For the British car company, see Vauxhall Motors.

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Coordinates: 51°29′25″N 0°07′09″W / 51.4903°N 0.1193°W / 51.4903; -0.1193

Vauxhall
Vauxhall  Vauxhall shown within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ305785
London borough	Lambeth
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	SW8
Postcode district	SE1, SE11
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Vauxhall
London Assembly	Lambeth and Southwark
List of places: UK • England • London

Vauxhall ( /ˈvɒks.ɔːl/) is an inner city area of Central London in the London Borough of Lambeth. It was once in the historic county of Surrey.

It has also given its name to the Vauxhall Parliamentary Constituency, which also includes parts of Brixton and Clapham, and to the Vauxhall Motors car manufacturer, which originated in the area, as well as to the Russian word for a large railroad station (see below).

In 1998, Vauxhall became part of the borough's North Lambeth town centre, for local government administrative purposes.

History[link]

Etymology[link]

It is generally accepted that the etymology of Vauxhall is from the name of Falkes de Breauté, the head of King John's mercenaries, who owned a large house in the area which was referred to as Faulke's Hall, later Foxhall, and eventually Vauxhall.^[1] The area only became generally known by this name when the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens opened as a public attraction. Initially most visitors would have approached by river, but crowds of Londoners of all classes came to know the area after the construction of Westminster Bridge in the 1740s.

There are competing theories as to why the Russian word for a central railway station is вокзал (vokzal), which coincides with the canonical 19th century transliteration of "Vauxhall". It has long been suggested that a Russian delegation visited the area to inspect the construction of the London and South Western Railway in 1840, and mistook the name of the station for the generic name of the building type. This was further embellished into a story that the Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, visiting London in 1844, was taken to see the trains at Vauxhall and made the same mistake. The L&SWR's original railway terminus was shown boldly and simply as "Vauxhall" in the 1841 Bradshaw timetable.^[2] Another likely explanation is that the first Russian railway, constructed in 1837, ran from Saint Petersburg via Tsarskoye Selo to Pavlovsk Palace, where extensive Pleasure Gardens had earlier been established. In 1838 a music and entertainment pavilion was constructed at the railway terminus. This pavilion was called the Vokzal in homage to the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens in London. The name soon came to be applied to the station itself, which was the gateway that most visitors used to enter the gardens. It later came to mean any substantial railway station building (a different Russian word, stantsiya, is used for minor stations).The word "voksal" (воксал) had been known in the Russian language with the meaning of "amusement park" long before the 1840s and may be found, e.g., in the poetry of Aleksandr Pushkin: На гуляньях иль в воксалах / Легким зефиром летал (To Natalie (1813): "At fêtes and in voksals, /I've been flitting like a gentle Zephyrus" [here "Zephyrus" is an allegory of a gentle, warm and pleasant wind ]) According to Vasmer, the word is first attested in the Saint Petersburg Vedomosti for 1777 in the form фоксал, which may reflect an earlier English spelling, Faukeshall. Englishman Michael Maddox established a Vauxhall Gardens in the Moscow suburbs in 1783, with pleasure gardens, a small theatre/concert hall and places for refreshment. Archdeacon William Coxe describes the place as a 'sort of Vauxhall' in that year, in his 'Travels into Russia'.

Early history[link]

There is no mention of Vauxhall in the 1086 Domesday Book. The area originally formed part of the extensive Manor of South Lambeth, which was held by the de Redvers family.^[3] Falkes de Breauté acquired it in 1216 when he married Margaret, widow of Baldwin de Redvers; de Breauté’s lands reverted to the de Redvers family after his death in 1226.^[3] In 1293 South Lambeth Manor and the Manor of “la Sale Faukes” passed, probably by trickery, to Edward I.^[3] In 1317 King Edward II granted the manor of Vauxhall, Surrey, to Sir Roger d'Amory for his "good services" at the Battle of Bannockburn.

From various accounts, three local roads – the South Lambeth Road, Clapham Road (previously Merton Road) and Wandsworth Road (previously Kingston Road) – were ancient and well-known routes to and from London.

Development[link]

The land was flat and parts were marshy and poorly drained by ditches, and only started to be developed in the mid-18th century but remained a village. Prior to this it provided market garden produce for the nearby City of London. Vauxhall Bridge and Vauxhall Bridge Road were opened in 1816. By 1860 the village had been subsumed by the town of Lambeth.^[1] Many of Vauxhall's streets were destroyed during the construction of the railway to Waterloo station, by German bombing in World War II or ravaged through poor city planning.

Geography[link]

Nearest places[link]

Neighbouring areas

	Westminster	Lambeth	Elephant and Castle
	Pimlico		Kennington
		Vauxhall    East
	Nine Elms	Stockwell	Camberwell

Demography[link]

Many Vauxhall residents live in social housing.^[4] There are several gentrified areas, and areas of terraced townhouses on streets such as Fentiman Road and Heyford Avenue have higher property values in the private market, however by far the most common type of housing stock within Vauxhall are flats, both conversions and purpose built blocks.^[5] Vauxhall is also a popular residential area for Members of Parliament and civil servants due to its proximity to the Houses of Parliament and Whitehall; Kennington is within the area wired for the Commons' Division bell. Some 18th and 19th century property also survives – most famously Bonnington Square, a community which emerged from the 1970s/1980s squat scene in London, and remains as mostly housing co-operatives today.^[6]

Vauxhall is a very ethnically diverse area, with approximately 40% of residents originating from a non-white ethnic group.^[7] There is a significant Portuguese community, some with a connection to Madeira; many Portuguese restaurants and bars are located in South Lambeth Road and the surrounding area. There is also a significant Muslim community, with amost 6% of residents declaring themselves as Muslim in the 2001 census.^[8]

The late 1990s/early first decade of the 21st century explosion in London property prices has led to a boom in riverside construction and property re-developments, such as the large St George Wharf development by Vauxhall Bridge. Residents include John Major and Chelsea Clinton.

The impact of new construction and the rise in land values has created a dramatic change in Vauxhall's demographics.

Economy[link]

Much of the area in Vauxhall contains light industry, offices and government buildings. Many companies and organisations were attracted in the past by Vauxhall's central location and comparatively cheap rent compared to Westminster on the other side of the river. In recent years, Vauxhall's riverside has undergone major redevelopment with the construction of a number of modern residential and office blocks, most notably the distinctive MI6 building at Vauxhall Cross. There are also a number of new commercial businesses moving in to the area including Bathstore, Topps Tiles and Metropolis Motorcycles as well as proposals to redevelop the Sainsburys site.^[9]

Gay Village and "Voho"[link]

The Royal Vauxhall Tavern, a well-known gay venue

Vauxhall is home to an ever-increasing number of gay bars and nightclubs, such as Area, Barcode, Chariots, Crash, The Eagle, Factory, Fire, The Hoist, and the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, as well as other venues often holding special events for gay clubbers, such as Club Colosseum, Hidden and Renaissance Rooms. The aforementioned Royal Vauxhall Tavern dates back to at least the late 19th century, and was for many years a traditional English music hall and cabaret venue. In recent years the building has come under constant threat of buyout and demolition from property developers, as it stands alone on a prime piece of grassland adjacent to Vauxhall railway station. However, the pub was bought in 2004 by sympathetic owners who have announced, "business as usual".

Vauxhall was originally the home of the more underground gay clubs with the arrival of Crash in the 1990s.^[10] Over the years, more clubs and gay businesses have followed Crash's lead by opening up in the railway arches underneath the main line out of Waterloo Station. One of the most notable venues to open in the area is Fire Night Club which is located on Parry Street and currently occupies 6 of the arches aforementioned. Fire was the scene of a drugs raid by the Metropolitan Police Service on 28 April 2007 where 9 people were arrested. The tactics used in the raid (namely photographing all the persons leaving the venue) were strongly criticised by the gay press at the time.^[11] The burgeoning club scene and the lure of the more trendy railway arches have made Vauxhall a prime destination for businesses to open up in, including London's only exclusively gay gym, Paris Gym, another branch of Chariots gay sauna, Barcode (sister bar venue of the same name in Soho) and the Sunday Morning Afterhours venue, Beyond hosted at 'Area' club. The area is fast earning the nickname "Vauxhall Gay Village".

Before Vauxhall earned its reputation as a gay village, it was regarded among the underground gay club scene as the place to go to avoid the more commercial nights elsewhere in central London. However, the market has become more and more lucrative with the arrival of more venues and more nights, and Vauxhall has been criticised as becoming increasingly commercial, diluting its once underground appeal. But the demise of other club venues in London, such as Turnmills, the Astoria and The Fridge, have led to the gay club scene to become more centralised in Vauxhall, turning it into an alternative destination from Soho for gay people to socialise. Vauxhall has also become colloquially known as "Voho"^[12] (a consolidation of the names Vauxhall and Soho) within the gay community, due to the emergence of Vauxhall as a gay village after Soho.

Entertainment in the Vauxhall area is not exclusively aimed at gay clientele; the oldest strip pub in London (the Queen Anne) sitting at Vauxhall Walk has now closed to be replaced with The Tea Theatre, a 1940s themed tea room.

Landmarks[link]

SIS Headquarters

By Vauxhall Bridge is the central headquarters of the British Secret Intelligence Service (more commonly referred to as MI6), which occupies offices built between 1989 and 1992 and commonly referred to as Vauxhall Cross. More recently, a large complex of apartments and offices has been built to the south of Vauxhall Bridge at St George Wharf. Part of this development includes the planned St George Wharf Tower, which upon completion will be the tallest residential building in the UK.

The MI6 building has featured in several James Bond films, initially filmed without permission but then condoned by then Foreign Secretary Robin Cook with his memorable "After all James Bond has done for Britain..." quip. It is seen in GoldenEye, The World Is Not Enough (wherein it suffers a fictional terrorist attack that prefigured a genuine incident) and Die Another Day. The latter featured a fictional London Underground station, Vauxhall Cross, a supposedly closed stop on the Piccadilly Line now employed by MI6 as an extension to its HQ. In fact, the Piccadilly Line does not come south of the river at all; only the Victoria Line passes anywhere nearby, and the secret entrance to the station shown in the film is on the east side of Westminster Bridge some considerable distance down river.

Vauxhall is also home to Brunswick House, a listed Georgian mansion and former home to the Dukes of Brunswick. Built in 1758, it once stood in three acres of riverside parkland – now it sits in the middle of Vauxhall Cross overshadowed by the massive St George Wharf complex. The building was in a state of disrepair and was on the English Heritage 'Buildings at Risk' list until it was acquired by LASSCO (The London Architectural Salvage and Supply Company), which also has a branch in Oxford, in 2004. After the squatters were removed, the building was restored and it's now used by LASSCO as a premises from which to sell architectural salvage. Members of the public are welcome to visit the restored building for a glimpse of Vauxhall's elegant past.

St Peter's Church in Kennington Lane^[13] was designed by John Loughborough Pearson who was also the architect of the Rochester, Bristol, Peterborough, Lincoln, Truro (Cornwall) and Brisbane (Australia) Cathedrals. Today the church is a community centre and arts venue as well as a church. Next to the St Peter's is Vauxhall City Farm.

Transport[link]

Vauxhall is extraordinarily connected even by central London standards. London Underground, National Rail trains, and London buses are all available at Vauxhall station. The tube stop is on the boundary of zones 1 and 2 of the London Travelcard area on the Victoria line, and Northern Line stations are within walking distance from many parts of Vauxhall. The rail station is served by South West Trains to and from London Waterloo, which is one stop away. The bus station has 14 routes serving southwest and central London.

The availability of underground, trains, and buses has given Vauxhall a PTAL rating of 6b at its centre.^[14]

In addition to public transport, Vauxhall is accessible by major roads and the Thames Path pedestrian and bicycle trail. Vauxhall also has two 17 space Barclays Cycle Hire docking stations and Cycle Superhighway 7 runs through the area.

Vauxhall Cross[link]

The Vauxhall Cross transport interchange, 2005. The solar panels supply energy for 60% of the bus station's lighting.

Vauxhall Cross is immediately to the south-east of Vauxhall Bridge where six major roads converge, including the Albert Embankment which exits the Cross to the north, and which is the southernmost point of entry into the London congestion charge area. Vauxhall Cross was described as "one of the most unpleasant road junctions in South London" in Nikolaus Pevsner's architectural guide to London. Through 2002 to 2004 the Cross underwent a gradual redesign to accommodate a bus interchange linked to the Vauxhall mainline railway and tube stations, both of which are located to the south-eastern end of the cross. Work has involved design changes to traffic lanes, improved pedestrian and cycle crossings, refurbishment of walkways beneath the mainline railway viaduct, and the construction of a bus station, completed in December 2004 featuring an undulating steel-frame canopy and ribbed steel walls. An interesting feature of the canopy is a series of photoelectric cells generating electricity to offset the energy used by the bus station.

Nearest tube stations[link]

• Vauxhall
• Kennington
• Oval
• Pimlico
• Stockwell

Community facilities[link]

Vauxhall Park^[15] contains an area of miniature model houses (also in Fitzroy Gardens, Melbourne) as well as tennis courts, day care in the "one o'clock club", and children's playground. It is open daily for recreation and has an "open day" once a year.

Notable people[link]

Owing to its proximity to the Houses of Parliament, many famous politicians have or have had their London homes in the Vauxhall/Kennington area. Famous present and past residents include:

• Kenneth Clarke
• Geoff Hoon
• Ed Balls
• Yvette Cooper
• Alistair Darling
• Jack Straw
• Charles Kennedy
• Sir John Major
• Lee Ryan
• Brian Paddick
• Jeffrey Archer
• Charlie Brooker

See also[link]

• Afterhours clubs

References[link]

• Vauxhall Pleasures. Published November 2006 in hidden europe magazine Issue 11, pp. 30–34. ISSN 1860-6318. (Article explores the pleasure gardens and Vauxhall's Russian connections)
• Vauxhall Gardens Revisit'd Michael Carter (Short essay which, like the preceding reference, provides useful further reading on this topic)

External links[link]

• The Vauxhall Civic Society – News, history and information about Vauxhall's civic consultative group

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