Coldharbour Lane

Coldharbour Lane is a road in South London that leads south-westwards from Camberwell to Brixton. In total the road is over 1 mile long with a mixture of residential, business and retail buildings - the stretch of Coldharbour Lane near Brixton Market contains shops, bars and restaurants. The junction of Coldharbour Lane and Denmark Hill in Camberwell SE5 marks part of the boundary between Lambeth and Southwark boroughs. The other end of Coldharbour Lane meets Acre Lane in central Brixton to form the A2217.

The Loughborough Junction area, surrounding the railway station, marks the approximate centre point of Coldharbour Lane and the change in postcode from SE5 to SW9.

Coldharbour Lane was formerly known as Camberwell Lane.

Former British Prime Minister John Major lived in a flat in Coldharbour Lane when a child in the mid-1950s.

The lane close by Brixton Market became very derelict by the mid-1960s, when many drug houses flourished dealing mainly in cannabis.

In 1981 the Brixton riots occurred in roads near Coldharbour Lane and some windows were broken on the street itself. With the support of community leaders and shop owners, there are plans to set up a mini-police station on Coldharbour Lane in the former premises of a drug dealer.

A possible derivation of the name is Cool Arbour Lane, dating from the time Camberwell was in the country. This is cited in 'The Streets' by Anthony Quinn (2012) as the place the Camberwell beauty was first sighted.

A "cold harbour" was an uninhabited shelter for travellers, often along a well-known route, somewhat similar to a modern bothy. Unlike an inn, there were no staff, food or drink to be had. There would be a roof, door and possibly a simple hearth, although it was the traveller's responsibility to gather fuel. They were generally little more than open-faced barns or animal shelters.

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