
Railton Road runs between Brixton and Herne Hill 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 ...
. The road is designated the B223. At the northern end of Railton Road it becomes Atlantic Road, linking to
Brixton Road at a junction where the
Brixton tube station is located. At the southern end is
Herne Hill railway station.
History
The
1981 Brixton riot
The 1981 Brixton riot, or Brixton uprising, was a series of clashes between mainly black youths and the Metropolitan Police in Brixton, London, between 10 and 12 April 1981.J. A. Cloake & M. R. Tudor. ''Multicultural Britain''. Oxford Unive ...
started here. The George public house was burnt down and a number of other buildings were damaged, and the area became known as the "Front Line". The George was replaced with a Caribbean bar called Mingles in 1981, which lasted in one form or another (later called Harmony) as a late-night mostly Caribbean-British attended club/bar until the 2000s. Despite its reputation as run-down, violent and racially tense – a "no-go" area – it was a hotbed of Afro-Caribbean culture, radical political activity and working-class community.
On 30 October 2022, 21-year-old Deliveroo driver Guilherme Messias Da Silva, and 27-year-old Lemar Urquhart were killed as a result of a gang-related incident on Railton Road. Da Silva was fatally injured after his moped collided with a car being driven by Urquhart who was at the time of the collision being pursued by another vehicle. Urquhart escaped his car before being chased down and fatally shot. Unable to be resuscitated, both died at the scene. As of April 2024, two arrests have been made in connection with the killings.
Notable people
*
Pearl Alcock
*
Winifred Atwell opened "The Winifred Atwell Salon" at 82a Railton Road in 1956
*
Rotimi Fani-Kayode lived and died at 151 Railton Road
*
Darcus Howe
Leighton Rhett Radford "Darcus" Howe (26 February 1943 – 1 April 2017)["Civil ...](_blank)
*
Leila Hassan, editor of ''
Race Today''
*
Linton Kwesi Johnson
*
C. L. R. James lived and died at 165 Railton Road, where in 2004
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...
erected a
blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...
.
*
Olive Morris lived at 121 Railton Road
Notable organisations
*
198 Contemporary Arts and Learning
*
121 Centre at
121 Railton Road
**The centre was home to a bookshop, a cafe, a meeting room, and offices for organisations such as
The Anarchist Black Cross and the Faredodgers Association.
**It also hosted the legendary club night Dead by Dawn, and early sets by artists such as
Hectate.
**It was squatted as the 121 Centre from 1981 to 1999, making it one of London's longest continuous squats. When it was evicted, Railton Road held a number of street parties mourning the loss of the important community asset.
**The building has now been converted into flats.
*
Brixton Black Women's Group at 121 Railton Road
*
Black Panther Movement
* South London Gay Community Centre,
GLF and
Brixton Fairies at number 78
**The building has now been knocked down and converted into luxury apartments, with no reference to its past
*
Race Today Collective at 165 Railton Road
Gallery
File:C.L.R. JAMES 1901-1989 West Indian Writer and Political Activist lived and died here.jpg, Blue Plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...
at 165 Railton Road
File:External view of 198 Contemporary Arts and Learning, 2010.jpg , 198 Contemporary Arts and Learning, 198 Railton Road
See also
*
Herne Hill
Herne Hill () is a district in South London, approximately four miles from Charing Cross and bordered by Brixton, Camberwell, Dulwich, and Tulse Hill. It sits to the north and east of Brockwell Park and straddles the boundary between the London ...
References
External links
Then and Now: Railton Road by Effra Parade
{{coord, 51.45709, N, 0.10719, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title, format=dms
Streets in the London Borough of Lambeth
Brixton
Herne Hill