Earlsfield

Earlsfield
Earlsfield  Earlsfield shown within Greater London
Population	15,562 (Earlsfield ward 2007)
OS grid reference	TQ265735
London borough	Wandsworth
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	SW18
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
London Assembly	Merton and Wandsworth
List of places: UK • England • London

Earlsfield is an area within the London Borough of Wandsworth, London, England.

Earlsfield is a typical London suburb and comprises mostly residential Victorian terraced houses with a high street of shops, bars, and restaurants (very few chain stores) between Garratt Lane, Allfarthing Lane, and Burntwood Lane. Although it has had a slow start and lags behind its neighbour Clapham, Earlsfield - with its schools and family facilities as well as its primary transport link (see Earlsfield railway station) into central London - has a strong housing market, though recently prices have been affected in line with broader market trends. According to the 2001 Census the population of Earlsfield is recorded at 12,903.

Earlsfield is not as well known as its neighbouring areas such as Tooting, Clapham, Balham, and Battersea, which allows for a low key way of life while still being close to London. The local Earlsfield railway station provides journeys to Central London (3 stops to Waterloo [Clapham Junction, Vauxhall, Waterloo] in 12 minutes) and other areas in South London (Victoria - changing at Clapham Junction, Wimbledon one stop). The station is currently under redevelopment.

The area was once a working class suburb of Wandsworth and as such much of the property is medium sized terraced housing, though several new developments have been or are being developed, notably the Olympian Homes development between the station and library. The area now houses young families attracted by the affordability of the area in comparison to its north, west and eastern neighbours Clapham, Wandsworth, Battersea and Putney leading to the area's nickname of Nappy Valley.

The River Wandle flows roughly parallel to Garratt Lane through the area, and has been the subject of a major, council funded clean-up operation, though it has been subjected to several pollution incidents in the past few years. There is some light industry located between the high street and the river.

There is not a considerable history to the area as it is based around a mainline (i.e. above ground) rail station that was built at the end in April 1884 in the place of a large Victorian residence called Earlsfield. When the site was sold by the Davis family to the rail company one of the conditions of sale was that the station would be named after their house. Thus the name of that house provided the name of the station, and thence to the suburb.

Earlsfield Library has on display a range of historic photographs of the area.

High Street

Although vibrant, the high street - Garratt Lane - is also a little disappointing due to the high rent demanded by its landlords - the only shops, bars and restaurants that seem to survive are those that have been there for a long time - suggesting they might already have long leases that avoid the greed of the modern landlord in the area (it has been suggested that most of the high street is actually owned by two men that have owned properties in the area for decades now)^{[citation needed]}. Willie Gunns (founded in 1993) is about the only survivor in the area, the rest of the bars and restaurants come and go within 12 months or so. A Barclays Bank, William Hill, Wine Rack and Prime Time video store have been around for a few years, though even the latter two have closed recently. The high street tends to be dominated by estate agents, restaurants, wine bars and, more recently, hairdressers.

Recently however, the stretch of Earlsfield just to the south of the station has seen the first few examples of 'chain' stores arriving. The area now features a Caffe Nero, Hair Republic, Foodways and as of November 2008, the first neighbourhood version of the Carluccios chain, which appears to have been successful. A Sainsburys Local opened in 2009 next to the Library in Magdalen Road. In addition, several local pubs and bars have improved significantly - The Leather Bottle, The Halfway House, The Wandle (formerly The Puzzle), and Mel's Cafe Bar (the former Open Page).

Garratt Lane is also home to cross-cultural theatre company Tara Arts and their venue Tara Theatre. Opened in 2007 the space plays host to local and national companies as well as staging their own productions.

There are two churches in the centre - Earlsfield Baptist church on Magdalen Road and St Andrews (Church of England) on the corner of Garratt Lane and Waynflete Street, with St Gregory's (Catholic) and St John the Divine (CoE) further down Garratt Lane towards Wandsworth.

In June 2011, it was announced that a comprehensive £8 million refurbishment of Earlsfield station would begin in Autumn 2011.

Famous people

Louis de Bernières lived in Earlsfield while writing Captain Corelli's Mandolin. His book and play Sunday Morning At the Centre of the World "is a homage to the diverse community of Earlsfield."

Neighbours

• Wandsworth Common SW17
• Clapham SW12
• Battersea SW11
• Wandsworth SW18
• Tooting SW17
• Southfields SW19
• Putney SW15

Next stop neighbouring travel connections

• inbound: Clapham Junction
• outbound: Wimbledon station

External links

• Discussion forum for the Earlsfield Area
• The Borough of Wandsworth Rifle Club
• Earlsfield Boxing Club
• Edith's Streets - history by street