Until 1889, the current area of Wandsworth was part of the county of Surrey. In 1855 the Wandsworth District of the Metropolis was formed comprising the parishes of Battersea (excluding Penge), Clapham, Putney, Streatham, Tooting Graveney and Wandsworth. Battersea was removed from the district in 1888. In 1900 the remaining district became the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth and Battersea became the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea.

The London Borough of Wandsworth was formed in 1965 from the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea and the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth, but excluding the former parish of Clapham and most of the former parish of Streatham, which were transferred to the London Borough of Lambeth. The areas to the west of Clapham Common in the current borough of Wandsworth are often incorrectly referred to as Clapham, but are in fact part of Battersea parish.^[1]

Geography[edit]

Clapham Junction railway station is in Battersea, rather than Clapham in the borough. There are many new or refurbished buildings along the borough's prosperous riverside including the large Chelsea Bridge Wharf. The Peace Pagoda, one of many such international pagodas, is in Battersea Park, a sprawling rectangle often hosting circuses beside the Thames. The London Heliport, London's main and busiest heliport, is just beyond Battersea Park, and south of this is New Covent Garden Market. In terms of size, South Thames College, Southside Shopping Centre, Wandsworth and The Exchange Shopping Centre, Putney are among the largest secular structures.

Secular architecturally most highly listed buildings include: Battersea Power Station, the Battersea Arts Centre (formerly town hall), Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability, Wandsworth Town Hall, as well as particularly the interiors of the large Gala Bingo Club, Tooting, the former Granada Theatre, St John's Hill, Clapham Junction by Theodore Komisarjevsky, and in terms of ornate mansions a cluster of five large stone and brick buildings mostly converted to diverse public uses in and around Queen Mary's Hospital, Roehampton at grade II* or above.^[2] In Old Battersea two fine masonry mansions survived The Blitz: Old Battersea House ^[3] and Downshire House^[4]—both hold rare Grade II* status.

Twin and partner towns[edit]

Villers-Plouich, France[edit]

The Borough is informally twinned with the village of Villers-Plouich, in Northern France. This association dates back to World War I, following the role played by the Wandsworth Battalion in the liberation of Villers-Plouich in 1917, and again, following recapture, in 1918. Writing in the 'Wandsworth Borough News' in 1920, Robert H Harker, a Lieutenant in the Battalion, described the cemetery in the village as "an inseparable link between our great Borough and that village of Villers-Plouich, near the Somme".^[18]

For his courage and determination during the hostilities, Corporal Edward Foster, of Tooting, was awarded both the Victoria Cross and the Médaille militaire.^[19] A green heritage plaque was unveiled at his former home at Tooting in 2017,^[20] and in 2018 a memorial in his name was established on the outskirts of Villers-Plouich.^[21]

Following the end of the War the village was adopted by the then Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth under the British 'League of Help' scheme,^[18] and funds were donated towards its reconstruction. A deputation from Wandsworth regularly visits to commemorate this connection, most recently in 2018.^[22]

Schiedam, Netherlands[edit]

Wandsworth first established a twin town arrangement with Schiedam, in the Netherlands, in 1946.^[23] A number of refugees from Schiedam who had lived for a time in Wandsworth during World War II hoped to maintain their connections with the London Borough during peacetime.^[24] The twinning was organised within the scope of the Dutch-English Sports Plan.^[23] In subsequent years multiple sporting fixtures between teams from the two areas were arranged including football,^[25] swimming,^[26] gymnastics,^[27] korfball (Wandsworth has a korfball club, at Tooting)^[28] and cricket (Shiedam is one of the strongholds for cricket in the Netherlands).^[29]

For many years the wartime connections were acknowledged during annual Remembrance Day commemorations in the two municipalities, either through an exchange of wreaths or by sending a representative.^[30] Within the context of both inter-business exchange and sporting fixtures, visits were also arranged by specific Wandsworth organisations such as Small Electric Motors^[31] and the Rediffusion factory,^[32] as guests of their counterparts at Schiedam companies such as Wilton Personnel and Pieterman Glass.^[33]^[34]

In 1970 a large delegation from Wandsworth visited Schiedam for celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of the town's liberation.^[35]^[36]^[37] Further sporting and cultural exchanges continued through to at least 1977.^[38] However, in 1997, an article in the Dutch local press observed that the relationship with Wandsworth had lapsed.^[39]

London Borough of Wandsworth