Culverley Green conservation area - London Borough of Lewisham

Figure 3: Extract from the Lewisham
Parish Tithe Map 1843. Sangley Farm
(bottom, later Priory House School,
demolished) and Sangley House
(demolished) are shown beside
Bromley Road in what is still
a rural landscape.
7 Culverley conservation area character appraisal
Watt was also among those Further green space was provided
employed by the Forsters in the within the area by the sports
development of their Sangley ground (which predates the
Farm Estate on the eastern side suburb at Culverley Green), and
of Bromley Road. It was this by the Catford Cricket and Lawn
development which sealed Tennis Club, the pavilion and part
the suburban character of the of the grounds of which survive.
Culverley Green area. The planned
nature of the growth of the These areas are testimony to the
suburb is manifested today in strong interest of the Edwardian
the regularity of the grid-like middle classes in healthy
road network and in the similarity outdoor activity.
of form, layout and style of the
villas, discussed further below. To the north-west, the former
cinema (1913, also built by James
The estate, which stretched for Watt), and adjoining shops are
some distance to the south of included in the conservation area.
Sangley Road, was built up These high, and in the case of the
piecemeal between 1902 and cinema, grand, buildings mark the
the 1920s, and became a typical edge of the commercial centre of
middle-class Edwardian suburb. Catford, and the movement from
Its character still closely reflects the suburban to the urban.
the domestic aspirations of those
it was designed to attract. Rows The 1936 OS map (fig 7)
of semi-detached villas are set shows the area to have been
back from wide, tree-lined streets substantially built up by this date.
behind modest front gardens; More modern development or
deep rear gardens backing on redevelopment has been limited,
to each other fill the backlands although Second World War bomb
between adjoining rows. Despite damage in particular may have
the density of the housing opened up some plots. The most
development, the individual villas significant modern building in
are comfortably sized, and the the conservation area is the
substantial gardens mean that Church of St. Laurence, Bromley
the area has a peaceful, spacious, Road (1968). There is also a
almost semi-rural feel to it. modern school (Rushey Green
Primary) at Culverley Road, and
some commercial development
along the southern stretch
of Bromley Road.