Herne Hill

Herne Hill is approximately four miles from Charing Cross and is bordered by Brixton, Camberwell, Dulwich, and Tulse Hill. It straddles the boundary between the boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark. Today it is a thriving suburb of independent shops, bars, parks and densely-packed Victorian housing. Yet a century and a half ago, the area was almost entirely rural—large estates set in spacious grounds, accessible only by carriage.

2015

Ferndene Road, Herne Hill

Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0

2018

Herne Hill, A215

Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0

Today

Frankfurt Rd — near Herne Hill

Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0

The transformation happened suddenly. The arrival of the London, Chatham & Dover Railway in 1862 transformed Herne Hill; cheap and convenient access to London Victoria, the City of London, Kent and south-west London created demand for middle-class housing, and the terraced streets that now characterise the area were constructed in the decades after the opening of Herne Hill station. The estates disappeared almost entirely. What was once a destination only for merchants and wealthy families became the commuter landscape it remains today.

In Rocque's 1746 map, the area is shown as "Island Green", probably reflecting the presence of the River Effra and smaller tributaries. The earliest documented reference to "Herne Hill" is in two fire insurance policies issued by the Sun Insurance Company in 1792 (where the spelling is "Hearns" and "Herns" Hill). The name’s origin, however, remains uncertain.

It may be that the River Effra—now sadly almost all underground—attracted large numbers of herons, so that a hillock by the river came to be known as Heron Hill. Another interpretation of the name is "hill by a nook of land" deriving from the Old English hyrne (corner, angle) hyll. A third possibility is that the present name came from a prominent Dulwich family, the Hernes. All three explanations are plausible; none is certain. What is certain is that the name arrived late—after 1746—when the area was still green and mapped as something else entirely.

The area now known as Herne Hill was part of the Manor of Milkwell, which existed from at least 1291, and was a mixture of farms and woodland until the late 18th century. In 1783, Samuel Sanders (a timber merchant) bought the land now occupied by Denmark Hill and Herne Hill from the Manor; he then began granting leases for large plots of land to wealthy families. By the mid-19th century, the road from the modern Herne Hill Junction to Denmark Hill was lined with substantial villas set in spacious grounds and the area had become a prosperous suburb for the merchant class. (John Ruskin grew up, from the age of 4, in a house on Herne Hill, until moving in 1842 to a large villa on Denmark Hill).

John Ruskin, a local resident, deplored the area’s decline and the expansion of cheap housing. However, in 1885 he was still able to describe Herne Hill as "a rustic eminence four miles south of the Standard in Cornhill" of which "the leafy seclusion remains unchanged to this day". Despite his protests, the transformation was irreversible. The opening of the railway station, which provided convenient and cheap access to central London, started the urbanisation of Herne Hill. All of the large estates were eventually cleared to make way for many smaller houses.

The associated railway viaduct is noteworthy; The Building News stated in 1863 that the viaduct was "one of the most ornamental pieces of work we have ever seen attempted on a railway" for its fine brickwork. The Herne Hill Velodrome is one of the oldest cycling tracks in the world, having been built in 1891 by George Hillier, an amateur racer. It hosted the track cycling events in the 1948 Summer Olympics and was briefly the home of Crystal Palace Football Club during World War I. Herne Hill is the only surviving sports venue from the 1948 Olympics.

John Ruskin grew up, from the age of 4, in a house on Herne Hill, until moving in 1842 to a large villa on Denmark Hill. In 1894, Sam Mussabini was appointed coach to the Dunlop cycling team which trained at the Herne Hill Velodrome. In 1913, Mussabini was appointed coach to the Polytechnic Harriers at the Herne Hill athletics track, which ran round the inside of the Velodrome cycle track. Here he trained athletes, including the fourteen-year-old Harold Abrahams. Mussabini was later immortalised in the film Chariots of Fire, in which he was played by actor Ian Holm.

The Half Moon public house in Half Moon Lane was built in 1896 (although a tavern has existed on the site since the 17th century) and was Grade II* listed in 1998. The pub was formerly a popular live music venue and hosted a boxing gym for more than 50 years.

During the early morning of 7 August 2013, an 88-year-old 0.9 m diameter water main on Half Moon Lane burst, flooding Herne Hill, Dulwich Road and Norwood Road along with 36 properties (including the Half Moon public house) to create a scene described as "biblical" by local residents. Thames Water admitted liability and estimated the total cost of the damage to be around £4 million. The Half Moon reopened in March 2017, following a vigorous local campaign to save it as a pub; Southwark Council has designated it an asset of community value.

The velodrome faced a different crisis. After decades of decline, the venue was threatened with closure in 2010 due to the poor state of the facilities. The velodrome was extensively refurbished between 2011 and 2017, when the 450m banked asphalt track was resurfaced. Floodlights were installed and a new pavilion built to accommodate changing rooms, offices, a café, and bike storage facilities. Today, it is one of the most famous velodromes in the UK, and is widely regarded as the spiritual home of British cycling.

Herne Hill remains a landscape of Victorian terraces, built in response to cheap railway fares and the demand for working-class housing. Today, Herne Hill is a lively, vibrant and diverse community of around 12,000 people, much sought after as a place to live. It has a wide range of independent shops, bars, restaurants, parks and open spaces. Brockwell Hall and the land surrounding it were opened to the public in 1891 after being purchased by London County Council. Brockwell Park hosts the annual Lambeth Country Show and was the site of London's Gay Pride festival for several years in the 1990s.

The street itself is part of the A215, a major arterial route through south London. The park also houses Brockwell Lido, a 1937 open-air swimming-pool that faces on to Dulwich Road, Grade II listed in 2003. Walking distance from the station, the velodrome and Brockwell Park remain central to the area's identity—one tied to sport, open space, and community. The railway that once tore through rural estates created a thriving, permanent suburb.