Southfields

:"See Southfields, Leicestershire for the place in Leicester."

infobox UK place
country = England
map_type = Greater London
region= London
population=
official_name= Southfields
latitude= 51.4465
longitude= -0.1931
london_borough= Wandsworth
constituency_westminster=
post_town= LONDON
postcode_area=SW
postcode_district=SW18 and SW19
dial_code= 020
os_grid_reference= TQ255735

Southfields is a suburban district in the London Borough of Wandsworth, situated 5.6 miles (9 km) south-west of Charing Cross. Southfields is located partly in the SW18 postcode area and partly in SW19.

The main residential area of Southfields is "The Grid". "The Grid" is a series of parallel roads that are crossed at right angles by a series of parallel streets - so named because of the grid layout of the streets. The roads run from Replingham Road, in the north to Revelstoke Road, in the south, and the streets run from Elsenham Street, in the west, to Astonville Street (although Merton Road to the east of Astonville is the border of "The Grid"). "The Grid" consists almost entirely of Victorian built terrace houses, some of which have been converted into flats in the past, though conversions are no longer permitted on The Grid owing to a change in policy by Wandsworth Borough Council. These Victorian terraced houses were built at the same time as the bordering terraced housing Wimbledon Park and the avenues to the south of The Grid originally had the same names as the streets in Southfields that led to them.

A restrictive covenant or covenants at one time prevented any pubs from being built in the Southfields "Grid" area. However, in the 1990s, the covenants were apparently judged either to be ineffective or non-existent and two pubs have opened in adjoining premises on the south side of Replingham Road.

History

Until the late 19th century Southfields was still fields, situated between the more developed villages of Wimbledon and Putney.Fact|date=September 2008 Several of the former pathways through the fields form the routes of parts of today's road system, in particular Wimbledon Park Road and its continuation through Southfields Passage, which was the field path from Wimbledon to Wandsworth, Kimber Road and The Baulk, both of which were field paths and can be seen on old maps of the area.Fact|date=September 2008When the District & London & South Western Railway from Wimbledon to Putney Bridge opened in June 1889, the area started to take off, with the first school opening a year later on Merton Road, another of the main thoroughfares that were formerly paths through fields.Fact|date=September 2008

Once a working class enclave, the area has, like others around it, undergone a transformation in the 1990s, with house prices rising dramatically.Fact|date=September 2008 It attracts people from all over due to the transport links with the District Line and South West Trains, its parks and primary schools.Fact|date=September 2008

Toponymy

Southfields takes its name from the old manorial system, where it was known as the South Field of the manor of Dunsford. cite web|url=http://www.stuartking.net/quizform.php |title=Stuart's Putney Quiz answers |accessdate=2008-09-17 |last=King |first=Stuart |publisher=StuartKing.net ] The earlier name for the area dates back at least to the year 1247.Fact|date=September 2008

Governance

Southfields is one of the 20 wards that make up the London Borough of Wandsworth, and it supplies three of the Borough Council's 60 councillors. It is part of the Merton and Wandsworth constituency for the London Assembly.

Southfields falls within the parliamentary constituency of Putney. The current Member of Parliament for the constituency is the Conservative Justine Greening, who was elected in 2005 with a majority of 1,766.

Geography

Demography

According to the 2001 census the ward of Southfields had a population of 14,067. The area is predominantly white in its ethnic origin: 82% of residents of the ward described themselves as white in their response to the census. cite web|url=http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/nr/wandsworth/asp/census/cenSouthfields.pdf |title=2001 Census – Wandsworth Factsheet: Southfields Ward |accessdate=2008-09-16 |date=2003 |format=PDF |publisher=Wandsworth Borough Council ]

The area is also home to a significant South African community, composed predominantly of young white professionals who have left South Africa for reasons of employment, career experience, money and travel since employment at home became harder following the introduction of Black Economic Empowerment. This has given rise to the nickname "Saffafields". cite web|url=http://www.southafrican.co.uk/living.aspx?ID=562 |title=How SW London became SA London |accessdate=2008-09-17 |last=Burgess |first=Simon |work=The South African |publisher=Blue Sky Publications |archiveurl=http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:S6Sh24QuYqoJ:www.southafrican.co.uk/living.aspx%3FID%3D562+southfields+%22south+african%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=6&gl=uk |archivedate=2008-09-04 ]

Transport

The A3 trunk road runs south west towards Portsmouth and north east into central London along Southfields' northern edge; the district is bounded by the A218 (Merton Road) to the east and the A219 (Parkside Avenue) to the west.

Southfields is serviced by bus routes 39 (Clapham Junction to Putney Bridge, operated by Go-Ahead London) and 493 (Tooting Broadway to Richmond, operated by NCP-Challenger).

Southfields tube station is in Travelcard Zone 3 of the London Underground network, situated between East Putney and Wimbledon Park on the Wimbledon branch of the District line. Southfields is the main London Underground station for the Wimbledon Tennis Championships.

Southfields is not serviced by the National Rail network. The nearest National Rail stations are Earlsfield, Wimbledon and Putney.

Religion

In 1984, following persecution in Pakistan, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community moved its headquarters to Southfields. The Fazl Mosque, known colloquially as the "London Mosque", is located in Southfields and is the home of the Khalifatul Masih.

Notable people

References

External links

* [http://southfields.net/phorum/list.php?3 Southfields.net]
* [http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/Home/LeisureandTourism/Aboutborough/abthistory.htm#earlsfield Borough history]
* [http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/Home/LeisureandTourism/Museum/StoryofWandsworth/default.htm Story of Wandsworth]
* [http://sgra.southfields.net/ Southfields Grid Residents Association]
* [http://www.southfields.wandsworth.sch.uk/ Southfields Community College]
* [http://www.wandsworthclc.org/main.htm Wandsworth City Learning Centre] (based in Southfields)
* [http://southfieldstimes.co.uk/ The Southfields Times]