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Villa Road

Anarchism in the United KingdomBrixtonSquats in the United KingdomStreets in the London Borough of LambethUse British English from February 2023
Victorian architecture in England
Villa Road, Brixton, 1975
Villa Road, Brixton, 1975

Villa Road is a street in Angell Town in the Borough of Lambeth, south London. Rows of terraced houses, built on both sides of the street in the Victorian era, were scheduled to be demolished in the late 1960s as part of a development plan. From 1973 onwards, houses were squatted and an alternative community was established, containing anarchists, British Black Panthers, feminists, Marxists, primal screamers and single mothers. Lambeth Council applied for possession orders for most of the buildings on the street in June 1976 and the squatters built barricades to resist eviction. After prolonged negotiations the council decided to legalize the occupation in 1978, but only after demolishing the southern side of the street. In 2006, the former squatters were profiled in the documentary film "Property is Theft" as part of the BBC series Lefties.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Villa Road (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Villa Road
Villa Road, London Loughborough Junction (London Borough of Lambeth)

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Wikipedia: Villa RoadContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 51.4673 ° E -0.1113 °
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Villa Road

Villa Road
SW9 7YA London, Loughborough Junction (London Borough of Lambeth)
England, United Kingdom
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Villa Road, Brixton, 1975
Villa Road, Brixton, 1975
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Nearby Places

Max Roach Park

Max Roach Park is a public park in Brixton in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is named after the African American Jazz drummer Max Roach, who visited the park in 1986.The park was constructed from 1978. Earlier, the site had terrace houses on it (similar to those extant on the north side of Villa Road to the north of the park) until 1978 when they were demolished as part of the Brixton Development Plan. Prior to this, from 1974, squatters had occupied these properties in order to protest against this plan. In 1978 the squatters were rehoused by the authority, and demolition went ahead for the park.The park was initially called Angell Park, after the local area Angell TownIn 1986, Lambeth Labour Party councillor Sharon Atkin persuaded the council to name 27 sites in the borough "to acknowledge contributions by people of African descent." Other streets were renamed after Francis Barber, a Jamaican manservant of Dr Johnson with ties to Streatham, and Olympic javelin champion Tessa Sanderson. Other places were named after musical figures like Roach, gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, and Jamaican saxophonists Joe Harriott and Harold McNair. The opening of Max Roach Park was timed to coincide with Roach's GLC-sponsored visit to London, and he attended its opening along with Councillor Atkin and the drummer Ken Gordon, uncle of Moira Stuart.The park includes a One O'Clock Club and children's playground, which have been under threat from funding cuts. Demonstrations against cuts to youth services began in 2011, but Lambeth Council says it is trying to find a way to maintain some level of service despite budget cuts.There is a nature trail that extends to Rush Common.