Herne Hill

For other uses, see Herne Hill (disambiguation).
Herne Hill

Herne Hill Junction
Herne Hill
 Herne Hill shown within Greater London
OS grid referenceTQ325745
London borough Lambeth
Southwark
Ceremonial county Greater London
RegionLondon
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town LONDON
Postcode district SE24
Dialling code 020
Police Metropolitan
Fire London
Ambulance London
EU Parliament London
UK ParliamentDulwich and West Norwood
London Assembly Lambeth and Southwark
List of places
UK
England
London

Coordinates: 51°27′16″N 0°05′37″W / 51.4544°N 0.0936°W

Herne Hill /hɜrn/ is a district in south London, England, approximately four miles from Charing Cross and bordered by Brixton, Denmark Hill, Dulwich, Loughborough Junction and Tulse Hill. It overlaps the boundary between the boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark. There is a road of the same name in the area (which is part of the A215 and was formerly called Herne Hill Road).

History

The area now known as Herne Hill was part of the Manor of Milkwell, which existed from at least 1291, and was a mixture of farms and woodland until the late 18th century.[1] It was divided between the ancient parishes of Camberwell and Lambeth.[2] In Rocque's 1746 map, the area was known as "Island Green", reflecting one of the previous routes of the River Effra.[3] In 1783, Samuel Sanders (a timber merchant) bought the land now occupied by Denmark Hill and Herne Hill from the Manor; he then began granting leases for large plots of land to wealthy families.[4]

Herne Hill and Half Moon Lane in 1823.

The first known reference to Herne Hill was published in 1789. There are numerous suggestions for the origin of the name: it may have been previously called Heron's Hill, as the River Effra attracted a large number of herons; George and Benjamin Herne were residents in the 17th century; and there was a nearby field called Le Herne (c.1495), "the angle or corner of land".

By the mid-19th century, the road from the modern Herne Hill Junction to Denmark Hill was lined with large residential estates and the area had become an upper-class suburb (John Ruskin spent his childhood at an estate on Herne Hill).[5]

The Half Moon pub, which was flooded in August 2013

Herne Hill was transformed by the arrival of the railways in 1862. Cheap and convenient access to London Victoria, the City of London, Kent and south-west London created demand for middle-class housing; the terraced streets that now characterise the area were constructed in the decades after the opening of Herne Hill station and the old estates were entirely built over.[5]

The Half Moon is a Grade II* listed public house in Half Moon Lane.[6]

During the early morning of 7 August 2013, an 88 year old 0.9 m diameter water main on Half Moon Lane burst, flooding Herne Hill, Dulwich Road and Norwood Road along with 36 properties (including the Half Moon public house) to create a scene described as "biblical" by local residents.[7] Thames Water admitted liability and estimated the total cost of the damage to be around £4 million.[8]

Geography

The Carnegie Library, Herne Hill Road

Herne Hill is situated between the areas of Brixton, Dulwich and Camberwell. It also straddles two boroughs, and is a community of just under 12,000 people, with a range of independent shops, art galleries, bars and restaurants. Famous Herne Hill residents from history include John Ruskin and the Lupino family, and actor Roddy McDowall was born there.

Local landmarks

The area is home to the 50.8 ha (125.5 acres) Brockwell Park. Near a hilltop in Brockwell Park stands the Grade II* listed Brockwell Hall,[9] which was built in 1831. The hall and the land surrounding it were opened to the public in 1891 after being purchased by London County Council. Brockwell Park hosts the annual Lambeth Country Show and was the site of London's Gay Pride festival for several years in the 1990s. The park also houses Brockwell Lido, a 1937 open-air swimming pool that faces on to Dulwich Road.

Herne Hill railway station on Railton Road was opened by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway in 1862; the Gothic, polychrome brick[10] station building was Grade II listed in 1998.[11] The associated railway viaduct and bridges are also noteworthy; The Building News stated in 1863 that the viaduct was "one of the most ornamental pieces of work we have ever seen attempted on a railway" for its fine brickwork.[12]

The Herne Hill Velodrome, situated in a park off Burbage Road, was built in 1891 and hosted the track cycling events in the 1948 Summer Olympics. Unlike most modern, steeply-banked velodromes, it is a shallow concrete bowl; the 'Save the Herne Hill Velodrome' campaign is seeking a way to secure the future of the site.[13] The same park also has a football pitch and was the home of Crystal Palace F.C. from 1915 until 1918.

A Blue Plaque at 84 Burbage Road marks the former home of the athletics coach Sam Mussabini. Mussabini was later immortalised in the film Chariots of Fire, in which he was played by actor Ian Holm. In 1894, Mussabini was appointed coach to the Dunlop cycling team which trained at the Herne Hill Velodrome. In 1913, Mussabini was appointed coach to the Polytechnic Harriers at the Herne Hill athletics track, which ran round the inside of the Velodrome cycle track. Here he trained athletes, including the fourteen-year-old Harold Abrahams.

The Half Moon Public House on Half Moon Lane was built in 1896 (although a tavern has existed on the site since at the 17th century) and was Grade II* listed in 1998.[14] The pub hosted a boxing gym for over 50 years.[15]

The Church of St Paul on Herne Hill was originally built by G Alexander in 1843 at a cost of £4,958,[16] but dramatically rebuilt by Gothic architect G E Street in 1858 after a destructive fire. It is now Grade II* listed.[17]

The lake in Sunray Gardens (at the junction of Elmwood Road and Red Post Hill) was originally the fish pond in Casino House (a large estate established in 1796/97, now demolished); the adjoining Casino Estate still bears the house's name.

The Carnegie Public Library on the road now named Herne Hill Road opened in 1906 after a Lambeth Librarian got a grant from Andrew Carnegie for building a library within the Herne Hill area. It is also a listed Grade II building.[18]

A Blue Plaque at 51 Herne Hill (by the junction with Danecroft Road) marks the former home of author Sax Rohmer (a.k.a. Arthur Henry Ward), most famous as author of the series of novels featuring the master criminal Dr. Fu Manchu.

Notable former and current residents

Transport

Rail

Direct rail services are available from Herne Hill railway station to London Blackfriars, Farringdon, St. Pancras International, Luton Airport and London Victoria.

Nearby railway stations offer services to other destinations: London Bridge station can be reached from North Dulwich; since December 2012 Denmark Hill has trains to Clapham Junction in south-west London and Highbury and Islington in north-east London via the London Overground's South London Line. The nearest London Underground station is Brixton on the Victoria line. There have been past proposals to extend the Victoria line to Herne Hill station on a large reversing loop.[21]

Buses

Herne Hill is also served by London bus routes 3, 37 (24 hours), 68, 196, 201, 322, 468, school route 690 and night buses N3 and N68.[22]

References

  1. ↑ British History Online - Myatt's Fields, Denmark Hill and Herne Hill
  2. ↑ http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=43027
  3. ↑ The Story of Norwood J.B. Wilson & H.A. Wilson ISBN 978-0951538418
  4. ↑ Survey of London: volume 26: Lambeth: Southern area
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 British History Online - Myatt's Fields, Denmark Hill and Herne Hill
  6. ↑ "Half Moon public house". National Heritage List for England. English Heritage. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  7. ↑ "Herne Hill properties flooded after burst water main". BBC News Online. 7 August 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  8. ↑ Prynn, Jonathan (9 August 2013). "Thames Water's £4m bill for Herne Hill flood after burst water main". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  9. ↑ List entry Number: 1080511, BROCKWELL HALL English Heritage. Retrieved 28 April 2012
  10. ↑ Cherry, Bridget; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1983). Buildings of England, London: South, Volume 2. London: Penguin. p. 363.
  11. ↑ List entry Number: 1376144, HERNE HILL RAILWAY STATION, ENTRANCE BLOCK ONLY English Heritage. Retrieved 20 April 2012
  12. ↑ "London, Chatham and Dover Railway". The Building News (The Proprietor of the "Building News") 10 (9 January): 27. 1863.
  13. ↑ Save the Herne Hill Velodrome. Retrieved 28 April 2012
  14. ↑ List entry Number: 1385592, HALF MOON PUBLIC HOUSE English Heritage. Retrieved 28 April 2012
  15. ↑ Where the pugilists drink Times Online. Retrieved 28 April 2012
  16. ↑ British History Online - Calne - Cambourne
  17. ↑ List entry Number: 1385599, CHURCH OF ST PAUL, HERNE HILL English Heritage. Retrieved 28 April 2012
  18. ↑ British History Online - Myatt's Fields, Denmark Hill and Herne Hill
  19. ↑ Neil Midgley "Cathy Newman: The time I feel the need for plastic surgery is the time that I leave TV", Evening Standard, 6 December 2011
  20. ↑ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/s151/game-of-thrones/news/a519321/game-of-thrones-casts-joel-fry-as-danys-meereen-contact.html
  21. ↑ http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor-assembly/mayor/vision-2020/interactive-map (Click on the arrow pointing south east from Brixton and then, on the popup, click on "more")
  22. ↑ Buses from Herne Hill (PDF). Transport for London. 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2012.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Herne Hill.


 Brixton Loughborough Junction Denmark Hill
Brockwell Park Dulwich
   Herne Hill  
Streatham Tulse Hill West Dulwich