An 1868 Gazetteer description of the following places in Newington

 

NEWINGTON

"NEWINGTON, (or Newington St. Mary), a parish, and suburb of the metropolis, in the E. division of the hundred of Brixton, county Surrey. At the Elephant and Castle is a station of the London, Chatham, and Dover railway, by which line it is intersected. It is bounded on the W. by Kennington, and by the parish of Lambeth, within which parliamentary borough it is situated; on the E. by St. George's, Southwark; and on the N. by the borough of Southwark. The earliest mention of this place under its present name is in a record of Elizabeth's time. Its appellation "Butts" originated from the butts or marks for the practice of archery set up here by order of government in the 17th century, when this parish consisted of open fields. At the end of the last century above 300 acres of land in this parish were in fields and market gardens, but the whole is now built over. The streets, which are in general well paved and lighted, are irregularly arranged, but contain some good modern buildings. On the eastern side of Newington-causeway are situated the sessions house for the county of Surrey, and the county prison, commonly called Horsemonger-lane Gaol; and in the Surrey Gardens is a music hall, converted temporarily for the accommodation of St. Thomas's Hospital. At the intersection of the Kent and Surrey roads is the Elephant and Castle inn; and on the verge of the parish is Kennington Common, now enclosed and planted as a park. The great road from London to Brighton and the S. coast passes through this parish, which includes the populous district of Walworth. The principal manufactures are those of floor-cloth, cabinet goods, and an extensive vitriol manufactory." (There is more of this description).

"WALWORTH, a populous suburb of the metropolis, in the parish of St. Mary, Newington, E. division of Brixton hundred, county Surrey, 2 miles S. of St. Paul's Cathedral, London. It has a station at Walworth-road on the Metropolitan Extension of the London, Chatham, and Dover line. This place, which is mentioned in Domesday book as Walerode, consists of a continuous line of modern houses on the road to Camberwell with numerous streets extending on the W. to Kennington, and on the E. to the Kent-road.

It is divided into the three ecclesiastical districts of St. John's, St. Paul's, and St. Peter's, respectively containing a population in 1801 of 7,426, 11,770, and 32,011. Adjoining the ancient manorhouse were the Royal Surrey Zoological Gardens, comprising an area of about 16 acres, which were opened in 1832, when Exeter Change was removed from the Strand; there are also botanical gardens.

The livings of the three district parishes are all perpetual curacies in the diocese of London. The church of St. Peter was erected in 1825 by Soane, at a cost of £19,120, partly defrayed by the Parliamentary Commissioners. The churches of SS. John and Paul are also modern structures, as is the Beresford Chapel. There are twelve chapels belonging to Dissenting congregations, and numerous schools."

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003] These pages are intended for personal use only, so please respect the conditions of use.