Brixton

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For the village of Brixton in Devon, see Brixton, Devon.

Template:Infobox London place Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth.

Contents

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History

First recorded as Brixistane in 1067 (which means 'at the stone of Brihtsige'), Brixton remained mostly waste land until the beginning of the 19th century, the main settlements being near Stockwell, Brixton Hill and Coldharbour Lane. With the opening of Vauxhall Bridge in 1816, improved access to Central London led to a process of suburban development. The largest single development, and one of the last in suburban character, was Angell Town, laid out in the 1850s on the east side of Brixton Road, and so named after a family which owned land in Lambeth from the late 17th century until well into the 20th.

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Brixton today

Brixton is a vibrant inner London suburb 3.3 miles (5.3 km) south of Charing Cross and is the unofficial "capital" of the Jamaican community of London. Windrush Square between Lambeth Town Hall and the Tate Library was created to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the arrival of the modern Afro-Caribbean community on the Empire Windrush.

Modern day Brixton is home to four big housing estates: Myatts Field off Vassall Road, Angell Town off Brixton Road on the boundary with Camberwell, Loughborough in the centre of Brixton and Moorlands Estate, situated off Coldharbour Lane. It is in these four estates that a significant proportion of Brixton's population lives.

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Entertainment

There is a significant clubbing and live music scene. Large venues include the Carling Academy (changed from Brixton Academy in 2004), The Fridge and Mass. A range of smaller venues such as the 414, the Windmill and the Effra Tavern amongst others are a crucial part of London's live music scene, drawing performers with international reputations.

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Brixton riots

Brixton was the scene of race riots in April 1981 and September 1985. In both cases the riots saw young black men (who were joined by white youths taking advantage of the situation) reacting to concerns over discriminatory and heavy-handed police "stop-and-search" policies under the notorious 'sus law'. Following the 1981 riots, the Government appointed Lord Scarman to report. Although the Brixton area subsequently saw pioneering community policing initiatives, the continued death of young black men in police custody (and in one case the death of a man wielding what appeared to be a gun) coupled with general distrust of the police led to smaller scale protests through the 1990s.

See Brixton riot (1981), Brixton riot (1985) and Brixton riot (1995)

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Brixton in song

The 1979 song Guns of Brixton by The Clash deals with law enforcement violence in Brixton. It was written by Paul Simonon who grew up in Brixton, had a reggae influence and showed the reggae roots of both Brixton and Paul Simonon's musical background.

Before a 'Jam' gig, the Misfits, a well known punk band were involved in a fight where they were thrown into Brixton Prison which led them on to write their famous song 'London Dungeon'.

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Brixton in film

Director Richard Parry shot a film here (released in 2001) called South West Nine (SW9), referring to the postcode covering much of central Brixton. Confusingly, this postcode is oficially that of Stockwell - although the northern part of Brixton falls within the boundary - whereas SW2 (the Brixton Hill sorting office) also covers much of Streatham Hill and Tulse Hill.

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Mandela

Brixton's symbolic role at the "soul of Black Britain" led to a 1996 visit by Nelson Mandela

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Brixton bombing

In 1999 neo-nazi bomber David Copeland planted a bomb outside the Iceland shop on Brixton High Street which exploded injuring 39 people.

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Brixton market

The heart of Brixton is the Market, open every day selling produce from all over the world. The song "Electric Avenue", written and sung by Eddie Grant in 1983, refers to part of the market (come out of the tube, turn left then left again), so named because it was the first street in Britain to be lit with electric lamps, in 1888 (Brixton itself is mentioned in the lyrics at the very end of the song). The market sells a huge range of Afro-Caribbean products as well as reflecting the many other communities in the local area with Indian and Vietnamese supermarkets and South American butchers amongst the shops and stalls.

Brixton is also home to a 1970s purpose built skatepark, named Stockwell Skatepark. Brixton also has a windmill built in 1816, and surrounded by houses built soon after, as London expanded. The Windmill pub (see above) is named after it.

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Famous people from Brixton

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Nearby places

Nearest tube station:

Nearest railway station:

Brixton is served by many bus routes.

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See also

  • Urban75 - an independent UK e-zine based in Brixton
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External links

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