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Coordinates: 51°25′40″N 0°07′25″W / 51.4279°N 0.1235°W / 51.4279; -0.1235

Streatham
Streatham Green
Streatham  Streatham shown within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ305715
London borough	Lambeth
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	SW16, SW2
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Streatham
London Assembly	Lambeth and Southwark
List of places: UK • England • London

Streatham ( /ˈstrɛtəm/) is a district in South London, England, located in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.^[1]

History[link]

Streatham means "the hamlet on the street". The street in question, the London to Brighton Way, was the Roman Road from the capital Londinium to the coast near Portslade. It is likely that the destination was a Roman port now lost to coastal erosion, which has been tentatively identified with the 'Novus Portus' mentioned in Ptolemy's Geographia.^[2] The road is confusingly referred to as Stane Street in some sources, although it diverges from the main London-Chichester road at Kennington.

After the departure of the Romans, the main road through Streatham remained an important trackway. From the seventeenth century it was adopted as the main coach road to Croydon and East Grinstead, and then on to Newhaven and Lewes. In 1780 it then became the route of the turnpike road from London to Brighton, and subsequently became the basis for the modern A23. This road (and its traffic) have shaped Streatham's development.

Streatham's first parish church, St Leonard's, dates back to Saxon times, although only the mediaeval tower remains in the present church. The mediaeval parish covered an extensive area, including most of modern Balham and parts of Tooting.

Streatham appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Estreham. It was held by Bec-Hellouin Abbey (in Normandy) from Richard de Tonbrige. Its domesday assets were: 2 hides and 1 virgates; 6½ ploughs, 4 acres (16,000 m²) of meadow, and herbage. It rendered £4 5s 0d.^[3]

The village remained largely unchanged until the 18th century, when the village's natural springs, known as Streatham Wells, were first celebrated for their health-giving properties. The reputation of the spa, and improved turnpike roads, attracted wealthy City of London merchants and others to build their country residences in Streatham. Few of these large houses still remain, as the area was rapidly urbanised as London expanded.

Streatham Park or Streatham Place[link]

In the 1730s, Streatham Park, a Georgian country mansion, was built by the brewer Ralph Thrale on land he bought from the Lord of the Manor - the fourth Duke of Bedford. Streatham Park later passed to Ralph's son Henry Thrale, who with his wife Hester Thrale entertained many of the leading literary and artistic characters of the day, most notably the lexicographer Samuel Johnson. The dining room contained 12 portraits of Henry's guests painted by his friend Joshua Reynolds. These pictures were wittily labelled by Fanny Burney as the Streatham Worthies.^[4]

Streatham Park was later leased to Prime Minister Lord Shelburne, and was the venue for early negotiations with France that lead to the Peace Treaty of 1783. Streatham Park was demolished in 1863.

Park Hill[link]

One large house that survives is Park Hill, on the north side of Streatham Common, rebuilt in the early 19th century for the Leaf family. It was latterly the home of Sir Henry Tate, sugar refiner, benefactor of local libraries across south London, including Streatham Library, and founder of the Tate Gallery at Millbank.

Urbanisation[link]

Development accelerated after the opening of Streatham Hill railway station on the West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway in 1856. The other two railway stations followed within fifteen years. Some estates, such as Telford Park to the west of Streatham Hill, were spaciously planned with facilities like tennis clubs.^[5] Despite the local connections to the Dukes of Bedford, there is no link to the contemporary Bedford Park in west London. Another generously sized development was Roupell Park, the area near Christchurch Road promoted by the Roupell family. Other streets adopted more conventional suburban layouts. Three more parish churches were built to serve the growing area, including Immanuel and St Andrews (1854), St Peter (1870) and St Margaret the Queen (1889). There is now a mixture of buildings from all architectural eras of the past 200 years.

The inter-war period[link]

After the First World War Streatham developed as a location for entertainment, with Streatham Hill Theatre (now a bingo hall), three cinemas, the Locarno ballroom (latterly Caesar's nightclub, which closed in 2010) and Streatham Ice Rink all adding to its reputation as "the West End of South London". With the advent of electric tram services it also grew as a shopping centre serving a wide area to the south. In the 1930s large numbers of blocks of flats were constructed along High Road. These speculative developments were not initially successful. They were only filled when émigré communities began to arrive in London after leaving countries under the domination of Hitler's Germany. In 1932 the parish church of the Holy Redeemer was built in Streatham Vale to commemorate the work of William Wilberforce.^[6]

Retail decline and recovery[link]

Pratts department store in summer 1978

In the 1950s Streatham had the longest and busiest shopping street in south London. Streatham became the site of the UK's first supermarket, when Express Dairies Premier Supermarkets opened its first 2,500 square feet (230 m²) store in 1951;^[7] Waitrose subsequently opened its first supermarket in Streatham in 1955.

However, a combination of factors led to a gradual decline through the 1970s and a more rapid decline in the 1980s. These included long term population movements out to Croydon, Kingston and Sutton; the growth of heavy traffic on the A23 (main road from central London to Gatwick Airport and Brighton), and a lack of redevelopment sites in the town centre. This culminated in 1990 when the closure of Pratts - a department store, which had grown from a Victorian draper's shop, and had been operated since the 1940s by the John Lewis Partnership - coincided with the opening of a large Sainsbury's supermarket 1 km south of the town centre, replacing an old, smaller Sainbury's store opposite Streatham Hill station.

More recently Sainsbury's opened smaller 'Local' branches on the High Road and on Streatham Hill, near the site of the Streatham's first Sainsbury store (opened in 1895). Several recent additions, such as Argos, Lidl and Peacocks, are located in new retail spaces on the site of Pratts' but in common with other outer London high streets, retail recovery has been slow, and a substantial proportion of vacant space has been taken by a growing number of restaurants, bars and coffee shops. In August 2011 Streatham was selected as one of the areas to benefit from Round 1 of the Mayor of London's Outer London Fund^[8].

Contemporary Streatham[link]

Streatham Green

In September 2002, Streatham High Road was voted the "Worst Street in Britain"^[9] in a poll organised by the BBC Today programme and CABE. This largely reflected the dominance of through traffic along the High Road.

Plans for investment and regeneration had begun before the poll, with local amenity group The Streatham Society leading a successful partnership bid for funding from central government for environmental improvements. Work started in winter 2003-04 with the refurbishment of Streatham Green and repaving and relighting of the High Road between St Leonard's Church and the Odeon Cinema. In 2005 Streatham Green won the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association 'London Spade' award for best public open space scheme in the capital.

The poll was a catalyst for Lambeth London Borough Council and Transport for London's Street Management to co-operate on a joint funding arrangement for further streetscape improvements, which benefited The Dip between St Leonard's and Streatham station and the stretch north of the Odeon as far as Woodbourne Avenue. However, further spending has currently been halted because of TfL's budgetary shortfall.

Streatham Festival was established in 2002. It has grown to a festival with over 50 events held in an array of locations, from bars to churches and parks to youth centres, attracting over 3,000 people.

After several years of delay and controversy over phasing, construction started in the autumn of 2011 on the Streatham Hub - a major redevelopment next to Streatham railway station. The project is a joint development by Lambeth Council and Tesco.

The Streatham Hub project involves the demolition of Streatham Ice Arena, Streatham Leisure Centre and the former Streatham Bus Garage, and their replacement with a new leisure centre and a Tesco store with 250 flats above it. The leisure centre will be owned by Lambeth and will have an ice rink on the upper floors with a sports hall, gym and swimming pool on the levels below. Streatham Leisure Centre had been closed since November 2009 due to health and safety concerns when part of the pool hall ceiling collapsed. ^[10] Streatham Ice Arena closed on December 18 2011, having celebrated eighty years of operation in February 2011. The new ice rink and leisure centre are scheduled to open in late 2013. During the closure period, a temporary ice rink is operating at Popes Road in Brixton.

Local sport[link]

• Streatham Redskins (ice hockey)
• Dulwich Hamlet F.C.
• South London Storm (rugby league)
• Streatham-Croydon RFC
• There is an annual kite fair on Streatham Common

Local places of worship[link]

The "twin spires" at the centre of Streatham, visible from the top of Streatham Common are:

• St Leonard's Church (Church of England) - the historic parish church
• English Martyrs church (Roman Catholic)

Other places of worship include:

• Christ Church, Streatham Hill (Church of England)
• Holy Redeemer Church, Streatham Vale (Church of England)
• St Margaret the Queen, Cricklade Avenue, Streatham Hill (Church of England)
• St Peter's Church, Streatham (Church of England)
• St Simon and St Jude, Hillside Road, Streatham Hill (Roman Catholic)
• Streatham Baptist Church, Lewin Road
• Hambro Road Baptist Church
• Streatham Methodist Church, Riggindale Road
• New Covenant Church, Pendennis Road
• Islamic Centre, Estreham Road (Shi’a)
• Streatham Mosque, Mitcham Lane (Deobandi Sunni)
• South London Synagogue, Leigham Court Road (United Synagogue)
• South London Liberal Synagogue, Prentis Road (Liberal Judaism)

Notable residents[link]

The first Mayor of London and former head of the GLC Ken Livingstone spent most of his childhood in Streatham.

The only official English Heritage blue plaque in central Streatham is on the childhood home of composer Arnold Bax in Pendennis Road.

Just within the modern boundaries of Streatham Hill, although historically it was in Norwood, there is also a blue plaque on the house in Lanercost Road where Arthur Mee the writer of Arthur Mee's Children's Encyclopedia lived.

Georges Montefiore-Levi (1832-1906), a Belgian inventor, born in Streatham.

Ken Mackintosh, one of the leading dance band leaders of the 1950s and 1960s, lived for many years at 26, South Side, Streatham Common. Drum and bass DJ Grooverider is from Streatham. Mark King (Level 42) lived for several years in the Spinney and Boon Gould (Level 42) lived for several years in Gleneldon Road. Another resident of Gleneldon Road was Gerry Shephard, guitarist with the Glitter Band, who lived at no. 93 until his death in May 2003. Singer Jay Aston lived in Streatham after leaving Bucks Fizz.

Siobhan Dowd, author, lived in Abbotsford Road (1960–1978). Beryl Kingston, popular novelist, lived at Strathbrook Road from 1956–1980 and taught at what was then Rosa Bassett School in Welham Road, and also at Sunnyhill Primary School. Dennis Wheatley, author, was born in Streatham, and lived for a time on Valley Road. Leila Berg, author and journalist, lived for many years at 25, South Side, Streatham Common. Several of her books feature photographs by John Walmsley taken in Streatham, which depict residents of Streatham in their daily lives.

From the world of fashion, Sir Norman Hartnell, dressmaker to the Queen, was born in Streatham. The Dior fashion designer John Galliano spent some of his youth in Streatham, before moving to nearby Dulwich. Naomi Campbell, model, went to Dunraven Comprehensive School and lived in nearby Norbury. TV presenter Sarah Beeny has lived in Streatham for many years.^[11]

Perhaps because of its good late night transport connections to the West End, and the availability of apartments as well as family houses, Streatham and nearby Brixton Hill have attracted entertainers to live in the area since the days of music hall. There is a Streatham Society plaque to the birthplace of comedian Tommy Trinder at 54 Wellfield Road. Others with local connections include actors Roger Moore, Simon Callow, Peter Davison, Nicholas Clay, Neil Pearson and June Whitfield, saucy seaside postcard artist Donald McGill and comedians Eddie Izzard, Jeremy Hardy and Paul Merton. Actor Hywel Bennett lived in Streatham and attended Sunnyhill Primary School, and comedian and broadcaster Roy Hudd lived for a time on Hoadly Road.

Aleister Crowley, spent his teenage years during the 1880s in Streatham at a house opposite the present ice rink. Cynthia Payne made headlines in the 1970s and 1980s with her brothel in Ambleside Avenue. Afghan warlord Zardad Khan lived in Gleneagle Road before his arrest in 2003.

Arthur Anderson, co-founder of P&O and Radical MP, lived in Streatham.

Victorian artist and illustrator Holland Tringham lived in Streatham, and reproductions of his work depicting local scenes can be seen at the pub in Streatham High Road that bears his name.

Nearest places[link]

• Balham
• Brixton
• Clapham Park
• Crystal Palace
• Furzedown
• Mitcham
• Norbury
• Tooting
• Upper Norwood
• West Norwood
• Thornton Heath

Nearest railway stations[link]

• Norbury railway station
• Streatham Common railway station
• Streatham Hill railway station
• Streatham railway station

Constituency[link]

There has been a Streatham constituency of the House of Commons since 1918, when it was carved out of the former Wandsworth constituency. The Member of Parliament for Streatham is Chuka Umunna of the Labour Party, the shadow business secretary.

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Streatham Society - local amenity society with active local history group
• Streatham - A 19th Century Dormitory Suburb - history of Suburban Streatham by Graham Gower
• Streatham Art - Artists Studios Open to the Puplic
• Streatham in the Domesday Book

v t e London Borough of Lambeth Districts Brixton Clapham Crystal Palace Gipsy Hill Herne Hill Kennington Lambeth Oval Stockwell Streatham Streatham Hill Tulse Hill Vauxhall Waterloo West Dulwich West Norwood Attractions Imperial War Museum Lambeth Archives Lambeth Palace London Eye Lower Marsh Market Oval Cricket Ground Southbank Centre Royal National Theatre BFI Southbank Royal Festival Hall Queen Elizabeth Hall Purcell Room Hayward Bridges Waterloo Hungerford Lambeth Westminster Vauxhall Parks and open spaces Brockwell Park Jubilee Gardens Kennington Park Norwood Park Constituencies Streatham Vauxhall Dulwich and West Norwood Other topics People Public art Schools The Lambeth Walk

Eddie Kadi (born 18 May 1983 in Kinshasa) is a UK comedian, presenter, actor and MC.

Early life[link]

A resident of Little Ilford School, West London since 1992, he is a past student of Fulham Primary School, Henry Compton Secondary School,^[1] William Morris Academy^[2] and Kingston University from which he graduated with BSc Honours in Media Technology.^[3][4] Kadi served as President of the Afro-Caribbean Society at the University.^[5]

Comedy[link]

In 2006 Eddie Kadi won the BECA Award for Best Comedy Newcomer. He went on to stage a series of sold-out solo concerts – two of those during 2009 at the indigO2.^[4][6] In September 2010, he performed at London's O2 Arena where he sold out the 13,000 arena according to his numerous (2) appearances on Fighting Talk.^[6] He has also released a 4 disc DVD collection, and completed numerous radio, television and film projects.

Broadcasting[link]

Kadi is a presenter on BBC 1Xtra and co-presents the OHTV series It’s All Good.^[7] He has fronted documentaries with Current TV in France and MTV Base in Mali as well as station idents for MTV and the BBC. He appeared on Fighting Talk on 27 November 2010, where he finished in the traditional debutant's position of last. He made his second appearance on 22nd January 2011 and was involved in provoking Tom Watt to produce the immortal line “I’m not here to talk about real-estate”

Acting[link]

Kadi's work as a voiceover artist includes a characterisation in the Tiger Aspect^[8]produced animated TV series Tinga Tinga Tales. His film projects include the lead role in the short film Area Boys,^[9] shot in Africa and premiered at the 51st London Film Festival.^[10]

Eddie also appears as Reggy in the film Shank,^[11]set for release in 2010.

Eddie has also made an appearance in the uk movie Anuvahood released in march 2011

Eddie has voice of Zebra and Parrot from Tinga Tinga Tales

Music[link]

Eddie Kadi has also featured vocally alongside top UK Hip Hop Artist Sway and worked with Senegalese rap artist Akon on his "Konfidence Foundation" in Senegal.^[12]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Eddie Kadi website

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2008)

Lazy Lester
Lester in 2004
Background information
Birth name	Leslie Johnson
Born	(1933-06-20) June 20, 1933 (age 79) Torras, Louisiana United States
Genres	Swamp blues, harmonica blues, rhythm and blues, Louisiana blues[1]
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, harmonica, percussion, bass guitar
Labels	Excello, Allgator, Telarc
Associated acts	Lightnin' Slim

Lazy Lester (born Leslie Johnson,^[2] June 20, 1933, Torras, Louisiana, United States)^[1][3] is an American blues musician, who sings, plays the harmonica, and guitar. His career spans the 1950s to the 2010s.

Best known for regional hits recorded with Ernie Young's Nashville, Tennessee based Excello label, Lester also contributed to songs recorded by Excello label-mates including Slim Harpo, Lightnin' Slim, and Katie Webster. His songs have been covered by (among others) The Kinks, Freddy Fender, Dwight Yoakam, Dave Edmunds, Raful Neal, Anson Funderburgh, and The Fabulous Thunderbirds. In the comeback stage of his career (since the late 1980s) he has recorded new albums backed by Mike Buck, Sue Foley, Gene Taylor, Kenny Neal, Lucky Peterson, and Jimmie Vaughan.

Biography[link]

In the mid 1950s, Lester was on the margins of the Louisiana blues scene. According to Rolling Stone (February 23, 2006), Buddy Guy, before moving to Chicago, had played in Louisiana "with some of the old masters: Lightnin' Hopkins, Lazy Lester, Slim Harpo." When Guy left for Chicago, in 1957, Lester replaced him, on guitar, in a local band — even though Lester, at the time, did not own such a musical instrument.

Lester's career took off when he found a seat next to Lightnin' Slim on a bus transporting Slim to an Excello recording session. At the studio, the scheduled harmonica player did not appear. Slim and Lester spent the afternoon unsuccessfully trying to find him, when Lester volunteered that he could play the harmonica. Lester's work on that first Lightnin' Slim session led the producer, Jay Miller to record Lester solo — and also to use Lester as a multi-instrumentalist on percussion, guitar, bass, and harmonica on sessions headlined by other Miller produced artists, including, notably, Slim Harpo. "Percussion" on these sessions went beyond the traditional drum kit, and including a rolled-up newspaper on a cardboard box.^[1]

Miller dubbed Lester "Lazy" because of his laconic, laid-back style.^[1]

More than his vocal delivery, Lester is best remembered for songs that were later covered by a wide range of rock, country, blues, and Tex-Mex stars, chiefly: "I'm a Lover Not a Fighter", "I Hear You Knockin'" and "Sugar Coated Love".

Lester stated he wrote these songs; but almost all are officially credited to Miller, or Lester and Miller. Lester also stated he received few royalties, which embittered him and made him sceptical of the music industry. By the late 1960s, Lester had given up on the music industry, working manual labor and pursuing his favorite hobby — fishing. Lester moved to Pontiac, Michigan, living with Slim Harpo's sister.

In 1971, Fred Rei and Lester accompanied Slim. Years later found Reif and Lester both in Michigan, from where Reif orchestrated a comeback. Lester recorded and played around the United States and abroad, backed by blues bands including, frequently, Loaded Dice.

Lester's recordings in this period are on blues labels, Allgator and Telarc, alongside releases in Europe.

If disenchanted, Lester retained not only his harmonica, guitar, and vocal talents (the songwriting that had been muse to The Kinks and Dwight Yoakam having dried up long before). In September 2002, a Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded by the Boston Blues Society.^{[citation needed]}

In 2003 Martin Scorsese included Lester in his blues tribute concert at Radio City Music Hall, a record of which was released as the film and album Lightning in a Bottle. The group photograph inside the album depicted Lester grinning, dead-center among peers and musical progeny including B.B. King, Solomon Burke, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Buddy Guy, Levon Helm, Chuck D, The Neville Brothers, Dr. John, John Fogerty, and Aerosmith.

Lester currently lives in Paradise, California with his partner.^[4]

Selected discography[link]

• True Blues, circa 1966, Excello LP 8006 SO-1
• Rides Again, 1987, King Snake KS007 (recorded in the UK, May 25–28, 1987)
• Harp & Soul, 1988, Alligator 4768 (featuring Lucky Peterson and Kenny Neal)
• Lazy Lester, 1989, Flyright (France) 007 (previously unreleased 1960s Excello session takes)
• I'm a Lover Not a Fighter 1994, Excello/Ace 518
• I Hear You Knockin', 1994, Excello/Avi 3003
• All Over You, 1998, Antones ANT 10042 (recorded 1997, featuring Derek O'Brien, Sue Foley, Sarah Brown)
• Lazy Lester (audiophile EP), APO 003 (recorded October 12–13, 2000 featuring Henry Gray)
• Superharps II, 2001, Telarc 83514 (co-billed with Carey Bell, Raful Neal, Snooky Pryor)
• Blues Stop Knockin', 2001, Antones TMG-ANT 0051 (featuring Jimmie Vaughan)
• Blues on my Radio, 2004, SWMAF 01 (featuring Louisiana Red)
• Family Meeting, 2008, Ruf, double album by Wentus Blues Band
• You Better Listen, 2011, Bluestown records, recorded in Norway (Notodden).

See also[link]

• The Southern Legends Entertainment & Performing Arts Hall of Fame
• San Francisco Blues Festival
• List of Swamp blues musicians
• List of Harmonica blues musicians
• List of harmonicists
• Music of Louisiana
• Blues harp

References[link]

External links[link]

• Lester biography at Allmusic