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Crofton Park is a predominantly residential suburb in the London Borough of Lewisham.
It is the original site of the former agricultural hamlet of Brockley. It is located south east of Charing Cross, and is south of Brockley and north of Honor Oak. Major points of interest include the Rivoli Ballroom, the Brockley Jack Theatre and the Arts and Crafts Gothic church of St Hilda.
Crofton Park Ward is bordered by Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries to the north, and Garthorne Road Nature Reserve in the west with the London to Brighton railway running along the western boundary of the ward and a section of Ladywell Fields to the south east. The area also offers easy access to South East London Green Chain of walks. Nearby, between Honor Oak and Catford, is Blythe Hill Fields, one of a number of hills in south east London and which provide good views of Canary Wharf and the City of London.
The rapid pace of expansion of the area continued pre-First World War, with the building of more shops and facilities to support the growing population. The London Encyclopaedia describes this development as: "a mixture of terrace houses for 'clerkly classes' and local authority flats and houses."Ben Weinreb and Christopher Hibbert, The London Encyclopaedia, Papermac, 1987, p. 94 A handsome Edwardian era public library was built next to the railway station in 1905 and, eight years later, a local cinema – the Crofton Park Picture Palace – first opened its doors. This later became the Rivoli Ballroom.
The 1901 census returns show Bertram Noakes as head of the household living in Brockley Hall with his five spinster sisters (Pauline, Elizabeth, Kate, Ada and Maude) and four servants. Lewisham Arhive'
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Maude Noakes was the last survivor. An eccentric, she was well known for her large collection of pets. The old lady would bury her pets in the grounds of Brockley Hall and give each one a marked gravestone – even her pigs and cows.George Russell, I remember Crofton Park fifty years ago (1979)
Following Maude's death in April 1931 the property was quickly sold and demolished. Brockley Hall Road, Bearsted Rise, Horsmonden Road, Sevenoaks Road and the 1930s houses in Brockley Grove were built on the site of the Hall and its grounds by the building company Wates.
For much of the 18th century it was known as 'The Crooked Billet', for much of the 19th century 'The Castle'.
The old Brockley Jack was one of the most photographed pubs in South East London. It was a long, low building with a bay window looking onto the front garden. It had been extended and altered many times during its long history. In the garden were rows of seats and tables beneath old trees, and a large but almost branchless tree stump carrying the pub's sign board. The sign was written on a whale's shoulder blade.
A contemporary account, recorded at about the time of the building's demolition states: "A penthouse on one side sheltered some of the seats and on the other side was a staircase leading to the upper floor of an annex built at right angles to the main building... Within, the rooms are dark with low-pitched ceilings and redolent of beer and tobacco, of which is added the flavour of antiquity from ancient walls and beams."PR64/593, Photo Box 7, Lewisham Local History and Archives Centre
The association with highwaymen is also cited in the account which continues: "There was a particular staircase so constructed that it could be removed at night, and thus cut off access to the upper storey, in case of criminals being secreted there." The film star comedian Will Hay recalled the old Brockley Jack in his unfinished autobiography, I Enjoyed Every Minute:
"Almost at the corner of the street was romance in the shape of a very old inn, several hundred years old, The Brockley Jack, a reputed haunt and 'pull up' for highwaymen including the famous Dick Turpin. I remember the place quite well – small rooms with the ceiling so low that even a man of ordinary height couldn't stand upright. Alas, the romance didn't long survive on arrival within the district for the place was condemned and pulled down to make way for a modern building."
A 2005 Radio 4 edition of Making History explored the history of Brockley Jack and found that the pub dated to at least 1810 and was close to areas notorious for robberies of travellers. However, the programme concluded that local legends about a highwayman called Brockley Jack may have been later embroidery to drum up business.
Brockley Jack, now a Greene King tied pub, was rebuilt as a more substantial structure of brick and stone in 1898. Its foundation stone was laid by Wickham Noakes. A representation of a whale's shoulderblade hangs on a high gable outside the front of the Jack. The real whale's shoulderblade (on which was once the pub's sign) is exhibited above the fireplace to the right of the bar.Notes in the Brockley photograph collection at Lewisham Local Studies and Archives Centre.
The church hall adjacent to the current church was its forerunner and originally served as a mission hall. Designed by J E Newberry, it is also Grade II listed.
The war memorial in front of the church is in the form of a granite Celtic cross and is inscribed with 141 names of the fallen. It was unveiled on 29 May 1920 by General Sir Ian Hamilton and dedicated by the Bishop Suffragan of Woolwich. A woman is listed among the names – Rosabelle Stanley, a nursing sister.
In 2011, the library was outsourced by the council to be run as a Community run model, by Eco Computer Systems, now renamed Eco Communities. The library takes computer and book donations to help with the running costs of the building. The library is staffed by volunteers which meant unlike the Council run libraries it was closed for much of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, finally reopening in April 2021.
There was no finance and virtually no facilities but the short run proved a big success, especially with local people.
Gradually, finance was secured and with the help of the brewery, Greene King, the room has been transformed over the years into the vibrant little theatre, fully equipped, that it now is. It has now become a hub of local creativity, staging plays as diverse as 'Julius Caesar', 'Of Mice and Men', 'She Stoops to Conquer' and 'Lilies'. New writing is fostered by in regular workshops, part of the 'Write Now Festival'. Artistic Director Kate Bannister and Theatre Manager Karl Swinyard were awarded Best Venue Directors in the Fringe Report Awards 2011.
It was saved from development as a block of flats after English Heritage gave it a Grade II Listed building in 2007. A feature in Country Life described it as: "the best dance space in the country".
The English Heritage listing rests largely on the Rivoli's 1950s makeover, describing it as a: "luxuriant, exotic and deeply theatrical" interior, little altered since 1960. Its listing notes that it has special historic interest as witness to the important dance trends of the 1950s and '60s – also noting that attending a dance at Rivoli Ballroom is listed in Time Out's list of 101 things to do in London.
In 2012, it was included in a feature in The Guardian about London's hidden interiors. Described as a popular location of music, fashion and TV shoots because of its kitsch and authentic interior, the article also notes: "There is nothing quite like it anywhere else in London."
It maintains a lively calendar of events, including cabaret, dance competitions and themed evenings, including , and Jackie's Juke Box, a mixed gay/straight night every month which regularly attracts between 200 and 300 people.
The South London Rail Utilisation Strategy published by Network Rail in March 2008 proposed improvements to rail services along the Catford loop line (through Crofton Park). These include four stopping Thameslink services per hour at this station, and a Victoria to Bellingham service to provide additional trains per hour.
There are three other train stations within a ten to 15-minute walk of Crofton Park Station: Brockley railway station, Honor Oak Park and Ladywell.
and stations provide rail links to London Bridge, London Victoria, , Highbury & Islington, Crystal Palace, Sydenham, East and West Croydon and [[Caterham]]. Both stations are served by Southern and since 2010 London Overground services.
Across Lewisham, Labour gained heavily from the other parties, taking the council from no overall control to a Labour majority of 24 seats. The Liberal Democrats lost a net of five seats, Crofton Park ward being the party's only gain from Labour anywhere in London. This change was put down to the rapid gentrification of the local area.
| TURNOUT | 25.56% | 30.05% | 64.8% | ||
| Candidates for the Labour Party | 49.46% | 2,897 | 35.00% | 6,404 | 35.77% |
| Candidates for the Liberal Democrats | 15.78% | 1,670 | 20.18% | 5,833 | 32.58% |
| Candidates for the Green Party | 13.31% | 2,062 | 24.92% | 2,793 | 15.60% |
| Candidates for the Conservative Party | 15.81% | 1,647 | 19.90% | 2,589 | 14.46% |
| Candidate for Lewisham For People Not Profit | n/a | n/a | n/a | 282 | 1.58% |
| Candidate for Local Education Action by Parents | 5.60% | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
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