Did you know that...
This district in south London is the location of at least three significant London landmarks, which are the Kennington Park, Kennington Oval, and Imperial War Museum.
The bus route of the world’s first motorised double-decker bus linked Victoria to Kennington in 1899, or rather Kennington Park was the destination.
The world-famous actor Charlie Chaplin, born on the Black Patch, a gypsy camp in Birmingham in 1889, grew up in Kennington, lived in several different houses at different times, and launched his career at what is now known as the Coronet Cinema.
One of Kennington SE11 most famous landmarks, the Park, served multiple purposes over the years. The beautiful Kennington Park has a gruesome past as it was the place where executions were carried out back in the day. Religious and political meetings were also held in the Park and this tradition survives to this day as marches, rallies, and protests are still organized in the Park.
Kennington SE11 derives from Chenintune as it was recorded in the 11th century. The Domesday Book mentions that Kennington belonged to Teodric the goldsmith. By the 13th century, the name had changed to Kenintone or Kenyngton. It means Cena’s farm or the settlement of the King.
Kennington was used as a filming location for Passport to Pimlico, The Krays, The Iron Lady, and Kingsman: The Secret Service. The area is featured in Charles Dickens’s novel Bleak House and W. Somerset Maugham’s novel Of Human Bondage.
The Oval or The Kia Oval is a cricket ground and one of London’s landmarks. Before it was a cricket ground, the green space was used to grow cabbage.