In 1948 the Empire Windrush embarked on a long voyage, which would see it leave Australian shores en-route to the UK via the West Indies. The second world war had created a lot of work and general rebuilding in the UK and so Citizenship had been offered to all those within the commonwealth countries.
An advertisement in a Jamaican newspaper at the time offered cheap transport, work and housing on UK shores. The Jamaican economy wasn’t looking too good, so many took up the offer with the view that they would return to their mother country within a few years, having made their ‘fortune’
The ship docked in Southampton the same year and saw, what is now known as the Windrush generation, symbolize the beginning of modern British multicultural society.
The extension of the Northern line had been put on hold after the war leaving trackless tunnels in and around Clapham. Some of the Windrushs’ 492 passengers would find that the promised homes would be one of the deep shelters initially built to run underground trains.
In 1998 the area in front of the Library, known as the Tate gardens was renamed Windrush Square to mark the 50th anniversary of the Ship and her Passengers arrival.
Early in 2010 the square had a make over with the installation of new lighting, seats and trees and a much needed pedestrian friendly layout. The Ritzy cinema can now enjoy sprawlling it's cafe out on to the square, giving an almost Parisian feel to the place. The addition of a spray fountain has provided much fun for children and adults alike!
Next to the Ritzy is Brixton Library [pictured above] with all the usual facilities and quite a good reference section, including of course local history. Moving along the right of the Library we have the Bovril building and next to that Raleigh Hall, [pictured at top of page] which has been earmarked for the Black Cultural Archives [BAC], who plan to move from their temporary Kennington premises.
A proposal in 2005 suggested a 99 year lease granted from Lambeth council would start in 2009 but it's taken as long as March 2011 for work to actually start. The Architectual company Pringle Richards Sharratt, have plans in the making for it's restructure. The hall has been empty for 15 years and does need extensive work inside and out.
For those that are interested or even unaware of the BCA, they're currently based in 1 Othello Close. SE11