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Vauxhall History

Published by The Vauxhall Society in London

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Latest stories

Become a Lambeth Guide

11 April 2021

Starting in September 2021, Morley College is offering a brand new course for those who wish to learn to design and deliver walking tours and virtual presentations, and for those who are already guiding and wish to gain a formal qualification or to learn more about Lambeth. No previous experience or qualifications are necessary. Register your interest by emailing
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Talk: Anarchist in the UK: Louise Michel, heroine of the Paris Commune, in south London

9 April 2021

Louise Michel, feminist, anarchist, poet, playwright and journalist, survived the bloody end of the 1871 Paris Commune and subsequent exile to New Caledonia. She loved London and visited several times. But why was she invited in 1883 to give her opinion on the Lambeth Workhouse?  To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Paris Commune, Vauxhall History co-editor
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Claudia Jones’s Vauxhall years and the genesis of the West Indian Gazette

6 April 2021

In the late 1950s Vauxhall was home to Claudia Jones, one of the most important figures in black British history during perhaps her most creative period, when she founded the West Indian Gazette, Britain’s first major black newspaper. Sean Creighton looks at the impact of her work. Claudia Jones was born in Trinidad on 21 February 1915. After the collapse of the island’s
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The Prisoners’ Friend: The Work of the Indefatigable Mrs Meredith in south London

3 March 2021

Naomi Clifford, with research assistance from Paul T. Klein, explores the life of Susanna Meredith, a 19th-century pioneer in the aftercare of women prisoners. "Your petitioner humbly beg [sic] for mercy. She has done 14 years and 9 month of her life sentence and beg your Lordships to forgive her the remainder of it that she may return to her own country to see and help her
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Knaves or ‘Slaves’? – the Waiters of Vauxhall Gardens

10 December 2020

In their day, two centuries ago, Vauxhall Gardens' waiters were variously described as insolent swindling rascals, or as the epitome of unobtrusive efficiency. But who were they really, and what were their working conditions? asks David Coke, co-author of Vauxhall Gardens: A History. Because of the lack of obvious documentation, modern historians have largely ignored them as
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Online talk: “By her own consent” – The Murder of Mary Ashford and Rape Culture in the Georgian Era

28 November 2020

Vauxhall History co-editor and author of The Murder of Mary Ashford Naomi Clifford presents an online talk at 7pm on Tuesday 8 December, in which she examines a notorious murder case of 1817 that highlighted Georgian attitudes to rape and also led to a change in English law. After the sensational acquittal of Abraham Thornton for the rape and murder of Mary Ashford in a
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When John Archer took aim at injustice

20 November 2020

Sean Creighton, biographer of John Archer, relates how over a century ago this black progressive and Labour activist battled for greater fairness for all in Battersea and beyond. John Archer (1863-1932), the Mayor of Battersea in 1913/14, is an important figure in the story of the black contribution in Britain. As a black man he represented Battersea's white working class
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Who was the mystery ‘Lady of Colour’ who sang and gave a pianoforte recital at Vauxhall Gardens in 1822?

16 September 2020

Vauxhall Gardens, summer 1822. To great acclaim 'Madame Georgina', a singer and classical pianist from Calcutta, accompanies herself and performs a concerto. She appears at Vauxhall Gardens for three nights only – and then abruptly disappears from the annals of London theatre. Can you add a coda to her story? A portrait would be nice, writes David E. Coke. The
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When ‘Vauxhall’ changed gear and hit the road to make motoring history

15 June 2020

by Eric Dymock Why do all Russian railway stations carry the name of an English middle-class car? In the 1780s Michael Maddox, an English theatre manager and a visitor to Vauxhall Gardens, decided to export the concept of the pleasure garden to St Petersburg, Russia. The new attraction was called ‘Vokzal’, after the location of its London inspiration. In 1837 the first
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Myth and Monolith – The Nine Elms Cold Store

28 April 2020

A new skyscraper – or two – thrusts itself up into the skies of Vauxhall-Nine Elms every year, it seems. It may be hard to imagine now, writes Andrew Rogers, but for the final third of the last millennium, the area’s skyline hardly changed at all. For 35 years between 1964 and 1999 almost every view of Vauxhall was dominated by one building – the Nine Elms Cold Store. And
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Vauxhall History

Vauxhall History is an online archive of knowledge and images covering aspects of the history of the Vauxhall area in south London.
Vauxhall History is supported by The Vauxhall Society.

Contributors

Vauxhall History is edited by Dr Ross Davie and Naomi Clifford. Consultant editor is David E. Coke.

Potential contributors or those wishing to reproduce material from the site in part or whole should contact us

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