Tulse Hill’s name may now be reviewed
(Picture: Google StreetView)The south London district of Tulse Hill could be renamed amid its namesake’s links to the slave trade, it has been reported.
A survey by Lambeth council asked residents their views on the names of streets and the area itself as part of a community listening exercise.
It comes in the wake of Sadiq Khan’s pledge to hand Londoners £25,000 to decolonise their areas.
Lambeth has begun a review of the borough and streets including Vassal Road, Holland Grove, Foxley Road and Foxley Square and Lord Holland Lane, The Daily Telegraph reported.
The area’s name is derived from Sir Henry Tulse who was lord mayor of London and he was the descendant of the Tulse family whose wealth come from the slave trade.
Tulse was part of the Royal African Company which traded in slaves from the continent until 1731.
Residents have been given four options: to rename the area, if information should be displayed, whether an education programme should be launched in state schools or if nothing should be done.
Streets within the area have also been named after Henry Richard Vassall-Fox and his wife Elizabeth Webster, both of whom owned slaves.
Also on the list are Rhodesia Road, the colonial name for Zambia and Zimbabwe derived from Cecil Rhodes, and Thurlow Road, named after Edward Thurlow who opposed the abolition of the slave trade.
A Lambeth Council spokesperson said they are working to assess local locations and their possible links to colonialism following the Black Lives Matter campaign.
They added: “Lambeth is a richly diverse borough, and the council has been a pioneer since the ‘80s for naming new places and new buildings to reflect local people.
“This latest piece of work required no extra spending, and has taken Government legislation on the issue fully into account.”
Mr Khan’s plan to diversify British road names come under his one million Untold Stories fund.
The Untold Stories fund is part of the Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm, established following the Black Lives Matter in London in 2020.
Mr Khan said: "London’s diversity is its greatest strength but for far too long our capital’s statues, street names and buildings have only shown a limited perspective on our city’s complex history.
"I’m determined to do everything I can to ensure our public realm presents a more complete picture of everyone who has made London the incredible city it is today."
