Brockley Foxes Wild in the City

John is a PHD student at University College London, studying the impact of hyperlocal communities like this one.

As part of his research, he'll be asking BC readers to be interviewed, but for the time being, he has another request - one which we're hoping as many of you as possible will be willing to help with.

Below is a series of maps of Tweets by Brockley Central's followers during the course of one week in May this year, selected at random. He's taken the geolocated tweets and mapped them to see where BCers travel, a bit like Channel 4's fox-tracking experiment earlier this year. A couple of things to point out here:

First, most Tweets are geolocated, so this only represents a small slice of the actual activity.

Second, there are plenty of people who follow BC, who are not regular BC readers - some are journalists, some are colleagues or friends, some are randoms, who follow BC out of idle curiosity.

Therefore, this is by no means a reliable guide to how BCers move around the city (and the world). However, the weight of the Tweets is interesting and suggests a few patterns.

First, most BCers seem to work in London Bridge and the West End, rather than East London and Canary Wharf. Despite the rise of the East London Line, we're mostly commuting north-west, rather than north or east.

Second, you can see lines of tweets tracing the route of the train lines to London Bridge and Victoria. Lots of the tweeting gets done during the the morning and evening journeys - possibly motivated by transport frustrations...

Third, and for us the most striking thing, is how little activity there is south or east of the BC catchment area. Very few of us seem to journey outwards - our time and attention is focused on London's inner core.

This mapping exercise was just a warm-up for John. He'd like to run it again, with as much geolocated data as possible. So please would BCers enable geolocation on Twitter for the next week, so he can build as accurate a picture as possible. The data will be anonymised in his write-up, with usernames and content stripped before they are plotted.

River bend of watch - Deptford Dockyard on 2014 World Monuments Watch list

Leading heritage NGO, the World Monuments Fund [full disclosure: An Edelman client] has today announced the 2014 World Monuments Watch - its list of 67 heritage sites in 41 countries, which it deems "at risk." One of them, is Deptford Dockyard and Sayes Court Gardens, which have been targeted for redevelopment as Convoys Wharf. The WMF says:

Deptford Dockyard and Sayes Court Gardens, London

In 1513 Henry VIII founded the Royal naval Dockyard at Deptford, and the King’s Yard became the foremost Royal dockyard of the Tudor period. Hundreds of warships and trading vessels were built here, including ships for exploration, science and empire. The Mary Rose was launched from Deptford in 1517, and the dockyard remained a naval powerhouse for another 350 years. The site also includes John Evelyn’s seventeenth-century garden at Sayes Court, one of the most famous and revolutionary gardens of its time.

The majority of the area has been concreted over in past decades, but recent excavations have revealed the dockyard’s extensive maritime heritage. Many large structures survive intact below (and in some cases above) ground level. However, the current low-level designation of the site remains unchanged despite this wealth of new archaeological data, and Deptford’s status as a heritage asset remains disproportionate with the survival of the fabric.

2013 is Deptford’s 500th anniversary, and today the site awaits residential redevelopment. Yet Deptford’s most imminent threat comes from the failure of existing proposals to fully acknowledge and respect the heritage assets that the site has to offer. Incorporating the extensive archaeology and combining this with unique public spaces has the potential to strengthen Deptford’s local identity whilst securing this lost piece of the Thames jigsaw. It would also improve awareness of the little-known existence and overlooked history of the dockyard and gardens on a national stage.

Dr Jonathan Foyle, Chief Executive of World Monuments Fund Britain says, “Every two years, the World Monuments Watch reminds us the world around us changes faster than ever before. Change is inevitable, but it needs to be carefully managed so that we carry the best of the past into the future, and minimise the destruction of our record as a species. So we invite everyone to join us in supporting the champions of special places that need a helping hand to stay useful and beautiful.” 

The Watch list is designed to help raise awareness and encourage action through legislation, public-private partnerships and fund-raising. Battersea Power Station is also listed. For the full project map, click here.

Gospel to Garage - Black History Month

The New Cross People's Library is celebrating Black History Month with two new exhibitions at New Cross Learning, 283-285 New Cross Road (opening hours - Tuesday, 10am-5pm,  Weds 10am-7pm, Thurs 10am-7pm, Sat, 10am-5pm). They say:

The Black Panther Newspaper 3-28 October 2013 - This small exhibition contains rare and original Black Panther Newspapers from 1969-71. Supervised readings are available upon request but you will need to wear gloves!

Gospel to Garage 3-28 October 2013 - A new artwork by N. Kidd and Rosanna Mary Thompson, specially commissioned by NXL. This huge work takes a retrospective look at the importance and influence of black music in the Western world in the 20th century – as well as our entire exhibition space!

Coote & Tinney's on Breakspears

Adrian writes:

This notice is from the collection of Museum of Music History (http://www.momh.org.uk/) - a garden party presumably, 123 years ago this Wednesday, hope they enjoyed the same weather!

A History of Brockley - Part 9: Hilly Fields and Prendergast

This is the ninth part of Darrell Spurgeon's history of Brockley (click on the History tag for the series).

Hilly Fields. This large grassed mound reaches a height of 175 ft, with quite steep sides, and provides fantastic panoramic views on all sides, though some views towards Central and East London are blocked by tall trees, particularly in the summer.

Hilly Fields was acquired as a public park by the London County Council in 1896, after a local campaign (in which the housing reformer Octavia Hill played an important role) to preserve it from future development; by this time the school which dominates it was already there. West Kent Grammar School was built on a high point in 1885; the school is now Prendergast Hilly Fields College.

A path into Hilly Fields from the south end of Tyrwhitt Road passes on the left the Francis Drake Bowls Club, founded 1906. The club-house was rebuilt in 1947 after war damage. Note the magnificent and exotic gate, with swirling leaves around human silhouettes, and showing the words ‘Francis Drake Bowls Club 1906’; it was crafted by Heather Burrell 2008. The pathway continues with views west over Hilly Fields, past an enclosed but accessible garden, to Vicars Hill.

Near the top, to the east of the school, are the Hilly Fields Stones, a millennium stone circle and sundial created by The Brockley Society (project manager Polly Ionides) in 2000. The monument comprises 12 great granite boulders from Mount Struie, near Scotsburn (to the north of Inverness), which form an ellipse around a flat centre of Caithness flagstone, quarried at Watten, near Wick (in the far north-east of Scotland). The central flagstone is carved with the Roman numerals MM and a cross aligned with the cardinal compass points. Two tall standing stones, called St Norbert’s Gate, formed by cutting one Caithness flagstone down the middle, lead into the stone circle from the east. The granite is over 400 million years old, and the flagstone over 350 million years old. The stone circle is also a sundial, with the viewer’s shadow acting as a gnomon.

Prendergast Hilly Fields College, formerly called Prendergast School, occupies a high point almost in the centre of and dominating Hilly Fields. It is part of the Leathersellers Federation of Schools (see also Crofton Park, Prendergast Ladywell Fields College).

The school was built as West Kent Grammar School in 1885. The building was acquired by the London County Council in 1907 to become Brockley County School. Large and prominent extensions were built on the site in 1914 and 1921; an annexe to the south on Adelaide Avenue was added in the 1960s. Brockley County School closed in 1983, and the buildings became Hilly Fields Sixth Form Centre. The site was taken over in 1995 by Prendergast School, moving here from Catford, and in the next few years there were further extensions to the annexe on Adelaide Avenue.

Prendergast School (originally known as Lewisham Grammar School for Girls) was founded in 1890 at Rushey Green, Catford, under the will of Dr Joseph Prendergast, who had been Headmaster of Colfe’s Grammar School (for Boys), Lewisham. The original site for Colfe’s had been provided in 1634 by the Leathersellers, a City of London livery company; the Leathersellers provided the original site for Prendergast School in 1890, and funded its move to this location in 1995. The school became known as Lewisham Prendergast School in 1927, Prendergast School in 1951, and Prendergast Hilly Fields College in 2008. See also Crofton Park, Prendergast Ladywell Fields College.

The original building on the hill, built to the design of Charles Evans in 1885, faces north, and remains the most attractive part of the complex. It is an asymmetrical red brick building in Queen Anne style with Jacobean overtones. The grand entrance projects to the right, classical and pedimented with a balustraded top to the storey above; to its left is a distinctive group of stepped staircase windows. At either end are projecting gabled bays, and on the roof is an octagonal wooden bell turret.

Extensions to the south of 1914 and 1921 are larger and more dominant, in similar red brick and sympathetic, though rather more formal. But note the assembly hall to the east, added to the original building in 1914, with its great traceried east window; its interior is fascinating.

The interior is of special interest because of the murals and stained glass in the Assembly Hall. If you have a special interest in viewing these, contact the College by post or phone on 020-8690 3710 to request an appointment.

A staircase of 1914 leads from the entrance hall down to the Assembly Hall. Its interior has a hammerbeam roof and a gallery at the west end; it contains a remarkable series of murals of 1933-36, largely based on Aesop’s fables, as well as fine stained glass of 1890.

The murals are in large panels, raised six feet above the floor, three on the north wall and two on the south wall, and there are more murals on and under the gallery. The artists were students of William Rothenstein at the Royal College of Art, and the style picturesque, idealised and romantic, much influenced by Stanley Spencer. The panels on the north wall are: Fortune and the Boy at the Well by Cyril Mahoney, Joy and Sorrow by Cyril Mahoney, and The Country Girl and the Milk Pail by Evelyn Dunbar. The panels on the south wall are: The Bird Catcher and the Skylark by Mildred Eldridge, and The King and two Shepherds by Violet Martin. Along the front of the gallery is a long mural Hilly Fields by Evelyn Dunbar, featuring Hilly Fields with the school in the centre, allegorical figures at either end (one holding a plan of the school and the other a plan of Hilly Fields), and two panels above with schoolboys in rugby kit and school uniform. Under the gallery, the lunettes and spandrels are covered in murals by Evelyn Dunbar, and the ceiling in murals by Cyril Mahoney, the central one including trompe l'oeil plasterwork and roundels of bonneted figures.

Also in the hall are four tall illuminated stained glass panels of 1890 brought from the old Prendergast School at Catford - on the north wall male allegorical figures representing Art and Science, and on the south wall female allegorical figures representing Music and Dancing.

The school is accessed from Adelaide Avenue at the southern edge of Hilly Fields by Eastern Road. Going up the hill, at the boundary of the school site, are two low green gates incorporating street scenes and foliage, designed by pupils from the school and crafted by Heather Burrell c2006. Beyond, and on a sloping site to the right, is Hilly Fields Wood, a small nature reserve, normally open to the public.

A History of Brockley - Part 8: Wickham Road

This is the eighth part of Darrell Spurgeon's history of Brockley (click on the History tag for the series).

Wickham Road is the widest and most imposing of the four grand north/south roads of Upper Brockley. Here are some of the grandest houses, as well as St Peter’s Church.

The road was laid down c1850, earlier than the other grand roads. By 1860 the west side of the road had been developed in Italianate style as far as Ashby Road, and the houses opposite followed in similar style a few years later. By 1871 development had reached the railway bridge, and some Gothic influences had begun to appear. Further south, development continued in the late 1870s; many houses became more Gothic, though some retained an Italianate style. The road had become fully developed by 1881.

Wickham Gardens is a highly attractive close around a green, probably c1880. The houses, which are smaller pairs mostly linked at the rear, have been preserved to the north and to the west, whereas postwar flats have replaced the east (fronting Wickham Road) and south sides. The window pattern of the older houses is generally unusual, many houses having double height squared bay windows, and there are many extraordinary decorative features.

From Ashby Road to the railway bridge, occupying a site once part of the old Manor Farm, there is a series of large detached houses, including Chester House, no 25, of 1872, which has a tower with a pyramidal top, and shows a distinct Gothic influence. Sympathetic extension to the south of 1906.

The Red House, no 53, is unusual in this road, as it is in red brick and in Arts & Crafts style. The house was designed by Alexander Kersey in 1879, and has a fine timber porch, a large gable to the right, and a tall chimney at the rear. From 1967 to 2007 it was called Farnham House, and was a residence for students at Goldsmiths, University of London, see below.

Raymont Hall, a residence for Goldsmiths, University of London, occupies the remainder of the space between Harefield Road and Glensdale Road. Named after Thomas Raymont, Warden of Goldsmiths 1915-27, it comprises three large houses.

No 55, called The Manse, was acquired by Goldsmiths in 1964, and is a Gothic house with a positive pointed archway, c1878. No 57, called Edgcumbe, was acquired in 1919, and is a much grander house, also c1878, with unusual decoration around the doorcase, in a rounded pediment above an upper floor window, and on the gate piers. The largest building of the group, nos 59/61, on the corner of Glensdale Road, is a rebuild of 1961, to a design by Fielder & Tatnall, of a late 1870s pair.

Goldsmiths, University of London, was originally founded in 1891 as the Goldsmiths Company's Technical & Recreative Institute in a building, formerly the Royal Naval School, at the western end of Lewisham Way, and was incorporated into London University in 1904. It was later known as Goldsmiths College, and from 2007 Goldsmiths, University of London. It now occupies a great complex of buildings at the junction of Lewisham Way and New Cross Road.

Goldsmiths has for many years had a strong presence in Brockley. In addition to Raymont Hall and Surrey House (at the junction of Shardeloes Road and Lewisham Way, see above), Goldsmiths had until recently other residences at 53 Wickham Road and 4 Tressillian Crescent, as well as faculty buildings in St Donatts Road.

On the southern corner of Glensdale Road is Jasmin House, connected by walkways to Syringa House. These blocks of flats of the 1950s are discreet and have elegant Crittall windows, and are certainly more sympathetic than other such blocks in the road.

St Peter’s Church, Wickham Road. A very large, imposing and distinctive stone Gothic church designed by Frederick Marrable. Work commenced in 1867, and the church was consecrated in 1870; a temporary church had been on the site from 1866. Its location is on part of the grounds of the Premonstratensian Abbey, which moved to Bayham in 1207 (see Introduction; Beverley Court, Breakspears Road).

The west frontage is dominated by the three gabled doorways and the tower looming above; the tower owes its grandeur largely to the castellated octagon added by Sir Arthur Blomfield in 1891. Above the doorways is a course of small blind Gothic arches stretching right across the front. At the base of the tower is a triplet of lancet windows, and this is flanked by triangular windows of geometric tracery (ie with circles and foiled circles) above the side doorways. The detail of the frontage is compelling, and worthy of close study.

Frederick Marrable (1818-72) was the first superintending architect to the Metropolitan Board of Works, from 1856 to 1861, and designed their head office (demolished) in Carlton House Terrace. He planned Garrick Street, in Covent Garden, and designed the Garrick Club.  This church at Brockley is his finest surviving work.

Sir Arthur Blomfield (1829-99) was a leading architect of the Victorian Gothic revival. He designed the Royal College of Music, and Selwyn College, Cambridge. He built, restored and extended numerous churches; many were in London, including St John’s Eltham, which he designed. His most notable church work was the rebuilding of the nave and south transept of Southwark Cathedral.

The interior is imposing too. The nave is very wide with great Gothic arches covering the aisles as well; it is of light red brick, with bright red brick dressings over the arches. The chancel is vaulted, of polychrome brick, with a fine pattern of mosaics and tiles in the apsidal east end. There are two Gothic pulpits, and a fine marble font at the west end. The gallery at the west end has fine wooden carving in front and three Gothic arches behind.

There is a profusion of stained glass, added, mostly by Clayton & Bell, in the 1880s, and not part of the architect's concept. This originally made the interior seem rather gloomy; however, in 2006 its appearance was transformed by remodelling and redecoration to the design of Roger Molyneux Architects, including new seating and lighting (note the strange Gothicky lights), and solar panels in the roof. The Vicarage to the north is of 1958.

A History of Brockley - Part 7: The Original Brockley Road

This is the seventh part of Darrell Spurgeon's history of Brockley (click on the History tag for the series).

Upper Brockley Road

Upper Brockley Road, called Brockley Road until 1915, is a long road leading from Lewisham Way south to Brockley Cross. It is part of an old lane which led from Deptford Royal Naval Dockyard to Deptford Common, which was located near the present Brockley Cross, before continuing to Brockley Green.

Going from north to south:

The west side begins at Lewisham Way with The Parade, a group of shops of 1888, designed by John James Downes; a plaque reads ‘The Parade 1888 JJD’.

Then nos 2/24 are a fine group of small Italianate pairs c1850, with pediments on the ground floor windows and some good detailing (including wreaths). The group originally continued along the space now occupied by the rear of Myatt Gardens School, Rokeby Road.

Opposite, on the east side, is a small postwar office block, Rokeby House, on part of the site of the former Brockley Congregational Church, Lewisham Way, which was built 1854 and demolished in the 1960s. Next are three long and tightly packed terraces of tall houses, probably c1860, originally called St David’s Terrace – nos 1/11 and nos 13/23, with canted bay windows on the ground floor, and wreaths over the doorways; then nos 25/35, which are more Italianate in style with pedimented window-cases and no bay windows.

Further south, the west side of Upper Brockley Road formerly veered to the right towards Brockley Baptist Church (see below), but in the mid-1970s this part of the road was blocked to become part of the grounds of Myatt Gardens School.

The east side continues ahead to Ashby Road with nos 37/65, originally called Brockley Villas, a handsome and distinctive tall terrace, probably c1868, with nice round-headed windows on canted bays and balustraded balconies above; the terrace ends with no 67, originally called Brockley House, which is larger and has no bay windows. Opposite this group, Brockley Gardens, a suburban-looking terrace, was added in 1928.

At Ashby Road, Upper Brockley Road turns west before quickly resuming its route south, but a finger returns northwards along the old route past Brockley Baptist Church and the Rokeby Road junction before coming to an end at the grounds of Myatt Gardens School. In this short section are an Italianate group with excellent detailing - a detached house, a pair and a short terrace – as well as Brockley Baptist Church (see below), all of 1867 and originally part of Park Terrace (see below).

Now from Ashby Road southwards, first the west side:

No 76, the former Lord Wolseley pub, originally built c1870 as The Vulcan and renamed c1886, was converted to flats c2001. This is a very handsome building, with strong ground floor piers and fine Italianate windows on the upper floors.

There follows a series of Italianate terraces of the mid 1860s, completed by 1868; the terraces form a long group which is highly attractive overall, particularly when viewed together with the terraces opposite.

Now the east side:

The Wickham Arms, no 69, unlike the former Lord Wolseley opposite, remains a pub. It is a handsome building of 1862, with canted bays through both floors in the middle of the frontage (a notice to the side suggests a date of 1853, but this seems unlikely).

*Nos 71/93 were formerly a highly attractive terraced shopping parade, sometimes called The Forecourt, with steps up to a high pavement; they are Italianate, nos 71/83 built 1868-70 and nos 85/93 in the late 1870s. The parade was restored in 1979, but in recent years most shops have been converted to houses; three shops do still remain, but the change is a pity, as the shopping parade had the intimate atmosphere of an urban village.

There follows a series of seven Italianate terraces of the mid 1860s, completed by 1868. The first two terraces, comprising nos 95/111, originally called Ashby Terrace, are similar in scale to the former shopping parade. The next four terraces were originally called Clyde Terrace – the first two, comprising nos 113/127, are taller and grander, and the next two, comprising nos 129/143, are even grander, with end quoins. However, the final terrace, nos 145/157, leading to Geoffrey Road, is considerably less grand.

Brockley Baptist Church, 60 Upper Brockley Road, is a Victorian Gothic church of 1867, designed by Charles Gray Searle; an earlier Baptist church had been on the site, the New Cross Union Baptist Chapel of 1864. The detailing is chunky and elaborate, particularly in the porch and the three windows above; two great buttresses stick out through the gable. The interior (for access contact Pastor Glen on 020-8697 1256) has a low, false ceiling, inserted c1975; the upper floor, which is disused, has a magnificent and intricate wooden roof, a gallery all around, and the organ.

Charles Gray Searle (1816-81) was an architect of the mid to late Victorian period who specialised in designing nonconformist churches, in both Italianate and Gothic styles. In London, in addition to this church, the practice of C G Searle & Son designed churches at West Greenwich, Islington, Dalston and Finsbury.

In the lane alongside is the former Sunday School, a nice small Gothic building of 1878, with a dramatic Gothic window overlooking Vulcan Terrace, from where there is also a view of the rear of the church, in a more restrained Gothic style than the front.

Goldsmiths and Lewisham: Shared Histories

The Goldsmiths team write:

The intertwined histories of Goldsmiths, University of London and its local community in Lewisham are to be explored in a special exhibition of works of art and historical artefacts. 'Goldsmiths & Lewisham: Shared Histories' will run from 24 April - 3 May 2013 across four sites in New Cross and Deptford.

The collaborative exhibition, organised by the Department of Visual Cultures at Goldsmiths, in partnership with the Goldsmiths Art Collections and the Lewisham Local History Society, offers an insight into the area as a centre of creative work over the past century. Each of the four sites - Goldsmiths' New Academic Building and 310 New Cross Road, New Cross Learning, and The Albany in Deptford - will be linked by interactive technology 'We Curate' that allows collective browsing of objects across all four installations.

- The New Pastoralists: A selection of etchings from the Goldsmiths Collection, inspired by the Romantic artist Samuel Palmer, produced by a group of printmakers based at the College in the 1920s. These artists enjoyed great success in that era in which etchings were in high demand, and some stayed on to teach at Goldsmiths for many years. Artists on display include: Edward Bouverie-Hoyton, Paul Drury, William Larkins, Graham Sutherland, and Robin Tanner. On display in the Weston Atrium, lower ground floor, New Academic Building; opening times 11am-6pm.

- Art, Education, Activism: Artefacts drawn from Goldsmiths' holdings of the Rachel McMillan College collection, emphasising the local work of Margaret and Rachel McMillan, activists at the turn of the century who were highly influential in state provision for the education of children, and Goldsmiths' inheritance of this legacy. This installation will also include a pop-up reading room, and additional works related to Goldsmiths' active history in the promotion of arts education. On display at 310 New Cross Road; opening times 11am-6pm.

 - Lewisham Life: Making & Using: A jointly-curated installation by the Lewisham Local History Society that draws from the Borough's history as a manufacturing centre, integrating objects that were made here into a thematic display based on daily life here, addressing the home, work, and leisure. On display at New Cross Learning, 283-285 New Cross Road; opening times Tues 10am-5pm, Wed-Thurs 10am-7pm, Sat 10am-5pm.

- Made in New Cross: A snapshot of the present with a theatrical installation of a selection of works acquired through the annual Warden's Art Purchase Prize made by Goldsmiths students that have studied and worked as cohabitants of the Lewisham community. On display at The Albany, Douglas Way, Deptford; opening times Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 10am-3pm.

A History of Brockley - Part 6: Vulcans and Polygonal Porches

This is the sixth part of Darrell Spurgeon's history of Brockley (click on the History tag for the series).

North West Brockley

Vesta Road leads from Shardeloes Road west over the railway cutting up to the Telegraph Hill area. The very wide railway bridge is a modern iron girder bridge with an iron parapet, though brick sections between pillars of an earlier parapet have been retained at either end. The bridge gives wonderful and dramatic views of the four tracks of the Croydon Railway (opened 1839) in deep cutting with steep wooded slopes, going north to New Cross Gate Station and south to Brockley Station.

Beyond the bridge, on the north side, is Brockley Nature Reserve, occupying part of the wooded slopes overlooking the railway cutting. It is run by London Wildlife Trust, but is not often open to the public. Vesta Road continues up to Telegraph Hill, with houses of the late 1880s.

The road was developed from 1878, and consists of short terraces, on the west side with fanciful capitals in the doorways and on the east side retaining Italianate features. At the beginning on the west side, note Crossway Court, three terraced blocks of flats of 1968, in a pleasing plain modernist style with nice balconies. Crossways Academy occupies the site of the former Brockley Central School, which opened here in 1928 and closed in 2003.

Vulcan Road runs east from Shardeloes Road to Upper Brockley Road, crossing Malpas Road. There are no houses between Shardeloes Road and Malpas Road, but the section between Malpas Road and Upper Brockley Road is of interest. At the eastern end, on the south side, is a terrace of six small cottages of the 1860s. Just to the west of this terrace, Nursery Close leads to Milliners Court, an extensive and attractive development c1994. The major part of this is approached through a great gabled arch remaining from the garden centre which was formerly on the site; a small stream, now hidden in a culvert, runs through the site.

Opposite, Vulcan Terrace is a close to the north, mainly with postwar flats, but there are two cottages similar to those in Vulcan Road; also, the rear façade of Brockley Baptist Church (see below) and its former Sunday School (note the Gothic window) overlook the close.

Malpas Road is a long road, running from Lewisham Way south to Brockley Cross. The road starts from the north with long low terraces of Italianate cottages of the late 1850s on both sides, mostly with fine bracketed ground floor window-cases. Near the northern end, on the east side, Luxmore Street leads into Luxmore Gardens, a pleasant linear park laid out in 1958 on the site of a former cluster of late 19th century houses and a nursery.

Rokeby Road is a short road linking Lewisham Way with Upper Brockley Road; it has a number of interesting houses, including some of the early 1850s. The buildings are numbered consecutively, on the west side from north to south, and on the east side from south to north. The west side begins with the east range of the former Deptford Library, now the ArtHouse, Lewisham Way, a grand baroque building of 1914 designed by Sir Alfred Brumwell Thomas; two engaged Ionic columns and two Ionic pilasters are at either end of a long brick range with recessed windows.

Then you come to nos 1/35, a long terrace of Italianate cottages c1850. At the end no 36 is a larger stuccoed house of 1853, and this is linked to *no 37, a highly attractive stuccoed house, also of 1853, which is recessed and has a fine loggia with ornamental cast iron railings. Next are nos 38/39 and 41/42, which are gabled classical pairs of 1853. Return northwards on the east side. First is Myatt Gardens School, a well-designed long and low school of 1974. Beyond, nos 68/69 are a pair c1870, no 70 is an attractive detached house of 1853, linked to no 71, a later extension, and no 73 is a detached house of 1866, also with a later extension; all these are basically classical in style.

Then you come to nos 74/83, a bizarre terrace of 1934 - the houses are roughcast, with polygonal porches projecting forward, each containing two entrances, one at ground level and one at the upper level at the head of a flight of steps.

A History of Brockely - Part 5: Canal Street

This is the fifth part of Darrell Spurgeon's history of Brockley (click on the History tag for the series).

The Croydon Canal

Just before reaching Shardeloes Road, note to the left The Ark, no 73a, designed by Mark Grainger 2004. This imaginative and nicely detailed house is in a style virtually unique in the area. The first floor balcony is suspended on steel columns, and there is abundant use of timber, particularly in the bold stairwell to the right.

Shardeloes Road. This is a long road, running from Lewisham Way south to Brockley Cross. The road was laid out in the late 1850s, but it is noticeable that the southernmost part of the road has not been built upon, as it is the site of a section of the Croydon Canal which had remained unused when the Croydon Railway opened in 1839.

The Croydon Canal ran from the Grand Surrey Canal at New Cross to Croydon from 1809 to 1836, when it was purchased by the London & Croydon Railway. The railway from London Bridge to Croydon via New Cross Gate opened in 1839. In practice the route followed by the railway diverged from the canal route considerably between New Cross Gate and Brockley Stations. There had been eight locks on the canal between the sites of these two stations.

Starting from the north, to the west, first is a gated mews, Chestnut Close, of c1992, with an unimaginative development called The Chestnuts. Then, extending as far as the junction with St Donatts Road, is a series of fine Italianate terraces and pairs of the late 1850s; the initial group, nos 2/44, are particularly good, with some distinctive features.

On the east side is, first, the entrance to Surrey House, 80 Lewisham Way, a substantial and attractive house of 1860, now a residential hall for Goldsmiths, University of London (see Raymont Hall, Wickham Road, below). Further on are two pairs of the late 1850s, but this side consists mainly of modern flats.

Between St Donatts Road and the junction with Vulcan Road to the east and Vesta Road to the west, both sides have late 19th century terraces as well as interwar terraces and flats. It is towards the end of this section that the road begins to follow the canal route.

Going south from the Vulcan Road / Vesta Road junction, apart from a few terraced houses at the beginning on the east side, there are, because of its alignment with the former canal route, no buildings at all.

But note on the retaining wall to the west The Shardeloes Road Poem, a lengthy inscription in elegant upper case letters by James Salisbury & Tom Young 2003, based on a poem by Margaret Reynolds, as follows:

LIVE WORK LOVE LAUGH. GATHER GREET STAY. TRADE TRAVEL BELIEVE BUILD. EAT DRINK & PLAY. SEE HEAR TASTE CATCH. SIT BREATHE SLEEP. LEARN CARE CREATE. SOW GROW & REAP.

A History of Brockley - Part 4: Evolution becomes revolution

This is the fourth part of Darrell Spurgeon's history of Brockley (click on the History tag for the series).

Brockley Rise

South of Crofton Park, Brockley Road ends and becomes Brockley Rise. The northernmost part of Brockley Rise remained largely rural, even though Brockley Farm had closed in 1870, until the opening of Honor Oak Park Station, on the road called Honor Oak Park, in 1886; even then, development was slow, and much of the area was not built over until the interwar period.

The southernmost part, leading down to the South Circular Road, is more interesting; here development had started in the 1850s, and the area to the east of Brockley Rise was very different from and much grander than the area to the west.

Dominant in the western area is St Saviour’s Church, originally built 1866 but now predominantly of 1952; its exterior may be depressing, but the interior is quite delightful. To its south from the early 1850s was a planned development called West Kent Park. This area now looks very different - few of the original buildings survive, and apart from the postwar Ewart Estate, the environment is not very pleasant.

The eastern area was laid out from 1853 by the Conservative Land Society on the slope leading up to Blythe Hill Fields, with its wonderful views. The area is centred on Brockley Hill Park, now a private woodland enclave between Duncombe Hill and Lowther Hill. The roads in the area still retain a number of mid to late 19th century houses. Brockley Park is of special interest, with some later attractions – from the Edwardian period St William of York Church, and from the postwar period the first of the Lewisham social self-build schemes, as well as the well planned Brockley Park Estate.

Brockley Rise ends at Stanstead Road, part of the South Circular Road, and here one is clearly in Forest Hill.

A History of Brockley - Part 3: Artifice and artistry

Tommy Johnson: I had to be up at that there crossroads last midnight, to sell my soul to the devil. 
Ulysses Everett McGill: Well, ain't it a small world, spiritually speaking. Pete and Delmar just been baptized and saved. I guess I'm the only one that remains unaffiliated.
- O Brother, Where Art Thou?

This is the third part of Darrell Spurgeon's history of Brockley (click on the History tag for the series), in which we learn that the Crofton Park name is of no import, historically speaking:

Brockley Cross and Crofton Park

The Croydon Railway was opened in 1839, in part using the bed of the disused Croydon Canal; from New Cross Gate Station southwards, once past the Goldsmiths College complex, it runs along or near the western boundary of Brockley. Apart from the interwar Honor Oak Estate and a small area to its north extending up to Endwell Road, Brockley lies to the east of the railway line.

Upper Brockley comes to an end at Brockley Cross, a complicated but important road junction, where six key roads meet. The area is in the course of substantial change with new build and regeneration.

Brockley Cross is also near the rail junction of the Croydon Line and the Nunhead Loop Line, originally with two railway stations. Only one, Brockley Station, which opened in 1871, now survives; it now not only serves the main line from London Bridge to Croydon, but also the new London Overground service from Dalston Junction. Brockley Lane Station opened in 1872, but closed when the Greenwich Park Line closed in 1917; part of the line was brought back into use from 1929 as the Nunhead Loop Line, though the station did not re-open.

Coulgate Street, by Brockley Station, has some surviving cottages which once faced the canal, before the railway arrived. In the 1860s, before the railway stations opened, the Breakspeare Arms (now The Brockley Barge) had appeared in Brockley Road, and groups of Italianate houses in Cranfield Road and Foxberry Road. Further south in Brockley Road was Brockley Cemetery, which opened as Deptford Cemetery in 1858 and merged with Lewisham (now Ladywell) Cemetery to the east in 1965.

Otherwise, the area from Brockley Cross southwards developed from the 1870s, and in due course a series of minor shopping parades appeared. By the early 1890s the development of Brockley Road had reached the line of the present Catford Loop Line, where Crofton Park Station opened in 1892. This was not far from the historical centre of Brockley at Brockley Green, and the development which followed the new railway line overwhelmed what remained of this once picturesque rural oasis; with the demolition of Brockley Hall in 1932 and the consequent development of its grounds, the transformation into suburbia was complete.

The name Crofton Park has no historical significance, it was probably taken by the railway company from the name of an estate to the east which was due to start development. It became a minor shopping centre, though there are several buildings of special interest – Crofton Park Library, the Rivoli Ballroom, The Brockley Jack (the original pub long predated the railway), and St Hilda’s Church.

From the late 1890s, a large area around Brockley Grove to the east of Crofton Park began to be developed. First, south of the railway line, came the Crofton Park Estate, extending from Crofton Park Road to Ladywell Fields. This was followed quickly by the closure of Bridge House Farm, and the development of the Bridge House Estate, on either side of (though mainly to the south of) Brockley Grove. Further on from here, one is clearly in Ladywell.

A History of Brockley - Part Two: Got to Love the Drake

Jerry: I hate the Drake! Maybe the whole thing was a scam. Anybody can just get engaged and get presents and just keep them all. Maybe they're on their way to Chicago tomorrow and do the whole thing all over again. 
- Seinfeld, The Handicap Spot

This is the second part of Darrell Spurgeon's guide to Brockley:

The land which is now the residential area of Upper Brockley came into the possession of the Drake family in the 17th century. Between 1844 and 1885 it was developed as two great estates - the Wickham-Drake Estate and the Tyrwhitt-Drake Estate. The Wickham and Tyrwhitt families had become linked through marriage. Most of the road names in the area mark family associations.

A relatively small area in the west, between the Goldsmiths College complex and Wickham Road, consists largely of classical terraces of the 1850s; in this area, St Donatts Road, Shardeloes Road and Malpas Road belonged to the Tyrwhitt-Drake Estate, Upper Brockley Road and Manor Avenue to the Wickham-Drake Estate.

Further east is the most dramatic part of Brockley - four long and wide north / south roads with large houses - Wickham Road, the widest, with the largest houses as well as the somewhat idiosyncratic St Peter’s Church, and Breakspears Road, in the Wickham-Drake Estate; then Tressillian Road and the shortest road, Tyrwhitt Road, in the Tyrwhitt-Drake Estate.

These roads were laid out by 1851, when the first two houses in Wickham Road were built; but development proceeded slowly, with only seven houses in Wickham Road completed by 1859, when the first houses in Tyrwhitt Road were built. Both roads had developed some way southwards by 1868, when the first houses in Breakspears Road and Tressillian Road were built. From that time development continued steadily until the early 1880s.

There are also groups of interesting (though usually more modest) houses in many of the roads running west / east across the estates. Some of the shorter roads, particularly Glensdale Road, Avon Road and Drake Road, are most attractive.

Architectural styles of Upper Brockley

Upper Brockley is the ideal place to study the evolution from the Italianate to the Gothic style in the mid to late 19th century.

Up to the mid 1860s the houses were predominantly Italianate, exhibiting classical revival features like decorated window surrounds with pediments and brackets, rusticated ground floors and basements, quoins, porches with classical columns, and the use of stucco. The style continued until the mid 1870s; examples can be seen in the northern parts of all the roads leading south from Lewisham Way.

From the late 1860s Gothic influences began to emerge and during the 1870s became dominant. The style can best be described as transitional, though it is sometimes termed eclectic, with both Italianate and Gothic influences co-existing.  For example, Gothic decorative features may be combined with Italianate round-headed or segment-headed doors and windows.

The variety is almost infinite. A typical house of this type is usually part of a pair but is sometimes detached. It may have a full width gable, a round-headed doorcase with strange capitals on columns, bay windows through one or two storeys, segment-headed windows, often with a fanciful window-head (sometimes jagged with decorated plasterwork), small balconies above the two storeys, and a decorated roundel in the gable. There may be variations on these features, and unusual decorative flourishes as well; in some cases the ornamentation is so extravagant that it has to be seen to be believed – look for example at 133/135  Breakspears Road and 98 Tressillian Road.

Few houses could be described as mature Gothic. The pointed arch, probably the most potent symbol of Gothic architecture, occurs in only a few Brockley houses – 55, 66/68 and 72/74 Wickham Road, the north side of Glensdale Road, 15 and 90 Breakspears Road, 69 and 96 Tressillian Road, 1 and 12 Tressillian Crescent.

Click here for Part One.

Brigham City Tabernacle

This is a little brochure that visitors to the Tabernacle receive as part of a tour. It has some interesting facts about the building, such as the fire that burned it to the ground in 1896 and then was rebuilt.

The Brigham City Temple and the Historic Tabernacle will mean as much to me as the Salt Lake City Temple and Tabernacle. They will be our own architectural diptych.