Time Walk
A Street Built to Point at a Steeple
This short road off Brixton Road was laid out purely to lead the eye to a church. Walking it today, three things stand out: pairs of modest houses, a run of Gothic-windowed villas, and a gap in the terrace where the pattern suddenly breaks.
That gap is the clue to what lies beneath the surface here — a Victorian street plan interrupted by the Second World War. The reason for the road's very existence, though, is older: a sightline to a church tower that still terminates the view, and still has no explained name.
Name Origin
A Name the Records Don't Explain
The sources used here do not explain the name Lorn. What they do establish is the road's purpose: it was laid out about 1840 as an approach to St. Michael's Church from Brixton Road, with the church's steeple placed in line with the road so it would be visible along its length.
History
The Jackson and Slade Estates
Lorn Road was formed about 1840, part of the development of the Jackson and Slade estates in Brixton. James P. Macdougall, admitted as trustee of Randle Jackson's property in 1837, was granted licence to make roads including Lorn Road and Groveway. Building followed quickly: pairs of plain brick houses went up shortly after the street was formed.
At Nos. 15, 25, 27 and 29, William Ball Docter of Cowley Road built four pairs of houses about 1843, mostly of the lighter, more decorative cottages ornés type. Further along, Nos. 31, 33, 37 and 39 are a mid-19th-century Gothic-style pair of pairs, and Nos. 41 and 43 a further pair.
The street did not survive the Second World War intact: Nos. 17–23 were destroyed, leaving Nos. 15, 25, 27 and 29 as survivors of Docter's original four pairs.
Of the four original pairs of houses built in 1843 by William Ball Docter, only Nos. 15, 25, 27 and 29 remain — the houses in between, Nos. 17-23, were destroyed during the Second World War.
Culture
Illusionists and a Playground Mural
A mural at No. 49, painted in 1982 by Gordon Wilkinson and Sarah Faulkner, features the people who worked and played at the Slade Gardens Adventure Playground.
People
A Stage Act and a Family's Loss
Erle and Olivette Livingstone brought their act to No. 43 for the duration of their Brixton Theatre contract in 1897-98. At No. 28, decades later, Denise Helen Martha Amourdedieu died at the age of 20 on 6 November 1940, in the home of her parents Paul and Sarah Amourdedieu.
On the Map
Lorn Road Then & Now
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it called Lorn Road?
The sources used here do not explain the origin of the name Lorn. What is documented is the road's purpose: it was built about 1840 as a direct approach to St. Michael's Church from Brixton Road.
What is Lorn Road known for?
Its surviving mid-19th-century cottages ornés and Gothic-style villas, several Grade II listed, and a deliberate sightline from the road to the steeple of St. Michael's Church.
When was Lorn Road built?
About 1840, under a licence granted in 1837 to James P. Macdougall, trustee of Randle Jackson's estate, to make roads including Lorn Road and Groveway.
Why are some houses missing from the original terrace?
Nos. 17-23 Lorn Road were destroyed during the Second World War (1939-45); only Nos. 15, 25, 27 and 29 survive from the original four pairs built about 1843.