Hither Green is a district in south-east

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, in the

London Borough of Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is a London boroughs, London borough in south-east London, England. It forms part of Inner London. The principal settlement of the borough is Lewisham. The local authority is Lewisham London Borough Council, based in Catford. The ...

. It forms the southern part of

Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...

, 6.6 miles (10.6 km) south-east of

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...

, and on the

Prime Meridian A prime meridian is an arbitrarily chosen meridian (geography), meridian (a line of longitude) in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°. On a spheroid, a prime meridian and its anti-meridian (the 180th meridian ...

. Growing extensively with the arrival of the railways, Hither Green is characterised by late 19th and early 20th century Victorian and Edwardian domestic architecture, most notably the Corbett Estate. The railway runs through the centre of the area, which divides Hither Green into an "east side" focused on Staplehurst Road, and a "west side" focused on Hither Green Lane and Springbank Road. The lane dates back to Roman times and runs between the Quaggy and Ravensbourne rivers. From 1978 to 1998 Hither Green was the name of the

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

that covered the area – then since 2002 the local ward that covered most of Hither Green was Lewisham Central. In 2020 a new Hither Green ward was created. The parliamentary constituency is Lewisham East. The area is known for the 1967 Hither Green rail crash, in which 49 people were killed.

History

Toponymy

Hither Green acquired its name as it was closer to

than Further Green located on Verdant Lane. The original Hither Green was located where the present day George Lane intersects with Hither Green Lane. The area now occupied by Hither Green is thought to have originally been a hamlet called Romborough, which was wiped out in the

Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...

Origins

Hither Green had remained a largely wooded area through the medieval times but by the 18th century most of the trees had been felled, and the first houses were built. Additional houses appeared through the 19th century, many of them quite substantial residences.

Development

Mountsfield Park

Mountsfield Park opened in August 1905 and has grown through several acquisitions since then. The location of the original park included the substantial residence called Mountsfield, home of noted

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

Henry Tibbats Stainton Henry Tibbats Stainton (13 August 1822 – 2 December 1892) was an England, English entomologist. He served as an editor for two popular entomology periodicals of his period, ''The Entomologist's Annual'' and ''The Entomologist's Weekly Intellig ...

. The house was demolished but remnants of the garden remain. Additional acres were bought from the School Board for London and six allotments from Trinity College. And when Charlton Athletic football club gave up the football ground at the bottom of the hill in 1923 the park had grown to 28 acres. Bombing damage to a terrace of houses along the south side of George Lane saw this also added to the park. The final addition came in 1994 when a large majority of the Catford Boys School playing field was added. Other nearby parks include Manor House Gardens and Manor Park to the east.

Park Fever Hospital

The Park Fever Hospital (latterly Hither Green Hospital) was opened by the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

in 1897 for the treatment of infectious diseases such as scarlet fever or diphtheria. The hospital was designed by Edwin T. Hall, the architect behind London's Liberty & Co. department store. The hospital and local area suffered extensive bombing damage during the Second World War. All that remains of the hospital is the water tower with its large clock faces (now the emblem of Hither Green) which is illuminated at night, and several of the hospital's outbuildings. In 1997 the hospital closed and site was developed as a housing estate called ''Meridian South''.

Corbett Estate

Much of the Victorian terraced housing dates from the late 19th century when social reformer and Scottish Member of Parliament (MP) Archibald Cameron Corbett built numerous houses on 278 acres of land he purchased from North Park Farm, this was to become known as the Corbett Estate. A booking hall was added to the east side of Hither Green Station to cater for people living on this new estate. Many of the road names are of Scottish origin, as Corbett was a Scot. Due to his Quaker origins, the area was devoid of a public house and remains so. He gave the land for St Andrew's Church, dedicated to Scotland's patron saint.

St. Swithun's Church

In November 1888, the new parish of St. Swithun's was created. Designed by Ernest Newton the foundation stone was laid in July 1892 and the church, built of red Wrotham brick with Bath stone windows, was completed in 1904. Its organ previously came from Blenheim Palace.

Wesleyan Church, Hither Green Lane

The large non-conformist Wesleyan Church, designed by Josiah Gunton, standing in the angle of Hither Green Lane and Wellmeadow Road, was completed in 1900 to accommodate 700 people. It was built by C. Castle & Son of Lower Clapton of red brick with a nave, two aisles, a transept, chancel, organ chamber and galleries on three sides, along with a tall pinnacled tower. On the night of 11–12 September 1940, the church was destroyed in

the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

. What was left of the church was torn down and the site was subsequently occupied by council-built flats.

Hither Green TMD

Hither Green TMD was opened by the Southern Railway in 1933. It remains in use in a reduced capacity as a DB Cargo UK depot.

Nearby areas

Transport

Rail

Hither Green railway station serves the area with services to

London Charing Cross Charing Cross railway station (also known as London Charing Cross) is a London station group, central London railway terminus between the Strand, London, Strand and Hungerford Bridge in the City of Westminster. It is the terminus of the South ...

and to London Cannon Street both via

and as part of a loop service via both

Sidcup Sidcup is an area of south-east London, England, primarily in the London Borough of Bexley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, bordering the London Boroughs of London Borough of Bromley, Bromley and Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greenwich. It was ...

and Woolwich Arsenal. There are also services to

Orpington Orpington is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is 13.4 miles (21.6 km) south east of Charing Cross. On the south-eastern edge of the Greater London Built-up Area, it is south of St Mary Cray, sou ...

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506, situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lo ...

via Orpington and to

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...

via Sidcup. Hither Green railway station also lies upon the

Buses

Hither Green is also served by several

Transport for London Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom. TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...

bus services that connect it with areas including

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three ...

Catford 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 subdivi ...

New Cross New Cross is an area in south-east London, England, south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the London_postal_district#List_of_London_postal_districts, SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, London, St Jo ...

, Canada Water and Crystal Palace.

Driving

The Driving Standards Agency ran a driving test centre in Hither Green – it was one of the largest in south London catering for over 1,000 driving tests each month, before being closed on 1st February 2025.

Hither Green in the news

"Let's move to Hither Green, London" in The Guardian newspaper

Park Fever beer and chocolate in Wallpaper magazine

Hither Green mural from start to finish in News Shopper

Hither Green in Meridian magazine (p.7)

Notable inhabitants and former inhabitants

Jude Law David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He began his career in theatre before landing small roles in various British television productions and feature films. Law gained international recognition for his role in An ...

– Actor * Gladys Cooper – Actress * Dora Jessie Saint (Miss Read) – Author * Dane Baptiste – Comedian * Juris Kalnins – Polish musician, philanthropist * Debbie McGee - Magician’s assistant *

Sinéad O'Connor Shuhada' Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor; , ; 8 December 1966 – 26 July 2023) was an Irish singer, songwriter, record producer and activist. Her debut studio album, ''The Lion and the Cobra'', was released in 1987 and achieve ...

- Irish singer-songwriter and activist * Libby Welsh - Actor, Producer, and Disability Rights advocate.

References

External links

Hither Green community forum on Facebook

OurHitherGreen.com – Community Association website

The website of St Swithun's Church (C of E)

Friends of Mountsfield Park

Walking Hither Green

The 1967 Hither Green rail crash (BBC)
Hither Green to City

{{LB Lewisham Districts of the London Borough of Lewisham Areas of London