User:Sjanusz/BrockleyClarify

History

The name 'Brockley' is derived from either 'Broca's woodland clearing', or a wood where badgers are seen (broc is the Old English for badger).^[1] Formerly part of the county of Kent, Brockley become a part of the Metropolitan Borough of Deptford in the County of London in 1889, and subsequently was brought into the London Borough of Lewisham with the creation of Greater London in 1965.

Brockley has its origins in a small agricultural hamlet of the same name located in the area of the '

public house that today houses the Brockley Jack Theatre. Brockley Hall (demolished 1931) stood nearby and now gives its name to a road on a 1930s housing estate. Crofton Park railway station was built nearby in 1892 by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway, the name Brockley having being used by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway in 1871 for their station, currently served by London Overground and Southern Trains, just west to what is now the Brockley conservation area. Despite its proximity to this development, the station was over a mile from the original hamlet of Brockley and was actually in a different borough^[2]. Nevertheless, as is usually the case in London, the location of the station defines the geography of the area and areas to the north and west of the station, previously considered part of Hatcham or New Cross

, are now considered part of Brockley. Ordnance survey maps of Brockley up to the 1940s tend to centre on the location of the Jack, the Hall, and Crofton Park railway station, but more recent maps are now more centred on Brockley station. While the name Crofton Park was invented by the railway company, it was given official sanction with the naming of Crofton Park Library, a fine arts and crafts building, in 1905, and is now the name of an electoral ward.

The oldest surviving house in the area of what is now considered to be the northern extent of Brockley is the '

LeSoCo) built in 1773 by the architect George Gibson the Younger.^[3] This was historically considered to be in Deptford

.

Brockley market gardens were once famous for their enormous

Deptford Creek

. It is now covered over.

Industrial development arrived in 1809 in the form of the

Greenwich Park branch line and the remains of the old station entrance are still visible at Brockley Cross

.

In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the Tyrwhitt-Drake family developed the north side of Brockley, on what was formerly marked on maps as Deptford Common, with grand villas, large terraces and semi-detached houses. Development started south of Lewisham Way in the late 1840s with the modest cottages at 2-22 Upper Brockley Rd and spread south and east towards Hilly Fields. In 1900 Chalsey Rd was the last road to be completed within the current conservation area. However, open farmland remained south of Brockley Grove and west of the railway line into the early 1930s.

Many grand houses in Brockley were occupied by the owners and managers of factories in neighbouring industrial areas such as

David Jones, whose father was a printer, grew up in Howson Rd. The writer Henry Williamson

, the son of a bank clerk, was born in nearby Braxfield Rd.

Brockley contains several fine churches:

Grade II listed St Hilda's, Crofton Park 1908.^[5] The latter was designed by J E Newberry in the Arts and Crafts movement style and still contains its original interior.^[6]

After World War I Brockley began to lose its exclusivity as the wealthy began to relocate to the outer suburbs and the big houses were increasingly sub-divided. The typical inter-war houses on Upper Brockley Gardens and on Harefield Rd are clearly more modest than their Victorian neighbours. Small industrial workshops also became established in the mews behind the large houses. Being under the bomber flight path to the London docks, the area suffered significant

anti-aircraft gun

implacement was located on Hilly Fields.

After the Second World War, most of the big houses were sub-divided into multiple occupation. In the 1950s and 1960s these houses provided accommodation for the recently arrived

Empire Windrush gave Wickham Road as their intended destination on arrival in London.^[7]

Other migrants came from Europe and Asia. From the mid-1960s artists (some associated with nearby Goldsmiths College) started to move into the large and at the time neglected houses on Manor Avenue, beginning the process of 'gentrification' which continues today.

The Grade II listed Rivoli Ballroom (originally a cinema) dates from 1913 but was remodeled as a dance hall in 1951. It has a unique and outstanding interior, which has featured in many films, videos and fashion shoots.^[8] In 2007 The White Stripes rock band played a secret gig here. The building has recently been listed (2007) ^[9] and is now protected from demolition.

Much of north Brockley was designated a

Conservation Area in 1974 and in the same year the Brockley Society was formed with the aim of preserving and protecting the character of the area. Brockley is today one of the best preserved and most coherent Victorian suburbs in Inner London and contains examples of almost every style of mid to late nineteenth century domestic architecture from vast Gothic Revival

piles to modest workmen's cottages. This range of nineteenth century architectural styles makes Brockley unusual.

^ Mills, AD (2010). A Dictionary of London Place Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
^ Notes from Old Ordnance Survey Maps London Sheet 118.2 Brockley 1894 - published 2006; intro by Alan Godfrey. ISBN.978-1-84151-934-0
^ English Heritage (5 July 1950). "Stone House List Entry Summary". English Heritage. Retrieved 2012-10-17.
^ Good Stuff IT Services (12 March 1973). "Church of St Andrew (presbyterian) - Lewisham - Greater London - England". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2012-07-28.
^ Good Stuff IT Services. "Church of St Hilda, Crofton Park - Lewisham - Greater London - England". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2012-07-28.
^ St. Hilda's with St. Cyprian's Church, Crofton Park, London, SE4
^ Joan Anim-Addo The Longest Journey 1995
^ see The Guardian magazine 10 November 07
^ Good Stuff IT Services (2 March 1957). "Rivoli Ballroom 346-350 - Lewisham - Greater London - England". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2012-07-28.

[1] Mills, AD (2010). A Dictionary of London Place Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)

[2] Notes from Old Ordnance Survey Maps London Sheet 118.2 Brockley 1894 - published 2006; intro by Alan Godfrey. ISBN.978-1-84151-934-0

[3] English Heritage (5 July 1950). "Stone House List Entry Summary". English Heritage. Retrieved 2012-10-17.

[4] Good Stuff IT Services (12 March 1973). "Church of St Andrew (presbyterian) - Lewisham - Greater London - England". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2012-07-28.

[5] Good Stuff IT Services. "Church of St Hilda, Crofton Park - Lewisham - Greater London - England". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2012-07-28.

[6] St. Hilda's with St. Cyprian's Church, Crofton Park, London, SE4

[7] Joan Anim-Addo The Longest Journey 1995

[8] see The Guardian magazine 10 November 07

[9] Good Stuff IT Services (2 March 1957). "Rivoli Ballroom 346-350 - Lewisham - Greater London - England". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2012-07-28.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]