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Bridges and Expansion

Charles E. London Secondary School

Charles E. London Secondary School, 2004.

Charles E. London Secondary School
in 2004. City of Richmond Archives
Photograph 2004 43 102.
Click to enlarge image.

London Primary School had been constructed on Gilbert Road in 1965 but closed in 1974 due to Maple Lane Elementary being available. Charles E. London Junior Secondary was built on the same site as London Primary in 1974, but the facility was not available until the fall of 1975. As a result the students were placed on shift at Hugh Boyd Secondary School.

Because of a fire in 1991, the school experienced major renovations, and by 1995 much of the school had been replaced. In 1996, the school began converting to a full-spectrum Grades 8 to 12 school. London Secondary is currently slated to combine with Steveston Secondary to create Richmond's newest and largest secondary school: Steveston-London Secondary. The new school is scheduled to open on the current site of London Secondary in September 2007.

Charles London, ca. 1915.

Charles London in a photograph
taken in the early years of the
First World War, circa 1915.
City of Richmond Archives
Photograph 1985 184 32.
Click to enlarge image.


Charles E. London (1860-1941) was a pioneer farmer who, along with his brother, tilled land along the South Arm of the Fraser River from 1881 to 1941. They built a dyke by hand to protect the farmland from flooding, and constructed a landing at the foot of No. 2 Road to bring in supplies to both his farm and the community. A general store and post office were built at this location as well.

The original London farmhouse is now a popular heritage site located on Dyke Road near Gilbert Road.