Brixton is a district within the London Borough of Lambeth, and the southern terminus of the Victoria underground line. It is bordered by Stockwell to the north, Clapham to the west, Tulse Hill to the south and Herne Hill to the east. Although its original name appears to be Brixiges Stan, it was referred to in the Domesday Book of 1086 as the hundred (district) of Brixiestan.
The old hundred (or district) of Brixiestan was a much larger area than the Brixton of today, incorporating what we now know as the London Boroughs of Southwark, Lambeth and Wandsworth, as well as parts of Merton and Richmond. The village of Brixton didn't come into being until the end of the eighteenth century when much of the woodland was cleared to make way for agriculture.
Everything changed, however, when the new bridges were built over the Thames in the early part of the nineteenth century. Many who lived and worked in the city moved south to escape the noise and pollution. The completion of Vauxhall Bridge in 1816 was the catalyst for a flurry of large and well-appointed houses to be built around Acre Lane to house the new and prosperous middle classes.
During the next 70 or so years, Brixton developed into a popular and genteel suburb. The Angell Town development of the 1850s was positively luxurious, with its Italianate style of houses and crescents. The Chatham Main Line Railway gave residents a 'high speed' link to the centre of London, making the suburb even more attractive.
As more people moved into the area, shops sprang up to serve the rapidly growing population. The first purpose built department store in the country, Bon March'e, opened its doors in 1877, whilst in the 1880s the famous shopping street Electric Avenue was built. In 1888 it became one of the first to be lit by electricity. By the 1920s, Brixton was considered to have the finest shopping facilities in South London.
Nevertheless, the early twentieth century saw many families moving out of London to leafier suburbs, where they could afford to buy larger houses. The ever improving transport system meant that they could still get to work relatively easily from the Home Counties. Furthermore, the 99 year leaseholds on many properties were coming up for renewal, making tenure a risky proposition.
The empty properties that they left behind were often converted into flats and boarding houses as the local demographic changed. Some were just left to fall into disrepair and this, together with the heavy bombing of World War II, led to many buildings being cleared to make way for social housing.
The years that followed the Second World War saw many of the old houses being removed to make way for new social housing. Once again, changes were afoot as many of the first wave of West Indian immigrants that had arrived on the Empire Windrush in 1948 settled down in the Brixton area. This event, seen by many as the birth of our multicultural society, was celebrated in 2010 by the opening of Windrush Square in the heart of Brixton.
The old hundred (or district) of Brixiestan was a much larger area than the Brixton of today, incorporating what we now know as the London Boroughs of Southwark, Lambeth and Wandsworth, as well as parts of Merton and Richmond. The village of Brixton didn't come into being until the end of the eighteenth century when much of the woodland was cleared to make way for agriculture.
Everything changed, however, when the new bridges were built over the Thames in the early part of the nineteenth century. Many who lived and worked in the city moved south to escape the noise and pollution. The completion of Vauxhall Bridge in 1816 was the catalyst for a flurry of large and well-appointed houses to be built around Acre Lane to house the new and prosperous middle classes.
During the next 70 or so years, Brixton developed into a popular and genteel suburb. The Angell Town development of the 1850s was positively luxurious, with its Italianate style of houses and crescents. The Chatham Main Line Railway gave residents a 'high speed' link to the centre of London, making the suburb even more attractive.
As more people moved into the area, shops sprang up to serve the rapidly growing population. The first purpose built department store in the country, Bon March'e, opened its doors in 1877, whilst in the 1880s the famous shopping street Electric Avenue was built. In 1888 it became one of the first to be lit by electricity. By the 1920s, Brixton was considered to have the finest shopping facilities in South London.
Nevertheless, the early twentieth century saw many families moving out of London to leafier suburbs, where they could afford to buy larger houses. The ever improving transport system meant that they could still get to work relatively easily from the Home Counties. Furthermore, the 99 year leaseholds on many properties were coming up for renewal, making tenure a risky proposition.
The empty properties that they left behind were often converted into flats and boarding houses as the local demographic changed. Some were just left to fall into disrepair and this, together with the heavy bombing of World War II, led to many buildings being cleared to make way for social housing.
The years that followed the Second World War saw many of the old houses being removed to make way for new social housing. Once again, changes were afoot as many of the first wave of West Indian immigrants that had arrived on the Empire Windrush in 1948 settled down in the Brixton area. This event, seen by many as the birth of our multicultural society, was celebrated in 2010 by the opening of Windrush Square in the heart of Brixton.
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