Globe, Lifestyle, Tourism, United Kingdom

A different view of Peckham

Around 25,000 people of different geographical, cultural and ethnic origin interact and share social spaces.  The only thing they have in common is a general lack of wealth.

 

Wishing Well Inn, Peckham. Photo by Ewan Munro /Flickr. Creative Commons License.

Javier Marcos

 

Getting to Peckham isn’t easy.  It’s not on a Tube line, and though an overland train will get you to London Bridge, Charing Cross or Victoria in 10 or 15 minutes, these trains don’t run all that often.

This is just one indication of what you subsequently come to realise; Peckham is a deprived area of South-East London, around six kilometres from the city centre.

Exiting Peckham Rye station, only a few metres away you come to Rye Lane, the main shopping street.

It is a large avenue full of shops, markets, stalls and fast food restaurants, taking you on a mini international gastro-tour by serving food from all four corners of the world.  This is where you find the multiculturalism that always comes to mind when people talk about London.

This neighbourhood, with little more than 25,000 inhabitants, draws together people from different races, cultures and ethnicities, people with different characters and ways of being, conflicting and clashing, with nothing in common other than a lack of money.

You could say that simply not living here would be the easiest way of avoiding many problems.  It is an area where no one is considered exotic.  Though, perhaps the white immigrants who live in the area could be.

London skyline sunset from Peckham levels. Photo by Bex Walton /Flickr. Creative Commons License.

Inevitably, conflict bubbles to the surface when so many diverse races converge, and Peckham has been the epicentre of many a murder, fight and riot.  Its fame does it no favours, but the area does undeniably have a certain charm.

Much of the time you can at least walk the streets hassle free, but there are, inexorably, certain moments or times of the day when tension is palpable.

Gangs are the root cause of the problem with their different groups and ideologies and their hatred towards each other.  This becomes plain to see particularly at the weekend, and especially at night.

A rough estimate puts 70% of Peckham’s 25,000 inhabitants as coming from Africa and Britain’s former colonies in the Caribbean, another 20% are white and 10% are Asian.  Conflict is latent and clashes are unavoidable.

Peckham also holds the dubious honour of having the highest levels of unemployment in London.

An area of nobility during the 19th Century

Paradoxically, this suburb was once a favourite of King Henry I and the Duke of Gloucester.  A little over a century ago, it was regarded as a noble and elegant area on the outskirts of London.  Nothing could be further from the truth today.

Peckham Park. Photo by Andy Matthews /Flickr. Creative Commons License.

But, despite last summer’s riots propelling Peckham into the eye of the storm, it could be said that this is one of the few areas of London that manages to mix and bring together the veritable Tower of Babel of immigrants hailing from the most far flung corners of the globe.  Ultimately, this mix creates a sense of unity and community.

This is visible in Peckham Plaza, site of a modern library (built in 2005), where ceramic sculptures symbolising the four elements, water, earth, fire and air, give it an avant-garde feel.  It’s a place for pondering or whiling away some time on one of the many benches that passers-by are quick to make use of, and all manner of people manage to live in the area without major difficulty. If you look back over your shoulder towards Rye Lane, the Rye Lane Chapel rises up between commercial buildings. Built in 1819, it was destroyed during World War II but subsequently reopened its doors in 1948.

Not far away from the Baptistery is the famous Peckham Rye and Common, a vast Victorian playground and the refuge of a number of writers.  Where the common meets the main road that heads in the direction of Central London, you’ll find Peckham Lodge.  Founded in 1849, this splendid edifice is one of the oldest in the area and now functions as a hotel.

Fruit & Veg in Peckham. Photo by Gerry Popplestone /Flickr. Creative Commons License.

As for culture, there are frequent exhibitions, known as Last Friday, because they are held on the last Friday afternoon of every month. The original idea was to attract the public to the galleries south of the river that are home to the artists of the future and much less stuffy and pretentious than those on the north of the river.  Many of the artists both live and work in the area.

The galleries, that are open between 6.30pm and 8pm, have been developed in former industrial spaces such as Bussey Building or Area 10 which are also used as exhibition halls and music venues.

This is Peckham life.  The area is not just all about crime, insecurity, drugs and gangs, even though that’s what people say. Peckham is also about diversity and solidarity.  It is an area of graffiti-free streets, where people are passionate about culture and can come together in different groups whether secular, religious, political, or educational, where residents hope for solidarity over criticism and support rather than condemnation.

(Translated by Viv Griffiths) Photos: Pixabay

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