Electric Avenue is a street in Brixton and the first market street to be lit by electricity.
Built in 1888, the elegant Victorian canopies over the pavements survived until the 1980s.
Brixton Market began in the 1870s as the area was becoming one of London’s rapidly expanding Victorian middle-class suburbs following the railway station opening in 1862. The area became a popular shopping destination due not only to the lights and covered iron canopy but also the array of shops – including London’s first department store: Bon Marché on
Brixton Road – and street entertainers. Every Christmas, it would be lavishly covered in spectacular Christmas decorations.
At the turn of the century the middle classes moved out and the area became home to a large working class population. Many large houses were subsequently converted into flats.
Post-war, the area was in decline having suffered badly in WWII bombing. Many properties fell into disrepair or were split into smaller lodgings. Such lodgings would become home to the Windrush generation (named after the Empire Windrush, the first ship bringing migrants) who began arriving in the 1940s from the West Indies, and who have since shaped the culture and diversity of the entire area. With this growth in population came a greater demand for goods, and thus the street market continued expanding. The market developed a more notorious reputation towards the 1970s and 80s as Brixton gradually became more impoverished.
After the 1981 Brixton Riots, central government put money into the area and matters improved.
Today, the street contains several butchers and fish mongers and hosts a part of
Brixton Market, which specialises in selling a mix of African, Caribbean, South American and Asian products. It is located just around the corner from Brixton tube station.
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence
| CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE LOCALITY |
 
tom Added: 3 Nov 2021 05:16 GMT |
I met
someone here 6 years ago
Reply |
| LATEST LONDON-WIDE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PROJECT |
Loraine Brocklehurst Added: 24 May 2023 14:00 GMT |
Holcombe Road, N17
I lived at 23Holcombe Rd. with my parents, Grandfather , Aunt and Uncle in 1954. My Aunt and Uncle lived there until it was demolished. I’m not sure what year that was as we emigrated to Canada.
Reply |
Jen Williams Added: 20 May 2023 17:27 GMT |
Corfield Street, E2
My mother was born in 193 Corfield Street in 1920.Her father was a policeman.
Reply |
sofia Added: 19 May 2023 08:57 GMT |
43 MELLITUS STREET
43 MELLITUS STREET
Reply |
Added: 17 May 2023 11:50 GMT |
Milson Road (1908 - 1954)
My grandparents and great grandparents and great great grandparents the Manley family lived at 33 Milson Road from 1908 to 1935. My grandad was born at 33 Milson Road. His parents George and Grace had all four of their chidren there. When his father Edward died his mother moved to 67 Milson in 1935 Road and lived there until 1954 (records found so far, it may be longer). Before that they lived in the Porten Road. I wonder if there is anyone that used to know them? My grandad was Charles ’Ted’ Manley, his parents were called George and Grace and George’s parents were called Edward and Bessie. George worked in a garage and Edward was a hairdresser.
Reply |
Added: 16 Apr 2023 15:55 GMT |
Rendlesham Road, E5
I lived at 14 Rendlesham Road in the 1940s and 50s. The house belonged to my grandfather James Grosvenor who bought it in the 1920s for £200.I had a brother who lived in property until 1956 when he married. Local families were the paisleys, the Jenners and the family of Christopher Gable.
Reply |
Sandra Field Added: 15 Apr 2023 16:15 GMT |
Removal Order
Removal order from Shoreditch to Holborn, Jane Emma Hall, Single, 21 Pregnant. Born about 21 years since in Masons place in the parish of St Lukes.
Source:
Sign up
Reply |
Sue Germain Added: 10 Apr 2023 08:35 GMT |
Southwood Road, SE9
My great great grandfather lived in Time Villa, Southwood Rd around 1901. He owned several coffee houses in Whitechapel and in South London, including New Time Coffee House so either his house was named after the coffee house or vice versa.
Reply |
David Gleeson Added: 7 Apr 2023 22:19 GMT |
MBE from Campbell Bunk (1897 - 1971)
Walter Smith born at 43 Campbell Bunk was awarded the MBE in january honours list in 1971. A local councillor for services to the public.
Reply |
Angell Town, SW9 Angell Town is a large, municipally-built housing complex on the Brixton/Stockwell border. Brixton Brixton is a mainly residential area of south London with a prominent street market and substantial retail sector. Zebra taxi Around 1912, a zebra-pulled taxi was active on the streets of Brixton. Brixton Oval, SW2 Brixton Oval is one of the streets of London in the SW2 postal area. Eaton Drive, SW9 Eaton Drive is one of the streets of London in the SW9 postal area. Geneva Drive, SW9 Geneva Drive is one of the streets of London in the SW9 postal area. Gresham Road, SW9 Gresham Road is one of the streets of London in the SW9 postal area. Kellett Road, SW2 Kellett Road is one of the streets of London in the SW2 postal area. Nursery Road, SW9 Nursery Road is one of the streets of London in the SW9 postal area. Popes Road, SW9 Popes Road is one of the streets of London in the SW9 postal area. Porden Road, SW2 Porden Road is one of the streets of London in the SW2 postal area. Pulross Road, SW9 Pulross Road is one of the streets of London in the SW9 postal area. Saltoun Road, SW2 Saltoun Road is one of the streets of London in the SW2 postal area. Talma Road, SW2 Talma Road is one of the streets of London in the SW2 postal area.
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.
