Place Name
Industrial heritage. Named after Sir Joseph Wilson Swan (October 31, 1828 – May 27, 1914), the physicist and chemist, originally from Sunderland, who developed one of the first successful incandescent light bulbs, which were produced at his factory in Ponders End. He joined forces with his rival, Thomas Edison to form the Edison & Swan United Electric Light Company, known as Ediswan in 1883. Among his many achievements Swan was the man behind the world’s first all-electrically-lit building, the Savoy Theatre, which was completed in 1881. In 1904, he was knighted by King Edward VII.
