44-657: The South Circular Road (formally the A205 and often simply called the South Circular ) in south London , England, is a major road that runs from the Woolwich Ferry in the east to the Chiswick Flyover in the west via Eltham , Lee Green , Catford , Forest Hill , Dulwich , Tulse Hill , Clapham Common , Clapham Junction , Wandsworth , Putney , Barnes , Mortlake and Kew Bridge . Together with
88-525: A bridge underneath the Hither Green – Dartford railway, and the road had been built as far west as Burnt Ash Hill by the middle of the decade. Sir Charles Bressey 's Highway Development Survey (also known as the Bressey Report), published in 1937, showed a 15-mile (24 km)-long South Circular that would have a new-build section near Wandsworth Bridge (then being rebuilt) but otherwise be
132-522: A new motorway, Ringway 2 , was planned for construction further south. Because of the destruction required and cost involved in the proposed plans the majority of the Ringway Plans had stagnated by 1973. However, local Members of Parliament (MPs), including Toby Jessel , MP for Twickenham , complained the project should not be cancelled, as the existing South Circular was completely unacceptable to traffic. The plans were scrapped after Labour won
176-478: A new-build route across South London, construction of the first section of the South Circular near Eltham began in 1921 to a high-quality specification. The remainder of the road was supposed to be of a similar standard but it was repeatedly delayed, and the current route was allocated in the late 1930s to existing urban streets instead. Despite several proposals to either upgrade the road or replace it with
220-493: A parallel motorway, there has been little change since the route was first planned and most of the road is still urban streets. The South Circular has received sustained criticism for congestion and pollution and is one of the least popular roads in Britain. The South Circular is 20.5 miles (33.0 km) long. The majority of the road is single carriageway , one lane each way, aside from a small section of dual carriageway near
264-421: A population of 1,329,000. This definition is used by organisations such as Connexions . Between 2008 and 2011 it was replaced with a South East sub-region consisting of Southwark, Lewisham, Greenwich, Bexley and Bromley and a South West sub-region consisting of Croydon, Kingston, Lambeth, Merton, Sutton, Richmond and Wandsworth. In 2011 a new south London region was created consisting of Bromley, Croydon,
308-477: A series of online improvements to existing roads. Sir Patrick Abercrombie was frustrated by the lack of progress, and in 1933 said "There is not a single complete Ring Road in the County or Region of London". Plans for an improved South Circular were revisited as part of Abercrombie's County of London Plan of 1943, as the southern half of one of several ring roads around the capital. Abercrombie designated it as
352-426: A small humpback bridge , near Gipsy Lane on Queens Ride, Barnes, south-west London, lost control and struck a steel-reinforced chain link fence post, and he was pronounced dead at the scene on the arrival of paramedics near the post located in the woods. Jones was critically injured but was conscious after the crash and survived it. In August 1736, the common hosted a cricket match between Surrey and London . This
396-594: Is generally flat. It is owned by the Dean and Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral , acting through the Church Commissioners , and managed by the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames , advised and assisted by the charity Barnes Common Limited (previously known as Friends of Barnes Common). Mill Hill is effectively an enclave of eleven large houses (three of them listed buildings ), surrounded by
440-614: Is the southern part of Greater London , England , south of the River Thames . The region consists of the boroughs , in whole or in part, of Bexley , Bromley , Croydon , Greenwich , Kingston , Lambeth , Lewisham , Merton , Richmond , Southwark , Sutton and Wandsworth . South London originally emerged from Southwark , first recorded as Suthriganaweorc , meaning 'fort of the men of Surrey '. From Southwark , London then extended further down into northern Surrey and western Kent . South London began at Southwark at
484-807: The A316 Great Chertsey Road, passing the National Archives , Kew Green , and over Kew Bridge . It ends at the Chiswick Roundabout , which is the junction for the M4 and the A406 North Circular Road . The South Circular Road was planned by the Ministry of Transport in the early 20th century as part of a general programme of traffic improvements across London. In 1903, a proposal for new approach roads
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#1732772918083528-547: The GLC election that year. In 1985, the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry proposed a £300m partial replacement for the South Circular that would have seen a dual-carriageway built over existing suburban railway lines between Barnes and Wandsworth Bridge , and Wandsworth Common to Nine Elms . The Government announced a large-scale upgrade of the South Circular in the 1989 white paper Roads for Prosperity , but it
572-610: The North Circular Road and Woolwich Ferry, it makes a complete ring-road around Central London and is a former boundary of the Ultra Low Emission Zone . The South Circular is largely a sequence of urban streets joined together, requiring several at-grade turns , unlike the mostly purpose-made carriageways of the North Circular. As a result, it is frequently congested. Originally planned as
616-620: The Woolwich Ferry . It is a primary road for its entire length. The route runs closer to central London compared to the more distant North Circular. The South Circular Road starts just south of the ferry terminal where the A2204 Ferry Approach meets the main east–west road through Woolwich, the A206 . It heads south, climbing up John Wilson Street, a section of dual carriageway, until it meets Grand Depot Road and becomes single carriageway through Woolwich Common and Academy Road past
660-454: The "C Ring" (the third ring out from the city centre); however, the high-quality road was never built and the semi-circular route was assigned to existing roads through the southern suburbs; these roads retain their historic names. The current recognised route of the South Circular was created by local motoring organisations putting up strategically placed signposts to direct traffic. Sir Richard Sharples , then MP for Sutton and Cheam , felt this
704-512: The Common. Barnes railway station is just within the common. The common is served by London Buses routes 33 , 72 , 265 and 485 . Singer and rock musician Marc Bolan died on the common on 16 September 1977 when the car carrying him as a passenger slammed into a tree, at what is now Marc Bolan's Rock Shrine . He was found unconscious in the wreckage of the purple Mini , which, driven by his girlfriend, Gloria Jones , failed to navigate
748-568: The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames, Merton, Sutton, Wandsworth, Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham. South London is, like other parts of London and the UK in general, a temperate maritime climate according to the Köppen climate classification system . Three Met Office weather stations currently collect climate data south of the river; Kew, Hampton and Kenley Airfield, on
792-562: The South Circular was ruled to be a factor in the death of 9 year old Ella Roberta Kissi-Debrah . On 25 October 2021, the South Circular became the boundary of the London Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), although it is not included in it. Vehicles travelling inside the zone and not meeting key exhaust emission standards will need to pay a daily charge of £12.50 for cars, vans and motorcycles, and £100 for coaches, HGVs and buses. The zone expanded beyond this to cover
836-619: The Thames. Often snow can be seen to lie on the North Downs near Croydon when central London is snow free. The record high temperature at Greenwich is 37.5 °C (99.5 °F) recorded during August 2003. Sunshine is notably lower than other London area weather stations (by about 50–100 hours a year), suggesting Greenwich may be a fog trap in winter, and that the hillier land to the south may obscure early morning and late evening sunshine. The highest temperature recorded across south London
880-529: The Tower' (East London) . The area now usually referred to as North London developed later. As late as the mid 18th century, however, there were no other bridges crossing the river and as a result urban growth was considerably slower in the south than in areas north of the Thames . The opening of Westminster Bridge and other subsequent bridges to the west encouraged growth in the south-west, but only Tower Bridge
924-651: The Vikings. Southwark was also known as the Borough due to be it being an incorporated (nationally represented) Borough from 1295. From 1550 to 1899 it was administered as part of the City of London and referred to as the ward of Bridge Without . In 1720, John Strype's 'Survey of London' described Southwark as one of the then four distinct areas of London; in it he describes the City of London , Westminster (West London) , Southwark (South London) , and 'That Part Beyond
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#1732772918083968-429: The area. The 12 boroughs included, in whole or part are: (Outer London for statistics) A small area of land, on which the southern end of Blackfriars Bridge stands, is not part of Southwark. It forms part of the City of London , a sui generis local authority which is mainly located north of the Thames. The term 'south London' has been used for a variety of formal purposes with the boundaries defined according to
1012-502: The busy road. Caroline Pidgeon , deputy chair of the London Assembly's Transport Committee, responded, "It doesn't make sense and it won't add up – [there's a] £30bn estimate, but I'm sure it'll cost at least double that, and the reality is we'll lose homes around these roads and so on." 51°26′26″N 0°06′35″W / 51.4405°N 0.1098°W / 51.4405; -0.1098 South London South London
1056-599: The common, the South Circular merges with the A3 London to Portsmouth road for two miles, travelling along Wandsworth High Street and passing the old Ram Brewery . At West Hill the routes diverge, with the A205 going north-west along Upper Richmond Road, past Putney Leisure Centre and the south end of Barnes Common and the home ground of Rosslyn Park F.C. , then along Upper Richmond Road West, before turning north at East Sheen onto Clifford Avenue. The road then crosses
1100-522: The east and bounded to the south by the Upper Richmond Road . Along with Barnes Green , it is one of the largest zones of common land in London with 49.55 hectares (122.4 acres) of protected commons. It is also a local nature reserve . Facilities include a full-size football pitch and a nature trail. The common is made up of mixed broadleaf woodland , scrubland and acid grassland and
1144-544: The first half of the 20th century, towns in the Home Counties such as Kingston, Croydon and Bromley gradually coalesced with South London, until Greater London was formed in 1965. A significant feature of south London's economic geography is that while there are more than thirty bridges linking the area with West London and the City , there is only one, Tower Bridge , linking the area with East London . Very little of London's underground rail network lies south of
1188-462: The former Royal Military Academy . The route continues south to the A2 at a grade separated junction—one of only two on the route—and continues southwesterly as a dual carriageway, crossing Eltham Road ( A210 ) and Sidcup Road ( A20 ). At the junction with Burnt Ash Hill the road becomes urban single carriageway again, which it remains the case for most of the remainder of the route. The first section of
1232-469: The inadequate design of the road was indicative of several single points of failure in the London road network. The South Circular has been criticised for its poor air quality and pollution. This affects drivers, cyclists and pedestrians, all of which regularly travel along the road. A 2007 report in the Daily Telegraph said it was the eighth worst road in Britain. In December 2020, pollution from
1276-472: The purposes of the designation. In 2017 the government asked the Boundary Commission for England to reconsider the boundaries of parliamentary constituencies. The commission's study, was to start with existing regions of England and then group the local authorities within that area into sub-regions for further sub-division. The south London sub-region included the 11 boroughs which lay south of
1320-535: The river, largely due to the challenging geology; however, 21st-century technology makes tunnelling much cheaper (though stations are still expensive) and this may lead to an improved underground provision in south London with the Crossrail 2 line proposed alongside extensions to the Northern and Bakerloo Lines . South London contains an extensive overground rail network and all of London's trams operate within
1364-513: The river, plus the parts of cross-river Richmond upon Thames that did so. An earlier 2013 study, whose recommendations were not adopted, took a different approach by including all of Richmond in its south London sub-region. For the purposes of progress reporting on the London Plan , there was a south London sub-region in operation from 2004 to 2008 consisting of Bromley, Croydon, Kingston, Merton, Richmond and Sutton. In 2001 this area had
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1408-582: The road as "a collection of signposts" and "not so much a coherent through route". In 1969, the chairman of the Greater London Council planning and transportation committee called the South Circular "a joke". Two years later, Jessel reported it could take over an hour to travel the route end to end, a little over 20 miles. The whole of the South Circular is a red route , allocated to roads that together make up over 30% of traffic in London. This prohibits any stopping or loading. Some sections of
1452-497: The road through the borough of Lewisham have extensive bus lanes . Their appearance is controversial; a 2006 resident survey produced mixed results, with people believing there were either too many or not enough. In 1988, a single road closure (resulting from a gas leak on a side road in Wandsworth) caused severe congestion along the entire South Circular. A representative from Scotland Yard's Central Communications complex said
1496-544: The route of the South Circular since the original 1903 plans, and building costs had risen because of labour and because of further demolition required. In 1927, the Governors of Dulwich College formally objected to the road as it would put the Memorial Library right next to a main road and remove part of the college green. A short section from Well Hall Road to Eltham Road had been completed by 1930, aside from
1540-535: The single carriageway is Saint Mildreds Road; then, shortly after passing under the railway line, it is Brownhill Road due west all the way to the Catford gyratory system which crosses the A21 to follow Catford Road past the former Catford Stadium , and a medley of suburban roads towards Forest Hill and Horniman Museum , Dulwich Common and Dulwich College , Tulse Hill and Brixton Hill to Clapham Common . Beyond
1584-444: The southern edge of the urban area. Long term climate observations dating back to 1763 are available for Greenwich, although observations ceased here in 2003. Temperatures increase towards the Thames, firstly because of the urban warming effect of the surrounding area, but secondly due to altitude decreasing towards the river, meaning the southern margins of south London are often a couple of degrees cooler than those areas adjacent to
1628-585: The southern end of London Bridge , the first permanent crossing over the river, with early development of the area being a direct result of the existence and location of the bridge . Southwark was first known as Suthriganaweorc , the fortress of the men of Surrey , mentioned in the Burghal Hidage as part of military system created by Alfred the Great to defeat the Great Heathen Army of
1672-553: The whole of Greater London on 29 August 2023. A task force was set up in July 2013 by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson to look at improvements to the London road network, including the South Circular and North Circular . The plans included putting the road in a series of tunnels. This would free up space on the surface, providing public space and extensive cycle routes and improving the linkage of existing communities currently severed by
1716-590: Was 38.1 °C (100.6 °F) on the same occasion at Kew Gardens. Although the Met Office accepts a higher reading from Brogdale in Kent, many have questioned the accuracy of this and regard the Kew reading as the most reliable highest UK temperature reading. Barnes Common Barnes Common is a local nature reserve on common land in the south east of Barnes, London , England, adjoining Putney Lower Common to
1760-545: Was built to the east of London Bridge , so south-east London grew more slowly, at least until the Surrey Commercial Docks were built. The development of a dense network of railway lines in the mid nineteenth century significantly accelerated growth. The County of London was formed in 1899, which incorporated these boroughs south of the river: Wandsworth, Lambeth, Battersea, Camberwell, Southwark, Bermondsey, Deptford, Lewisham, Greenwich and Woolwich. During
1804-435: Was cancelled the following year after a petition signed by 3,500 local residents. In addition to the proposed property demolition around Tulse Hill, the petition complained that the road's course conveniently avoided a house belonging to then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher half a mile away. The South Circular Road has long been the target of criticism over its poor capacity and lack of improvement schemes. MPs have dismissed
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1848-507: Was easy to purchase, but plans for the remainder of the route had not yet been decided and there were delays due to compulsory purchasing of properties. In 1925, The Times announced a replacement bridge for the Woolwich Ferry was planned as part of the South Circular project to tie in with the East Ham and Barking Bypass (now the A13 ). A significant amount of new housing had been built along
1892-566: Was inadequate and complained that "I do not think that the South Circular Road could be said to exist at all." In the 1960s, Abercrombie's plans were revived by the Greater London Council (GLC) as the London Ringways Plan which proposed the construction of a series of motorways in and around London to control traffic congestion. The existing South Circular route was recognised as being unsuitable for upgrading and
1936-604: Was submitted to the Royal Commission on London Traffic , but was rejected. The Road Board was formed in 1910 to address traffic issues, which led to the London Arterial Road Conferences in 1913–14 that revived the earlier plans. Progress was halted because of the war, but resumed in 1920, when it was hoped it would find work for demobilised soldiers. The first section near Woolwich was under construction by 1921, as it ran on open land that
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