Nominate your favourite street in Brockley
Because Hugh Demanded It...
Just to show that the "Suggest A Topic" section isn't just there for window dressing, we're starting an open thread, based on Hugh's suggestion that readers nominate their favourite streets.
In case anyone accuses us of trying to inflate our own house price again, we'd like to put on record that our street is highly unlikely to get a single nomination.
However, the other day, we opted to catch the train to St John's and walk back the long way through Brockley at dusk and we were struck by the beauty of so many of the streets. The Geoffrey Road end of Upper Brockley Road would be our choice, purely because of the old (and disappearing) row of shops next to the Wickham Arms, which give it real character).
What are your favourites?
43 comments:
That’s toughy - there are so many beautiful roads. But top of my list is Manor Avenue (love the grand steps up to the front doors and interesting front gardens), followed closely by Upper Brockley Road (for the same reasons as Nick). Then in joint third place it is Tressilian and Tyratt Roads because of their Haute Victorian architecture and stain glass windows. I’d like to add that I live on none of these roads.
The glorious tree-lined avenue that is Tyrwhitt Road has to be the daddy of them all.
Big townhouses, post-war in-fill and even a pub! It represents the perfect cross-section of Brockley, nay, South East London.
I do like the road I live on (Howson Rd - crofton park end) it's nice and quiet, close to amenities and litter free but in terms of grandeur I'd probably say Wickham in the Conservation area
I lived on St Margarets Road for a while. The wide street and range of early Victorian architecture make it very different from the serried ranks of other streets. And its just round the corner from the shops. I had no idea after 20 years of living in Brockley that it existed as it is a sort of cul-de-sac and so its not a road you find yourself driving through (and it was extremely quiet).
I love Manor Avenue because it's my street, so there. Also it's nice n leafy, near the station, fairly quiet and architecturally interesting. Also my neighbours are all so lovely - couldn't ask for more.
Excluding Manor Ave, I have to say that the conservation area streets beat anything else hands down. Wickham Rd is magnificent for it's massive width and the size of the enormous Victorian houses there. Shame that a V2 rocket destroyed the Victiorian houses at the end where it meets Brockley Rd, where the council flats are. Other than that Breakspears has some majestic buildings. If you look at Booths Poverty Map of London (or whatever it's called - the map showing income and class across London in the late 19th century), all the streets in the conservation area are coloured red which pertains to servant owning upper middle classes or something, however the top ends of Wickham and Breakspears (nearest Lewisham Way) are one step above and housed titled gentry/nobility and the wealthiest classes of the late 19th century.
I'd like to nominate the more humble Crofton Park Road: the part where you are walking up towards Blythe Hill. It has the air of a seaside street, I always feel. The sense that the sea is suddently going to appear over the horizon.
Tyrwhitt - for all the reasons that James gives plus the perfect view of Canary Wharf you get at the top of it.
Oh and cos I live on it...
Manor Avenue, the middle section especially, is a real contender when blossom fills the trees. The houses there, while not as large as elsewhere in the neighbourhood, are very pretty when well kept.
I agree that St Margaret's Road is an interesting oddity, with attractive redbricks lining a quiet corner with no through-traffic. Too close to the Brockley Road, however.
Montague Avenue on Hilly Fields is high on the list with its smart, spacious yet understated houses overlooking the open space and enjoying enviable views on every side.
Tyrwhitt, where I live, is still my favourite. St John's station 3 minutes' walk. Shops on the corner. Pub too, to be done up. Steep, with views of Canary Wharf, very little traffic, Hilly Fields at one end, almost no in-fill and a good density of trees and leafy front gardens. Oh, and lots of beautiful houses, with those on the Lewisham side of the street blessed with hillside vistas of, um, Lewisham (but all towns look pleasant from above).
A few years ago I walked up Tyrwhitt from Lewisham Way on a fine, quiet, weekday afternoon. Empty blue sky, cold air, bright sun, no one around. This is the place, I thought. It was.
Aw, that's sweet Hugh.
Talking of V2's it seem like Brockley took a fair bit of damage. I guess the combination of having a railway line and being near docks put it in the firing line.
I think most of the bombing of Brockley was mostly by accident. With the blackout and lack of satellite guided weapons and navigation systems, bombers must've thought they were over the docks and industrial sites around Deptford.
V1s and V2s were also wildly inaccurate, the V1 in particular which as far as I understand it basically fired from Germany with what they imagined might be enough fuel to get it to the docks or central London, when it ran out of fuel, it fell. Pretty inexacting!
I remember my grandparents saying that when you could hear the engine of a "doodlebug" you were OK, but if the engine cut out and went silent everyone dived for cover as you knew it was about to hit the deck.
Sorry, I'll stop rambling on about wartime history now...
The north end of Revelon Road is nice. 2 Different styles of Victorian Houses, couple of modern houses further south, decent amount of trees lining the road.
It especially has a real sense of history, the south end of the road was hit by a V2 rocket killing 2 families and destroying something like 10 houses (it was the largest loss of life in any single hit in lewisham). Now there is a school on the site of the blast (between revelon road and finland road) and opposite there is some white painted terrace houses.
Overall, its a nice road, showing a cross section of Brockley. I'm especially amazed that my house is still standing considering the history the road has been through...
Headhunter, the instinct for diving was, I always thought, what Orwell was referring to in 1984 when his proles use to shout things like 'Screamer!' before taking cover.
This link provides information on how bad the bombing was in SE London was - if you scroll to the bottom it lists all the areas where people died in V2 bombs - SE4 has quite a lot!
http://www.flyingbombsandrockets.com/V2_maintexta.html
And this link (from the same website) covers SE4 for V1 & V2 bombs. The loss of life and damage done in this small patch of London alone is quite horrific.
http://www.flyingbombsandrockets.com/V1_summary_se4.html
Yes - screamers, I think I've heard that before. I used to live round the corner from Orwell's old place up in Islington before moving to Brockers....
Bea - interesting site! Didn't realise poor old Brockers had been quite so badly hit!
I don't live in Brockley so I'm impartial! I would nominate Montague Avenue as it has very nice houses which look out onto hilly fields which must be nice.
For obvious reasons I'd nominate Tyrwhitt Road (where I live) even with the eysore on the corner with Loampit Hill/Lewisham Way.
Of course, it's very hard for me to make a firm choice.
However I think Rokeby Avenue deserves a plug...the terraces opposite the school are fantastic and generally well preserved and the road is built on a very different scale to those mentioned above. It lacks the grand trees that others have, but the houses themselves make up for that in some way. An additional gem on Rokeby Avenue are the houses opposite the Art House - I've not seen any others like them in the whole of Brockley. Take a peek next time you're in the area.
Two other unique streets of Brockley are Barriedale and Millmark Grove - the much later architecture/designs as compared to the conservation area to my mind give the streets a very suburban feel. Almost like you're walking around the far reaches of the Metropolitan Line.
Dean.
Hey Councillor - what can you tell us about plans for a young offenders institute in lewisham. Do you know if this true and if so where might it be?
anon1
Wow Cllr Dean Walton has added a photo! Well done that man! I can see that Brockley Central will be the new Facebook before much longer... Nick you'll be a billionaire and probably able to buy the entire conservation area...
Whoo-hoo...
Quite excited someone mentioned Barriedale... even though we've just moved in so have: a carpet, tumble dryer, ironing board, dead rosemary bush, and far too many bins in our front yard waiting to be disposed of - so are almost single-handedly making the street look rubbish. (Next door have a fridge too - come fill yer boots if anyone wants any of that stuff!)
Seriously though, I'm a fan of the lovely 1930's front doors with lovely circle windows.
Although the area as a whole is lovely. (Perhaps I'm now biased).
I often walk through St. Margarets Road on my way to the high street and its so lovely, leafy and quiet yet just one block from the shops and Moonbow Jakes - perfect to stumble home! I particularly like the houses around the St. Margarets Square end on Adelaide Avenue.
Montague Avenue however is my favourite, very nice, with its views of Hilly Fields.
I agree with the positive words above however on Tyrwitt/Breakspears/Tressellian and Wickham - all gorgeous!
Brockley is Blessed.
Thanks for all your suggestions, the winning street will be selected to host the young offenders institute. ;)
I have to say, I've never heard about any plans to locate one in Brockley.
Biased? I may well be, but i can't help loving Foxberry Road. We have a church, a garage, a nursery, the best Thai restraunt in Brockley, a whole heap of meritorious architecture and ony a stone's throw from all other local japery! Hussah!
Foxberry aside, I do love Wickham Gardens. Unique in its lay out, and its demograph, I discovered it one day by taking a nosy tour down the back alley that connects it with Harefield Road. Splendiferous. Has anyone noticed that there are plans to shoehorn some mews houses onto the edge of Wickham Gardens? With cycle spaces? Application for this is hidden down the aforementioned snicket, and further development may well prevent further nosy people from discovering this Brockley Treasure...
Definitely Manor Avenue. Not just because I live there but it's so quiet with lots of lovely trees ..
Neil,
In fact the alleyway between Harefield Rd and Wickham Gdns has been highlighted by Lewisham Planning Dept as an area with a particularly rural charm.
It is therefore especially annoying to myself and well over 35 others along Wickham Gdns and Wickham and Harefield Rds that some tinpot developer should think it a good idea to place three industrial (but pretending to be environmentally friendly) sheds there.
For that reason myself and many, many others worked hard to oppose the application. The council agreed with us. Unfortunately the developers didn't. Accordingly, having spent a fair bit of money employing Savills they chose to go to appeal. Currently we are awaiting this decision.
Its not that we are opposed to development per se. Its more that we would like to keep the rural bits rural. There are plenty of houses in Brockley that really need some TLC. To rip up an orchard and back garden (technically brown field land) for the creation of 3 two bed bungalows that would cost well over £400,000 doesn't strike us as the best use of land resources.
Moreover, if the Planning Dept's 2004/5 consultation about the Conservation area is going to mean anything at all, then allowing this to go ahead would be nothing short of disastrous.
We had good support from Darren Johnson and Joan Ruddock. I heard somewhere that Darren will be standing as an MP in the next election; this is a decision that will make it that much harder for me to figure out where to place my vote.
MCF
If 'anomynous' would like to write to me about a Young Offenders Institute being opened in Lewisham, I can make relevant enquiries.
I know of no such plans but am happy to get in touch with officers on your behalf.
Dean
just wanted to say that i never said a Young Offenders Institute is going to be in Brockley, merely in the council district of Lewisham :o)
Upper Brockley Road & Manor Avenue for their peace & quiet & uniform housing style
The Hilly Fields end of Tyrwhitt Road for the views - up to Hilly Fields & down across to Canary Wharf - it has such a sense of space
Crescent Way for the smaller houses & huge pear trees - the latter are apparently a characteristic of Brockley
And I like Rokeby too - I'd love to know if there's any history to the terrace opposite the Arthouse, it's so individual.
If I had to plump for just one it would be Upper Brockley Road. I think....
I agree about Montague Avenue and St Margaret's Road. I also love the bit of Adelaide Avenue where we live which gives on to Hillyfields on one side and the lovely Brockley & Ladywell Cemeteries on the other.
No one has mentioned Hilly Fields Crescent, the street that runs along Hilly Fields with great houses and wonderful views.
I nominate Coulgate Street. It doesn’t have the grandeur of the other streets listed here, but it more than makes up for it in character. The tiny cottages there are some of the oldest buildings in Brockley – it’s funny to imagine that they once sat in fields beside the Croydon to Bermondsey canal.
Didn't realise that the houses on Coulgate St were as old as that! I had heard that a lot of the rail lines in SE London, including the line on which Brockley station is were originally canals. Must admit the little houses are very quaint, but not sure I would like to live in a place backing onto Brockley Rd with all it's traffic and the Wetherspoons pub etc!
I vote Manor Avenue and Hilly Fields Crescent. Heavenly!
I agree with Joe RE Coulgate Street and its canalside history but also liked Manor Avenue and the roads on the edge of Hilly Fields when I was house hunting.
Crescent Way is also great. Very little traffic, Hilly Fields a few yards away, some massive houses with south-facing gardens. Pity about the in-fill but that's something to take up with Germany.
Many thanks to MCF for the information about the alley way leading to Wickham Gardens - should you need any further compainants just let me know as it would be a great shame to lose this site. I agree wholeheartedly about it's charm; surely this alleyway is also a haven for local wildlife? Fingers crossed for you for the impending council appeal result!
It's quite interesting, there are parts of the road near the TM2 where you can see the old tar bricks that used to be laid on the road before the more modern tarmac! Just goes to show how old the area n ear Coulgate st is!
I've lived on Breakspears Road (the centre section is beautiful) and am now living in Tressillian. But my favourites: Hilly Fields Crescent, Montague Avenue, and Manor Avenue. However, because no-one else has mentioned it, ther is something nice in the uniformity of the houses on Chalsey Road when viewed from the top end. But let's face it - you can't go much wrong in Brockley.........
right (definite Ladywell ward bias here, please note ;):
1) Montague Avenue (views over Hilly Fields and lovely big houses)
2) Chalsey Road (agree with KJ)
3) Margaret's Road
4) Hilly Fields Crescent
5) Adelaide Avenue (my street)
Manor Avenue. It was seeing a friend's house on this street that sold us on the area. A wide street, good houses (with lovely uniform frontages), big gardens etc etc
It's not as grand as Tressillian or Tyrwhit, but perfectly formed I think.
Regards
Luke
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