New Cross History

This area used to be known as Hatcham, an Anglo-Saxon name, meaning 'Hacci's village', or possibly 'the village in the clearing in the woods'. A map of 1619 shows the area as still heavily wooded. The ancient road from London to Dover and Canterbury runs through the area, and in the 18th century travellers using the road had to pay tolls at the turnpike gates. The gate at Hatcham was called New Cross Gate, after the New Cross Inn which stood nearby, and gradually the area became known as New Cross rather than Hatcham.

In January 1981 a tragic fire in a house in New Cross Road killed thirteen young black people, who were attending a birthday party. The cause of the fire has not yet been established. It was widely believed to have been started deliberately, and a demonstration, the Black People's Day of Action, was attended by 15,000 people.

Deptford Town Hall was built in 1905 to serve the Metropolitan Borough of Deptford - this became part of the London Borough of Lewisham in 1965. The Town Hall has now been acquired by Goldsmiths College. Now part of the University of London, Goldsmiths College was founded as a technical college by the Goldsmiths Company in 1891. Its building was formerly the Royal Naval School, for the sons of naval officers.