Facts about Streatham
Streatham History
Streatham means “the hamlet on the street”. The street in question, the London to Brighton Way, was the Roman road from the capital Londinium to the south coast near Portslade, today within Brighton and Hove. It is likely that the destination was a Roman port now lost to coastal erosion, which has been tentatively identified with ‘Novus Portus’ mentioned in Ptolemy’s Geographia.
After the departure of the Romans, the main road through Streatham remained an important trackway. From the 17th century, it was adopted as the main coach road to Croydon and East Grinstead, and then on to Newhaven and Lewes. In 1780 it then became the route of the turnpike road from London to Brighton, and subsequently became the basis for the modern A23.
General Info
Streatham is a district mostly in the London Borough of Lambeth in Greater London, but with some areas to the west stretching out into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. It is centred 5 miles south of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
In August 2011, Streatham was selected as one of the areas to benefit from Round 1 of the Mayor of London’s Outer London Fund, gaining £300,000. Later, Streatham was awarded a further £1.6 million, matched by another £1 million by Lambeth. The money from this fund was spent on improving streets and public spaces in Streatham.
