The Ever Changing Face of Vauxhall (or, We Attend a Consultation).

Posted on July 11, 2025 by Kennington Observer

As Observer regulars will be aware, we love few things more than attending/disrupting a planning consultation, so we recently headed over to the wonderful Vauxhall City Farm to attend a consultation about the development of the Bondway site in Vauxhall. The site is at the far end of the bus shelter (more on that later) and sits in front of the Versace designed DAMAC tower where for £13 million you too can live in front of the bins at Fire Nightclub. But we digress.

When we entered the consultation we were greeted with signs reading ‘A New Vision for Vauxhall Square’. Frankly we weren’t aware that a Vauxhall Square even existed, but we went along with it as part of the mythmaking. Through a series of posters it was explained that the project will centre on two very large residential towers, with the largest topping out at almost 700 feet. St. George Wharf tower is 590 feet. 35% of this will be dedicated as social and student housing at affordable rents. When we asked how they define ‘affordable’, lets just say the answer was less than direct.

If it can be pulled off, Vauxhall Square has the potential to be interesting. A developer droned on about the exciting inclusion of a medical centre, cinema, bars, restaurants, and a library. To be honest we slightly nodded off at this stage as we’ve heard the ‘we’re giving back to the community’ spiel a hundred times. However, when said developer started to talk about the redevelopment of the railway arches, your scribe perked up and pointed out that some of these arches house nightclubs and restaurants that have been there for decades. Said developer said that they will not be affected. OK

To wake us up fully, we moved over to a 3D model of Vauxhall and got chatting to the perky and positive architect. He said that one goal is to create more walking/cycling areas free of traffic, which we support. As the two towers could actually be lifted out of the 3D model, we asked the architect if the buildings could be lifted over to Pimilco. He took this opportunity to tell us about how the project is funding more affordable housing around Lambeth, and we started to nod off again. The project will be delivered by 2030-2032.

And yes, the bus shelter will be going to that massive bus depot in heaven, but this is has nothing to do with the development at Vauxhall Square. Lambeth sold that scrappy piece of land in front of the bus shelter in 2013 with the agreement that the shelter would go to creating more pedestrianised spaces. On the scrappy piece of land will be two towers, 53 and 42 stories respectively (below), designed by Zaha Hadid and Partners, called Vauxhall Cross Island. This is Vauxhall, people, blink and you see something new at every turn. May the bins of Fire be testament to a more innocent and down to earth Vauxhall.

And yes, you can leave a comment here. But be nice, people, as we know what you lot are like.

Brunswick House, the great survivor of Vauxhall

Posted on February 3, 2023 by Kennington Observer

From the archives, the fifth edition of our month of best history posts

Beyond the soon to be demolished Vauxhall bus station and nestled in the midst of the behemoth known as St. George Wharf lies a beautiful Georgian building that has survived encounters with oblivion, in an area that has become unrecognisable in recent years.

Brunswick House dates from the mid 17^th century but was rebuilt in 1758. The back of the house had sweeping views to the Thames and the front overlooked the then booming Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens and market gardens of Oval. Just 32 years after being rebuilt the house suffered the ignominy of being split into to, and would never be a single home again.

The destiny of Brunswick House, and indeed Vauxhall, was profoundly affected by the arrival of the railways in the 1840’s in ways both good and bad. The railway was the final nail in the coffin for Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, and poor Brunswick House had its access to the river permanently cut off by a railway goods yard. In the 1850’s the house ended up in the hands of London and South Western Railways and this is when its journey became particularly interesting.

In 1860 a fire almost destroyed Brunswick House, and after being repaired it was used by the railways as a staff canteen for workers, a library, a concert hall, a scientific institute, a bar, and a caretaker’s cottage. In WW2 an army unit lived in the building and, according to legend, in the 1950’s it was used by MI5 and MI6 for secret meetings as they feared that their own HQ was bugged. It was threatened by the wrecking ball on several occasions but was saved from this fate by being listed in 1973.

The house remained in railway hands for over 150 years when it was sold as the railways were being privitised and sold again in 2002 to a property developer. Some readers might remember this period as the building quickly declined as a result of vandalism and was in a pretty sorry state. It was purchased in 2005 by architectural salvage firm ‘Lassco’, who carefully restored the building and filled the rooms with its products, many of which are Georgian themselves.

Next time you are going for your hour of exercise pop over to Brunswick House and marvel at the fact that it’s still there. Lassco is very much open to the public (well, not right now) and a fascinating place to explore. They also have a critically acclaimed cafe. If you’re willing to sell a kidney, or your name happens to be Elton John, you might even be able to buy a doorknob there!

The top ten best restaurants in Kennington – no. 3 – Brunswick House

Posted on February 24, 2019 by Kennington Observer

Positives: Brunswick House has an utterly unique and magical interior, courtesy of LASSCO the architectural reclaim shop, and the building it takes its name from, a Georgian mansion with a colourful history. The atmosphere is always good, the food is inventive and seasonal, and the clientele is cultured – when Florence Welch wants to meet Lena Dunham for dinner, this is where they go.

Brunswick House restaurant - kenningtonrunoff.com

Negatives: Since founder Jackson Boxer, a Kennington resident, started opening hot new restaurants outside of Kennington and became a cover star (and what a dashing one too), we have to say the food is not quite as great as it was, and still expensive. So we’re not the regular visitors we once were – but if you’ve never been, you really should…

Salsify, cauliflower and olive at Brunswick House – kenningtonrunoff.com

The top ten best restaurants in Kennington – no. 4 – Bonnington Café

Posted on February 23, 2019 by Kennington Observer

Positives: We were recently asked to recommend places for a group of Spanish art students to go when visiting London and Bonnington Café was the only place on our list. It’s off Bonnington Square, a magical, unique place which is surely the crowning achievement of the squatting movement in London (the café was originally a communal kitchen for the squatters, many of whom didn’t have functioning kitchens of their own). The food is crazy cheap and it’s BYOB. It has always been vegetarian and nowadays seems to be vegan as well. Best of all is the atmosphere – never not joyous.

Bonnington Square Cafe - kenningtonrunoff.com

Negatives: The chefs and waiters are keen amateurs on a rota so don’t expect fine dining, but do expect wholesome, tasty vegan food, generally served very quickly if rather eccentrically at times. The café was briefly “threatened with closure” but like 6 Music, this only served to make it stronger. Viva Bonnington Café!

Spring Gardens Nursery

Posted on April 8, 2018 by Kennington Observer

Spring keeps threatening to spring so we’ve been stocking up on plants from Spring Gardens Nursery at the junction of Black Prince Road and Newport Street, to the side of Beaconsfield Gallery.

Spring Gardens Nursery - kenningtonrunoff.com

Andy and Alan will give you detailed, friendly advice about which plants to buy (maybe a bit too detailed – we were overwhelmed with choice so gave up and let our toddler choose loads of random flowers), and they may well give you a little freebie if you spend enough. They grow a lot of their own plants, their stock seems to be growing all the time and their prices are very reasonable.

Spring Garden Nursery plants and flowers - kenningtonrunoff.com

It’s open daily including Sundays from 10am to 6pm.

Shank’s Pony Nursery was previously on the same site and this article links them to some of the lovely plants you can see in beds around West and North West Kennington.

Mother Kelly’s Taproom Vauxhall

Posted on December 3, 2017 by Kennington Observer

Like Cottons, Mother Kelly’s is another independent retailer-turned-chain who recently arrived in West Kennington (they were already in Bethnal Green, Homerton, Stoke Newington and Portlandia).

Mother Kelly's outdoor seating - kenningtonrunoff.com

In fact the Vauxhall branch is their biggest, with a bottle shop on Albert Embankment, outside seating facing Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens (above), and a massive tap room with 33 different beers on tap under the railway arch in between:

Mother Kelly's interior - kenningtonrunoff.com

Great news for lovers of craft beers like us, but it’s not cheap. The first we heard of Mother Kelly’s coming to Vauxhall was this tweet:

https://twitter.com/fionamacmac/status/898606567871832065

Craft beer for people who live in towerblocks designed by Versace, you might think. But the beers were great and the atmosphere was welcoming so we’ll be back.

Here’s the bottle shop:

Mother Kelly's IPAs and others - kenningtonrunoff.com Mother Kelly's pale ales and others - kenningtonrunoff.com

They also sell Mother Kelly’s merch:

Mother Kelly's merch - kenningtonrunoff.com

When we were there, their food offering was meat boards (£10), veg boards (£7.50), cheese boards (£9.50), chocolate boards (£6.50), olives and bread, and sandwiches, but they also host food trucks.

Mother Kelly’s, 76 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TP

+44 (0) 20 7091 9779

Cottons Vauxhall

Posted on November 26, 2017 by Kennington Observer

Cottons started as a long-running and popular Caribbean restaurant in Camden. Now the Cottons chain is in all four corners of London, with branches in Notting Hill, Shoreditch and West Kennington – they’ve taken over the riverside site at St George Wharf that was previously occupied by the Moroccan restaurant Souk River Lounge.

Cottons exterior - kenningtonrunoff.com

It’s hard to imbue St George Wharf with character but Cottons have given it a fair shot with this colourful wall mural:

Cottons wall mural - kenningtonrunoff.com

The centre piece of the restaurant is the bar, with many different rums on offer:

Cottons bar - kenningtonrunoff.com

This seafood platter with rice & peas, plantain and jerk sauce was top notch, as you’d hope for £18.50. In true Kennington Runoff tradition, we enjoyed it so much we tucked in before taking the photo:

Cottons seafood platter - kenningtonrunoff.com

Less successful was this order of vegetable coconut rundown for £12 – basically just some veg in an over-flavoured sauce. They should really add a vegetarian jerk option to the menu.

Cottons Vegetable Coconut Runover - kenningtonrunoff.com

We went along on a Friday night and they were playing the greatest hits of dancehall too loudly for our middle-aged tastes, but the restaurant certainly has a party atmosphere you won’t find elsewhere in the area, except perhaps on Walworth Road late at night.

Cottons interior - kenningtonrunoff.com

They do a daily happy hour on cocktails (£6), wine and beer (Carib for £3.50 a bottle) from 5pm-9pm and a bottomless brunch from 11am-5pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday which we plan to try soon.

Cottons Vauxhall. Unit 12 Flagstaff House, St George Wharf, Vauxhall, London SW8 2LE

T: 0207 091 0793

two of Kennington’s finest institutions are under threat

Posted on November 13, 2017 by Kennington Observer

Both of these institutions are magical, unique and irreplaceable. The area will be much worse off without them.

See our original piece about the Bonnington Cafe here.

Bonnington Square Cafe - kenningtonrunoff.com

See our original piece about the Cinema Museum here.

The bar and shop at the Cinema Museum - kenningtonrunoff.com

Counter Termini – the best pizza in Kennington and beyond

Posted on June 1, 2017 by Kennington Observer

Sadly Counter Termini and Counter both closed down shortly after the opening of Termini.

There’s a bit of a dearth of Italian restaurants in Kennington at the moment. First of all Sirena’s shut down, apparently because the office it was based in wanted something healthier and more modern. Then Amici closed for an extended refurbishment that doesn’t seem to be progressing. Even Pizza Express was briefly closed due to flooding. Well, there’s a new restaurant in town and to say it’s the best Italian in the area really doesn’t do it justice – Counter Termini serve some of the best pizza we’ve had.

~~The premises used to be Back Counter, on the other side of the railway arch from Counter itself. The interior hasn’t changed much, except for the introduction of a wood-fired pizza oven.~~

As well as pizza, they serve antipasti, salads and drinks every day from 11.30am to late. We went along to one of their ‘sneak preview’ nights. They’re now in ‘soft launch’ mode, and they’re offering 2-4-1 on all pizzas until June 30th (except when there’s an ICC match at the Oval). If you book, quote ‘Friends & Family’.

This is the Verdura pizza with cherry tomato, aubergine, artichokes, yellow courgette, ricotta, aged balsamic – fresh, flavoursome, and so good we started eating it before taking the photo. Normally it costs £9:

~~Equally great was the Tonno pizza with tomato, tuna, red onions, capers, oregano (you can probably guess why part of it isn’t in the photo – yum yum). Normally £11:~~

~~They’re also rightly proud of Mahrez’ Greek Salad:~~

~~They do takeaway, and they’re about to launch delivery services via Uber Eats and Deliveroo.~~

~~Counter Termini is a great addition to West Kennington and indeed to London.~~

~~Address: Arch 50, South Lambeth Road, London, SW8 1SR~~

~~T – 020 3693 9600~~

Vintage Vauxhall Market at the Workshop

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Kennington Observer

Tomorrow (Sunday) sees the second monthly Vintage Vauxhall Market at the Workshop on Whitgift Street (entrance on Lambeth High Street), from 10am to 4pm.

The Workshop - kenningtonrunoff.com

It offers “Mid-century, vintage, decorative antiques, retro” and will take place on the second Sunday of every month. We went to the first market and lusted after a number of items including a mirror made of an old red London telephone box, an old Raleigh bike, some beautifully made children’s toys, a new woolly jumper, some old maps, and these prints:

prints at Vauxhall Vintage Market - kenningtonrunoff.com

This stall seems to have been designed with Kate Hoey in mind:

wolf and Jesus at Vauxhall Vintage Market - kenningtonrunoff.com

The Workshop is an impressive venue, full of light:

Vauxhall Vintage Market - kenningtonrunoff.com

If you’re wondering how this market came to be in North West Kennington, there’s a clue on the website of the organisers: “Vintage and Antiques Markets also thanks local Vauxhall residents author and antiques specialist Mark Hill and Philip Reicherstorfer, owner of the restaurant COUNTER. Mark and Philip are keen to see the local communities and businesses of Vauxhall flourish and had the idea that a market could really work in the area, through their contacts at VauxhallOne they got the ball rolling and helped make it happen!” Well done Mark and Philip, the latter of whom you may see manning Counter’s stall supplying tea, cakes and more.

Did you know the Workshop also plays host to the Fire Brigade Museum?

London Fire Brigade Museum - kenningtonrunoff.com lego firewoman at London Fire Brigade Museum - kenningtonrunoff.com

And, from April 26th, The Workshop will provide temporary asylum to the Migration Museum. We trust Kate Hoey will be an early and frequent visitor.

The Kennington Observer

Surreptitiously observing Kennington, including the suburbs Vauxhall, Oval, Walworth, and Elephant since 2012

Tag Archives: Vauxhall