Brixton footbridge

[Paulie]

Has anyone got a picture of the old footbridge in Brixton - the one between Morleys and the tube station. I remember it being a bit rickety and a little scary as a kid...

[editor]

You mean it connected Morleys to the tube station? When did this bridge exist because I've never seen any pictures of it.

[Pip]

I'm intrigued

[Etymologist]

What!? Sounds amazing. Someone unearth a picture! I'd love to see it. I've never heard of this. I'll ask my dad. He's lived in brixton since before the tube station so he should remember it.

[ianw]

I'll ask my parents - we lived in Brixton in the late sixties, so they should remember it.

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Never heard of it, but I've discovered a pavement picture and we used to have a much wider pavement outside of Iceland

http://landmark.lambeth.gov.uk/displ...ndmark&id=2589

[Pip]

Looking at that picture I suspect Iceland has extended outwards onto the pavement if you see what I mean.

[Crispy]

Originally Posted by Enid Laundromat

Looking at that picture I suspect Iceland has extended outwards onto the pavement if you see what I mean.

Yep, the houses/flats above iceland used to be the back of the pavement line.

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Originally Posted by Enid Laundromat

Looking at that picture I suspect Iceland has extended outwards onto the pavement if you see what I mean.

No, I suspect it was extended outwards long before Iceland, although thinking about it, I'm sure Murrays Meat Market was further back off the street, but I could be wrong.

What was there before Murray's Meat Market? I seem to remember a furniture shop somewhere along that stretch

[quimcunx]

Originally Posted by Enid Laundromat

Looking at that picture I suspect Iceland has extended outwards onto the pavement if you see what I mean.

A that makes sense. I was confused there.

[editor]

Originally Posted by Minnie_the_Minx

Never heard of it, but I've discovered a pavement picture and we used to have a much wider pavement outside of Iceland

Um, you could have discovered that by checking through the Brixton section on this site!



"c. 1900 The building line along Brixton Road was pegged back, originally providing large gardens in front of the houses. By 1900, much of this space has been turned into a pavement and was used by market traders."







http://www.urban75.org/brixton/history/central.html

[editor]

Originally Posted by Enid Laundromat

Looking at that picture I suspect Iceland has extended outwards onto the pavement if you see what I mean.

Indeed it has.






http://www.urban75.org/brixton/history/electric.html

[Pip]

Originally Posted by Minnie_the_Minx

No, I suspect it was extended outwards long before Iceland, although thinking about it, I'm sure Murrays Meat Market was further back off the street, but I could be wrong.

What was there before Murray's Meat Market? I seem to remember a furniture shop somewhere along that stretch

Erm, I vaguely remember Mc Donalds being a furniture shop.

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Originally Posted by editor

Um, you could have discovered that by checking through the Brixton section on this site!



"c. 1900 The building line along Brixton Road was pegged back, originally providing large gardens in front of the houses. By 1900, much of this space has been turned into a pavement and was used by market traders."







http://www.urban75.org/brixton/history/central.html

oh, my humblest

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Originally Posted by Enid Laundromat

Erm, I vaguely remember Mc Donalds being a furniture shop.

No, the other side of the road. Maybe it was Robills that was a furniture shop before it was Robills? But what was before Murray's Meat Market?


Having had my knuckles wrapped, I came across this from our lovely adorable, local historian - the Editor *cough cough*

War damage destroyed several buildings and an ugly Iceland supermarket has now been bolted on to the end of the street.

which would make me think I may have been correct about Murray's being further back off the pavement

[mccliche]

^^ all good...but what about this footbridge....most intriguing, really keen to see a pic, or sketch or summat

google is not helping with this one

[Pip]

There's no point asking the staff (the head of the saucepans couldn't tell me anything about his wares ffs), but someone at Morleys HQ might know?

[quimcunx]

Originally Posted by Enid Laundromat

There's no point asking the staff (the head of the saucepans couldn't tell me anything about his wares ffs), but someone at Morleys HQ might know?

Mabye whoever was in charge of sourcing pictures for Morley's stairwell... ?

[Paulie]

The bridge was pretty much on top of the pedestrian crossing which was always there (and which most people opted for). I think it survived until the mid 70s. It was a girder monstrosity with big planks laid across for the steps and bridge span - they flexed a fair bit when a bus went underneath.

To give a more accurate placing - it ran between Tunstall Road and the tube with the stairs at right angles on the south side.

I've also looked in vain for a pic so thought I would try the good folk here...

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Asked someone tonight. Apparently the footbridge was there but past Morleys. Person couldn't remember why it was there but thought it may have been put there to ease congestion when the tube station was going to come into operation. It was not successful however and apparently only had room for single files of people going each way and ended up being pulled down.

Reckons it was the late 60s or early 70s

[lang rabbie]

I've definitely seen a photograph of the footbridge. I may be hallucinating but I think the picture (from the former GLC Highways department photo library?) may once have been on the grandly named European Visual Archive (EVA) website.

However, this photo archive site - a joint project between London Metropolitan Archives and Antwerp city archives funded by Euro-cash - now appears to have vanished from the web.

[zenazena]

i remember the bridge distinctly - me and my siblings used to love using it and my mum would walk over the crossing underneath and meet us on the other side. i remember it as being really big, not ricketty or single file.. but i was little and everything looks massive then. it went from near the corner exit of morleys to the tube.

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Originally Posted by zenazena

i remember the bridge distinctly - me and my siblings used to love using it and my mum would walk over the crossing underneath and meet us on the other side. i remember it as being really big, not ricketty or single file.. but i was little and everything looks massive then. it went from near the corner exit of morleys to the tube.

So what was the point of having it and why didn't your mum use it? Did they pull it down because nobody used it (except children)

[zenazena]

Originally Posted by Minnie_the_Minx

So what was the point of having it and why didn't your mum use it? Did they pull it down because nobody used it (except children)

no idea what the 'point' of it was but i guess there was one at some stage. my mum didn't use it cos she was an adult, probably had loads of shopping and couldn't be fucked.

[poster342002]

Originally Posted by editor

You mean it connected Morleys to the tube station? When did this bridge exist because I've never seen any pictures of it.

I remember it being there until the early 1980s - after which it just disappeared at some point. Definately remember it, though.