New Cross
Encyclopedia
New Cross is a district and ward of the London Borough of Lewisham
, England. It is situated 4 miles south-east of Charing Cross
. The ward covered by London
post town and the SE 14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, Telegraph Hill
, Nunhead
, Peckham
, Brockley
, Deptford
and Greenwich
. New Cross is home to Goldsmiths, University of London, Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College
and Addey and Stanhope School
.
New Cross Gate, on the west of New Cross, is named after the New Cross tollgate, established in 1718 by the New Cross Turnpike Trust. It is the location of New Cross Gate station
. New Cross Gate corresponds to the manor and district formerly known as Hatcham
.
(the name persists in the title of the Anglican parishes of St. James, Hatcham along with its school, and All Saints, Hatcham Park). The earliest reference to Hatcham is the Domesday Book
of 1086 as Hacheham. It was held by the Bishop of Lisieux from the Bishop of Bayeux. According to the entry in the Domesday Book Hatcham's assets were: 3 hide
s; 3 plough
s, 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) of meadow
, woodland
worth 3 hog and rendered £2.
Hatcham tithes were paid to Bermondsey Abbey
from 1173 until the dissolution of the monasteries. A series of individuals then held land locally before the manor was bought in the 17th century by the Haberdashers' Company
, a wealthy livery company
that was instrumental in the area's development in the 19th century. Telegraph Hill
was for many years covered by market gardens also owned by the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers
. Until the creation of the London County Council
in 1889, the area was a part of the counties of Kent
and Surrey
.
New Cross is believed to have taken its name from a coaching house originally known as the Golden Cross which stood close to the current New Cross House pub. The diarist John Evelyn
, who lived in Deptford
, wrote in 1675 that he met a friend at 'New Crosse' in his coach before travelling down through Kent and on to France.
In the later nineteenth century, the area became known as the New Cross Tangle on account of its numerous railway lines, workshops and two stations — both originally called New Cross (one was later renamed New Cross Gate).
Hatcham Iron Works in Pomeroy Street was an important locomotives factory, the scene of a bitter confrontation in 1865 between its manager, George England, and the workers. The Strike Committee met at the Crown and Anchor pub in New Cross Road, now the site of Hong Kong City Chinese restaurant. George England’s house, Hatcham Lodge, is now 56 Kender Street.
New Cross bus garage was formerly the largest tram depot in London, opening in 1906. During the 1926 General Strike in support of the miners, strikebreakers were brought in to drive trams from the depot. On 7 May, police baton charges were launched to clear a crowd of 2-3,000 pickets blockading the entrance (reported as "Rowdyism in New Cross" by the Kentish Mercury).
The last London tram
, in July 1952, ran from Woolwich
to New Cross. It was driven through enormous crowds, finally arriving at its destination in the early hours of 6 July.
On 25 November 1944 a V-2 Rocket
exploded at the Woolworth's
store in New Cross Road (on the site later occupied by an Iceland
supermarket), 168 people were killed, and 121 were seriously injured. It was the most devastating V-bombing of the entire war. On Wednesday 25 November 2009 a new commemorative plaque was unveiled on the site by the Mayor of Lewisham, marking the 65th anniversary of the explosion.
In August 1977 the area saw the Battle of Lewisham
, during which the far right British National Front
were beaten off by militant anti-fascists and local people.
On January 18, 1981 13 young black people were killed in the New Cross Fire
at a party at 439 New Cross Road. Suspicions that the fire was caused by a racist attack, and apparent official indifference to the deaths, led to the largest ever political mobilisation of black people seen in Britain.
, Julian Clary
and Vic Reeves
. Goldsmiths' Students' Union also had a reputation for putting on established and up and coming bands of the era including The B-52's
, The Pogues
, The Monochrome Set
, Simply Red
, Wet Wet Wet
and Wild Willy Barrett
.. The Irish owners of the Harp Club let The Flim Flam run a regular Friday night club there. The Flim Flam, with their wide music interest, recruited two DJs from Goldsmiths (Alison ? and Mimi Kerns) to put on a punk and indie night on Saturdays A Million Rubber Bands (later "Totally Wired").
In the 1990s New Cross club, The Venue
was central to the Indie Rock and Brit Pop scenes and played host to gigs by many of their finest purveyors including Oasis
, Radiohead, Pulp, Squeeze, Levellers, Cast, Shed Seven, Sleeper, Cornershop, Bluetones, Suede, PJ Harvey, Catherine Wheel, Belly, Ocean Colour Scene, Lush, Chumbawamba, Ash, Mudhoney, and Hole. Urban music magazine, Touch, and The Platform Magazine, an Islamic Hip-Hop journal are based in New Cross.
New Cross was noted as the birth place of New Rave
, and is fast gaining ground with London's fashion and music journalists, some even coming to regard it as South London's answer to Shoreditch
in the wake of its commercialisation. The New Rave scene began with a tightly connected movement of artists, DJ’s, bands and squatters called !WOWOW!
who have staged parties since 2003 in New Cross. New Rave champions Klaxons
spent their formative years in New Cross and released their début single, Gravity's Rainbow
, in April 2006 on Angular Recording Corporation
, a label set up by two ex-Goldsmiths students.
The area supports a fledgling student opera company, Opera Gold
, run by Goldsmiths, University of London.
on the Isle of Dogs
in 1885, was based at The Den
in Cold Blow Lane from 1910 to 1993. The ground attracted crowds of more than 45,000 at its peak, but by the 1980s
was notorious for the club's incidents of football hooliganism
.
Millwall moved a short distance to The New Den
, off Ilderton Road and just within Bermondsey
, at the start of the 1993–94 season.
Speedway racing
was staged at the New Cross Speedway and Greyhound Stadium
, situated at the end of Hornshay Street, off Ilderton Road. The venue became home to the New Cross Rangers in 1934 when the Crystal Palace promotion moved en bloc. The track, reputed to be one of the shortest and known as "The Frying Pan Bowl", operated until 1939 and re-opened in 1946 running until the early 1950s. The track re-opened for a short spell 1959 - 1961 and closed its doors to the sport for the last time mid season 1963. The stadium was also the scene of the UK's first stock car race
at Easter 1954, with 26,000 in the crowd and thousands more locked outside. The site of the Stadium is now an open space, Bridge House Meadows. The 1949 speedway film Once a Jolly Swagman
, starring Dirk Bogarde
, was filmed at New Cross.
and Greenwich
, both of which have strong maritime connections, led to the establishment of the Royal Naval School
in New Cross in 1843 (designed by architect John Shaw Jr
, 1803–1870) to house "the sons of impecunious naval officers". The school relocated further south-east to Mottingham
in 1889, and the former school building was bought by the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, who opened the Goldsmiths’ Company’s Technical and Recreative Institute in 1891. This was in turn handed over to the University of London in 1904 and is now Goldsmiths, University of London.
The former Deptford Town Hall building in New Cross Road, now also used by Goldsmiths, University of London, was built in the Edwardian Baroque style by Lanchester and Rickards, 1903-5. Nautical references include carvings of Tritons, statues of admirals and a sailing ship weathervane on the clock turret.
The Jehovah's Witness Hall was the South East London Synagogue
until it closed in 1985. The present building, which dates from the 1950s, replaced another destroyed in a German air raid in 1940.
The Venue nightclub in New Cross Road has a long history as a place of entertainment. It opened as the New Cross Super Kinema in 1925, with a cinema on the ground floor and the New Cross Palais de Danse above, as well as a cafe. The name was shortened to New Cross Kinema from 1927, the plain Kinema in 1948, and finally Gaumont in 1950. It closed in August 1960, and remained derelict for some time. Part of the building was demolished before the old dancehall became The Harp Club and then The Venue in the late 1980s.
Also, the Duke of Albany public house
(converted to flats in 2008) was the facade for The Winchester pub in the film Shaun of the Dead
.
Both stations are served by London Overground
from New Cross Gate passsengers can travel to and to the south and to the north. New Cross acts as the termini for the service from . Trains sometimes continue to Highbury & Islington but this is more common during engineering works. Passengers can easily make a brief interchange at Dalston Junction for trains to Highbury and Islington
New Cross also has mainline suburban services operated by Southeastern
. Trains generally run north to or to the north and South East London/Kent to the south.
New Cross Gate has mainline suburban services operated by Southern
. Trains here generally run north to and south to , , Surrey and Sussex.
Lewisham
Lewisham is a district in South London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
, England. It is situated 4 miles south-east of Charing Cross
Charing Cross
Charing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...
. The ward covered by London
London postal district
The London postal district is the area in England, currently of , to which mail addressed to the LONDON post town is delivered. The area was initially devised in 1856 and throughout its history has been subject to periodic reorganisation, contraction and division into increasingly smaller postal...
post town and the SE 14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, Telegraph Hill
Telegraph Hill, Lewisham
' is a place and electoral ward just south of New Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham in southeast London, England.The hill rises to around 30 metres. It was formerly known as Plowed Garlic Hill. It gained its current name from a semaphore telegraph station which was constructed on the summit...
, Nunhead
Nunhead
Nunhead is a place in the London Borough of Southwark in London, England. It is an inner-city suburb located southeast of Charing Cross. It is the location of the Nunhead Cemetery. Nunhead has traditionally been a working-class area and, with the adjacent neighbourhoods, is currently going...
, Peckham
Peckham
Peckham is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Southwark. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
, Brockley
Brockley
Brockley is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross.It is covered by the London postcode districts SE4 and SE14.-History:...
, Deptford
Deptford
Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...
and Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
. New Cross is home to Goldsmiths, University of London, Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College
Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College
Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College is an Academy secondary school located. in New Cross. The school was formerly a Grammar school, then a comprehensive City Technology College and now an Academy operating between two sites near New Cross Gate in South-East London...
and Addey and Stanhope School
Addey and Stanhope School
Addey and Stanhope School is a voluntary-aided, co-educational secondary school, located in Lewisham, London, UK. A former grammar school, with origins dating to 1606, Addey and Stanhope became a specialist science and technology school in 2006. The school is also part of the Crossways Federation,...
.
New Cross Gate, on the west of New Cross, is named after the New Cross tollgate, established in 1718 by the New Cross Turnpike Trust. It is the location of New Cross Gate station
New Cross Gate station
New Cross Gate station is a railway station in New Cross, London, on the Brighton Main Line. It is about 600 metres west of station. It is in Travelcard Zone 2, on the East London Line. The station is operated by London Overground.-History:...
. New Cross Gate corresponds to the manor and district formerly known as Hatcham
Hatcham
Hatcham was a manor and later chapelry in what is now London, England. It corresponds to the area around New Cross Gate station in the London Borough of Lewisham....
.
History
The area was originally known as HatchamHatcham
Hatcham was a manor and later chapelry in what is now London, England. It corresponds to the area around New Cross Gate station in the London Borough of Lewisham....
(the name persists in the title of the Anglican parishes of St. James, Hatcham along with its school, and All Saints, Hatcham Park). The earliest reference to Hatcham is the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086 as Hacheham. It was held by the Bishop of Lisieux from the Bishop of Bayeux. According to the entry in the Domesday Book Hatcham's assets were: 3 hide
Hide (unit)
The hide was originally an amount of land sufficient to support a household, but later in Anglo-Saxon England became a unit used in assessing land for liability to "geld", or land tax. The geld would be collected at a stated rate per hide...
s; 3 plough
Plough
The plough or plow is a tool used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed or planting. It has been a basic instrument for most of recorded history, and represents one of the major advances in agriculture...
s, 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) of meadow
Meadow
A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...
, woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
worth 3 hog and rendered £2.
Hatcham tithes were paid to Bermondsey Abbey
Bermondsey Abbey
Bermondsey Abbey was an English Benedictine monastery. Most widely known as an 11th-century foundation, it had a precursor mentioned in the early 8th century, and was centred on what is now Bermondsey Square, the site of Bermondsey Market, Bermondsey in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast...
from 1173 until the dissolution of the monasteries. A series of individuals then held land locally before the manor was bought in the 17th century by the Haberdashers' Company
Worshipful Company of Haberdashers
The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers is one of the senior Livery Companies of the City of London. The organisation, following on from the Mercers' Company, another Livery Company connected with clothing and haberdashery, received a Royal Charter in 1448...
, a wealthy livery company
Livery Company
The Livery Companies are 108 trade associations in the City of London, almost all of which are known as the "Worshipful Company of" the relevant trade, craft or profession. The medieval Companies originally developed as guilds and were responsible for the regulation of their trades, controlling,...
that was instrumental in the area's development in the 19th century. Telegraph Hill
Telegraph Hill
Telegraph Hill may be:* Telegraph Hill, San Francisco, California, USA* Telegraph Hill, on the A38 road in Devon, England* Telegraph Hill, Claygate, Surrey, England* Telegraph Hill, Barnet, London, England* Telegraph Hill, Lewisham, London, England...
was for many years covered by market gardens also owned by the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers
Worshipful Company of Haberdashers
The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers is one of the senior Livery Companies of the City of London. The organisation, following on from the Mercers' Company, another Livery Company connected with clothing and haberdashery, received a Royal Charter in 1448...
. Until the creation of the London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
in 1889, the area was a part of the counties of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
and Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
.
New Cross is believed to have taken its name from a coaching house originally known as the Golden Cross which stood close to the current New Cross House pub. The diarist John Evelyn
John Evelyn
John Evelyn was an English writer, gardener and diarist.Evelyn's diaries or Memoirs are largely contemporaneous with those of the other noted diarist of the time, Samuel Pepys, and cast considerable light on the art, culture and politics of the time John Evelyn (31 October 1620 – 27 February...
, who lived in Deptford
Deptford
Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...
, wrote in 1675 that he met a friend at 'New Crosse' in his coach before travelling down through Kent and on to France.
Hatcham Iron Works in Pomeroy Street was an important locomotives factory, the scene of a bitter confrontation in 1865 between its manager, George England, and the workers. The Strike Committee met at the Crown and Anchor pub in New Cross Road, now the site of Hong Kong City Chinese restaurant. George England’s house, Hatcham Lodge, is now 56 Kender Street.
New Cross bus garage was formerly the largest tram depot in London, opening in 1906. During the 1926 General Strike in support of the miners, strikebreakers were brought in to drive trams from the depot. On 7 May, police baton charges were launched to clear a crowd of 2-3,000 pickets blockading the entrance (reported as "Rowdyism in New Cross" by the Kentish Mercury).
The last London tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
, in July 1952, ran from Woolwich
Woolwich
Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
to New Cross. It was driven through enormous crowds, finally arriving at its destination in the early hours of 6 July.
On 25 November 1944 a V-2 Rocket
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
exploded at the Woolworth's
Woolworths Group
Woolworths Group plc was a listed British company that owned the high-street retail chain, Woolworths, as well as other brands such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK and book and resource distributor Bertram Books...
store in New Cross Road (on the site later occupied by an Iceland
Iceland (supermarket)
Iceland is a supermarket chain in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Iceland's primary product lines include frozen foods, such as frozen prepared meals and frozen vegetables - hence the name of the company...
supermarket), 168 people were killed, and 121 were seriously injured. It was the most devastating V-bombing of the entire war. On Wednesday 25 November 2009 a new commemorative plaque was unveiled on the site by the Mayor of Lewisham, marking the 65th anniversary of the explosion.
In August 1977 the area saw the Battle of Lewisham
Battle of Lewisham
The Battle of Lewisham refers to the events of 13 August 1977, when an attempt by the far-right National Front to march from New Cross to Lewisham in southeast London led to counter-demonstrations and violent clashes...
, during which the far right British National Front
British National Front
The National Front is a far right, white-only political party whose major political activities took place during the 1970s and 1980s. Its popularity peaked in the 1979 general election, when it received 191,719 votes ....
were beaten off by militant anti-fascists and local people.
On January 18, 1981 13 young black people were killed in the New Cross Fire
New Cross Fire
The New Cross Fire was a devastating house fire which killed 13 young black people during a birthday party in New Cross, southeast London on Sunday 18 January 1981...
at a party at 439 New Cross Road. Suspicions that the fire was caused by a racist attack, and apparent official indifference to the deaths, led to the largest ever political mobilisation of black people seen in Britain.
Music
During the 1980s, the Goldsmiths Tavern hosted alternative cabaret nights, organised by Nikky Smedley. Playing host to fledgling acts including The CholmondeleysThe Cholmondeleys
The Cholmondeleys are a London-based, all-female contemporary dance company, described by Arts Council England as "one of the leading contemporary dance companies in Britain," presenting work that "is diverse, witty and instantly recognisable."-History:...
, Julian Clary
Julian Clary
Julian Peter McDonald Clary is an English comedian and novelist, known for his deliberately stereotypical camp style, with a heavy reliance on innuendo and double entendre.-Early life and education:...
and Vic Reeves
Vic Reeves
James Roderick Moir , better known by the stage name Vic Reeves, is an English comedian, best known for his double act with Bob Mortimer . He is known for his surreal and non sequitur sense of humour....
. Goldsmiths' Students' Union also had a reputation for putting on established and up and coming bands of the era including The B-52's
The B-52's
The B-52's are an American rock band, formed in Athens, Georgia in 1976. The original line-up consisted of Fred Schneider , Kate Pierson , Cindy Wilson , Ricky Wilson , and Keith Strickland . Following Ricky Wilson's death in 1985 Strickland switched to guitar...
, The Pogues
The Pogues
The Pogues are a Celtic punk band, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before...
, The Monochrome Set
The Monochrome Set
The Monochrome Set are an English post-punk band originally formed in 1978 from the remnants of a college group called The B-Sides...
, Simply Red
Simply Red
Simply Red were a British soul band that sold more than 50 million albums over a 25-year career. Their style drew influences from blue-eyed soul, new romantic, rock, reggae and jazz...
, Wet Wet Wet
Wet Wet Wet
Wet Wet Wet are a Scottish pop rock band that formed in the 1980s. They scored a number of hits in the British charts and around the world. The band is composed of Marti Pellow , Tommy Cunningham , Graeme Clark and Neil Mitchell...
and Wild Willy Barrett
Wild Willy Barrett
Wild Willy Barrett is an English folk singer from Hemel Hempstead best known for his collaborations with John Otway. His musical style is witty and his humour onstage is dry. He is known for virtuoso fiddle playing, ability with a great number of stringed instruments, and playing slide guitar with...
.. The Irish owners of the Harp Club let The Flim Flam run a regular Friday night club there. The Flim Flam, with their wide music interest, recruited two DJs from Goldsmiths (Alison ? and Mimi Kerns) to put on a punk and indie night on Saturdays A Million Rubber Bands (later "Totally Wired").
In the 1990s New Cross club, The Venue
The Venue
The Venue may refer to any of various places including:* The Venue , former nightclub and cinema in Liverpool* The Venue , now the Leicester Square Theatre...
was central to the Indie Rock and Brit Pop scenes and played host to gigs by many of their finest purveyors including Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
, Radiohead, Pulp, Squeeze, Levellers, Cast, Shed Seven, Sleeper, Cornershop, Bluetones, Suede, PJ Harvey, Catherine Wheel, Belly, Ocean Colour Scene, Lush, Chumbawamba, Ash, Mudhoney, and Hole. Urban music magazine, Touch, and The Platform Magazine, an Islamic Hip-Hop journal are based in New Cross.
New Cross was noted as the birth place of New Rave
New Rave
New rave is a term applied to several types of music that fuse elements of electronic music, new wave, rock, indie, techno, bastard pop, breakbeat hardcore and electro house...
, and is fast gaining ground with London's fashion and music journalists, some even coming to regard it as South London's answer to Shoreditch
Shoreditch
Shoreditch is an area of London within the London Borough of Hackney in England. It is a built-up part of the inner city immediately to the north of the City of London, located east-northeast of Charing Cross.-Etymology:...
in the wake of its commercialisation. The New Rave scene began with a tightly connected movement of artists, DJ’s, bands and squatters called !WOWOW!
!WOWOW!
!WOWOW! is a collective in Peckham, London. Otherwise known as The Children of Pizza Mat, they are a group of artists, fashion designers, writers and musicians, who have promoted numerous art events and parties in London and Berlin.-History:...
who have staged parties since 2003 in New Cross. New Rave champions Klaxons
Klaxons
Klaxons are a British indie rock band, based in London. Following the release of numerous 7-inch singles on different independent record labels, as well as the success of previous singles "Magick" and "Golden Skans", the band released their debut album, Myths of the Near Future on 29 January 2007....
spent their formative years in New Cross and released their début single, Gravity's Rainbow
Gravity's Rainbow (song)
"Gravity's Rainbow" is a song by British act Klaxons which appears on their album Myths of the Near Future. It is named after Thomas Pynchon's novel of the same name. The song was first released on Angular Records as a Double A-side with "The Bouncer" in March 2006 and was limited to 500 copies on...
, in April 2006 on Angular Recording Corporation
Angular Recording Corporation
Angular Recording Corporation is an independent record label originally based in New Cross, South East London. Set up in June 2003 by two ex-Goldsmiths College students, Joe Daniel and Joe Margetts, who reclaimed a local Ordnance Survey Triangulation Station and made it their first artefact: ARC 001...
, a label set up by two ex-Goldsmiths students.
The area supports a fledgling student opera company, Opera Gold
Opera gold
Opera Gold is an amateur opera company attached to Goldsmiths College, London, UK. It draws most of its cast from college members past and present. Singers from outside the college are occasionally also invited to take part....
, run by Goldsmiths, University of London.
Sport
Millwall Football Club, founded by mainly Scottish workers at J.T. Morton, a cannery and food processing plant in MillwallMillwall
Millwall is an area in London, on the western side of the Isle of Dogs, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the south of the developments at West India Docks, including Canary Wharf.-History:...
on the Isle of Dogs
Isle of Dogs
The Isle of Dogs is a former island in the East End of London that is bounded on three sides by one of the largest meanders in the River Thames.-Etymology:...
in 1885, was based at The Den
The Den (stadium)
The Den was the fifth football stadium occupied by Millwall F.C. in Cold Blow Lane, New Cross, London since their formation in Millwall on the Isle of Dogs in 1885 before moving to The New Den, in May 1993. The ground opened in 1910 and was the home of Millwall for 83 years. It boasted a record...
in Cold Blow Lane from 1910 to 1993. The ground attracted crowds of more than 45,000 at its peak, but by the 1980s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
was notorious for the club's incidents of football hooliganism
Football hooliganism
Football hooliganism, sometimes referred to by the British media as the English Disease, is unruly and destructive behaviour—such as brawls, vandalism and intimidation—by association football club fans...
.
Millwall moved a short distance to The New Den
The New Den
The Den , is a football stadium and the home of Millwall FC. It is situated in South Bermondsey, South East London, almost directly adjacent to the railway line between London Bridge and New Cross Gate, plus the SELCHP incinerator. It is under a quarter of a mile away from original Den...
, off Ilderton Road and just within Bermondsey
Bermondsey
Bermondsey is an area in London on the south bank of the river Thames, and is part of the London Borough of Southwark. To the west lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe, and to the south, Walworth and Peckham.-Toponomy:...
, at the start of the 1993–94 season.
Speedway racing
Motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...
was staged at the New Cross Speedway and Greyhound Stadium
New Cross Stadium
New Cross Stadium, Hornshay Street, Old Kent Road , in South East London was opened in the early 1900s as an athletic stadium but was mainly used for greyhound racing and speedway. The ground was adjacent to The Den, the then home of Millwall F.C. and was used as a training ground by the club when...
, situated at the end of Hornshay Street, off Ilderton Road. The venue became home to the New Cross Rangers in 1934 when the Crystal Palace promotion moved en bloc. The track, reputed to be one of the shortest and known as "The Frying Pan Bowl", operated until 1939 and re-opened in 1946 running until the early 1950s. The track re-opened for a short spell 1959 - 1961 and closed its doors to the sport for the last time mid season 1963. The stadium was also the scene of the UK's first stock car race
Stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing found mainly in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain, Brazil and Argentina. Traditionally, races are run on oval tracks measuring approximately in length...
at Easter 1954, with 26,000 in the crowd and thousands more locked outside. The site of the Stadium is now an open space, Bridge House Meadows. The 1949 speedway film Once a Jolly Swagman
Once a Jolly Swagman
Once a Jolly Swagman is a 1949 British film starring Dirk Bogarde, Bonar Colleano, Bill Owen and Sid James. It is centred around the sport of speedway racing, which was at its peak of popularity at the time. The film is based on the 1946 novel by Montagu Slater.The title of the film refers to the...
, starring Dirk Bogarde
Dirk Bogarde
Sir Dirk Bogarde was an English actor and novelist. Initially a matinee idol in such films as Doctor in the House and other Rank Organisation pictures, Bogarde later acted in art-house films such as Death in Venice...
, was filmed at New Cross.
Buildings
The proximity of New Cross to DeptfordDeptford
Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...
and Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
, both of which have strong maritime connections, led to the establishment of the Royal Naval School
Royal Naval School
The Royal Naval School was an English school that was established in Camberwell, London, in 1833 and then formally constituted by the Royal Naval College Act 1840. It was a charitable institution, established as a boarding school for the sons of officers in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. Many of...
in New Cross in 1843 (designed by architect John Shaw Jr
John Shaw Jr
John Shaw Junior was an English architect of the 19th century who was complimented as a designer in the "Manner of Wren". He designed buildings in the classical Jacobean fashion and designed some of London's first semi-detached homes in the area close to Chalk Farm. Shaw retired in the early...
, 1803–1870) to house "the sons of impecunious naval officers". The school relocated further south-east to Mottingham
Mottingham
Mottingham is a district of south London, England; located at the convergence of the London Borough of Bromley, the London Borough of Lewisham and the London Borough of Greenwich...
in 1889, and the former school building was bought by the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, who opened the Goldsmiths’ Company’s Technical and Recreative Institute in 1891. This was in turn handed over to the University of London in 1904 and is now Goldsmiths, University of London.
South East London Synagogue
The South East London Synagogue was established in 1888 by Ashkenazi Jews who had immigrated from Eastern Europe. It was refused membership of the United Synagogue, but was admitted to the Federation of Synagogues. Immanuel Jakobovits was the rabbi just after the Second World War.-History:The...
until it closed in 1985. The present building, which dates from the 1950s, replaced another destroyed in a German air raid in 1940.
The Venue nightclub in New Cross Road has a long history as a place of entertainment. It opened as the New Cross Super Kinema in 1925, with a cinema on the ground floor and the New Cross Palais de Danse above, as well as a cafe. The name was shortened to New Cross Kinema from 1927, the plain Kinema in 1948, and finally Gaumont in 1950. It closed in August 1960, and remained derelict for some time. Part of the building was demolished before the old dancehall became The Harp Club and then The Venue in the late 1980s.
Also, the Duke of Albany public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
(converted to flats in 2008) was the facade for The Winchester pub in the film Shaun of the Dead
Shaun of the Dead
Shaun of the Dead is a 2004 British zombie comedy directed by Edgar Wright, starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and written by Pegg and Wright. Pegg plays Shaun, a man attempting to get some kind of focus in his life as he deals with his girlfriend, his mother and stepfather...
.
Transport
The area is served by two railway stations, New Cross and New Cross Gate.Both stations are served by London Overground
London Overground
London Overground is a suburban rail network in London and Hertfordshire. It has been operated by London Overground Rail Operations since 2007 as part of the National Rail network, under the franchise control and branding of Transport for London...
from New Cross Gate passsengers can travel to and to the south and to the north. New Cross acts as the termini for the service from . Trains sometimes continue to Highbury & Islington but this is more common during engineering works. Passengers can easily make a brief interchange at Dalston Junction for trains to Highbury and Islington
New Cross also has mainline suburban services operated by Southeastern
Southeastern (train operating company)
London & South Eastern Railway Limited, trading as Southeastern is a train operating company in south-east England. On 1 April 2006 it became the franchisee for the new Integrated Kent Franchise , replacing the publicly owned South Eastern Trains on the former South East Franchise...
. Trains generally run north to or to the north and South East London/Kent to the south.
New Cross Gate has mainline suburban services operated by Southern
Southern (train operating company)
Southern is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Officially named Southern Railway Ltd., it is a subsidiary of Govia, a joint venture between transport groups Go-Ahead Group and Keolis, and has operated the South Central rail franchise since October 2000 and the Gatwick Express service...
. Trains here generally run north to and south to , , Surrey and Sussex.
Music connections
- Bands such as Art Brut, Bloc PartyBloc PartyBloc Party are a British Indie rock band, composed of Kele Okereke , Russell Lissack , Gordon Moakes , and Matt Tong...
, BlurBlur (band)Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...
, The Hancocks, LuxembourgLuxembourg (band)Luxembourg were a British five-piece indie band. For most of their life, the lineup consisted of David Shah , Rob Britton , Alex Potterill , Jon Bacon and Steve Brummell . Bassist Jon left the band at the end of 2006 and was replaced by David Barnett...
, Indigo MossIndigo MossIndigo Moss were an alternative, rock and roll, bluegrass band, based in London, England.-Band members:* Trevor Moss - Vocals, guitar, banjo, mandolin* Hannah-Lou Moss - Vocals, banjo, guitar* Lil' Daisy Moss - Bass guitar...
and AthleteAthlete (band)Athlete are a British rock band formed in Deptford, London, comprising Joel Pott , Carey Willetts , Stephen Roberts and Tim Wanstall...
have all originated and been associated with the 'New Cross scene'. - British hip hopBritish hip hopBritish hip hop is a genre of music, and a culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the United Kingdom. It is generally classified as one of a number of styles of urban music...
artist BladeBlade (rapper)Blade is a British rapper, born in the Armenian quarter of Iran and came to London when he was 7. His first single, Lyrical Maniac recorded in 1989, soon brought Blade to prominence in the fledgling British hip hop scene....
did most of his recording in the area, selling his records personally on the streets there and often name checking it in his songs. - 1970s glamGlam rockGlam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
rocker Steve HarleySteve HarleySteve Harley is an English singer and songwriter, best known for his work with the 1970s rock group Cockney Rebel, with whom he still occasionally tours .-Biography:As a child, Harley suffered from polio, spending four years in hospital up to the...
grew up in Fairlawn Mansions, New Cross, going to Edmund Waller and Haberdashers' Aske's schools. - Music hall star Marie LloydMarie LloydMatilda Alice Victoria Wood was an English music hall singer, best known as Marie Lloyd. Her ability to add lewdness to the most innocent of lyrics led to frequent clashes with the guardians of morality...
lived in Lewisham Way from 1887 to 1893 - Nathan Cooper and Chi-Tudor Hart, out of the electro group Matinée Club grew up in New Cross.
- RnB group DamageDamage (British band)Damage were a British R&B boy band who achieved success in the 1990s with eleven hit singles, including four Top 10 successes in the UK Singles Chart.-Biography:...
. Front man Jade JonesJade JonesJade Jones is an English R&B singer turned chef. He is most famous for being the former lead singer of the band Damage....
who is from the area is the father of Emma BuntonEmma BuntonEmma Lee Bunton is an English pop singer/songwriter and TV and radio presenter. She was a member of the 1990s girl group, the Spice Girls, in which she was known as Baby Spice as she was the youngest member. In 2010, she joined the judging panel on ITV's Dancing on Ice...
's baby and is due to marry the Spice Girl some time this year. Two members of the group attended St James Hatcham C of E Primary School situated on St James in New Cross Gate - The folk noir band SongdogSongdogSongdog are a Welsh three-piece folk noir band noted for their intelligent lyrics and sparse musical arrangements.-Background:...
lived in New Cross for a year or so after first moving to London from Wales. The transition period was difficult for the band members as they suffered from acute homesickness and for a time had rats, no hot water and no money, but frontman Lyndon Morgans says they took heart from the motto "Take Courage" (Courage being a brewery) which was emblazoned across the front of the Amersham Arms, a pub overlooking New Cross Station. - Dire StraitsDire StraitsDire Straits were a British rock band active from 1977 to 1995, composed of Mark Knopfler , his younger brother David Knopfler , John Illsley , and Pick Withers .Dire Straits' sound drew from a variety of musical influences, including jazz, folk, blues, and came closest...
lived in Deptford and performed some of their earliest gigs in New Cross pubs - Jools HollandJools HollandJulian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, and television presenter. He was a founder of the band Squeeze and his work has involved him with many artists including Sting, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, The Who, David Gilmour and Bono.Holland is a...
performed and practised in pubs in New Cross at the beginning of his career
Other local links
- Poet Robert BrowningRobert BrowningRobert Browning was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of dramatic verse, especially dramatic monologues, made him one of the foremost Victorian poets.-Early years:...
lived in Telegraph Cottage near New Cross Road during the 1840s - Playwright and author Terence FrisbyTerence FrisbyTerence Frisby is a London-based playwright and novelist, best known as the author of the play There's A Girl In My Soup.-Personal life:...
of the 1960s play and movie There's a Girl in My SoupThere's a Girl in My Soup There's a Girl in My Soup is a 1970 British comedy film, directed by Roy Boulting and starring Peter Sellers and Goldie Hawn. Sellers appears as Robert Danvers, a vain, womanizing and wealthy host of a high-profile cooking show...
was born in New Cross in 1932 but spent the majority of his childhood in WellingWellingWelling is a district in the London Borough of Bexley, South East London. It is a suburban development situated between Shooter's Hill and Bexleyheath north of the A2 road and 10.5 miles east south-east of Charing Cross.-History:...
. - Politician SirSirSir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
Isaac HaywardIsaac HaywardSir Isaac James Hayward was Leader of the London County Council from 1947 until it was abolished in 1965....
, leader of the London County CouncilLondon County CouncilLondon County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
, represented the Deptford division - Actress Laila MorseLaila MorseLaila Morse is an English actress, best known for playing Mo Harris in BBC series EastEnders and Janet in the 1997 movie Nil by Mouth ."Laila Morse" is an anagram of an Italian phrase for "my sister" - a name she...
(and Gary OldmanGary OldmanGary Leonard Oldman is an English actor, voice actor, filmmaker and musician.A member of the 1980s Brit Pack, Oldman came to prominence via starring roles in British films Meantime , Sid and Nancy and Prick Up Your Ears , with his performance in the latter bringing him his first BAFTA Award...
's sister) who plays 'Mo Harris' in EastendersEastEndersEastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
lives in New Cross. - Harry MullanHarry MullanHarry Mullan was an Irish boxing writer and journalist. He died on 21 May 1999 at the age of 53 after a four-year battle with cancer. Born in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland in 1946, Mullan edited the British trade paper, Boxing News, for 19 years, from 1977 until 1996. Only Gilbert Odd,...
, boxing writer, lived in New Cross from the late 1960s to 1990s. - Wrestler Mick McManus was born in New Cross.
- Actor Gary OldmanGary OldmanGary Leonard Oldman is an English actor, voice actor, filmmaker and musician.A member of the 1980s Brit Pack, Oldman came to prominence via starring roles in British films Meantime , Sid and Nancy and Prick Up Your Ears , with his performance in the latter bringing him his first BAFTA Award...
was born and raised in New Cross, attending Monson Primary School. His film Nil By MouthNil by Mouth (film)Nil by Mouth is a 1997 British drama film portraying a family of characters living in South East London. It was Gary Oldman's debut as a writer and director; the film was produced by Douglas Urbanski and Luc Besson. It stars Ray Winstone as Raymond, the abusive husband of Valerie...
is loosely based on his life growing up in South East London and was largely filmed in the area. - Footballer Kieran RichardsonKieran RichardsonKieran Edward Richardson is an English footballer currently playing for Sunderland. He is naturally a left winger, but has proven to a extremely versatile; having also played as a left back, right winger, central midfielder and recently as a support striker...
who currently plays for Sunderland FC spent some of his childhood in New Cross Gate - Fr. Arthur ToothArthur ToothArthur Tooth SSC was a Ritualist priest in the Church of England and a member of the Society of the Holy Cross . Tooth is best known for having been prosecuted in 1876 under the Public Worship Regulation Act 1874 for using proscribed liturgical practices...
SSCSociety of the Holy CrossThe Society of the Holy Cross is an international Anglo-Catholic society of priests with members in the Anglican Communion, the Continuing Anglican Movement and the Roman Catholic Church's Anglican Use...
, an Anglican priestPriestA priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
, was the VicarVicarIn the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
of St. James', Hatcham in the 1870s and, whilst he was there, was prosecuted for ritualist practices — an event which became nationally famous at the time. - SirSirSir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
Barnes WallisBarnes WallisSir Barnes Neville Wallis, CBE FRS, RDI, FRAeS , was an English scientist, engineer and inventor. He is best known for inventing the bouncing bomb used by the RAF in Operation Chastise to attack the dams of the Ruhr Valley during World War II...
was educated at Haberdashers' Aske's School (blue plaqueBlue plaqueA blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event, serving as a historical marker....
, on building on corner of New Cross Road and Nettleton Road) - Artist Edward Henry Windred lived at 352 New Cross Road during the 1930s
- Steve WrightSteve WrightStephen Richard "Steve" Wright is an English radio presenter. He presents the afternoon show on BBC Radio 2. He rose to prominence in the early 1980s while working with Peter Dickson on BBC Radio 1.-Early career:...
(radio presenter) - Former Goldsmiths students include Graham SutherlandGraham SutherlandGraham Vivien Sutherland OM was an English artist.-Early life:He was born in Streatham, attending Homefield Preparatory School, Sutton. He was then educated at Epsom College, Surrey before going up to Goldsmiths, University of London...
, John CaleJohn CaleJohn Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
, Mary QuantMary QuantMary Quant OBE FCSD is a British] fashion designer and British fashion icon, who was instrumental in the mod fashion movement. She was one of the designers who took credit for inventing the miniskirt and hot pants. Born in Blackheath, London, to Welsh parents, Quant brought fun and fantasy to...
, Malcolm McLarenMalcolm McLarenMalcolm Robert Andrew McLaren was an English performer, impresario, self-publicist and manager of the Sex Pistols and the New York Dolls...
, Damien HirstDamien HirstDamien Steven Hirst is an English artist, entrepreneur and art collector. He is the most prominent member of the group known as the Young British Artists , who dominated the art scene in Britain during the 1990s. He is internationally renowned, and is reportedly Britain's richest living artist,...
, Sam Taylor-WoodSam Taylor-WoodSamantha "Sam" Taylor-Wood OBE , born Samantha Taylor, is an English filmmaker, photographer, and visual artist. Her directorial feature film debut came in 2009 with Nowhere Boy, a film based on the childhood experiences of The Beatles songwriter and singer John Lennon...
, Lucian FreudLucian FreudLucian Michael Freud, OM, CH was a British painter. Known chiefly for his thickly impasted portrait and figure paintings, he was widely considered the pre-eminent British artist of his time...
, Antony GormleyAntony GormleyAntony Mark David Gormley OBE RA is a British sculptor. His best known works include the Angel of the North, a public sculpture in the North of England, commissioned in 1995 and erected in February 1998, Another Place on Crosby Beach near Liverpool, and Event Horizon, a multi-part site...
, Julian OpieJulian OpieJulian Opie is a visual artist, and one of the New British Sculpture movement.-Life and work:Julian Opie was raised in Oxford, England, where he attended the Dragon School and Magdalen College School. He attended Goldsmith's School of Art in London from 1979-82...
, Hisham MatarHisham MatarHisham Matar is a Libyan author. His debut novel In the Country of Men was shortlisted for the 2006 Man Booker Prize. Matar’s essays have appeared in the Asharq Alawsat, The Independent, The Guardian, The Times and The New York Times. His second novel, Anatomy of a Disappearance, was published on...
, Linton Kwesi JohnsonLinton Kwesi JohnsonLinton Kwesi Johnson is a UK-based dub poet. He became the second living poet, and the only black poet, to be published in the Penguin Classics series. His poetry involves the recitation of his own verse in Jamaican Patois over dub-reggae, usually written in collaboration with renowned British...
, Neil InnesNeil InnesNeil James Innes is an English writer and performer of comic songs, best known for his collaborative work with Monty Python, and for playing in the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and later The Rutles.-Personal life:...
, Brian MolkoBrian MolkoBrian Molko is a songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist of the band Placebo. He is known in particular for his high-pitched vocals, androgynous appearance, and unique, Sonic Youth-influenced guitar style and tuning.-Early life:Born to an American father of French-Italian heritage and a Scottish...
, Alex JamesAlex James (musician)Professionally known as Alex James is an English musician, songwriter, journalist and cheesemaker. He is best known as the bass player and occasional vocalist of band Blur...
, and Graham CoxonGraham CoxonGraham Leslie Coxon is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter. He came to prominence as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and occasional lead vocalist of rock band Blur, and is also a critically acclaimed solo artist, having recorded seven solo albums...
. - Princess Beatrice of YorkPrincess Beatrice of YorkPrincess Beatrice of York is the elder daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York...
attends Goldsmiths CollegeGoldsmiths CollegeGoldsmiths, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom which specialises in the arts, humanities and social sciences, and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1891 as Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute...
as a BA History student, although she does not actually reside in New Cross. - Design4D who were nominated for Young Architect of the Year 2009 are based in New Cross.
Places nearby
- BermondseyBermondseyBermondsey is an area in London on the south bank of the river Thames, and is part of the London Borough of Southwark. To the west lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe, and to the south, Walworth and Peckham.-Toponomy:...
- BrockleyBrockleyBrockley is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross.It is covered by the London postcode districts SE4 and SE14.-History:...
- DeptfordDeptfordDeptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...
- GreenwichGreenwichGreenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
- LewishamLewishamLewisham is a district in South London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
- RotherhitheRotherhitheRotherhithe is a residential district in inner southeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is located on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping and the Isle of Dogs on the north bank, and is a part of the Docklands area...
- SouthwarkSouthwarkSouthwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
- NunheadNunheadNunhead is a place in the London Borough of Southwark in London, England. It is an inner-city suburb located southeast of Charing Cross. It is the location of the Nunhead Cemetery. Nunhead has traditionally been a working-class area and, with the adjacent neighbourhoods, is currently going...
- PeckhamPeckhamPeckham is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Southwark. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
- Telegraph HillTelegraph Hill, Lewisham' is a place and electoral ward just south of New Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham in southeast London, England.The hill rises to around 30 metres. It was formerly known as Plowed Garlic Hill. It gained its current name from a semaphore telegraph station which was constructed on the summit...
(Part of New Cross) - Crofton ParkCrofton ParkCrofton Park is a vibrant, mainly residential suburb and electoral ward in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is the original site of the former agricultural hamlet of Brockley. It is located 5.3 miles south east of Charing Cross, and is south of Brockley and north of Honor Oak...
In song
- Carter USMCarter USMCarter the Unstoppable Sex Machine is a British indie rock band formed in 1988 by singer Jim "Jim Bob" Morrison and guitarist Les "Fruitbat" Carter. They made their name with a distinctive style of power pop, fusing samples, sequenced basses and drum machines with rock 'n' roll guitars and...
wrote a song called "The Only Living Boy in New Cross" (1992). The song lists the diverse youth tribes that bought their records whilst the title is a play on a Simon & Garfunkel song "The Only Living Boy in New YorkThe Only Living Boy In New York"The Only Living Boy in New York" is a song written by Paul Simon and performed by Simon and Garfunkel. It is the eighth track from the American pop duo's fifth and final studio album, Bridge Over Troubled Water...
".
- The tragic New Cross FireNew Cross FireThe New Cross Fire was a devastating house fire which killed 13 young black people during a birthday party in New Cross, southeast London on Sunday 18 January 1981...
was commemorated in a number of reggae songs and poems at the time, including Johnny Osbourne’s "13 dead and nothing said", Benjamin ZephaniahBenjamin ZephaniahBenjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah is an English writer and dub poet. He is a well-known figure in contemporary English literature, and was included in The Times list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008....
’s "13 dead", UB40UB40UB40 are a British reggae/pop band formed in 1978 in Birmingham. The band has placed more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. One of the world's best-selling music artists, UB40 have sold over 70 million records.Their hit singles...
's "Don't let it pass you by" and Linton Kwesi JohnsonLinton Kwesi JohnsonLinton Kwesi Johnson is a UK-based dub poet. He became the second living poet, and the only black poet, to be published in the Penguin Classics series. His poetry involves the recitation of his own verse in Jamaican Patois over dub-reggae, usually written in collaboration with renowned British...
’s "New Crass Massakkah".
Further reading
- Lanyado, Benji (22 March 2009). "In London, New Cross and Deptford Attract the Hip". http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/travel/22surfacing.html.
- Gordon-Orr, Neil (2004). Deptford Fun City: a ramble through the history and music of New Cross and Deptford. London: Past Tense Publications.
External links
- New Cross Photographs
- New Cross Online (includes history)
- New Cross Guide (includes history)
- Transpontine (includes New Cross music and history)