Then and Now: Somerleyton Road, Brixton
Photographic comparisons of old and modern views of Lambeth



c 1912 All seems quiet in this Edwardian scene, looking south along Somerleyton Road, close to the junction with Coldharbour Lane. Several small children can be seen playing in the street, with the only traffic being two small horse drawn goods carts.
(pic: Brixton Archives)



1962 Fifty years on and cars are beginning to fill the streets. The area around Somerleyton Road was one of the main zones of West Indian settlement in the 1950s. The entire street was demolished in 1967-68
(pic: Lambeth Archives)



Sept 2003 The neo-brutalist facade of the Barrier Block (Southwyck House) dominates the left of the scene, while mature trees hide the line of ugly council buildings on the west side of the street.



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