History of Peckham and Elephant & Castle
Walworth & Elephant and Castle
The area of Walworth which surrounds the Elephant & Castle has more history than first meets the eye. Stone Age people settled in the area about 4,500 years ago and archaeologists believe Walworth was a centre for Stone Age tool making, given the extraordinary amount of stone carved flints that have been found. For many years Walworth was just a village. A map of 1681 shows only a few houses along Walworth Street, which became the Walworth Road. Many residents made their income by selling poultry, wool and honey and locals were allowed to keep their animals on Walworth Common, which has since been built over and is now the Aylesbury Estate.
The 18th and early 19th centuries brought many changes to Walworth. New bridges over the Thames and improved roads made it easy for people to commute by carriage into town. Walworth was famous for producing and selling fresh fruit and vegetables, as the area was not yet built up, much of the area consisted of orchards and gardens. Walworth was also famous for its Zoo, which was the second zoo to open after Regents Park and which Queen Victoria herself once visited.
The Old Kent Road saw its character change during the late Georgian and Victorian eras. It had always been one of the great highways of England. The Old Kent road as well as the Elephant and Castle which was first mentioned in 1760 gradually became busier and busier with the increase in horse drawn passenger and trade coaches. In 1904 came motorised buses and electrified trams although surprisingly the tube was introduced before both of these in 1890.
The first and second World Wars saw Walworth take heavy casualties both civilian, during the London bombings, and in the field. Elephant and Castle was so ravaged by the bombing that it had to be rebuilt practically from scratch, although the Metropolitan Tabernacle managed to survive the Blitz unharmed. The Elephant and Castle traffic scheme came as a result of 1960's planning and dominates the area today.
Camberwell
Camberwell was once one of the more important developments within the borough. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book as being owned by Haimo, half brother to King William. The development had land for ploughing and corn, 63 acres for cows, and woods that fed 60 pigs. Its importance was shown by the fact that it had a church, unlike Dulwich or Peckham. St Giles Church still stands on the same site. It was rebuilt in stone in 1154 before burning down in 1841. The new church which was finished in 1844 was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and contains stained glass windows designed by John Ruskin.
The 19th century saw a number of affluent people moving into the area as the construction of four bridges across the Thames, all made it easier for them to commute to work in Central London. As with much of South London the coming of the trains led to dramatic changes in the landscape. In 1801 the population of Camberwell was 7,059 and a hundred years later it was 259,425. World War II hit Camberwell badly with 937 people killed and nearly all of its buildings damaged. Modern Camberwell is a highly residential area with a shopping centre and a thriving community. It is hard to imagine from Camberwell Green today that the Green was once a traditional village green in a small farming village.
Peckham
Peckham was small at the time of the Domesday Book; it comprised about 240 acres, land for one plough, one villager and three smallholders. It was owned by King Henry I who gave it to his son Robert, Earl of Gloucester, who later married the heiress to Camberwell thus uniting the two proper under royal ownership. Peckham grew in favour as a residential area and in the sixteenth century it became home to some quite well to do people. By the eighteenth century Peckham had developed into a more commercialised area, market gardening in particular being very important and it was well known as a market gardening area for many years.
Even in the nineteenth century Peckham was a "small, quiet, retired village surrounded by fields". Stage coaches travelled with an armed guard between Peckham and London to give protection from highwaymen. The majority of the villagers were employed on the land though there was also a brickfield clay from this field that was used to form bricks. Life was hard, poverty was all too often the reality for many.
Peaceful life began to be disrupted in 1833 when a gas works opened up on the Old Kent Road. Whilst it lit some local roads it would be many years before most homes had gas. As the transport system improved more people were able to move to the suburbs and Peckham began to grow. During the last thirty years of the nineteenth century, the last of the market gardens and fields vanished under housing developments of varying quality.
To preserve some greenery Peckham Rye was bought in 1868 and maintained as common land. It was so popular that that it became dangerously overcrowded on holidays that in 1894 Homestall Farm was purchased and opened as Peckham Rye Park. In recent years there have been dramatic changes in Peckham with new homes being constructed and a new library and Peckham Pulse providing increased facilities for the community.
