A BRIEF HISTORY OF CLAPHAM
By Tim Lambert
Early Clapham
Clapham began as a Saxon village. Its name was originally clopp ham, which meant the village (ham) by the short hill (clopp). In the Domesday Book Clapham was called Clopeham.
In 1086 a Norman named Geoffrey de Mandeville held Clapham. To us it would seem a tiny place with a population of less than 100 people. Even by the standards of the time Clapham was a small village.
In the Middle Ages Clapham was surrounded by 3 large fields. Each year 2 were planted with crops while one was left fallow. The fields were rotated so the soil was never exhausted. The villagers grazed their livestock on Clapham Common.
At that time the peasant's huts in Clapham were made with a wooden frame filled in with wattle and daub. (Wickerwork with plaster). Roofs were thatched. In the 16th and 17th centuries these simple huts were replaced by brick houses.
Clapham began to grow in the late 17th century. Refugees arrived from the Great Plague of London in 1665 and the fire of 1666. By the end of the century Clapham was quite a large village. In the late 18th century it became a fashionable place for the rich to live as it was close to the amenities of London but was in a rural setting away from the dirt and noise of the city.
Gauden Road is named after Sir Dennis Gauden who was a victualler (supplier of provisions) to the navy and who lived in Clapham in the late 17th century.
From 1690 stagecoaches ran between Clapham and London.
St Paul's was the original parish church of Clapham. Holy Trinity was built in 1776.
In the 18th century lavender was grown in fields near Clapham. It was used to make perfume. That is where Lavender Hill got its name.
In the 18th century a number of distinguished people lived in Clapham. In 1700 the famous diarist Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) retired to Clapham. Furthermore in the late 18th century and the 19th century a number of distinguished men lived in Clapham.
Among them was Henry Cavendish (1731-1810), who moved to Clapham Common in 1783. Cavendish was a very shy and reclusive man but he was also a brilliant scientist. He calculated the density of the earth. He also conducted experiments into gases.
Captain Cook's widow Elizabeth lived in Clapham from 1788 to 1835.
At the end of the 18th century and in the early 19th century the village of Clapham in Surrey (as it was then) was the focus of a group of evangelical Christians. In the mid-19th century they became known as the Clapham Sect because so many of its members lived in Clapham. (They were also nicknamed 'The Saints' by their enemies.
Members of the Clapham Sect campaigned for an end to slavery and cruel 'sports'. However the Clapham Sect did not believe in radical social reform and wished to preserve the existing class system.
Among their leading lights were John Thornton (1720-1790) a merchant and his son Henry Thornton (1760-1815). John Venn (1759-1813) was another member of the Clapham Sect. He became vicar of Clapham in 1792. Others were James Stephen (1758-1832) a lawyer who moved to Clapham in 1797, Zachary Macaulay (1768-1838) who moved to Clapham in 1802 and John Shore, Baron Teignmouth (1751-1834) who also moved to Clapham in 1802.
William Wilberforce (1759-1813) a key figure in the abolition of slavery was also a member of the Clapham Sect. He lived in Clapham for a time but poor health forced him to move in order to be closer to parliament.
John Walter (1739-1812) who founded The Times newspaper also lived in Clapham.
Modern Clapham
In the 19th century Charles Barry (1795-1860) the architect who designed the Houses of Parliament lived in Clapham. So did John Francis Bentley (1839-1902) who designed Westminster Cathedral.
In 1801 at the time of the first census Clapham was ceasing to be a village outside London and it was becoming a suburb. At that time it had a population of 3,864. It would seem small to us but at the time Clapham was quite a large place - it was larger than many provincial market towns.
Furthermore Clapham and the surrounding area were transformed by railways. The railway made it possible for commuters to live in Clapham and travel to work in London. Once railways were built Clapham and the surrounding areas quickly became suburbs of the metropolis.
The first railway in the Clapham area was the London to Southampton railway, which was built in 1838 and which terminated at Nine Elms. Clapham Junction was built in 1863.
In the mid-19th century Cedars Estate was built by the architect Sir James Knowles (1831-1908). Also in the mid-19th century Thomas Cubitt (1788-1855) built the Clapham Park Estate. He began by buying 229 acres of land in 1825 and he built many grand houses there. However in the 1920s council houses were built nearby and after World War II most of Cubitt's houses were destroyed and replaced by council housing. William Bonney Estate of flats was built in the 1930s.
By 1851 the population of Clapham had reached over 16,000 and by 1901 it had passed 54,000.
Meanwhile in 1855 the Metropolitan Board of Works was formed in London. In 1877 they purchased Clapham Common. The Board turned the Common into a formal recreation ground for games like cricket, football and golf.
Meanwhile Clapham Grand was built in 1900. It was designed by the architect E A Woodrow.
The Japanese poet Natsume Soseki lived in Clapham in 1900-1902. There is now a Soseki museum in Clapham. Furthermore the house where Soseki lived now has an English Heritage blue plaque.
Two other famous Japanese people lived in Clapham, the writer Yukichi Fukuzawa (1835-1901) and the economist Shinzo Koizumi (1888-1966).
Clapham Fire Station was built in 1964. Clapham Common Clinic opened in 1986.
Clapham Picture House opened in 1992. Clapham Art Gallery opened in 1998.
Today Clapham is a thriving district of London.
To read a history of Southwark click here.