Balham

at , London , SW12 United Kingdom

1. Neighborhood

Description

Balham is a neighbourhood of south London, England in the London Borough of Wandsworth.HistoryThe settlement appears in the Domesday Book as Belgeham. Bal refers to 'rounded enclosure' and ham to a homestead, village or river enclosure. It was held by Geoffrey Orlateile. Its Domesday Assets were: 1½ ploughs, 8acre of meadow. It rendered (in total): £2. The Balham area has been settled since Saxon times. Balham Hill and Balham High Road follow the line of the Roman road Stane Street to Chichester – (now the A24 road). Balham is recorded in several maps in the 1600s as Ballam or Balham Hill or Balham Manor. The village was within the parish of Streatham. Large country retreats for the affluent classes were built there in the 18th century; however, most development occurred after the opening of Balham railway station on the line to Crystal Palace in 1856.Second World War air raidOn 14 October 1940 Balham tube station was badly damaged by air raids on London during World War II. People took shelter in the tube station during the raids. A bomb fell in the High Road and through the roof of the Underground station below, bursting water and gas mains and killing around 64 people. This particular incident was featured in Atonement, a 2001 novel by Ian McEwan. An image of the aftermath is of the No. 88 bus which had fallen into the bomb crater.

Company Rating

196 FB users likes Balham, set it to 50 position in Likes Rating for London, United Kingdom in Neighborhood category

Summary

Balham is London based place and this enity listed in Neighborhood category. SW12.