Clapham stands on a former Roman road from London to Chichester called Stane Street. It was originally a Saxon village called clopp ham, meaning ‘village by the short hill’. In the Domesday Book of 1086, they referred to it as Clopeham and was held by Geoffrey de Mandeville. The town was a small area with a meagre population and had a tiny farming settlement by mediaeval times. It grew into a larger village by the end of the 17th century, after the Great Plague of London and the Great Fire of 1666. In the 18th century, it became a fashionable place for wealthy residents like famous diarist Samuel Pepys and American scientist Benjamin Franklin. During the first census in 1801, Clapham was already a large village with a 3,864 population—higher than the nearby market town at that time. Transportation in the area also improved in the 19th century, like the arrival of horse-drawn buses, railways, and tube stations. In 1963, the famous British Transport Museum opened together with other beautiful attractions we can see today.  

Today Clapham offers stunning family-friendly homes and has a bustling nightlife scene. You can find a mix of Victorian, Georgian, and Modern houses around Old Town, Thornton Park, Nightingale Village, and Parkside Place. You will find plenty of pubs, eateries, restaurants, and other food places that offer different cuisines from around the world. If you want to walk your dog or jog around, Clapham Common has a 200-acre open space for you. They have the Clapham Picturehouse in Venn Street, Omnibus Theatre, Studio Voltaire, and Clapham Leisure Centre for leisure and arts facilities. In terms of education, there are outstanding schools like Clapham Manor, Honeywell Infants and Juniors, Belleville Primary, Chestnut Grove, Harris Academy Battersea, and École de Wix.