Time Walk
Between a School and a Pub
The first Vauxhall motorcars rolled out of works beside this road in 1903. Walking Wyvil Road today, a visitor passes the Vauxhall Griffin pub on the north side and a big Victorian school block on the south, on a short stretch linking Wandsworth Road to South Lambeth Road.
Underneath the Victorian brick, the road is older still: it was laid out in 1778 as part of a residential development. That earlier layer of houses is gone, but the street's line survives into the names on its gates and plaques today.
Name Origin
A Development Without an Explained Name
Wyvil Road was laid out in 1778 as part of a residential development by John Bond and Sarah Bond, fixing its line between what are now Wandsworth Road and South Lambeth Road. The sources used here do not explain where the name Wyvil itself came from.
History
From Bond's Development to Board School
A century after the road was laid out, Lambeth's Victorian school builders arrived. Wyvil Primary School, "an impressive London Board School," was built in 1877 on the south side of the road for the London School Board. The architect was E. R. Robson, and the contractors were Hill, Higgs, and Hill of South Lambeth Road; the tender cost was £7,782 for a school built to hold 828 children.
Not far away, on the Wandsworth Road/Wyvil Road site, the Vauxhall Iron Works built the first Vauxhall motorcars in 1903.
The first Vauxhall motorcars were built in 1903 at the Vauxhall Iron Works on the site at Wandsworth Road and Wyvil Road.
Culture
Queen Anne Brick and a Corner Pub
Two buildings anchor the street's character. The school on the south side stands as a showpiece of Board School design, while on the north side the Vauxhall Griffin offers a plainer, mid-19th century contrast. The pub rises three storeys, with sash windows and a plain parapet, some blind windows facing Trenchold Street, and an Edwardian pub front with a tiled entrance and broad plain pilasters.
People
The Bonds and the Board School Architect
John Bond and Sarah Bond laid out Wyvil Road in 1778 as part of a residential development on the freehold lands of Vauxhall and South Lambeth. Nearly a century later, the architect E. R. Robson designed Wyvil Primary School for the London School Board, working with the contractors Hill, Higgs, and Hill of South Lambeth Road to deliver a school for 828 children at a tender cost of £7,782.
Today
School, Pub, and a Short Connecting Road
Wyvil Road still runs west to east, linking Wandsworth Road to South Lambeth Road. The Vauxhall Griffin stands on the north side and Wyvil Primary School on the south, the two buildings that give the short road most of its character.
On the Map
Wyvil Road Then & Now
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it called Wyvil Road?
The road was laid out in 1778 as part of a residential development by John Bond and Sarah Bond. The sources used here do not explain where the name Wyvil itself came from.
What is Wyvil Road known for?
It is known for Wyvil Primary School, an 1877 London Board School designed by E. R. Robson, the 19th-century Vauxhall Griffin pub, and its proximity to the site where the first Vauxhall motorcars were built in 1903.
When was Wyvil Road laid out?
Wyvil Road was laid out in 1778 as part of a residential development by John Bond and Sarah Bond, on the freehold lands of Vauxhall and South Lambeth.