Time Walk
An Old Road That Outlasted Its Own Station
A railway station once carried this lane's name, then quietly gave it back. Today the lane ends at a busy junction with Streatham High Road, lined with shopping parades, flats above the shops, and a 1930s pub standing on the corner.
Underneath the shopfronts lies something older: this was once part of a trackway linking Streatham to Mitcham, long before the railway or the shops arrived. That older path is the thread worth following back.
Name Origin
A Name Without an Explanation
No source consulted here explains why the lane is called Greyhound Lane. The name was already attached to it by 1862, when a nearby railway station opened as "Greyhound Lane" station. A pub called The Greyhound stands at the lane's junction with Streatham High Road, but the sources used here do not state which came first, the lane's name or the pub's.
History
From Trackway to Terminus
Greyhound Lane began as part of a route that linked Streatham to Mitcham, long before it was built up. By the mid-19th century it had lent its name to the railway, and in 1862 a new station opened nearby as "Greyhound Lane" station. The name did not last: in 1875 the station was renamed "Streatham".
The junction where the lane meets Streatham High Road is framed by a mix of 19th and early 20th-century buildings, including a former bank and The Greyhound public house, built in 1930.
The railway station now called Streatham Common opened in 1862 under the name "Greyhound Lane" — borrowed from this street — before being renamed just thirteen years later.
Culture
A Pub Built to Impress
The pub is singled out in Lambeth's local heritage listing as an attractive local landmark, part of the handsome mix of buildings — including a former bank — that frames this corner.
Recent Times
Potential and Poor Signage
Lambeth's 2017 character appraisal found a lane of contrasts. It praised the lane's generous public realm as having "much potential", but criticised the shops' signage as generally poor in quality and design, failing to sit well with the buildings behind it.
Today
Still a Working Corner
Greyhound Lane remains a working shopping street, with 19th and 20th-century parades carrying flats above the shops. It still ends at a busy junction with Streatham High Road, as full of pedestrians and traffic as the appraisal found it. The Greyhound still stands at the corner — the one fixed point in a lane whose own name once belonged, briefly, to a railway station instead.
On the Map
Greyhound Lane Then & Now
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it called Greyhound Lane?
The sources used here do not explain the name. It was already in use by 1862, when a nearby railway station opened as "Greyhound Lane" station, and a pub called The Greyhound was later built at its junction with Streatham High Road.
What is Greyhound Lane known for?
It is known for The Greyhound, a 1930s pub in the St Leonards Vernacular revival style, and for having briefly given its name to the railway station now called Streatham Common.
What happened to Greyhound Lane station?
A station near the lane opened in 1862 under the name "Greyhound Lane". It was renamed "Streatham" in 1875 and today is known as Streatham Common station.