While Acre Lane can be considered the heart of Brixton containing its grand town hall, as late as 1800 it was an old parish highway but had no houses standing. In an 1802 auction, George Wheeler purchased the Hither Six Acres Field and the Further Six Acres Field. Thomas Bailey purchased the Eight Acres Field.
That same year, Wheeler sold a piece of the land which he had recently acquired to William Coward of Brixton Causeway, who became responsible for its development.
Trinity Asylum for Aged Persons was ’built and endowed by Thomas Bailey’ in 1822. He was ’desirous of establishing an asylum for pious aged women’ and he stated candidates for admission had to be members of the Church of England and between 57-67 years of age.
Victorian Brixton became a genteel place. Many of Acre Lane’s houses were elegant and large. Second World War bombing raids destroyed a lot of the fabric of the road and 1960s planner continued the process. Almost all of the residential property on Acre Lane though remains Victorian, with some late Georgian and new-build developments.
Trinity Gardens is an upmarket enclave.
