Catford
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Coordinates: 51°26′43″N 0°01′15″W / 51.4452°N 0.0207°W
Catford is a district of London located in the centre of the London Borough of Lewisham, England. It is located 6.3 miles (10.1 km) south east of Charing Cross and covers most of SE6 postcode.
The name derives from the place where cattle crossed the River Ravensbourne in Saxon times. Catford's most prominent landmark is the Catford Cat, a giant fibreglass sculpture of a black cat above the entrance to the Catford Centre. This is a small shopping centre, housing Tesco and Iceland supermarkets as well as some independent shops in the punningly-named Catford Mews. There is a street market on Catford Broadway. Catford has several pubs and a variety of non-chain restaurants and cafes. Catford's oldest pub is the Black Horse and Harrow (now called the Goose on the Green) which existed at least as early as 1700, though the present building dates from 1897 (at which Karl Marx was a patron). Between 1932 and 2003, Catford Stadium was a successful greyhound racing track, but was demolished a few years back to make way for a new housing development. As of April 2009, the site of Catford Greyhound Stadium remains vacant and overgrown.
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[edit] Architecture
The 1960s and 70s had a considerable impact on the architecture of Catford. The old Town Hall, 'the Catford Cathedral' of 1875, was replaced by the current Civic Suite in 1968, soon after the merger of the metropolitan boroughs of Lewisham and Deptford. Laurence House, where many of the borough's offices are housed, is on the site of St Laurence's Church. The brutalist Eros House, which replaced the Lewisham Hippodrome (Catford's music hall designed by the famous theatre architect Frank Matcham) in 1960, is now Grade II listed. Ian Nairn praised Eros House as:
A monster sat down in Catford, and just what the place needed. No offence meant: this southward extension of Lewisham High Street badly wanted stiffening. Now there is a punchy concrete focus (`you know, that funny new building') both close to and at a distance, from the desolate heights of the Downham Estate, where it stands straight to the afternoon sun. Rough concrete is put through all its paces, front convex eaves on Sainsbury's to a staircase tower which is either afflicted with an astounding set of visual distortions or is actually leaning. Again, no offence meant. Unlike many other avant-garde buildings, particularly in the universities, this one is done from real conviction, not from a desire for self-advertisement. The gaunt honesty of those projecting concrete frames carrying boxed-out bow windows persists. It is not done at you, and it transforms the surroundings instead of despising them. This most craggy and uncompromising of London buildings turns out to be full of firm gentleness.[1]
In Rushey Green outside Eros House, the old village hand-pump from the 1850s survives. In 1974 the Catford shopping centre was built by the brutalist architect Owen Luder.
Broadway Theatre, Catford, which is a fine art deco building, adjoins the town hall. This is a curved stone structure decorated with shields and heraldic emblems and topped with an attractive copper-green spire. It was opened in 1932 as the Concert Hall and is now a Grade II listed building. The interior is in art deco style. The last cinema in the borough stood opposite the theatre until its closure in 2002. Catford also boasts a Territorial Army centre and a large Gothic police station (despite the largest police station in Europe being just down the road in Lewisham). In 2006, a large blue pipe sculpture was unveiled outside Eros House.
[edit] Culture
Other than the shows at the Broadway Theatre the main cultural events are Lewisham Peoples day held in Mountsfield Park and the yearly beer festival organised by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), which is held at the theatre. The Catford Beer Festival is one of the largest in southern England.
In recent years Catford has been satirised in The Chap magazine series called 'A year in Catford' after Peter Mayle's bestseller A Year in Provence. The magazine poked fun at Catford's mundanity.
Catford had one of the first British curry houses, which opened in 1824.
[edit] Places of worship
Catford has Protestant and Roman Catholic churches. Non-conformist churches include Plymouth Brethren, Baptists, Methodist, The Salvation Army various Pentecostals as well as Seventh-day Adventists and a Unitarian meeting house. The Plymouth Brethren at Wildfell Hall, Wildfell Road have conducted the world-famous Catford Lectures for over 50 years.[2] The original gothic C of E St. Laurence church was located where Laurence House is today, but as part of the urban renewal of Catford in the 1960s, the church is now housed in a more modern style building 200 metres down Bromley Road. This church follows a traditional Anglican Mass and has their own choir.[citation needed]
There is a large[3] Muslim community served by the Lewisham Islamic Centre, which also serves the needs of Muslims from all over Lewisham.
There are also Sikh, Buddhist and Hare Krishna temples.
[edit] Famous Catfordians
- Sir Henry Cooper, British heavyweight boxer came from the area.
- Spike Milligan (1918-2002) the comedian and writer went to school at Catford's Brownhill Boys School and often visited the suburb where his aunt and uncle lived. He claimed to have lived in Catford and wrote about the area in many of his books and sketches. In reality he lived in nearby Honor Oak which is nearer Forest Hill than Catford. Catford was probably thought to have been funnier.
- Ben Elton the comedian and writer was born in Catford in 1959.
- Leslie Dwyer actor, was born in Catford .
- Ernest Christopher Dowson Poet and decadent lived and died in Catford. Dowson introduced the phrases 'Days of wine and roses' and 'Gone with the wind'.
- Anthony Jones the art photographer lives in the area.
- Andy McNab Former S.A.S serviceman and writer was born in Catford
- Maxwell Confait, Colin Lattimore, Ronal Leighton and Ahmet Salih. See The Murder of Maxwell Confait.
- Robert Cooper, who now lives in carlisle
- Ethel Le Neve.[4]
- Frank Pullen, the property developer and racehorse owner was born in Catford and opened the first of his shops on Catford Broadway.
- Cat Stevens lived in a flat above a Catford furniture shop in the early sixties
- Bradley Wright-Philips born In Lewisham hospital (In Catford), Brother of former Chelsea midfielder Shaun Wright-Philips and son of Ian Wright. He is also a footballer
- Jem Karacan, Turkish international footballer
[edit] Sport
Catford Stadium was one of the most famous greyhound racing venues in the UK until its closure in 2005. It also hosted boxing and several other sporting events.
Catford Southend F.C. were a once successful non-league side who groundshared with Charlton Athletic at The Mount stadium and nearly merged with. However, the deal was scuppered and Charton went onto Football League success while Catford Southend fell into obscurity. The most prominent Sunday League side now in Catford is Catford Strollers F.C. Catford also boast a large 5-a-side center with many teams. Catford Saints were a professional baseball side playing in the London Major Baseball League in the early 20th century.
The Catford Cycling Club[5] was founded in 1886 and rose to European promience. In 1894 they built their own track south of Brownhill Road complete with a magnificent Pagoda grandstand. However, by the 1950s the majority of the track had been built over yet the club still flourishes to this day.[6]
Cricket, bowls and tennis are represented in Catford in the form of Catford Wanderers and Catford and Cyphers sports clubs. Catford also has a skating club. Kent County Cricket Club have played at Catford several times in the past.
[edit] Transport links
Catford is well connected for public transport, with two adjacent stations where railway lines cross (but do not interchange). Catford railway station is on the route between Blackfriars station and Sevenoaks via Bromley South, while Catford Bridge railway station is on the Mid-Kent line to Hayes from Charing Cross and Cannon Street stations. As well as the railway stations there is Catford bus garage, providing many routes towards Central London and out towards Bromley.
Nearest railway stations
- Catford railway station
- Catford Bridge railway station
- Ladywell railway station
- Hither Green railway station
Bus routes
- 47 Catford Garage - Shoreditch via Deptford
- 54 Elmers End - Woolwich via Beckenham and Blackheath
- 75 West Croydon - Lewisham via Sydenham
- 124 Eltham - Catford (St. Dunstans College) via Mottingham, Grove Park and Torridon Road
- 136 Grove Park - Peckham via Goldsmith's College
- 138 Coney Hall - Catford via Bromley South and Downham
- 160 Catford Bridge Station - Sidcup via Brownhill Road and Eltham.
- 171 Catford Garage - Holborn Station via Brockley, Peckham and Waterloo
- 181 Grove Park - Lewisham via Downham (no longer terminates at Downham)
- 185 Lewisham - Victoria via Dulwich
- 199 Catford Garage - Canada Water/Surrey Quays via Greenwich
- 202 Crystal Palace - Blackheath
- 208 Lewisham - Orpington via Catford and Bromley (at peak times half the bus fleet run Lewisham-Catford-Bromley whilst the other half of the fleet run Catford-Bromley-Orpington so at peak times Lewisham-Orpington would require a change of buses)
- 284 Lewisham - Grove Park via Crofton Park and Verdant Lane
- 336 Catford - Locks Bottom via Bromley
- N36 Queen's Park - Grove Park via Paddington, Trafalgar Square, Victoria, Vauxhall, Kennington, Peckham, Lewisham, Catford and Downham
- N47 Trafalgar Square - St Mary Cray via Aldwych, Ludgate Circus, Bank, Cannon Street, Monument, London Bridge, Surrey Quays, Deptford, Lewisham, Catford, Downham, Bromley, Petts Wood and Orpington
- N171 Tottenham Court Road - Catford Town Hall (some services to Catford Bus Garage) via Aldwych, Peckham, Brockley and Crofton Park (no longer serves Sandhurst Road or Hither Green)
[edit] Nearest towns
- Bellingham
- Blackheath
- Brockley
- Crofton Park
- Eltham
- Forest Hill
- Hither Green
- Grove Park
- Ladywell
- Lee
- Lewisham
- Sydenham
[edit] References
- ^ "More readers' books of the year". The Guardian. 2005-12-31. http://books.guardian.co.uk/booksoftheyear2005/story/0,,1675582,00.html. Retrieved on 2008-07-07.
- ^ "Catford Lectures". 2008-01-04. http://www.biblecentre.org/studymeetings/catford_lectures.htm. Retrieved on 2008-07-07.
- ^ "Lewisham Council - Population and statistics". http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/CommunityAndLiving/PopulationAndStatistics/. Retrieved on 2009-05-11.
- ^ "Inside story: last refuge for a killer's mistress". The Telegraph. 2002-01-30. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/main.jhtml?xml=/property/2002/01/30/pinside26.xml. Retrieved on 2008-07-07.
- ^ "Catford Cycling Club". http://www.catfordcc.co.uk/. Retrieved on 2008-07-07.
- ^ "History of Catford Cycling Club". Archived from the original on 2007-02-09. http://web.archive.org/web/20070209234147/http://www.halftoldtales.co.uk/newhistory.htm.
[edit] External links
- Catford from the OpenStreetMap
- Catford - a short history from Ideal Homes website
- History of Catford from The South London Guide
- Catford Dog Track from Derelict London website
- Catford's 'Lewisham Hippodrome' (now demolished) from Ideal Homes website
- Parish church of the part of Catford south of Catford bridge
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