Visit Balham Places

Welcome to Visit Balham Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Balham

  

Balham Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Balham

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Balham history

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Balham refers to ’rounded enclosure’ and ham to a homestead, village or river enclosure. The settlement appears in the Domesday Book as Belgeham. Balham Hill and Balham High Road follow the Roman road Stane Street to Chichester – (now the A24 road)

Second World War air raid

A bomb fell in the High Road and through the roof of the Balham Underground station below, bursting water and gas mains and killing around 64 people . The incident was featured in Atonement, a 2001 novel by Ian McEwan .

Post-war

Provisional IRA bomb planted near government buildings in Balham, causing substantial damage to buildings . Later that day the group detonated a fatal attack on the Tower of London .

Balham landmarks

The Bedford is a pub venue for live music and comedy on Bedford Hill. Performers at the Banana Cabaret have included Stephen K Amos, Omid Djalili, Harry Hill, Eddie Izzard, Al Murray and Catherine Tate. The pub has won various awards including the Publican Music Pub of the Year 2002.

Balham geography / climate

Balham is overwhelmingly in Wandsworth, with only small parts in the neighbouring Borough of Lambeth. The Balham SW12 postcode includes the southern part of Clapham Park and the Hyde Farm area. The Heaver Estate lies to the south of Balham in Tooting.

You can visit Balham places with Walkfo Balham to hear history at Balham’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Balham has 253 places to visit in our interactive Balham map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Balham, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Balham places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Balham & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 253 audio facts unique to Balham places in an interactive Balham map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Balham Places Map
253 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Balham historic spots	Balham tourist destinations	Balham plaques	Balham geographic features
Walkfo Balham tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Balham

  

Best Balham places to visit

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Balham has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Balham’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Balham’s information audio spots:

Three Standing Figures 1947 Three Standing Figures 1947 (LH 268) is a large stone sculpture by Henry Moore . It was made in 1947–48 and exhibited at London County Council’s first Open-Air Sculpture Exhibition at Battersea Park in 1948 . Donated to the council, it has been exhibited at the park since 1950 . It became a Grade II listed building in 1988 .

York Mansions York Mansions is one of the seven Victorian blocks of flats on Prince of Wales Drive, London, in Battersea, in the London borough of Wandsworth . The four-storey building is portered .

The Albert Palace The Albert Palace was a large building located in Battersea, in the borough of Wandsworth, London . It faced, and formed a backdrop to the lake in the park . It was a re-erection of an iron and glass structure, like The Crystal Palace of 1851 .

St Mary of Debre Tsion, Battersea St Mary of Debre Tsion is a church in Battersea, London . It was built in the 1960s . It is one of the largest churches in the world .

Katherine Low Settlement The Katherine Low Settlement was founded in 1924 as part of the settlement movement . It is now a listed building and provider of charitable services to the local community .

Old Battersea House Old Battersea House is one of the oldest surviving buildings in South West London . It was rumoured to have been designed by Sir Christopher Wren . Grade II* listed building was built around 1699 and Grade II listed .

Clapham Grand The Grand (previously The Grand Theatre) is a Grade II listed building on St John’s Hill, near Clapham Junction, South London . It was designed by Earnest Woodrow and was first opened in 1900 as The New Grand Theatre of Varieties .

The Falcon, Battersea The Falcon is a Grade II listed public house at 2 St John’s Hill, Battersea, London . It is located in the centre of the city’s most famous landmarks .

Battersea Central Library The library was built by the Battersea Vestry between 1889 and 1890, to a design by Edward Mountford . It remains in use in contemporary times as one of Wandsworth Council’s libraries .

Huguenot Burial Site The Huguenot Burial Site is located in Wandsworth, London . It was in use from 1687 to 1854 . It is located next to St Mary Magdalen Roman Catholic Church .

Visit Balham plaques