Brixton Hill is the name given to a 1 km section of road between Brixton and Streatham Hill in south London, England. It slopes downhill towards central London.
Brixton Hill and Streatham Hill form part of the traditional main London to Brighton road (A23). The road follows the line of a Roman Road, the London to Brighton Way, which diverges from Stane Street near Kennington, and led south from the capital Londinium to another port on the south coast.
Prior to the late 19th century, the road was known as Brixton (or Bristow) Causeway On the eastern side of the road, a series of tree lined open spaces and front gardens are part of Rush Common — an area of common land which although it is subject to protection under an Act of Parliament of 1811, has seen some incursions for building.
The name Brixton Hill has subsequently been given to the residential areas on both sides of the road, and since 2002, it has also been the name of an electoral ward of the London Borough of Lambeth.
From 1891 until the 1950s Brixton Hill was served by a regular London tram service; it was cable-drawn until 1904 when it was replaced by a conventional electric tram.[1] The tram depot at Streatham Hill, opposite Telford Avenue, housed the tram cars, horses and the steam powered winding gear for the cable. It is now a bus depot. Another tram depot remains intact at the top of Brixton Hill. This was designed by London County Council Tramways' architect G. Topham Forest, had a capacity of 30 trams[2] and can still be seen on the Brixton side of Christchurch Road, with tram rails flowing under the entrance gates.
The route remains one of the busiest corridors for bus transport in Greater London.