Located in the south London borough of Lewisham, the district of New Cross neighbours St John’s, Greenwich, Nunhead, Peckham, Deptford and Greenwich, and houses Goldsmiths, University of London, Haberdashers’ Aske’s Federation, and Addey & Stanhope School.
New Cross was once a heavily wooded area known at Hatcham, which was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 and in 1614 most of the land was bought up by the Haberdashers Company and in the 1860s the area became developed with houses and a grammar school.
For many years Telegraph Hill was covered by market gardens, and this link with food is still prevalent thanks to the local award winning Brockley Market, which takes places every Saturday on Lewisham Road, and offers everything from fresh fruit and veg to cheese, fish, meat and street food.
Up and coming cafés and restaurants, meanwhile, include the London Particular, Maddy’s Fish Bar, and No 178 – a social enterprise employing people with learning difficulties that holds regular themed nights open to the community.
The area of New Cross became the route from London to Dover and Canterbury, now the A2. The New Cross Tollgate was established in 1718 by the New Cross Turnpike Trust and named after the nearby New Cross Inn, which became known over time more simply as New Cross.
