Alumni Explore Clapham’s Unique History in CCUK Neighbourhood Walk

For the latest in CCUK’s regular neighbourhood walks series, CCUK President Christian Polman hosted a walking tour of Clapham with a group of Cornell alumni, including two fellow local Clapham alumni who helped provide local knowledge to alumni from further afield. We walked through Clapham’s unique Common, fought over for grazing rights for centuries, and visited London’s largest bandstand of historical significance, beautifully restored within the past two decades thanks in-part to donations from local residents. We explored Clapham’s unique architectural history – complete with a few remaining manor houses which popped up as it quickly became a desirable retreat from the City of London in the 17th and 18th centuries, before expanding rapidly during Victorian times thanks to a tram line, and later the Tube, connecting Clapham up to the City of London. We also explored Clapham’s unique history as the birthplace of the “Clapham Sect”, a group of influential abolitionist campaigners who worshiped at the now-famous Holy Trinity Church in the 1770s under the evangelical Reverend John Venn. As always, we ended at a local pub and enjoyed a refreshing locally brewed beer by the American owned craft brewery Mondo Brewery.