Brixton Hill - History

History

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 make up Rush Common — an area of common land that, 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. 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 surviving tram shed, which can still be seen near the junction of Brixton Hill with Christchurch Road, was designed by London County Council Tramways' architect G. Topham Forest, and had a capacity of 30 trams.