Origin of name

Herne Hill may have meant "hill by nook of land" or may have been named after the Herne family, residents in the area from the 17th Century.

Herne Hill was part of the ancient manor of Milkwell.
Half Moon Inn opened at crossroads.

1798 Early reference to Herne Hill in print.
Early C19 By now an affluent rural area with detached houses and large gardens.



1811-3 Brockwell Hall (DR Roper) built.

1844 Old St Pauls Church burnt down.
1858 New St Pauls built.
1862 Herne Hill station opened on new London, Chatham and Dover line.



1867 St Saviour's, by AD Gough, built.
1881 London County Grounds (later Herne Hill Velodrome) opened with a track and a Grandstand. Photo of track in 1884 shown below



1891 78 acres of Brockwell Hall became Brockwell Park.
Many new roads finished and named between Herne Hill and Half Moon Lane.
Half Moon public house rebuilt.

1906 Carnegie Public Library (by H. Wakeford) opened.
1910 South London Botanical Institute opened at 323 Norwood Road
1913 Herne Hill Cinema opened (222 Railton Road ) Photo in c1921 shown below

Pre-War Herne Hill

1932 Herne Hill Cinema (222 Railton Road) renamed the Grand . Designed by George Coles
1937 Brockwell Lido opened.

WW2 & Herne Hill

1944 Herne Hill escaped lightly with only 5 V1s falling and no V2s

1948 Herne Hill Velodrome hosted London Olympic track events.



1953 Grand became Pullman Cinema (222 Railton Road)
1959 Pullman Cinema closed.
1974 First Lambeth Country Show at Brockwell Park.
1978 24 Sept: Sham 69 headed ANL Rally in Brockwell Park.
2007 Brockwell Lido restored. Out Of the Blue by Peter Bradley published.
First Urban Green Fair held at Brockwell Park.