Ladywell
| Ladywell | |
| Kent | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Ladywell Fields | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ37777459 |
| Location: | 51°27’11"N, 0°1’1"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 14,515 (2011) |
| Post town: | London |
| Postcode: | SE13,SE4 |
| Dialling code: | 020 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Lewisham |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Lewisham Deptford |
Ladywell is a polite locale in north-western Kent, close by Lewisham; sitting between Brockley, Crofton Park and Lewisham. It has ample green space including Ladywell Fields and Hilly Fields which borders Brockley.
Ladywell Village, the main shopping area along Ladywell Road, was given a facelift in 2013: the pavements were widened, short stay bays created to help local businesses and shoppers, and trees were added. Ladywell Village has a range of retail outlets including a number of cafés, a patisserie and a delicatessen.
History
The name Ladywell was in use by the 15th century, and maps dating to this period show the site of the original Lady well, in front of the area later to be occupied by the Freemason's Arms and now marked by a plaque.
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The well was probably a 'holy well' dedicated to the Virgin Mary and was six to seven feet deep and surrounded by an iron railing. It was in use until the 1850s, when it was covered over as part of the construction of the railway. The coping stones of this well were later uncovered during work to underpin the railway bridge, and rescued by a signalman. In 1896 they were incorporated as part of the fountain that stood in the grounds of the Ladywell Public Baths, a local landmark built in red brick in 1884.[1]
Another well is located nearby at what is now 148 Ladywell Road. This was a mineral spring, the waters of which local people drank for medicinal purposes.
Until the second half of the eighteenth century there were few dwellings in Ladywell, the most notable being 'The Bridge House Farm' and Ladywell House. Ladywell House was the vicarage built in 1693 for Dean George Stanhope, the vicar of Lewisham and Deptford.[2] Stanhope was a friend of the writer Jonathan Swift,[3] Swift visited Ladywell House in 1711.[4] The house was extended in 1881 and 1895, and is now used by the local NHS Foundation Trust.
The opening of Ladywell Station in 1857 brought expansion to the area. Church Grove and the terraces to either side of it in Ladywell Road were built in the following year, which also saw the opening of Ladywell Cemetery, Railway Terrace, Prospect Place, and Mercy Terrace. The public park Ladywell Fields opened in the 1890s. Hilly Fields park opened on 16 May 1896 after campaigning by Octavia Hill, one of the Founders of the National Trust,[5]
Society
- The Ladywell Village Improvement Group
- The Ladywell Society
Pictures
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The Victorian-era Ladywell Water Tower, now a private home -
Ladywell Coroner's Office -
Plaque showing the site of the original well -
Site of mineral spring at 148 Ladywell Road -
The old Victorian-era public baths -
Former Metropolitan Police Station in Ladywell -
The 17th century Ladywell House -
St Mary's Lewisham Parish Church in Ladywell -
Ladywell railway station
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Outside links
- The Ladywell Society
- The Ladywell Village Improvement Group
- Friends of Brockley & Ladywell Cemeteries
References
- ↑ Bradford, Charles Angell, The Lady Well, Lewisham (1896)
- (2011 reprint) British Library, Historical Print Editions, ISBN 9781241317676
- ↑ A Ladywell Walk london-footprints.co.uk
- ↑ George Stanhope, and Moll Stanhope Template:Webarchive Jonathan Swift's 1710-1713 London letter-journal. Swiftiana
- ↑ Journal to Stella, Letter 26 Chelsea, 30 June 1711, point 14.
- ↑ "HISTORY OF HILYFIELDS - www.hilly.org.uk". http://www.hilly.org.uk/history/.
- Foord, Alfred Stanley (1910), Springs, streams and spas of London: history and association. T. Fisher Unwin