Description

Vauxhall is a mixed commercial and residential district of southwest London in the London Borough of Lambeth. Vauxhall formed part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created.It has also given its name to the Vauxhall parliamentary constituency, which extends to include all of Stockwell and parts of Brixton and Clapham all to the south, and to the Vauxhall Motors car manufacturer, which originated in the area, and possibly also to the Russian word for a large railway station.Its economy was for more than a century until the late 20th century predominantly manual workers' homes and business premises such as works for the local railway, a former water supply works heavily contrasting with the mixed and frequently higher professional occupations of neighbouring districts, particularly Kennington and Westminster. Similar to neighbouring Battersea a riverside redevelopment conversion into residential property, three acres of parkland and an iconic government building have recharacterised its architecture and altered its economy to resemble adjoining districts, retaining affordable and social housing particularly southwest of its station close to the South Western Main Line on land which was once heavy industrial and overcrowded terraces.