Borough of Camberwell

You'll have to stare and focus - but just above the entrance to the old Camberwell Library on Wells Way you can see it etched in stone: Borough of Camberwell. I'm not aware of any other place in the whole of Camberwell that still proclaims the glory days when Camberwell was its own borough before it was swallowed into the Southwark creation of 1934. Ironically, this unique site technically stands today within the borders of Walworth.
Works on the old Library and Baths are well underway and a new, gleaming compound should be unveiled sometime in early 2008. The building was designed and constructed in 1904 and did what he said on the tin - served as a bath house for many of the homes surrounding it, which included many of those razed terraced houses that once lined now (mostly) gone streets in Burgess Park, and of course the Libary, which moved to Camberwell Church Street in 1995.

Today the building houses Groundwork Southwark and Lambeth, who insisted their landlord Southwark refurbish the place before agreeing to sign a new lease. It also houses the Lynn Boxing Club - space used by a number of community groups.

Just behind is the old lime chimney - one of the few relics sitting beside the footpath that once was the Grand Surrey Canal. English Heritage have contributed to a growing pot of cash to restore the chimney (also listed).

The works involve cleaning the ornate brick work, stripping and painting the iron work, and repairing many of the windows that haven't opened properly in years. They may even clean the wonderful mosaic Camberwell Beauty - once on the side of a former factory (now South City Court flats) on Peckham Grove, it celebrates the butterfly named after Camberwell (still in existence, though not spotted in the UK for some time).

It is a significant investment in Burgess Park, which has suffered from lack of direction and funding since its creation. As stated earlier, the park was once covered in streets and terraced houses. The best map is available just outside the public toilets of Chumleigh Gardens - one of the few examples of the type of houses that used to cover the now park. The Tennis Centre improvements and football pitch at the far eastern end of the park are other improvements of late. You can still see the major plans once proposed by a coalition including The Friends of Burgess Park here. Hopes were high for European money but it didn't come to pass. The latest advocate of the park is Groundwork Southwark/Lambeth, who offer a full book on the history of the park via their website. Today all eyes are on Southwark's Executive who in October 2007, are expected to approve plans to create a Community Trust for the park. Such a mechanism will allow the local community to raise funds and make decisions on the park's future.

Many former residents of the park are still around, as most were moved to the Aylesbury Estate. It was new when they moved in and there were promises that the homes and land they vacated would be used to create a wonderful park for their leisure. Now it appears the Aylesbury will be demolished and rebuilt before Burgess Park is fully developed. The Cross River Tram is a big issue facing Burgess Park. Favoured plans had the Tram crossing the park on its route from Peckham to Elephant. Many have lobbied for an alternate route up Wells Way and there was much support for a compromise, which would send the Tram on the original route up Chandler's Way, cut through the park, and close Wells Way to traffic - thus having only one major 'cut' through the park. The long awaited public consultation ended in January 2007 and TfL haven't revealed results of the preferred route (the latest promise of August won't happen and the new promise is October-ish).

To the parks south sits other historical and modern day landmarks including the birthplace of Robert Browning (Cottage Green, now gone) and his childhood home (Southampton Way, now gone but marked with a blue plaque). St Georges' Church is still a Camberwell icon, though now flats. The new church is nearby on Coleman Road. Buster of Great Train Robbery fame lived on Rainbow Street and one of the most environmentally friendly houses in the UK is easily spotted when you see the windmill on top.

So the old Libary and baths sit in a lovely bit of South London quite rich in history, replete in broken promises and delays, but quite high on the agenda for positive change. Just recently Burgess Park played host to a number of festivals celebrating among others Asian, African and South American cultures. The Carnaval del Pueblo continues to receive the most publicity and was deserved high praise. The best part is most of the festivals list the event as 'Burgess Park in Camberwell'. While Walworth can claim technical rights, and Peckham can claim as much of its borders as anyone else, history and that wonderful 'Borough of Camberwell' etching are on the side of those who claim Burgess Park as a jewel in Camberwell's faded but elegant past, and a big part of its promising future.

UPDATE: A survey re: Burgess Park is underway, sponsored by groups looking to manage the Community Trust. Take the survey.