Hither Green

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Hither Green
Hither Green (Greater London)
Hither Green

Hither Green shown within Greater London
OS grid reference TQ395745
London borough Lewisham
Ceremonial county Greater London
Region London
Constituent country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town LONDON
Postcode district SE12, SE13
Dialling code 020
Police Metropolitan
Fire London
Ambulance London
European Parliament London
UK Parliament Lewisham East
London Assembly Greenwich and Lewisham
List of places: UKEnglandLondon

Coordinates: 51°27′08″N 0°00′00″E / 51.4522, 0

Hither Green clock tower
Hither Green clock tower

Hither Green is an area of London, United Kingdom with a population around 10,000. It is a predominantly Victorian suburban development forming part of the London Borough of Lewisham 6.6 miles (10.6 km) south east of Charing Cross, and located on the Prime Meridian south of Greenwich.

Hither Green is a classic London suburb, which grew with the expansion of the railways in the 19th century. The area is characterised by late 19th and early 20th century Victorian and Edwardian domestic architecture, most notably the Corbett Estate, built by Scottish MP and social reformer Archibald Cameron Corbett. The railway runs through the centre of the area, with Staplehurst Road and its shopping parade to the east, and Hither Green Lane to the west. The lane dates back to Roman times and runs between the Quaggy and Ravensbourne rivers.

The area benefits from three historic parks - Manor House Gardens and Manor Park to the east, and Mountsfield Park to the west. Bordering on Mountsfield Park is the former site of the grand, neo-Gothic Royal Park Fever Hospital which dated back to 1878. Today, all that remains of the hospital is the water tower with its large clockfaces (a local landmark which is illuminated at night), and several outbuildings. The main site has recently been redeveloped into apartments and shopping/leisure facilities named Meridian South.

Hither Green is relatively peaceful and situated close to shopping facilities in Blackheath, Lewisham and Catford. It also enjoys frequent transport links to the City and West End as well as connections with the Docklands Light Railway in Lewisham and East London Line in New Cross, which closed in December 2007 and will reopen as the London Overground in 2010.

Recent additions, station parade
Recent additions, station parade

Most of Hither Green, including its railway station, comes under the postcode SE13 with Lewisham, but it also lies in the corner of SE13 overlapping into SE12 and SE6.

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[edit] Local facts

  • Karl Marx and Jimi Hendrix once lived in Hither Green.[citation needed]
  • The area is known for the Hither Green rail crash, in which 49 people were killed in 1967
  • The largest ever Naan was baked at the Bengal Brasserie Curry House in Hither Green according to the Guinness Book of Records
  • The Driving Standards Agency runs a driving test centre located in Hither Green - one of the largest in South London - where over 1,000 candidates are tested each month
  • The Catford Cycling Club [1] was founded in 1886 and rose to European prominence. In 1894 they built their own track south of Brownhill Road complete with a Pagoda grandstand. By the 1950s the majority of the track had been built over yet the club still flourishes to this day [2]


Manor House Gardens
Manor House Gardens

[edit] Transportation

Hither Green railway station straddles two main lines into London with frequent services to London Bridge, Charing Cross, Waterloo East, Cannon Street, Lewisham (Docklands Light Railway), and New Cross (East London Line, due to reopen in 2010 as the London Overground). The station exits to Fernbrook Road in the east, and Springbank Road in the west.

During the morning peak hours there up to nine trains per hour leaving for central London. The last train from Charing Cross to Hither Green leaves shortly before 1am. In coming years, the area will also be connected to St Pancras International station as part of the Thameslink Programme.


Hither Green is also served by the following Transport for London contracted London Bus routes: 181, 225 and 273.

To the south, Hither Green is located on the A205 South Circular road.

Edwardian terrace
Edwardian terrace

[edit] Hither Green in the news

[edit] External links


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