Brixton means 'Beorthsige's stone', from the Old English personal name and stan "stone". The last element is not Old Englishtun "farm, village", despite the modern -ton ending. It was recorded as Brixiestan in 1086 in the Domesday Book. The location of the stone is not known.[1]
History
Tate Library with statue of Henry Tate in front
Brixton was the meeting place of the ancient Brixton hundred of Surrey. It 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. It was part of Surrey until the creation of the County of London in 1889.
One of a few surviving windmills in London, built in 1816, and surrounded by houses built during Brixton's Victorian expansion, is to be found just off Brixton Hill. The nearby 'Windmill' pub is named after it.
Brixton is an inner London suburb 3.3 miles (5.3 km) south of Charing Cross and is the unofficial capital of the Jamaican, African British and Caribbean 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 six big housing estates: Myatts Field off Vassall Road; Angell Town off Brixton Road on the boundary with Camberwell; Loughborough in the centre of Brixton; Moorlands Estate, situated off Coldharbour Lane; St Matthew's, located in the fork between Brixton Hill and Effra Road; Tulse Hill a little further South of St. Matthews.
Brixton is also notable for being one of the first inner city based 'Transition Town' projects in the UK [2]
Brixton was the scene of disorder in April 1981 and September 1985. Following migration from the West Indies in the 1950s (and later mix of other ethnic minorities), Brixton encompassed a (relatively) large number of ethnic minorities as compared with other parts of England. The context for the 1981 uprising was the "stop-and-search" policies under the 'sus law', whereby young black men were stopped and searched by the police without any reason being given. This led to a feeling of oppression amongst some residents of the area. Following the 1981 uprising, the Government appointed Lord Scarman under the auspices of a Royal Commission to report[1] upon the effects of the current law. Lord Scarman's report acknowledged the disproportionate effect that the law was having on young black youth. The report made a number of recommendations, which resulted in the police having to give reasons – to the person - for any stop and searches that they undertook.
The 1985 riot followed a police shooting of a black woman, Cherry Groce, after the police entered her house looking for someone else. 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 pointing a fake gun at people) coupled with general distrust of the police led to smaller scale protests through the 1990s and the Brixton riot (1995).
Brixton Murals
File:Brixtonacademymural.jpgBrixton Academy Mural, 1982
After the riots in 1981 a series of murals was funded by the council, although there is no evidence to show that colourfully painted walls have any direct correlation to the level of violence within a community. The murals portray nature, politics, community and ideas. the surviving murals include the Brixton Academy Mural (Stockwell Park Walk) by Stephen Pusey (1982) showing a mixed group of young people, intended to portray the natural harmony that could be found between children of mixed backgrounds in the local schools.
Nelson Mandela
Brixton's symbolic role as the "soul of Black Britain" led to a 1996 visit by Nelson Mandela. This included a brief visit to Mandela Street, part of a modern housing development constructed in the mid 80s and named after the former South African president. Mr. Mandela also visited the Brixton Recreation Centre during his visit.
Brixton bombing
On 17 April1999neo-nazi bomber David Copeland planted a nail bomb in Electric Avenue, which exploded on market day by the Iceland supermarket at the junction with Brixton Road (Brixton High Street). Around 50 people were injured, including a toddler, who had a nail driven through his skull. Copeland was sentenced to six life sentences in June 2000.
The Brixton bombing is reported to have targeted the black community in Brixton. Copland also bombed Brick Lane, the heart of East London's Bangladeshi and Asian community, and the Admiral Duncan pub in Soho, London, frequented predominantly by the gay community. The BBC reports that Copland intended to ignite a race war across Britain with his bombing campaign.[3]
Before the 1981 riot was the centre of Operation Swamp 81 aimed at reducing street crime mainly through the heavy use of the so-called sus law, which allowed police to stop and search individuals on the basis of a mere 'suspicion' of wrong-doing. Plain clothes police officers were dispatched into Brixton, and in five days almost 1,000 people were stopped and searched. The local community was not consulted about the operation and tensions between the black community and the police on the streets of Brixton reached breaking point. Local residence complained about young, inexperienced police officers being sent on the streets, provoking confrontation.[4]
In 2001 Brixton became subject of newspaper headlines due to the implementation of a pilot Cannabis programme, also known as the softly-softly approach, initiated by Brian Paddick, then Police Commander for the London Borough of Lambeth. Police officers were instructed not to arrest or charge people who were found to be in possession of cannabis. They were instead to issue on-the-spot warnings and confiscate the drugs. Although Paddick is credited with the idea, the pilot programme was sanctioned by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, Sir John Stevens. Paddick asserts that he implemented the policy because he wanted his officers to deal with cannabis quickly and informally so that they could concentrate on heroin and crack cocaine offences, and street robbery and burglary, which were affecting the quality of life in Lambeth to a greater extent.[5] The pilot was ended December 2005 and was replaced by a so called "no deal" police on cannabis in Brixton following complaints about increasing numbers of dealers openly selling the drug.[6]
Paddick was a sergeant on the front line during the 1981 Brixton riot,[7] an experience which shaped his attitudes about confrontational police action and strengthened his belief in community policing.[8] In December 2000 he was appointed Police Commander for the London Borough of Lambeth where he worked until December 2002,[9] fulfilling his ambition of becoming head of policing in Brixton.[10] Paddick gained much support from the local community for his approach to policing and addressed a rally in his support in March 2002, leading Dominic Casciani from the BBC to comment:
"If someone had said just five years ago that black, white, young and old, straight and gay, liberal and anarchist would all be standing together giving a standing ovation to a police commander in Brixton, people might have said they had smoked one spliff too many."[11]
There is a significant clubbing and live music scene. Large venues include the Carling Brixton Academy (changed from Brixton Academy in 2004), The Fridge and Mass at St Matthew's Chruch. A range of smaller venues such as The Prince Albert, The Prince / DexClub, the Windmill, The Dogstar, Jamm, The Telegraph, Plan B, the 414, the Effra Tavern, and the Grosvenor are a major part of London's live music scene, drawing performers with international reputations. Brixton is also home to a 1970s purpose built skatepark, named Stockwell Skatepark.
Brixton market
The heart of Brixton is the Market, open every day selling produce from all over the world. The market sells a 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 stores
Brixton was once the shopping capital of south London with three large department stores and some of the earliest branches of what are now Britain's major national retailers.
Brixton however does have the department store Morleys, which has been a big success and has generated a lot of publicity for the glamorous side of Brixton. Morleys has attracted shoppers from all over London, especially women.
Brixton in song
References to Brixton in song started with the release of 'Whoppi King' by Laurel Aitken in 1968 and 'Brixton Cat' by Dice the Boss in 1969. This was followed in August 1975 by a song written and sung by Geraint Hughes and Jeff Calvert (who billed themselves as "Typically Tropical"): two white men who told the story of a Brixton bus-driver "going' to Barbados" with Coconut Airways to escape the rain in London.
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The 1979 song "The Guns of Brixton" by The Clash deals with law enforcement violence in Brixton. Written by Paul Simonon, who grew up in Brixton, it had a reggae influence and showed the reggae roots of both Brixton and Paul Simonon's musical background.
Before a 'Jamm' gig, well-known punk band The Misfits were involved in a fight and thrown into Brixton Prison, which led them to write their song "London Dungeon".
Ian Hunter's 1981 album Short Back 'n' Sides contains a track called "Theatre of the Absurd" which refers to the Brixton law enforcement problem. "Play me some, play me some, play me Brixton power," is the chorus line, and the issue of race is opened with the first lines, "My tea turns seven shades darker as I sit and write these words. And London's gettin' paler, in my Theatre of the Absurd." The production of the record was overseen by Mick Jones of the Clash.
Eddy Grant's 1982 album Killer on the Rampage contains the smash "Electric Avenue", a reference to a shopping street in central Brixton, one of the first in the UK to have electric street lighting installed (when Brixton's character was very different). The song evokes images of poverty, violence and misery while also celebrating the vibe of the area.
The song "Waiting for the Worms" from Pink Floyd's The Wall has a rally leader speaking into a megaphone to a racist rally mob, which acts as some of the lyrics to separate verses of the song. The very first lyrics heard from the megaphone are, "We have been ordered to convene outside Brixton town hall..." The album was released in 1979, two years before the start of the riots of 1981.
The town featured in the song "Svarta pärlan i London" (The black pearl in London) by Swedish artist Thomas Di Leva.
The town also featured in the song "Has It Come To This?" by UK rapper The Streets.
The song "Brixton, Bronx ou Baixada" by Brazilian rock-reggae band O Rappa, tells about social differences.
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 officially that of Stockwell - although the northern part of Brixton falls within the boundary - whereas SW2 (the Brixton Hill sorting office) also covers Tulse Hill A204 Road, Streatham Hill and Brixton Hill.
'Reg Llama of Brixton' was mentioned in the (farcical) opening credits of the seminal 1975 comedy film Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Brixton was also mentioned in the film "V for Vendetta" as being the location where the first riots against Chancellor Adam Sutler's authoritarian British government broke out, which resulted in Sutler calling out the army to try and stop growing public support for "V".
The film Johnny Was, with the exception of a number of flashback sequences, is set entirely in Brixton.
Ross Kemp filmed in Brixton on two occasions for his programme "Ross Kemp on Gangs".
Brixton sits on several main roads. The A23 London to Brighton road runs North-South through the area. There is also the A203 which links to Vauxhall Bridge along with the A204 and A2217. Brixton was due to be a major interchange of the South Cross Route, part of the London Ringways plan, which was cancelled in the 1970s.
Other notable people with Brixton connections include:
Former London Mayor Ken Livingstone grew up and lived for many years in Brixton
Former British Prime Minister John Major spent part of his childhood in a two-room flat off Coldharbour Lane, and started his political career as a Lambeth Councillor while still living in the area.
Max Wall Comedian and music hall performer was born in Brixton.
Freddie Davies the comedian and actor was born in Brixton in 1937.
Sir Walter Raleigh is said to have had a house in Brixton and been visited there by Queen Elizabeth I, who traveled by barge up the (now underground) Effra River to meet him. However, the name of Raleigh Hall appears to have no links to Sir Walter, and the Effra is not known to have been navigable south of Kennington.
