Brixton Road is a road in the

London Borough of Lambeth Lambeth () is a London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London is at Frazi ...

(south London, England), leading from the

Oval An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas of mathematics (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.), it is given a more precise definition, which may inc ...

Kennington Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between th ...

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

, where it forms the

high street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

and then forks into Effra Road and

Brixton Hill Brixton Hill is the name given to a section of road between Brixton and Streatham Hill in south London, England. Brixton Hill and Streatham Hill form part of the traditional main A23 road, London to Brighton road (A23). The road follows the li ...

at St Matthew's church at the junction with Acre Lane and Coldharbour Lane. Brixton Market is located in Electric Avenue near Brixton Underground station and in a network of covered arcades adjacent to the two railway viaducts. The market arcades were declared

listed buildings In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

in 2009 following controversial proposals by

Lambeth Council Lambeth London Borough Council, which styles itself Lambeth Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Lambeth in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of the 32 in London. The council has been under Labour ...

to replace them with a large US-style mall. The former "Brixton Oval" is at the southern end with

Lambeth Town Hall Lambeth Town Hall, also known as Brixton Town Hall, is a municipal building at the corner of Brixton Hill and Acre Lane, Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in ...

, the Ritzy Cinema, the Brixton Tate Library (with a statue of

Henry Tate Sir Henry Tate, 1st Baronet (11 March 18195 December 1899) was an English merchant and philanthropist, noted for establishing the Tate Britain, Tate Gallery and the company that became Tate & Lyle. Early life Henry Tate was born in White Copp ...

outside) and St Matthew's church. The space was renamed

Windrush Square Windrush Square (often referred to by its original name, Brixton Oval) is an open public space in the centre of Brixton, South London, occupying an area in front of the Brixton Tate Library. After changing its name to Tate Gardens, it was again ...

in 2010, in honour of the area's early

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

migrants and the , which in 1948 brought 492 passengers from Jamaica to London.

David Kynaston David Thomas Anthony Kynaston (; born 30 July 1951 in Aldershot) is an English historian specialising in the social history of England. Early life and education Kynaston was educated at Wellington College, Berkshire and New College, Oxford, f ...

, ''Austerity Britain 1945–1951'', London: Bloomsbury, 2007, p. 275; . Brixton Road dates back to the

Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

when it was part of the London to Brighton Way. The River Effra used to be visible near Lambeth Town Hall, but is now underground, serving as a storm drain. Fronting Brixton Road at the north end is the

Neo-Byzantine Neo-Byzantine architecture (also referred to as Byzantine Revival) was a Revivalism (architecture), revival movement, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public buildings. It incorporates elements of the Byzantine architecture, ...

style Christ Church, opened in 1902. For much of its length Brixton Road remains lined by

Regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

period terraces of houses that once made a virtually continuous frontage from Kennington to Brixton. These had become semi-derelict by the 1970s when some were replaced, but many were refurbished by the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

, mostly as social housing. Brixton Road is part of the A23. In the 1887

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

novel ''

A Study in Scarlet ''A Study in Scarlet'' is an 1887 Detective fiction, detective novel by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle. The story marks the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, who would go on to become one of the most well-known detective ...

'', an abandoned house off the Brixton Road is the very first of the numerous

crime scene A crime scene is any location that may be associated with a committed crime. Crime scenes contain physical evidence that is pertinent to a criminal investigation. This evidence is collected by crime scene investigators (CSI) and law enforcement. ...

s appearing in the

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

books and stories.

References

External links

Then and Now: Brixton Road, looking north from Effra Road

{{coord, 51, 27, 44, N, 0, 06, 58, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Streets in the London Borough of Lambeth Brixton

See also

References

External links