View source for Catford

{{Short description|District in south east London, England}}
{{About|a district in London|the Scottish linguist and phonetician|J. C. Catford}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox UK place
| official_name            = Catford
| static_image_name        = Catford gyratory.jpg
| static_image_width       = <!-- allows control of the image width. Should be omitted in most cases (will default to 240) -->
| static_image_caption     = The town centre, with the 'village green' including water pump just visible to the left
| static_image_alt         = Catford town centre
| country                  = England
| map_type                 = Greater London
| region                   = London
| population               = 44,905
| population_ref           = ([[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 Census]])<ref>Catford is made up of 3 wards in the London Borough of Lewisham: Bellingham, Catford South, and Rushey Green. {{cite web|url=http://data.london.gov.uk/2011-census-ward-pop |title=2011 Census Ward Population Estimates &#124; London DataStore |access-date=9 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222202755/http://data.london.gov.uk/2011-census-ward-pop |archive-date=22 February 2014 |df=dmy }}</ref>
| coordinates              = {{coord|51.4452|-0.0207|display=inline,title}}
| os_grid_reference        = TQ385735
| post_town                = LONDON
| postcode_area            = SE
| postcode_district        = SE6
| london_borough           = Lewisham
| dial_code                = 020
| constituency_westminster = [[Lewisham East (UK Parliament constituency)|Lewisham East]]
}}
'''Catford''' is a district in south east [[London]], England, and the administrative centre of the [[London Borough of Lewisham]]. It is southwest of [[Lewisham]] itself, mostly in the [[Rushey Green (ward)|Rushey Green]] and Catford South [[Ward (electoral subdivision)|wards]]. The population of Catford, including [[Bellingham, London|Bellingham]], was 44,905 in 2011.
Catford covers most of [[SE postcode area|SE6 postcode district]]. The area is identified in the [[London Plan]] as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.london.gov.uk/thelondonplan/docs/londonplan08.pdf |author=Mayor of London |author-link=Mayor of London |publisher=[[Greater London Authority]] |title=London Plan (Consolidated with Alterations since 2004) |date=February 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100602000714/http://www.london.gov.uk/thelondonplan/docs/londonplan08.pdf |archive-date=2 June 2010 |df=dmy }}</ref>
==History==
===Toponymy===
[[File:Lewisham Met. B Ward Map 1916.svg|thumb|A map showing the Catford ward of Lewisham Metropolitan Borough as it appeared in 1916.]]
The origin of the name is unknown. Speculation suggests it may derive from the place where [[cattle]] [[Ford (crossing)|crossed the river]] [[River Ravensbourne|Ravensbourne]] in Anglo-Saxon times or from wild cats using the river crossing.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.londonslostrivers.com/river-ravensbourne.html |title=London's Lesser Known Rivers - The Ravensbourne |last=Talling |first=Paul |website=London's Lost Rivers |access-date=17 July 2017}}</ref><ref name="mylondon-catfordcat">{{cite news |last1=Llewelyn |first1=James |title=The true story behind the famous Catford cat statue |url=https://www.mylondon.news/news/south-london-news/true-story-behind-famous-catford-19194087 |access-date=15 November 2021 |work=MyLondon |date=30 October 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=O "Brien |first1=Cyril |title=A History of London Boroughs Through Beer Goggles |date=March 2022 |publisher=Austin Macauley Publishers |location=Google Books |isbn=978-1398405448 |chapter=2 |edition=South East }}</ref>
==Governance==
Catford is covered by the [[Rushey Green (ward)|Rushey Green]] and Catford South wards in the London Borough of Lewisham. It also makes up a large part of the [[Lewisham East (UK Parliament constituency)|Lewisham East]] constituency.
==Built environment==
[[File:John Betjeman Reads William Horton's Petition to Save Lewisham Town Hall, 1961.jpg|thumb|[[John Betjeman]] reads [[William Newman-Norton|William Norton]]'s Petition to Save [[Lewisham Town Hall]], 1961]]
===Early developments===
[[File:Broadway Theatre, Catford, SE6 (6877523774).jpg|thumb|The Broadway Theatre]]
[[Broadway Theatre, Catford|Broadway Theatre]] is an [[art deco]] building adjoining the town hall. It is a curved stone structure decorated with shields and heraldic emblems and topped with a copper-green spire. It was opened in 1932 as the Concert Hall and is now a [[Grade II listed]] building. The interior is in art deco style. The last cinema in the borough (before the 2019 launch of Catford Mews) stood diagonally opposite the theatre until its closure in 2002. Catford also boasts a large Gothic [[police station]]. In 2006, a large blue pipe sculpture was unveiled outside [[Eros House]], which was another former cinema (The Eros Cinema), and the Lewisham Hippodrome theatre.<ref>{{cite web|title=Theatres in Lewisham and Catford|url=http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/LewishamAndCatfordTheatres.htm#hipp|publisher=The Music Hall and Theatre History Website|access-date=23 February 2016}}</ref>
The 1960s and 70s had a considerable impact on the architecture of Catford. The old [[Lewisham Town Hall|Town Hall]] of 1875, was replaced by the current Civic Suite in 1968, soon after the merger of the metropolitan boroughs of [[Lewisham]] and [[Deptford]]. Laurence House, where many of the [[Lewisham Council]] functions are housed including the offices of the [[Mayor of Lewisham]] and the Young Mayors of Lewisham, is on the site of old St Laurence's Church. The original Gothic [[Church of England|C of E]] St. Laurence Church was located where Laurence House is today (known as the Catford Cathedral), but as part of the urban renewal of Catford in the 1960s, the church is now housed in a more modern style building 200 metres down Bromley Road. [[File:St Laurence, Bromley Road, Catford (geograph 2258443).jpg|thumb|The 1968 St Laurence Church]]
In Rushey Green the old village water hand-pump from the 1850s survives.
At the end of [[World War II]], the 186-bungalow [[Excalibur Estate]] was laid out in Catford, and by 2011 was the largest surviving [[Prefabs in the United Kingdom|prefab estate]] in Britain. However, in spite of the opposition of many residents,<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/8701977/Bulldozers-home-in-on-historic-prefab-estate.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110820061247/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/8701977/Bulldozers-home-in-on-historic-prefab-estate.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 August 2011 |location=London |work=The Daily Telegraph |first=Will |last=Storr |title=Bulldozers home in on historic prefab estate |date=19 August 2011}}</ref> all are due for demolition, apart from six with [[Listed building|Grade II listing]]. A new estate on the site is due for completion by the mid 2020's.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mulligan |first=Euan O'Byrne |date=20 June 2022 |title=Excalibur Estate: Catford redevelopment enters new phase |url=https://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/19455171.excalibur-estate-catford-redevelopment-enters-new-phase/ |access-date=19 November 2022 |work=www.thisislocallondon.co.uk }}</ref>
===Brutalist architecture===
A few examples of [[Brutalist architecture]] survive including the Catford shopping centre and Milford Towers, designed by the architect [[Owen Luder]] in 1974. The design was to make it ''the [[Barbican Estate|Barbican]] of the south''.
Architecture critic [[Ian Nairn]] praised Eros House (Owen Luder, 1962) as:
<blockquote>A monster sat down in Catford and just what the place needed. No offence meant: this southward extension of Lewisham High Street badly wanted stiffening. Now there is a punchy concrete focus ('you know, that funny new building') both close to and at a distance, from the desolate heights of the Downham Estate, where it stands straight to the afternoon sun. Rough concrete is put through all its paces, front convex eaves on Sainsbury's to a staircase tower which is either afflicted with an astounding set of visual distortions or is actually leaning. Again, no offence meant. Unlike many other avant-garde buildings, particularly in the universities, this one is done from real conviction, not from a desire for self-advertisement. The gaunt honesty of those projecting concrete frames carrying boxed-out bow windows persists. It is not done at you and it transforms the surroundings instead of despising them. This most craggy and uncompromising of London buildings turns out to be full of firm gentleness.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nairn |first1=I. A. |title=Nairn's London |date=2014 |publisher=Penguin Books |location=London |isbn=9780141396163}}</ref></blockquote>
In 2015 [[Lewisham Council]] decided to demolish Milford Towers, as the housing estate was in disrepair and the land could be better used to meet the needs of local residents.<ref>{{cite web|title=Milford Towers|url=http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/inmyarea/regeneration/Catford-regeneration/Pages/Milford-Towers.aspx|publisher=Lewisham Council|access-date=23 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304190601/http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/inmyarea/regeneration/Catford-regeneration/Pages/Milford-Towers.aspx|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2018 the estate was however refurbished, with demolition still planned in the longer-term.<ref>{{cite web|title='Barbican of the South', a strong example of post-war British brutalism|url=https://crl-aus.com/milford-towers.php|publisher=CRL|access-date=18 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525104217/https://crl-aus.com/milford-towers.php|archive-date=25 May 2022|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===Landmarks===
[[File:The Catford Cat sign.jpg|thumb|The Catford Cat – a statue in Catford town centre, depicting a giant cat clawing at the Catford Centre sign.]]
One Catford landmark is the Catford Cat, a giant [[Fiberglass|fibreglass]] sculpture of a black cat above the entrance to the Catford [[Shopping mall| centre]]. There is also a street market on Catford Broadway.
Between 1932 and 2003, [[Catford Stadium]] was a successful [[greyhound racing]] track, but was closed and then destroyed by fire in 2005<ref>{{cite web |date=25 May 2005 |work=News Shopper |url=http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/599584.stadium_is_destroyed/ |title=Stadium is destroyed}}</ref> and ultimately demolished to make way for new housing.
Catford's oldest pub is the Black Horse and Harrow (now named The Ninth Life). The Catford Bridge Tavern is another heritage listed building close to the old dog track; this [[mock tudor]] pub burnt down in March 2015, but has since been refurbished and reopened in April 2017.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.london24.com/news/huge_fire_destroys_catford_bridge_tavern_1_3975067 |title=VIDEO: Watch huge fire destroy Catford Bridge Tavern - News - London 24 |access-date=5 September 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316162300/http://www.london24.com/news/huge_fire_destroys_catford_bridge_tavern_1_3975067 |archive-date=16 March 2015 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Nearby, is [[St Dunstan's College]].
The area was once home to the [[Catford Studios]], producing films during the [[silent era]]. Catford also used to have a cinema diametric to the theatre. Catford was also satirised in ''[[The Chap]]'' magazine in a series called 'A Year in Catford' named after [[Peter Mayle]]'s best-seller ''A Year in Provence''. The magazine poked fun at Catford's mundanity.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}
==Regeneration==
Catford town centre is a priority area for regeneration in the [[London Borough of Lewisham]].<ref name=Catford_regeneration>{{cite web | url=http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/inmyarea/regeneration/catford-regeneration/Pages/default.aspx | author=London Borough of Lewisham | author-link=London Borough of Lewisham | publisher=[[London Borough of Lewisham]] | title=Catford Regeneration | date=Spring 2014 | access-date=23 March 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140324001244/http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/inmyarea/regeneration/catford-regeneration/Pages/default.aspx | archive-date=24 March 2014 | url-status=dead }}</ref> Several key sites around the town centre have been identified for redevelopment – Milford Towers, Catford Island, The Civic Centre, [[Lewisham Town Hall]] and The "Wickes" site have all been highlighted for significant change in the proposed Catford Plan.<ref name=Catford_Plan>{{cite web | url=http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/myservices/planning/policy/LDF/catford/Pages/Proposed-submission.aspx | author=London Borough of Lewisham | author-link=London Borough of Lewisham | publisher=[[London Borough of Lewisham]] | title=Catford Town Centre Plan | access-date=23 March 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140318075135/http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/myservices/planning/policy/LDF/catford/Pages/Proposed-submission.aspx | archive-date=18 March 2014 | url-status=dead }}</ref>
The council's aspiration is for the complete redevelopment of the Catford Shopping Centre and Milford Towers, which would require demolition of both plus the car parks and associated buildings along Thomas Lane. However, attempts to regenerate Catford have been hampered by various complex issues such as finance and the number of different landowners in and around the town centre.
==Transport==
===Rail===
Catford is served by two railway stations, [[Catford railway station|Catford]] and [[Catford Bridge railway station|Catford Bridge]]. Catford provides the area with [[Thameslink]] services to [[Kentish Town railway station|Kentish Town]], [[Blackfriars railway station|London Blackfriars]], [[Orpington railway station|Orpington]] via [[Bromley South railway station|Bromley South]] and to [[Sevenoaks railway station|Sevenoaks]] via Bromley South and [[Swanley railway station|Swanley]]. Catford Bridge is served by [[Southeastern (train operating company)|Southeastern]] services to [[Charing Cross railway station|London Charing Cross]], [[Cannon Street railway station|London Cannon Street]] via [[Lewisham railway station|Lewisham]] and to [[Hayes railway station|Hayes]].
===Buses===
Catford is served by many [[Transport for London]] bus routes.<ref>[http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaround/maps/buses/pdf/catford-2046.pdf TFL Bus Route Map from Catford]</ref>
===Road===
Catford's main road is the A205 [[South Circular Road, London|South Circular]] which crosses South London, running from Woolwich in the east to the junction of the A406 ([[North Circular Road, London|North Circular Road]]), the M4 and the A4 at [[Gunnersbury]] in the west.
===Proposed transport links===
====Bakerloo line extension====
There are proposals for a [[Bakerloo line extension]] to [[Lewisham station|Lewisham]], with a possible longer-term second phase to [[Catford railway station| Catford]] and Hayes. As of 2022, no final decisions had been made.<ref>{{Cite news |date=20 May 2021 |title=Bakerloo line extension |url=https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/how-we-work/planning-for-the-future/bakerloo-line-extension |access-date=19 November 2022 |work=tfl.gov.uk }}</ref>
====Docklands Light Railway extension====
[[Transport for London]] (TfL) are currently considering the extension of the [[Docklands Light Railway]] from [[Lewisham]] to [[Bromley]], with the first phase being from [[Lewisham]] to Catford. So far TfL have not expressed a preferred route, provided detailed plans, or indicated costs and funding. [[Lewisham Council]] has suggested that any route should be underground to reduce physical and visual impact.{{citation needed|date=May 2015}}
==Education==
[[File:FrontageofStDunstansCollege.jpg|thumb|St Dunstan's College]]
===Local authority maintained schools===
The local council maintains [[Conisborough College]] and [[Greenvale School]].
===Independent schools===
Catford has two [[independent schools]], [[St Dunstan's College]] and a small [[faith school]], Springfield Christian School.
===Parks and green spaces===
====River Pool Linear Park====
The walk follows the River Pool downstream from the Ravensbourne River. The banking has been planted with native trees and shrubs, herbaceous planting, wild flower grassland and wetland marginal planting. The park forms part of the Waterlink Way which forms a significant section of the river from [[Sydenham, London|Sydenham]] to the [[Thames]].
Unlike many of London's rivers, the Pool remains above ground for most of its length. The section of river flows through a linear park from Southend Lane to Catford Hill.
====[[Mountsfield Park]]====
In the 1920s, [[Charlton Athletic F.C.]] played at [[The Mount (stadium)]] in the park. The Council holds its annual People's Day event here in July.
====[[Ladywell Fields]]====
The park consists of three fields with a river running through them, and is next to [[University Hospital Lewisham]]. The middle field contains one of the last established rare [[Ulmus × hollandica|Dutch Elm]] trees in London.
====Iona Close Orchard====
Iona Close Orchard is a preserved Victorian garden. In common with most old orchards, the site is of high nature conservation value. The houses to which it originally belonged dated to about 1825.
===Sport===
====Facilities====
The 20-acre Jubilee Ground is operated by [[St Dunstan's College]].
[[Catford Stadium]] was one of the greyhound racing venues in the UK until its closure and subsequent demolition in 2005. It also hosted boxing and several other sporting events.
====Local sports teams====
Catford has a [[Non-League football]] club [[Lewisham Borough F.C.]] who play at the Ladywell Arena.
[[Kent County Cricket Club]] have played at Catford several times in the past.
The Catford Cycling Club<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catfordcc.co.uk/ |title=Catford Cycling Club |access-date=7 July 2008 }}</ref> was founded in 1886. In 1894 they built their own track south of [[Brownhill Road]] with a [[pagoda]] [[grandstand]]. By the 1950s the majority of the track had been built over but the club still exists.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.halftoldtales.co.uk/newhistory.htm |title=History of Catford Cycling Club |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070209234147/http://www.halftoldtales.co.uk/newhistory.htm |archive-date=9 February 2007 }}</ref>
==Gallery==
<gallery>
Catford Broadway (9175914595).jpg|Catford Broadway
Catford Dog Track - geograph.org.uk - 351211.jpg|Former Catford Stadium, destroyed by fire in 2005
16 Brownhill Road, Catford, LB Lewisham 1.11.2021.jpg|"Nothing Without Industry" the Catford slogan at 16 Brownhill Road, Catford
Salvation Army Hall, Catford (built 1925) - geograph.org.uk - 3916231.jpg|Salvation Army building, 23-25 Brownhill Road, constructed in 1925
Eros House (9175916827) persp slightly corr.jpg|[[Eros House]]
Post-war prefabs, Excalibur Estate, Catford - geograph.org.uk - 3655887.jpg|Post-war [[Prefabricated building|prefab]] houses of the [[Excalibur Estate]]
</gallery>
==Notable residents==
* [[Jak Airport]], guitarist of punk band [[X-Ray Spex]] and [[New wave music|new wave]] band [[Classix Nouveaux]], was born and raised there.
* [[Ray BLK]], British singer and songwriter.
* [[Captain (Royal Navy)|Captain]] [[William Colbeck (seaman)]] (1871–1930), Antarctic explorer, lived in Inchmery Road. His sons went to St Dunstan's.
* Maxwell Confait, Colin Lattimore, Ronal Leighton and Ahmet Salih. See [[The Murder of Maxwell Confait]].
* [[Henry Cooper]], British heavyweight boxer came from the area.
* [[Ernest Christopher Dowson]], poet and decadent lived and died in Catford. Dowson introduced the phrases 'Days of wine and roses' and 'Gone with the wind'.
* [[Hughroy Currie]] (Boxer), British Heavyweight Champion in 1985-86. Lived in Catford, Brockley and briefly Bromley
* [[Leslie Dwyer]], actor, was born in Catford.
* [[Ben Elton]], comedian and writer, was born in Catford in 1959.
* [[Henry Forster, 1st Baron Forster]] – Forster Park is named after him.
* [[Joe Gomez (footballer)|Joe Gomez]], defender for [[Liverpool F.C.]] Born in Catford.
* [[Japan (band)]], 1980s new wave band. Vocalist [[David Sylvian]], bassist [[Mick Karn]], drummer [[Steve Jansen]] and keyboardist [[Richard Barbieri]] all grew up in Catford and attended Catford Boys School.
* [[Anthony Jones (photographer)|Anthony Jones]], art photographer lives in the area.
* [[Jem Karacan]], international footballer, born in Catford.
* [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|George Arthur Knowland]], recipient of the [[Victoria Cross]].
* [[Ethel Le Neve]], mistress of Dr Crippen, hanged for the murder of his wife.<ref>{{cite news |first= Roger |last= Wilkes |title= Inside story: last refuge for a killer's mistress |date=30 January 2002 |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |url =https://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/main.jhtml?xml=/property/2002/01/30/pinside26.xml |archive-url =https://archive.today/20120914134449/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/main.jhtml?xml=/property/2002/01/30/pinside26.xml |url-status =dead |archive-date =14 September 2012 |access-date = 7 July 2008 |location=London}}</ref>
* [[Lucy Mangan]] columnist for The Guardian newspaper lived in Catford for more than thirty years.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/apr/26/familyandrelationships1 | work=The Guardian | location=London | title=Catford: a tribute (yes, really) | first=Lucy | last=Mangan | date=26 April 2008 | access-date=28 April 2010}}</ref>
* [[Andy McNab]], former serviceman in the [[Special Air Service]] (SAS) and writer was born in Catford.
* [[Alexander McQueen]], fashion designer was born in Lewisham
* [[Jacqui McShee]], folk singer and co-founder of [[Pentangle (band)|Pentangle]].
* [[Spike Milligan]] (1918–2002), comedian and writer went to school at Catford's Brownhill Boys' School. He claimed to have lived in Catford and wrote about the area in his books and sketches. In reality he lived in nearby [[Honor Oak]].
* [[Frank Pullen]], the property developer and racehorse owner was born in Catford and opened the first of his shops on Catford Broadway.
* [[Bernard Sunley]], property developer and philanthropist, born in Catford in 1910.
* [[Robin Trower]], Guitarist, Procol Harum, and extensive solo career.
* Tom Stabb, co-host of [[Alan Partridge]]-based podcast 'Monkey Tennis' resides in Catford.
* [[Robert Stanford Tuck]], Second World War fighter ace.
* [[Chris Welch]], music journalist and author, was raised in Catford.
==Geography==
{{Geographic location
|title     = '''Districts closest to Catford'''
|Centre    = Catford
|North     = [[Ladywell]]
|Northeast = [[Hither Green]]
|East      = [[Lee, London|Lee]]
|Southeast = [[Southend, London|Southend]]
|South     = [[Bellingham, London|Bellingham]]
|Southwest = [[Sydenham, London|Sydenham]]
|West      = [[Forest Hill, London|Forest Hill]]
|Northwest = [[Honor Oak]]
}}
===Other nearby areas===
{{div col}}
*[[Lewisham]]
*[[Brockley, London|Brockley]]
*[[Ladywell]]
*[[Bellingham, London]]
*[[Downham, London|Downham]]
*[[Grove Park, Lewisham|Grove Park]]
*[[Lee, London]]
*[[Sydenham, London|Sydenham]]
*[[Forest Hill, London|Forest Hill]]
*[[Beckenham]]
*[[Bromley]]
*[[Peckham]]
{{div col end}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Catford}}
* [https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/index.php/Catford Catford] from the [[OpenStreetMap]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060221142415/http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/lewisham/main/catford.htm Catford - a short history from Ideal Homes website]
* [http://www.southlondonguide.co.uk/Catford/history.htm History of Catford from The South London Guide]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060221205742/http://www.derelictlondon.com/pictures_of_london_s_decaying_beauty.htm Catford Dog Track from Derelict London website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060426235642/http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/lewisham/catford/hippodrome.htm Catford's 'Lewisham Hippodrome' (now demolished) from Ideal Homes website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080827220440/http://www.stgeorgechristchurchstpaul.net/ Parish church of the part of Catford south of Catford bridge]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110613154636/http://www.catford.co.uk/ Catford community portal and information web site]
{{LB Lewisham}}
{{London Districts}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Catford| ]]
[[Category:Districts of the London Borough of Lewisham]]
[[Category:Areas of London]]
[[Category:Major centres of London]]