Waterloo, London

Waterloo
Waterloo is located in Greater London
Waterloo
Waterloo
Location within Greater London
OS grid referenceTQ311797
• Charing Cross1 mi (1.6 km) W
London borough
Ceremonial countyGreater London
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLONDON
Postcode districtSE1
Dialling code020
PoliceMetropolitan
FireLondon
AmbulanceLondon
UK Parliament
London Assembly
List of places
UK
England
London
51°30′05″N 0°06′43″W / 51.5013°N 0.1120°W / 51.5013; -0.1120

Waterloo (/ˌwɔːtəˈluː/[1][2]) is a district in Central London, and part of the Waterloo and South Bank ward of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Charing Cross. The area is part of a business improvement district which includes The Cut and the Old Vic and Young Vic theatres. It includes some sections of the London Borough of Southwark.[3]

Marsh

The area was marshland towards the northern tip of the ancient parish of Lambeth. It was known as Lambeth Marshe, but was drained in the 18th century and is remembered in the Lower Marsh street name.

Notable places

For a list of street names etymologies in the area, see Street names of Waterloo.

Waterloo is connected to the Strand area on the north bank of the River Thames by Waterloo Bridge. The first bridge on the site was opened in 1817 and the current bridge was opened in 1945. The bridge was named to commemorate the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Waterloo Road also dates from this time, built on land belonging to the Archbishop of Canterbury.[4] St John's, Waterloo was constructed from 1822 by the Commissioners for Building New Churches as the population of the parish of Lambeth had significantly increased.[4] After the opening of Waterloo railway station in 1848 via the Nine Elms to Waterloo Viaduct the locality around the station and Lower Marsh became known as Waterloo.[5] The boundary of the ecclesiastical parish of St John Waterloo established in 1824 was formed by the River Thames in the north and west, approximated Westminster Bridge Road in the south, and followed the boundary with Southwark in the east.

The public library in Waterloo was constructed in 1893. It remained open until the early 1960s when it was vacated due to its poor condition. The building now houses the Waterloo Action Centre.[6]

The statue of Florence Nightingale in Waterloo Place.

The Catholic St Patrick's Church was built in 1897 and designed by Frederick Walters. Roupell Street is noted for its well-preserved Georgian housing and is often used as a TV and film location.[7]

Notable people

References

  1. ^ "Definition of 'Waterloo'". www.collinsdictionary.com. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Definition of Waterloo noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary". www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  3. ^ "WeAreWaterloo BID area map" (PDF). WeAreWaterloo. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Waterloo Road | Survey of London: volume 23 (pp. 25-31)". British-history.ac.uk. 22 June 2003. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  5. ^ Mills, D. (2000). Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names. Oxford.
  6. ^ Waterloo Action Centre, http://www.waterlooactioncentre.co.uk/about
  7. ^ "This London street has been untouched for 150 years. Now someone wants to change it..." standard.co.uk. 21 August 2015.