New Cross
New Cross | |
---|---|
The New Cross Inn | |
Location within Greater London | |
Population | 15,756 (2011 Census.Ward)[1] |
OS grid reference | TQ365765 |
London borough | |
Ceremonial county | Greater London |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | LONDON |
Postcode district | SE14,SE15 |
Dialling code | 020 |
Police | Metropolitan |
Fire | London |
Ambulance | London |
UK Parliament | |
London Assembly | |
New Cross is an area in south-east London, England, 4.5 miles (7.2 km) south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, Telegraph Hill, Nunhead, Peckham, Brockley, Deptford and Greenwich, and home to Goldsmiths, University of London, Haberdashers' Hatcham College and Addey and Stanhope School.
New Cross Gate, on the west of New Cross, is named after the New Cross tollgate, established in 1718 by the New Cross Turnpike Trust. It is the location of
History
This section needs additional citations for verification. (October 2022) |
The area was originally known as
Hatcham tithes were paid to
.New Cross is believed to have taken its name from a
In the later 19th century, the area became known as the New Cross Tangle on account of its numerous railway lines, workshops and two stations — both originally called New Cross (one was later renamed New Cross Gate).
Hatcham Iron Works in Pomeroy Street was an important steam locomotive factory, the scene of a bitter confrontation in 1865 between its manager, George England, and the workers. The Strike Committee met at the Crown and Anchor pub in New Cross Road, now the site of Hong Kong City Chinese restaurant. George England's house, Hatcham Lodge, is now 56 Kender Street.[4]
The last London tram, in July 1952, ran from Woolwich to New Cross. It was driven through enormous crowds, finally arriving at its destination in the early hours of 6 July.[5]
On 25 November 1944 a
On 13 August 1977, the area saw the so-called
On 18 January 1981, 13 young black people were killed in a house fire at a party. Unfounded suspicions that the fire was caused by a racist attack, and claimed official indifference to the deaths, led to the largest ever political mobilisation of black people seen in the UK.
29 June 2008, two university students from France were stabbed to death in a house.
Culture
Music
During the 1980s, the
In the 1990s New Cross club, The Venue was central to the Indie Rock and
New Cross was noted as the birthplace of
Sport
Speedway racing was staged at the New Cross Speedway and Greyhound Stadium, situated at the end of Hornshay Street, off Ilderton Road. The venue became home to the New Cross Rangers in 1934 when the Crystal Palace promotion moved en bloc. The track, reputed to be one of the shortest and known as "The Frying Pan Bowl", operated until 1939 and re-opened in 1946 running until the early 1950s. The track re-opened for a short spell 1959 - 1961 and closed its doors to the sport for the last time mid season 1963. The stadium was also the scene of the UK's first stock car race at Easter 1954, with 26,000 in the crowd and thousands more locked outside. The stadium site is now an open space, Bridge House Meadows. The 1949 speedway film Once a Jolly Swagman, starring Dirk Bogarde, was filmed at New Cross.
Dance
For many years New Cross was home to the Laban Centre, now Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance which was based at Laurie Grove producing choreographers such as Matthew Bourne and Lea Anderson. In 2002 Laban moved to new studios in Deptford. However, it still uses its New Cross campus, where studios have since been refurbished.
Literature
Its library, New Cross Learning, which was formerly known as the New Cross People's Library, was saved from permanent closure after government cuts. A series of protests in 2011, namely from the ‘Save New Cross Library Campaign’ and the subsequent media coverage, garnered enough support to see it re-open in 2013 as a community led library. It now offers learning activities and workshops, and has a lending catalogue of over 5,000 books.
Demography
The New Cross ward of Lewisham has the lowest female life expectancy of all the wards of Greater London: 77.6 years. For males the rate was 74.3 years, tied with Camberwell Green in Southwark and only higher than Selhurst ward in Croydon.[7]
Buildings
The proximity of New Cross to
The former
New Cross Fire Station is a Grade II listed building at 266 Queens Road, built in 1893–94 to a design by the architect Robert Pearsall.[9]
The Kingdom Hall of
The Venue nightclub in New Cross Road has a long history as a place of entertainment. It opened as the New Cross Super Kinema in 1925, with a cinema on the ground floor and the New Cross Palais de Danse above, as well as a cafe. The name was shortened to New Cross Kinema from 1927, the plain Kinema in 1948, and finally Gaumont in 1950. It closed in August 1960, and remained derelict for some time. Part of the building was demolished before the old dancehall became The Harp Club and then The Venue in the late 1980s. The Venue nightclub has since renamed itself 'One For The Road' and following the Covid-19 outbreak functions less as a nightclub and more as a bar.
Also, the Duke of Albany
Transport
Rail
The area is served by two railway stations, New Cross and New Cross Gate.
Both stations are served by
New Cross also has mainline suburban services operated by
in Kent.New Cross Gate has mainline suburban services operated by
Roads
Three major roads meet in New Cross: the
Notable residents
Music connections
- Bands such as Art Brut, Bloc Party, Blur, The Rocks, The Hancocks, Luxembourg, Indigo Moss and Athlete have all originated and been associated with the "New Cross scene".
- British hip-hop producer JFlamesgrew up in Woodpecker estate and attended Deptford Green school.
- British hip-hop artist Blade did most of his recording in the area, selling his records personally on the streets there and often name checking it in his songs.
- 1970s glam rocker Steve Harley grew up in Fairlawn Mansions, New Cross, going to Edmund Waller and Haberdashers' Aske's schools.
- Music hall star Marie Lloyd lived in Lewisham Way from 1887 to 1893.
- Nathan Cooper and Chi-Tudor Hart, out of the Matinée Clubgrew up in New Cross.
- RnB group Damage. Two members of the group attended St James Hatcham C of E Primary School situated on St James in New Cross Gate.
- The folk noir band Songdoglived in New Cross for a year or so after first moving to London from Wales. The transition period was difficult for the band members as they suffered from acute homesickness and for a time had rats, no hot water and no money, but frontman Lyndon Morgans says they took heart from the motto "Take Courage" (Courage being a brewery), which was emblazoned across the front of the Amersham Arms, a pub overlooking New Cross Station.
- Dire Straits lived in Deptford and performed some of their earliest gigs in New Cross pubs.
- Jools Holland performed and practised in pubs in New Cross at the beginning of his career.
- The Band of Holy Joy was formed in New Cross in 1984.
- British dance-pop artist Jessie Ware resides in New Cross with her husband and three children.
Other local links
- Poet Robert Browning lived in Telegraph Cottage near New Cross Road during the 1840s
- Trade unionist, Eddie Dempsey, born and raised in New Cross
- Playwright and author Terence Frisby of the 1960s play and movie There's a Girl in My Soup was born in New Cross in 1932 but spent the majority of his childhood in Welling.
- Politician Sir Isaac Hayward, leader of the London County Council, represented the Deptford division
- Harry Mullan, boxing writer, lived in New Cross from the late 1960s to 1990s.
- Wrestler Mick McManus was born in New Cross.
- Actress Laila Morse (Gary Oldman's sister) who plays "Mo Harris" in EastEnders lives in New Cross.
- Actor Gary Oldman was born and raised in New Cross, attending Monson Primary School. His film Nil By Mouth is loosely based on his life growing up in south-east London and was largely filmed in the area.
- Footballer Fulham FC, spent some of his childhood in New Cross Gate
- Fr. ritualistpractices — an event that became nationally famous at the time.
- Sir Barnes Wallis lived at 241 New Cross Road (on the corner of Nettleton Road) from 1892 to 1909.[15]
- Artist Edward Henry Windred (1875-1953) lived at 352 New Cross Road during the 1930s
- Steve Wright (radio presenter)
- Former Goldsmiths students include Sam Taylor-Wood, Lucian Freud, Antony Gormley, Julian Opie, Hisham Matar, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Neil Innes, Brian Molko, Alex James, and Graham Coxon.
- Princess Beatrice of York attended Goldsmiths, University of Londonas a B.A. (History) student, although she did not actually reside in New Cross.
Places nearby
- Bermondsey
- Blackheath
- Brockley
- Deptford
- Greenwich
- Lewisham
- Rotherhithe
- Southwark
- Nunhead
- Peckham
- Telegraph Hill (Part of New Cross)
- Crofton Park
In song
- Carter USM wrote a song called "The Only Living Boy in New Cross" (1992). The song lists the diverse youth tribes that bought their records whilst the title is a play on a Simon & Garfunkel song "The Only Living Boy in New York".
- The tragic New Cross fire was commemorated in a number of reggae songs and poems at the time, including Johnny Osbourne's "13 dead and nothing said", Benjamin Zephaniah’s "13 dead", UB40's "Don't Let It Pass You By" and Linton Kwesi Johnson's "New Crass Massakkah".
References
- ^ "Lewisham Ward population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
- ^ Mills, A., Dictionary of London Place Names, (2001), Oxford
- ^ "The Domesday entries for and the meanings of the Domesday place-names appearing on the Surrey historical map. Maps of England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales". Archived from the original on 15 July 2007. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
- ^ Quine, Dan (2013). The George England locomotives of the Ffestiniog Railway. London: Flexiscale.
- ^ "Greenwich Guide - Greenwich Day by Day - July". greenwich-guide.org.uk.
- ^ "New Cross ward :: London Borough of Lewisham :: Openly Local". openlylocal.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2013.
- ^ "Ward Profiles and Atlas – London Datastore".
- ^ "Lewisham Council - Sports facilities". lewisham.gov.uk.
- ^ Historic England. "New Cross Fire Station (1406834)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-7100-8456-9.
- ISBN 978-90-04-09447-5.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-9531104-2-1.
- ^ "Lord Jakobovits". The Guardian. London. 1 November 1999. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
- ^ "Immanuel Jakobovits". The Blade. Toledo, Ohio. 3 November 1999. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
- ^ "Sir Barnes Wallis - Image". sirbarneswallis.com.
Further reading
- Lanyado, Benji (22 March 2009). "In London, New Cross and Deptford Attract the Hip". The New York Times
- Gordon-Orr, Neil (2004). Deptford Fun City: a ramble through the history and music of New Cross and Deptford. London: Past Tense Publications.
External links
- New Cross Guide (includes history)