London buses connecting it with areas including Beckenham, Biggin Hill, Bromley, Catford, Central London, Greenwich, Shoreditch, Camberwell, Bermondsey, Deptford, Elephant & Castle, Brockley, Lewisham, New Cross, Orpington, Peckham and Woolwich.

Pre-school and primary education

Pre-schools, nurseries and kindergartens include Kindergarten Forest Hill in Bellingham Green and Umbrella House Day Nursery. Primary schools in Bellingham include Athelney Primary School, St Augustines and Elfrida Primary School.

Image gallery

|File:Henry Cooper's house on Farmstead Road.jpg |Plaque showing former home of heavyweight boxing champion Henry Cooper at 120 Farmstead Road, Bellingham, London Borough of Lewisham |File:Adolf Street, Bellingham LB Lewisham 2020.jpg |Adolf Street in the Bellingham Estate which was constructed during Adolf Hitler's rise to power as leader of the German Nationalist Socialist Party

References

References

1. "Lewisham Ward population 2011". Office for National Statistics.
2. Barratt, Nick. (2012). "Greater London – The Story of the Suburbs". [[Random House]].
3. "Bellingham, Lewisham".
4. Lewisham Archive https://boroughphotos.org/lewisham/bellingham-farm-7/
5. (18 December 2020). "Lower Sydenham and Bell Green Vision Study – Baseline Appraisal". [[Lewisham London Borough Council]].