Elephant and Castle Archives

Featured local business - Clubtek

Forest

SE23

Hill

I was already a regular visitor to Clubtek’s DJ shop when it was in Penge, but now they're even handier in Stanstead Road, just a few doors down from Shannon’s Garden Centre - another old favourite. It’s by no means just for DJs and bands...

Happy 35th birthday 56a Infoshop

Jun

2026

Popped along yesterday to the 35th birthday party for 56a Infoshop, the boutique radical social centre/archive/bookshop at 56a Crampton Street SE17, just down from the Elephant and Castle. Keeping a constant presence, and keeping relevant amidst everything that has changed over this time, is an amazing achievement. Who said anarchists can't organise anything? Caught some ...

Pizzeria Castello and other Elephant Spectres

Jun

2024

'Poor Fiery Blocks: four bent perspectives of the Elephant and Castle' is the latest pamphlet in Christopher Jones's remarkable ongoing explorations of the area that he has been conducting/living for more than 30 years. One day somebody needs to publish his various related writings in a big book.'Poor Fiery Blocks' is an attempt to come ...

Looking History and other walks

Sep

2023

A couple of walks coming up in the 'Looking History' series. My walk 'Peckham Against Racism and Fascism' takes place at 11 am on Sunday October 1st and will hopefully do what it says on the tin, exploring the history of anti-racist/fascist/colonialist moments and movements in the Rye Lane area.Before that on Sunday 24th September ...

Joy Crookes – South London Songs

Nov

2021

Joy Crookes at Queens Road, PeckhamSinger Joy Crookes has a new album out, Skin, and very good it is too. She's been compared to Amy Winehouse, but she has a great voice of her own and her songs are rooted firmly in 2020s London. Joy grew up at Elephant and Castle and her songs reference ...

‘South London and Negro Emancipation’ – 1863 anti-Slavery meeting at the Elephant & Castle

Jul

2018

Events in the last few years have reminded us that there is still a lot of unfinished business from the American Civil War. The flag of the defeated Southern states is still a rallying point for racists, and since the start of the Black Lives Matters movement Confederate statues have been a renewed focus of ...

No Nazis in South London 1977

Apr

2018

This 'No Nazis in South London' poster dates from 1977. It calls for people to assemble for a demonstration on Saturday September 10th at Elephant and Castle called by the 'South London Co-ordinating Committee'.This was a few weeks after the August 1977 anti-National Front 'Battle of Lewisham' but was not on the same scale. According to The Times (12 ...

Ben Smith – Cityscapes

Apr

2016

CITYSCAPES is an exhibition of paintings and drawings by Ben Smith at Xavier White’s Gallery in Blackheath: 'Ben Smith draws and paints the urban fabric of South London, drawing from life and creating paintings in his studio, aiming to portray the depth, repetition and interchangeability of the contemporary cityscape. The works exhibited at Xavier White’s front room ...

Music Monday: Aphex Twin and legendary Elephant & Castle

Sep

2014

Major junctions attract folklore as well as traffic, as those who pass by take their choice of the road less travelled or the road not taken, and wonder whether the guy with a stick and a dog is actually Papa Legba, guardian of the crossroads. This is even more so with a junction close to ...

The World Cup in South London

Jul

2014

As the World Cup comes to an end, here's some pictures from around South London over the last month.The Artmongers mural on Deptford High Street redecorated in Argentinian and German colours for today's final, by artist Patricio Forrester, who is Argentinian Watching the world cup at Tomi's restaurant in Deptford High Street, on night Nigeria played ...

May Day Greetings – Wat Tyler’s Deptford May Day 1381 (as imagined By Robert Southey in 1794)

May

2014

All the best you May Day revellers... or like me dreaming of revelling on a stressful day at work.On Monday night, I gave a talk on the history of May Day in South London at a Haunt London event at the Miller pub by Guys Hospital SE1. Sarah Crofts also spoke on the 30th anniversary ...