Balham is a district in south London within the London Borough of Wandsworth. The settlement appears in the Domesday Book as Belgeham. Bal signifies ‘rounded enclosure’ and ham a homestead, village or river enclosure. The region has been settled since Saxon times, and Balham Hill and Balham High Road follow the line of the Roman road Stane Street to Chichester.
Balham encompasses the A24 north of Tooting Bec as well as the roads coming off it. The southern area of Balham which is close to Tooting Bec includes a block of 1930s Art Deco flats referred to as Du Cane Court. There's also the Heaver Estate which is in Tooting, which comprises substantial homes. It was built inside the grounds of the old Bedford Hill House by nearby Victorian builder Alfred Heaver.
Balham lies among 4 south London commons, namely Clapham Common to the north, Wandsworth Common towards the west, Tooting Graveney Common to the south plus the connecting Tooting Bec to the east.
During WWII, on 14th October 1940, Balham tube station was badly affected by air raids on London. Individuals sheltered in the tube station during the raids, however a bomb fell in the High Road and through the roof of the Underground station, bursting a water and gas mains and killing around 64 individuals. Ian McEwan describes the event in his novel ‘Atonement’, published in 2001.