Newington, Surrey

Description
Newington, a quondam village and a parish in Surrey. The quondam village stood 1 1/2 mile S of St Paul's, London; was anciently known as Neweton and Newnton; took afterwards the name of Newington Butts, from butts for archery practice in an open field adjacent to it; and became completely absorbed by the extension of the metropolis. The parish includes also the quondam hamlet of Walworth; is now, with the exception of some ornamental open spaces, all a part of the metropolis; has very numerous streets, some of them spacious, many well editiced, and most running in straight lines, chiefly at right angles with one another, or with such angular connections as comport well with convenience ; includes the great central thoroughfare around the Elephant and Castle Inn, at the convergence of the streets from the six principal metropolitan bridges over the Thames, and at the divergence thence of the three great lines of thoroughfare to the SE, the S, and the SW; extends along both sides of the southward main street line to the boundary with Camberwell; forms part of Lambeth borough; has ready access to all the stations of the south-eastward, the southward, and the south-westward railways going from the metropolis ; and contains numerous post, money order, and telegraph offices under London S. Acreage, 631; population, 115,804. The Fishmongers' Almshouses, or St Peter's Hospital, founded in 1721 for forty-two inmates, formerly stood here, and a stone in the building recorded that part of Cnut's or Canute's trench came hither from the spot where the Surrey docks were cut, and was called the Tygris. An elegant vestry hall was built in 1865-66, at a cost of about £10,000, and stands at the corner of Walworth road. For parliamentary purposes, Newington is divided into the borough of Walworth (population, 59,181) and West Newington (population, 56,623). See also LONDON.