New Cross

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New Cross History

New Cross was originally known as Hatcham (the name persists in the title of the Anglican parishes of St. James, Hatcham along with its school, and All Saints, Hatcham Park). The earliest reference to Hatcham is in the 11th century, in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Hacheham. It was held by the Bishop of Lisieux from the Bishop of Bayeux. Its domesday assets were: 3 hides; 3 ploughs, 6 acres (24,000 m2) of meadow, woodland worth 3 hogs. It rendered £2.

Hatcham tithes were paid to Bermondsey Abbey from 1173 until the dissolution of the monasteries when the Crown took over. A series of individuals then held land locally before the manor was bought in the 17th century by the Haberdashers' Company, a wealthy livery company that was instrumental in the area's development in the 19th century. Telegraph Hill was for many years covered by market gardens owned also by the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers. Until the creation of the London County Council in 1889, New Cross was a part of the counties of Kent and Surrey.

In the later nineteenth century, the area became known as the New Cross Tangle on account of its numerous railway lines, workshops and two stations — both originally called New Cross (one was later renamed New Cross Gate)