Nine Elms

 

Nine Elms Lane was named around the year 1645, from a row of elm trees bordering the road, though a path probably existed between York House and Vauxhall from the 1200s. In 1838, at the time of construction of the London and Southampton Railway, the area was described as "a low swampy district occasionally overflowed by the River Thames [whose] osier beds, pollards and windmille and the river give it a Dutch effect".^[1]

Nine Elms railway station opened on 21 May 1838 as the first London terminus of the London & South Western Railway, (LSWR) which that day changed its name from the London & Southampton Railway. The neo-classical building was designed by William Tite. The station was connected to points between Vauxhall and London Bridge by Thames steam boats. It closed in 1848 when the railway was extended via the Nine Elms to Waterloo Viaduct to a new terminus at Waterloo (then called Waterloo Bridge). The redundant station and the adjacent area, to the north of the new main line, became the LSWR's carriage and wagon works and main locomotive works until their relocation to Eastleigh in 1909.^[2] The company's largest locomotive depot was located on the south side of the main line. The buildings were damaged by bombs in World War II, and closed in 1967. They were demolished in 1968 and replaced by the flower section of the New Covent Garden Market.^[3][4]

Gasworks were established in 1853, close to the existing waterworks of the Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company. Later Battersea Power Station was built on the site.

Vauxhall Motors was formed in 1857 by Scottish engineer Alexander Wilson at Nine Elms, originally as Alex Wilson and Company, before moving to Luton in 1907. There was a plaque commemorating the site of the original factory at the Sainsbury's Nine Elms petrol station on Wandsworth Road which has now been demolished and replaced with a new Sainsbury's superstore and high rise apartments as part of the current Nine Elms regeneration.

 

In October 2008, the United States Embassy in London announced that it would relocate to the area, moving from Grosvenor Square, Mayfair;^[5][6] the new embassy was completed in December 2017, and began operating in January 2018.^[7]

On 16 February 2012, Wandsworth Council approved Ballymore Group's plans for a 15-acre development. Embassy Gardens is set to provide "up to 1,982 new homes alongside shops, cafes, bars, restaurants, business space, a 100 bed hotel, a health centre, children's playgrounds and sports pitches".^[8] In 2014, it was reported that Ballymore had engaged Lazard and CBRE Group to raise about €2.5bn to fund the Embassy Gardens development.^[9]

 

Regeneration of the area around Battersea Power Station started in 2013, with the power station structure secured by 2016.^[10][11] The Power Station building opened in October 2022. It contains shopping and leisure facilities, office space and housing.^[12] To service the area, Nine Elms tube station, on the London Underground, opened in September 2021, as part of an extension of the Northern line from Kennington.^[13]

Previously a part of Queenstown Ward, in 2022 Nine Elms ward was created, represented on Wandsworth Council by two councillors. The next local election is scheduled to take place in May 2026.

The Labour Member of Parliament for Battersea is Marsha de Cordova. She represented Larkhall ward, adjacent to Nine Elms, on Lambeth Council from 2014 to 2018.^[14]

Since 2021, the area has been served by Nine Elms station on the Northern line of the London Underground.

In 2015, Wandsworth council chose a design by Bystrup for a £40m pedestrian bridge between Nine Elms and Pimlico,^[15][16][17] although as of 2021 there are no firm plans to construct this.

• The Optimists of Nine Elms (1974 film starring Peter Sellers)

• Map and aerial photos