Facts about Brixton
Brixton History
The name Brixton is thought to originate from Brixistane, meaning the stone of Brixi, a Saxon lord. Brixi is thought to have erected a boundary stone to mark the meeting place of the ancient hundred courts of Surrey. The location is unknown but is thought to be at the top of Brixton Hill, at a road known at the time as Bristow or Brixton Causeway, long before any settlement in the area.
At Brixton the river was crossed by low bridges for Roman roads to the south coast, now Brixton Road and Clapham Road. The main roads were connected through a network of medieval country lanes, such as Acre Lane, Coldharbour Lane, Brixton Water Lane and Lyham Road, formerly Black Lane.
General Info
Brixton is a district of South London, England, within the London Borough of Lambeth. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton is mainly residential with a prominent street market and substantial retail sector. It is a multiethnic community, with a large percentage of its population of Afro-Caribbean descent.
It lies within Inner London and is bordered by Stockwell, Clapham, Streatham, Camberwell, Tulse Hill, Balham and Herne Hill. The district houses the main offices of the London Borough of Lambeth. Brixton is 2.7 miles south-southwest from the geographical centre of London near Brixton Underground station on the Victoria Line.
