St Johns, London
St Johns is an area of South East London within the London Borough of Lewisham. It borders the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is located north west of Lewisham.
St John's is noted for its late 19th-century housing, constructed as Deptford New Town, and protected as the Brookmill Road and St John's Conservation Areas since 1972 and 1976 respectively. It was also the site in 1957 of one of Britain's worst railway disasters.
The district is named after the dedication of the parish church of St John, Deptford that was established in 1855. The church lies at the top of the hill, almost adjacent to the railway station which borrowed its name. The area encompasses streets between Brookmill Road and Lewisham Way, bound by Friendly Street in the west and railway embankments in the south-east. Parts of northern Brockley may be included in the designation, which includes Brockley's Farmers' Market.
Deptford New Town was conceived by the Lucas family as an affordable and spacious alternative for the working classes of mid to late 19th century Deptford. Originally from Cumbria, the family made their wealth in South Carolina, where they built and managed water-powered rice mills.
There are a few older buildings - the most notable being the late 18th-century Italianate mansion known as the Stone House. St John's Church was built in 1855, designed by PC Hardwicke
St John's station opened in 1871, at a time when housing construction was still in full swing.
The Brookmill Road Conservation Area was designated in 1972, and is bordered by Friendly Street, Brookmill Road, the southern and eastern boundaries of the properties on Albyn Road, and the railway line. The St John's Conservation Area, created four years later, covers the area between this and the Lewisham Way.
Brookmill Road Conservation Area is subject to an Article 4 Direction, preserving the character of the area by prohibiting many kinds of external alterations.
The population of the area is mixed, largely reflecting the huge rise in property prices in recent years. A few houses are council owned, some are let, and most are owner-occupied. In the five years surrounding the arrival of the Docklands Light Railway at Deptford Bridge, house prices in the area quadrupled. This resulted in an unusual mix of wealthy city folk commuting to Canary Wharf and less well-off people who had lived in the area for some time. The recent establishment and expansion of Brockley Farmers' Market, nearest station to which is St. John's, is evidence of on-going gentrification.
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