Balham - the Gateway to the South

Balham was an Anglo-Saxon village on the Roman Road from London to Chichester called Stane Street. In the Middle Ages it was partly owned by the Abbey of Bec in Normandy (who gave their name to Tooting Bec). The name ‘Balham’ probably comes from Balaams Farm, a large farm owned by the Crown in Tudor times. There were mainly large farms and residential villas in the area in the 18th century. The Duke of Bedford owned a lot of Balham and gave his name to Bedford Hill. In fact, Bedford Hill was originally just the private drive to his mansion, Bedford Hill House. The opening of a train station made it attractive for people working in London to have homes in Balham and by 1908 Balham had become engulfed in London’s expansion. By the second half of the 20th century, Balham had become run down and seedy, and Peter Sellars ironically gave it the grandiose title of ‘the Gateway to the South’. Nowadays it is a very different story and Balham is again a prosperous and desirable area.