Brixton: a short history
The London district of Brixton lies to the south of the River Thames, near the district of Dulwich and has a unique history, stretching back a thousand years..

The earliest surviving traces of human activity in the area are the lines of two Roman roads, Clapham Road (A3) and Brixton Rd (A23), with the A3 being the more important, linking the City of London with the port of Chichester.

In the 11th century the area was known as Brixistane which means 'the stone of Brihtsige'. These stones were used as a meeting point for communities.

Over the years this became shortened to Brixton. Up until the Industrial Revolution and the coming of the railways, Brixton remained undeveloped and mainly agricultural.

The first speculative development started after the construction of the Vauxhall Bridge in 1816, with 'ribbon' development occurring around Acre Lane (the oldest buildings in Brixton include St Matthews Church, 1812, 46 Acre Lane 1808 and the Trinity Almshouses, Acre Lane, 1822).

The small settlement underwent a huge transformation between the 1860s and 1890s, as railways and trams linked Brixton with the centre of London. In 1880, Electric Avenue was so named after it became the first street in the area to be lit by electricity (Eddy Grant sang about it nearly 100 years later).



Large, expensive houses were constructed along the main trunk routes into Brixton, attracting the middle classes. At the turn of the century the area underwent a great social upheaval as the middle classes moved out to be replaced by a huge working class population.

Many of the big houses were converted into flats or boarding houses which proved very popular with theatre people working in the West End theatres, marking the start of Brixton's close association with the arts.

By 1925, Brixton had the largest and best shopping centre in south London with department stores, a thriving market, cinemas, bars and a theatre attracting thousands to the area.

"Smart Brixton and Continental Streatham
Here's an excerpt from 'London Marches On' by Harrold P. Clunn, published in 1947 with the aim of providing, "a record of the changes which have taken place in the Metropolis of the British Empire between the two World Wars and much that is scheduled for reconstruction".

A century ago London ended at North Brixton and once you had passed the Old White Horse Hotel the houses became fewer and fields and open country were close at hand. The Old White Horse Hotel, which has since been rebuilt, was a famous omnibus terminus in the days of the slow horse­drawn public conveyances, and little more than sixty years ago the conductors used to call out 'Any more for London? '

To-day Brixton Road has become the Oxford Street of South London and its fine shops include the two large drapery stores of Messrs. Quin and Axten Ltd. and the Bon Marche, both of which are now owned by the John Lewis Partnership, Ltd. Unfortunately, the Quin and Axten store was completely destroyed in the earlier air raids of 1940 and only its ruined walls now remain. Its business is transferred for the time being to the neighbouring Bon Marche store.

The shopping section of Brixton Road commences near Stockwell Road and extends southwards for about half a mile to Acre Lane. That portion which lies between Atlantic Road and Coldharbour Lane formerly included a wide open space which was used as a street market, but this was abolished in 1935.

A portion of this ground was utilised in 1936 to widen the roadway at a cost of £13,000 and the remainder was allotted for building to the owners of the frontages to Brixton Road. This has resulted in the erection of several handsome new buildings on the site of the former shabby houses which lined the east side of the road. Brixton Road bears a smart appear­ance which is totally lacking in similar neighbourhoods"

Of the more attractive suburbs of South London first place should, perhaps, be awarded to Streatham, which affords all the amenities of a large and handsome town. It comprises Streatham proper and the ultra-modern district of 'Streatham Hill which lies to the north. Streatham High Road extends for a distance of two miles from the top of Brixton Hill to Norbury.

It is exceptionally wide at the northern end and is bordered for almost its entire length with smart shops, cinemas, theatres, and ultra-modern blocks of flats which give Streatham the most Continental appearance of any of the larger London suburbs



Into the modern day

In the 1940s and 1950s many of the immigrants who came to Britain from the West Indies settled in Brixton and have continued to contribute to its electric, eclectic, multi-cultural feel ever since. (See the BBC's Voyage of Windrush). It has been rumoured that Brixton was chosen as a destination for immigrants as many of the first wave were initially housed in temporary lodgings in a large underground bunker at Stockwell.



Of course it hasn't all been plain sailing: Brixton has suffered two major riots in recent history and remains bedeviled with drug problems. Some feel that the recent long overdue investment has proved a bit of a double edged sword, with the slew of swanky bars and restaurants threatening the very essence of Brixton.

We tend not to agree: it'll take a lot more than a few sushi bars to kill off the colourful, exciting, edgy and unique character of Brixton.

For more info, check out the horribly designed, but well-researched Brixton Heritage Trails website and the even clunkier (and painfully creaky) Flash 'enhanced' multimedia nightmare that is the Archive and Museum of Black Heritage.

The Lambeth Archives at 52 Knatchbull Road, SE5 (tel: 020 7926 6076) offers a huge range of archive local material, with old maps, parish records, photos and a cuttings and ephemera collection.



Brixton facts!
Between 1910-1938, a greyhound racing rack operated in Brixton Rd, on the current site of St Helen's school (opposite the Max Roach Park).
When the Brixton Astoria opened (now known as the Brixton Academy) it was billed as 'Brixton's Wonder Picture Theatre'.
The Fridge nightclub was built in 1914 and originally called the Palladium Cinema.
Between 1910-15, at least 9 cinemas opened in the Brixton area. Some of the cinemas were situated in railway arches and were later closed on safety grounds. The Ritzy is the sole survivor.

More reading
Brixton - Ghetto fabulous


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