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Lady Chapel, St.William Of York, Forest Hill

The photograph shows Ladywell Bridge, which crosses the Ravensbourne river and the railway, before it was widened in 1937 - 1938. The first road bridge over the river was built in 1830 and extended to cover the railway in 1856. Before 1830 there was a footbridge only, and vehicles forded the Ravensbourne. The houses on the right were built in 1858, the year after the opening of Ladywell Station.

Ladywell Fields, formerly called (and still well known locally as) Ladywell Recreation Ground, was purchased for a public open space in 1889, to serve the growing population of Lewisham and Catford. The land had been water meadows, and much work on flood prevention had to be done before the park could be opened to the public. Six of these rustic bridges were built across the Ravensbourne to link the two sides of the park.

Black and White postcard showing a tug-of-war in progress outside Ladywell Lodge as a military hospital

Colour photo of Ladywell Recreation Ground with St. Mary's Church tower in the background, 1979

Ladywell Recreation Ground Showing River Ravensbourne & St Mary's Church From Ladywell Bridge

The houses on the right at this eastern end of Leahurst Road were recent in 1910. The school being built on the left, designed to meet the needs of this increasing population of railway commuters close to Hither Green Station, was the Manor Lane (now Lee Manor) School, the second in Leahurst Road.

Lee National School Class Group 1918

Tram 337 (Service 46 to Woolwich) in Eltham Road.

Lethbridge Road, Lewisham Junction With Drysdale Road Looking Towards Holy Trinity Church, Blackheath Hill

Lewisham High Street View Southwards From St Saviour's Campanile 1939

The Hippodrome music hall, which was designed by Frank Matcham, opened in 1911. With a capacity of 3,222 it was clearly a sign that Catford had reached maturity as a suburb. Until the Corbett Estate had added more than 15,000 to the population in the previous decade such a huge theatre could not have been expected to pay. Even allowing for a large potential audience at its doors, the Hippodrome struggled to survive, taking several diversions into straight drama and films before closing in 1959. It was demolished in 1960.