South London.html



The widest definition of South London, including all areas south of the Thames and all of Richmond

South London is the southern part of London, England. The area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes.

Division by the Thames

At its widest extent, south London is the part of Greater London that is south of the River Thames. This includes the historic central areas of Southwark and Bankside and maritime Greenwich. The area has little of the London Underground network, but has a much more extensive suburban railway system than North London¹ and is the location of all of London's tram services. This area is made up of the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and Wandsworth. This definition is used by the Boundary Commission for England.² The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames includes sections on both sides of the River Thames and the boundary commission class the entire district as part of South London.² In 1965 Greenwich, Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark and Wandsworth were designated Inner London boroughs and Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Kingston, Merton and Sutton were designated Outer London boroughs.³

The Festival of Britain saw the economic resurgence of South London

Sub-region

For the purposes of the London Plan, the South London sub-region consists of Bromley, Croydon, Kingston, Merton, Richmond and Sutton.⁴ In 2001 this area had a population of 1,329,000.⁵ This definition is used by organisations such as Connexions.⁶

Colloquial use

Aside from the official definitions, South London refers to areas south of Central London and the River Thames. This area overlaps the informal Central, South East and South West London areas. Some of these districts are included in the South Eastern and South Western postcode areas. This area is included in all or part of the following boroughs, listed with postcode areas, direction from Charing Cross (the nominal centre of London), sub-region they are part of for planning purposes, and London Assembly constituencies:

London borough		Postcode areas	Charing Cross	Sub-region5	London Assembly7
	Bexley	DA, SE	east south-east	East	Bexley and Bromley
	Bromley	BR, SE	south east	South	Bexley and Bromley
	Croydon	CR, SE, SW	south	South	Croydon and Sutton
	Greenwich	SE, DA, BR	east south-east	East	Greenwich and Lewisham
	Kingston	KT, SW	south west	South	South West
	Lambeth	SE, SW	south	Central	Lambeth and Southwark
	Lewisham	SE, BR	south east	East	Greenwich and Lewisham
	Merton	CR, KT,SM, SW	south west	South	Merton and Wandsworth
	Richmond	SW, TW	south west	South	South West
	Southwark	SE	south	Central	Lambeth and Southwark
	Sutton	SM	south west	South	Croydon and Sutton
	Wandsworth	SW	south west	Central	Merton and Wandsworth

The South West London Assembly constituency additionally includes the London Borough of Hounslow.

Associated organisations

• South London Gallery
• South London Line
• South London Storm
• South London Botanical Institute
• South London Press
• South London Radio
• South London Theatre

References