Facts about Vauxhaul

Vauxhaul General Info

Vauxhall is a district of South London, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. From the Victorian period until the mid-20th century, Vauxhall was a mixed industrial and residential area, of predominantly manual workers’ homes, many demolished and replaced by Lambeth Council with social housing after the Second World War.

These industries contrasted with the mostly residential neighbouring districts of Kennington and Pimlico. As in neighbouring Battersea and Nine Elms, riverside redevelopment has converted most former industrial sites into residential properties and new office space. Vauxhall has given its name to the Vauxhall parliamentary constituency and Vauxhall Motors and is the origin of the Russian word вокзал (vokzal), meaning a large railway station.

History

The toponymy of Vauxhall is generally accepted to have originated in the late 13th century, from the name of Falkes de Breauté, the head of King John’s mercenaries, who owned a large house in the area, which was referred to as Faulke’s Hall, later Foxhall, and eventually Vauxhall. The area only became generally known by the name Vauxhall when the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens opened as a public attraction and movement across the Thames was facilitated by the opening of Westminster Bridge in the 1740s.

No mention of Vauxhall is made in the 1086 Domesday Book. The area originally formed part of the extensive Manor of South Lambeth, which was held by the family of de Redvers, feudal barons of Plympton in Devon and Lords of the Isle of Wight. Falkes de Breauté acquired South Lambeth in 1216 when he married Margaret FitzGerald, widow of Baldwin de Redvers and mother of Baldwin de Redvers, 6th Earl of Devon.