Bellingham, London

Bellingham (/ˈbɛlɪŋəm/ BEL-ing-əm) is an area of south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It lies south of Catford, east of Sydenham and north of Beckenham, and is part of the Catford postal district (SE6).

Bellingham
St Dunstan's Church, Bellingham
Bellingham Location within Greater London
Population	14,775 (2011 Census. Ward)[1]
OS grid reference	TQ375715
London borough	Lewisham
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	SE6
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
UK Parliament	Lewisham West and Penge
London Assembly	Greenwich and Lewisham
List of places UK England London 51.4311°N 0.0245°W / 51.4311; -0.0245

History

LCC cottage estates 1918–1939

Estate name	Area	No of dwellings	Population 1938	Population density
Pre-1914
Norbury	11	218	867	19.8 per acre (49/ha)
Old Oak	32	736	3519	23 per acre (57/ha)
Totterdown Fields	39	1262	—	32.4 per acre (80/ha)
Tower Gardens White Hart Lane	98	783	5936	8 per acre (20/ha)
1919–1923
Becontree	2770	25769[a]	115652	9.3 per acre (23/ha)
Bellingham	252	2673	12004	10.6 per acre (26/ha)
Castelnau	51	644	2851	12.6 per acre (31/ha)
Dover House Estate Roehampton Estate	147	1212	5383	8.2 per acre (20/ha)
1924–1933
Downham	600	7096	30032	11.8 per acre (29/ha)
Mottingham	202	2337	9009	11.6 per acre (29/ha)
St Helier	825	9068	39877	11 per acre (27/ha)
Watling	386	4034	19110	10.5 per acre (26/ha)
Wormholt	68	783	4078	11.5 per acre (28/ha)
1934–1939
Chingford[b]	217	1540	—	7.1 per acre (18/ha)
Hanwell (Ealing)	140	1587	6732	11.3 per acre (28/ha)
Headstone Lane	142	n.a	5000
Kenmore Park	58	654	2078	11.3 per acre (28/ha)
Thornhill (Royal Borough of Greenwich)	21	380	1598	18.1 per acre (45/ha)
Whitefoot Lane (Downham)	49	n.a	n.a.
Source says 2589 – transcription error Part of a larger PRC estate around Huntsman Road Source: Yelling, J. A. (1995). "Banishing London's slums: The interwar cottage estates" (PDF). Transactions. 46. London and Middlesex Archeological Society: 167–173. Retrieved 19 December 2016. Quotes: Rubinstein, 1991, Just like the country.

According to author and historian Nick Barratt, there was certainly a Saxon community at Bellingham.^[2] In 10th-century Anglo-Saxon charters, the place is referred to as Beringaham and by 1198 the name had changed from starting with 'Ber' to 'Bel' through Norman influence.^[3] Some streets in Bellingham are named after the Saxon king Alfred the Great and his extended family: King Alfred Avenue, Elfrida Crescent and Arnulf Street.

The area was farmland for centuries, but the London County Council developed a cottage estate from 1919 to 1923 on the former Bellingham Farm,^[4] and was completed before World War II.^[5] The estate is bordered to the east and west by railway lines running south from Catford. Along the south it is bordered by Southend Lane, the A2218 main road. The River Ravensbourne runs through Bellingham, although it is either underground or part of a man-made section of the river. The Greenwich Prime Meridian passes to the east of Bellingham.

Amenities

Randlesdown Road serves as a mini 'High Street' for Bellingham providing a local supermarket, men's and women's hair dressers, dry cleaner, off licence, news agent, fish and chip shop, The Fellowship pub and cinema, various takeaways and a gym (situated on Bellingham playing fields). It is known for being a very multicultural area.

Bellingham Green is a hexagonal public park at the centre of the estate.

Transport

Bellingham railway station serves the area with services to Kentish Town (London Blackfriars off peak) via Catford and to Sevenoaks via Swanley. Bellingham is served by many Transport for London buses connecting it with areas including Beckenham, Biggin Hill, Bromley, Catford, Central London, Greenwich, Shoreditch, Camberwell, Bermondsey, Deptford, Elephant & Castle, Brockley, Lewisham, New Cross, Orpington, Peckham and Woolwich.

Pre-school and primary education

Pre-schools, nurseries and kindergartens include Kindergarten Forest Hill in Bellingham Green and Umbrella House Day Nursery. Primary schools in Bellingham include Athelney Primary School, St Augustines and Elfrida Primary School.

Image gallery

Bellingham Estate, London Borough of Lewisham

• 
  Plaque showing former home of heavyweight boxing champion Henry Cooper at 120 Farmstead Road, Bellingham, London Borough of Lewisham
• 
  Adolf Street in the Bellingham Estate which was constructed during Adolf Hitler's rise to power as leader of the German Nationalist Socialist Party