Things you didn't know about... Kennington

Kennington hosted the first Test Match in Britain
You might have thought it would be Lord's, but the Oval cricket ground (probably Kennington's most famous landmark) was first, in 1880.

Much of Kennington is owned by Prince Charles
Edward III gave Kennington to his son Edward, the Black Prince in 1337, and his descendant still owns lots of it.

Kennington Common was used for executions
As well as for public speaking. Methodist John Wesley attracted crowds of 30,000 in 1739. The common dates back about 400 years but may have been a sacred site before that.

The first photograph of a crowd was taken in Kennington
And a famous crowd it was too—the Chartist "Monster Rally" on Kennington Common in 1848. The negative of the photograph belongs to the Queen and is kept in Windsor Castle.

Kennington Oval's first foreign cricket match was against Aborigines
In 1868, a team made up of Australian Aborigines played a match at Kennington Oval, watched by 20,000 people. It was the first cricket tour of England by a foreign team. FA Cup finals were also held here between 1872 and 1892. Before it was a cricket ground, Kennington Oval was a cabbage garden.

The modern circus was invented in Kennington
Sergeant Major Philip Astley was a cavalry officer and ace stunt rider who discovered that the public would pay good money to see his riding tricks. And so the circus was born.

Kennington was the first destination for a double-decker bus
The first motorised double-decker bus ran from Victoria to Kennington in 1899.

Van Gogh lived in Kennington
Van Gogh was 21, and his year in Kennington was the "happiest year of his life", according to his sister-in-law.