Bellingham
Bellingham is a district in south east London, in the London Borough of Lewisham. Its neighbouring districts are Catford, Sydenham and Downham. The Ravensbourne River runs through the middle of Bellingham, and to the east and west it is bordered by railway lines running south from Catford.
The name Bellingham means ‘the water-meadow owned by Beora’s people’, and was the name of the medieval manor in the area. The real name was preserved by the farm in the region, Bellingham Railway Station and the Bellingham Estate. Various other historical names have already been preserved by the street titles of the estate, which are linked with King Alfred, who was thought to have already been the lord of the manor of Lewisham, and were extracted from the titles of mills, houses and fields in the area.
Bellingham was mainly farmland until the Bellingham Estate was built, mostly between 1920 and 1923. London City Council built about 2600 houses and flats during this time. Bellingham Estate was one of many large estates built by London City Council following the First World War to assist with slum clearance and relieve overcrowding. As there is lots of land available the majority of the dwellings constructed were two-story houses, and there was plenty of green, open space.
Today, Bellingham is a localised town centre. Its high street is Randlesdown Road, which has a supermarket, a fitness center, hairdressers and multiple restaurants and food outlets. It has a sixth form college also, and a church and a library. Bellingham boasts many well-known recent and present residents, including the singer/song-writer Kate Bush, the previous Labour Prime Minister James Callaghan, and the footballer Ian Wright.
