St. Helier, London
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
St. Helier | |
Location | |
---|---|
OS grid reference: | TQ265664 |
Administration | |
London borough: | Merton, Sutton |
County level: | Greater London |
Region: | London |
Constituent country: | England |
Sovereign state: | United Kingdom |
Other | |
Ceremonial county: | Greater London |
Historic county: | Surrey |
Services | |
Police force: | Metropolitan Police |
Fire brigade: | London Fire Brigade |
Ambulance service: | London Ambulance |
Post office and telephone | |
Post town: | MORDEN, CARSHALTON |
Postal district: | SM4, SM5 |
Dialling code: | 020 |
Politics | |
UK Parliament: | Mitcham and Morden Carshalton and Wallington |
London Assembly: | Merton and Wandsworth Croydon and Sutton |
European Parliament: | London |
London | List of places in London |
St. Helier is an estate in the London boroughs of Merton and Sutton. The portion of the estate north of Green Lane and Bishopsford Road is in Merton, the rest is in Sutton.
The estate was built between 1928 and 1936 by the London County Council for the re-housing of people from decaying inner London areas. Its development was spurred by the opening of Morden Underground station in 1926, and the Wimbledon to Sutton railway line in 1930, with a station at St Helier. These services provided rapid links into central London for the residents.
The estate was named in honour of Lady St. Helier who was an LCC Alderman from 1910 to 1927. It was the second largest of a series of "overspill" estates and was based on the Garden City ideas of Ebenezer Howard. The area had previously consisted largely of lavender fields, the last remnants of the famous Mitcham lavender industry.
In remembrance of the area's historic ownership by Westminster Abbey, the roads are named in alphabetical order after Monasteries and Abbeys starting in the north-west with Aberconway Road and ending with Woburn Road in the south-east.
The imposing St. Helier Hospital was opened in 1938. John Major, UK Prime Minister from 1990 to 1997, was born there.