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Hither Green

Hither Green is an area of London, United Kingdom, with a population of around 10,000. It is a predominantly Victorian suburban development forming part of the London Borough of Lewisham 6.6 miles (10.6 km) south east of Charing Cross, to which it is linked directly by rail, and located on the Prime Meridian south of Greenwich.

Hither Green is a classic London suburb (recently included in Time Out magazine's "Hot neighbourhoods") which grew with the expansion of the railways in the 19th century. The area is characterised by late 19th and early 20th century Victorian and Edwardian domestic architecture, most notably the Corbett Estate, built by Scottish MP and social reformer Archibald Cameron Corbett. The railway runs through the centre of the area, with Staplehurst Road and its shopping parade to the east, and Hither Green Lane to the west. The lane dates back to Roman times and runs between the Quaggy and Ravensbourne rivers.

The area benefits from three historic parks - Manor House Gardens and Manor Park to the east, and Mountsfield Park to the west. Bordering on Mountsfield Park is the former site of the grand, neo-Gothic Park Fever Hospital, later called Hither Green Hospital, which dated back to 1878. Today, all that remains of the hospital is the water tower with its large clockfaces (a local landmark which is illuminated at night), and several outbuildings. The main site has recently been redeveloped into apartments and shopping/leisure facilities named Meridian South.

Hither Green is relatively peaceful and situated close to shopping facilities in Blackheath, Lewisham and Catford. It also enjoys fast, frequent transport links to the City and West End as well as connections with the Docklands Light Railway in Lewisham and East London Line in New Cross, which closed in December 2007 and is due to reopen as the London Overground in 2010.

Most of Hither Green, including its railway station, comes under the postcode SE13 with Lewisham, but it also overlaps with SE12 and SE6.

Local facts

Karl Marx and Jimi Hendrix once lived in Hither Green, but not together.
Hollywood actor Jude Law grew up in Hither Green
The area is known for the Hither Green rail crash, in which 49 people were killed in 1967
The largest ever Naan was baked at the Bengal Brasserie Curry House in Hither Green according to the Guinness Book of Records
The Driving Standards Agency runs a driving test centre located in Hither Green - one of the largest in South London - where over 1,000 candidates are tested each month
The Catford Cycling Club was founded in 1886 and rose to European prominence. In 1894 they built their own track south of Brownhill Road complete with a Pagoda grandstand. By the 1950s the majority of the track had been built over yet the club still flourishes to this day

Transportation

Hither Green railway station straddles two main lines into London with frequent services to London Bridge, Charing Cross, Waterloo East, Cannon Street, Lewisham (Docklands Light Railway), and New Cross (East London Line, due to reopen in 2010 as the London Overground). The station exits to Fernbrook Road in the east, and Springbank Road in the west.

During the morning peak hours there up to nine trains per hour leaving for central London. The last train from Charing Cross to Hither Green leaves shortly before 1am. In coming years, the area will also be connected to St Pancras International station as part of the Thameslink Programme.

Hither Green is also served by the following Transport for London contracted London Bus routes: 181, 225 and 273.

To the south, Hither Green is located on the A205 South Circular road.