From 1856 the area was governed by the Metropolitan Board of Works, which was established to provide services across the metropolis of London.

From 1856 until 1900 the lower tier of local government within the metropolis comprised various parish vestries and district boards.

There are many new or refurbished buildings along the borough's prosperous riverside including the large Chelsea Bridge Wharf.

Secular architecturally most highly listed buildings include: Battersea Power Station, the Battersea Arts Centre (formerly town hall), Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability, Wandsworth Town Hall, as well as particularly the interiors of the large Gala Bingo Club, Tooting, the former Granada Theatre, St John's Hill, Clapham Junction by Theodore Komisarjevsky, and in terms of ornate mansions a cluster of five large stone and brick buildings mostly converted to diverse public uses in and around Queen Mary's Hospital, Roehampton at grade II* or above.

National Rail services are operated from London Waterloo by South Western Railway to Earlsfield, Putney, Queenstown Road (Battersea), Wandsworth Town and the borough's largest station, Clapham Junction.

This last station is also served from London Victoria by Southern as are Balham, Battersea Park and Wandsworth Common.

The western terminus for the East London Line also is at Clapham Junction that has services to Highbury & Islington via Denmark Hill.

Northbound the route links the Borough directly to the City of London via Kennington, Elephant and Castle, and Southwark.

Although CS8 leaves the Borough to the north, cycling infrastructure is provided along the entire A3205 route between Wandsworth Town and Nine Elms.

In 1930/1931 the college relocated to West Hill (Wandsworth Borough) and occupied an enormous purpose-built site, with buildings designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott.

The ship at the top may refer to the Wendels, a tribe of sea-raiders from the Continent who supposedly gave their name to the district, for Wendelsworth was an early variation of Wandsworth.

This association dates back to World War I, following the role played by the Wandsworth Battalion in the liberation of Villers-Plouich in 1917, and again, following recapture, in 1918.

[27] For his courage and determination during the hostilities, Corporal Edward Foster, of Tooting, was awarded both the Victoria Cross and the Médaille militaire.

[30] Following the end of the War the village was adopted by the then Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth under the British 'League of Help' scheme,[27] and funds were donated towards its reconstruction.

[32] A number of refugees from Schiedam who had lived for a time in Wandsworth during World War II hoped to maintain their connections with the London Borough during peacetime.

[38] For many years the wartime connections were acknowledged during annual Remembrance Day commemorations in the two municipalities, either through an exchange of wreaths or by sending a representative.

[39] Within the context of both inter-business exchange and sporting fixtures, visits were also arranged by specific Wandsworth organisations such as Small Electric Motors[40] and the Rediffusion factory,[41] as guests of their counterparts at Schiedam companies such as Wilton Personnel and Pieterman Glass.