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Brixton

Brixton is a mainly residential area of south London with a prominent street market and substantial retail sector.

The name Brixton is thought to originate from Brixistane, meaning the stone of Brixi (a Saxon lord).

Brixton marks the rise to more stable land between the marshes of North Lambeth up to the hills of Upper Norwood. The River Effra (now underground) flows from its source in Upper Norwood through Herne Hill to Brixton. At Brixton the river was crossed by low bridges for Roman roads to the south coast (now Brixton Road and Clapham Road). The main roads were connected through a network of medieval country lanes, such as Acre Lane, Coldharbour Lane, Brixton Water Lane and Lyham Road (formerly Black Lane).

At the end of the 18th century villages and settlements formed around Brixton as the original woodland was gradually reduced. The area becames covered in farmland and market gardens known especially for its strawberries.

With the opening of Vauxhall Bridge in 1816, improved access to Central London led to a process of suburban development. The largest single development was Angell Town, laid out in the 1850s on the east side of Brixton Road, and so named after a family that owned land in Lambeth from the late 17th century.

Terraced houses and detached villas started to line the main roads. St Matthew’s Church in the centre of Brixton was consecrated in 1824, indicating a sizeable population by this time. The Rush Common enclosure stipulations dictated that houses had to be set back from the main roads, allowing for generous gardens. Ashby’s Mill, one of the few surviving windmills in London, was built in 1816, just off Brixton Hill. The Surrey House of Correction, later Brixton prison, was established in 1819.

Brixton railway station opened as Brixton and South Stockwell in 1862 by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway. Brixton underground station did not follow until 1971.

With the arrival of the railway, a building boom set in and Brixton developed into a major shopping centre. The first purpose-built department store, Bon Marché, was opened on Brixton Road in 1877. Brixton Market began in Atlantic Road and was moved to Station Road in the 1920s to ease traffic congestion.

Brixton was transformed into a middle class suburb between the 1860s and 1890s. In 1888, Electric Avenue was so named after it became the first street in London to be lit by electricity. In this time, large expensive houses were constructed along the main roads in Brixton, which were converted into flats and boarding houses at the start of the 20th century as the middle classes were replaced by an influx of the working classes.

Brixton is now a multi-ethnic community, with a large percentage of its population of Afro-Caribbean descent. The district houses the main offices of the London Borough of Lambeth.

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