Major points of interest include the Rivoli Ballroom, the Brockley Jack Theatre and the Arts and Crafts Gothic church of St Hilda.

The rapid pace of expansion of the area continued pre-First World War, with the building of more shops and facilities to support the growing population.

"[6] A handsome Edwardian public library was built next to the railway station in 1905 and, eight years later, a local cinema – the Crofton Park Picture Palace – first opened its doors.

[10] The 1901 census returns show Bertram Noakes as head of the household living in Brockley Hall with his five spinster sisters (Pauline, Elizabeth, Kate, Ada and Maude) and four servants.

The old lady would bury her pets in the grounds of Brockley Hall and give each one a marked gravestone – even her pigs and cows.

[13] A V1 'doodlebug' hit on the evening of 18 June 1944 destroyed Brockley Road School and killed five members of the Crofton Park Home Guard.

Within, the rooms are dark with low-pitched ceilings and redolent of beer and tobacco, of which is added the flavour of antiquity from ancient walls and beams.

"[16] The association with highwaymen is also cited in the account which continues: "There was a particular staircase so constructed that it could be removed at night, and thus cut off access to the upper storey, in case of criminals being secreted there.

"[16] The film star comedian Will Hay recalled the old Brockley Jack in his unfinished autobiography, I Enjoyed Every Minute: "Almost at the corner of the street was romance in the shape of a very old inn, several hundred years old, The Brockley Jack, a reputed haunt and 'pull up' for highwaymen including the famous Dick Turpin.

I remember the place quite well – small rooms with the ceiling so low that even a man of ordinary height couldn't stand upright.

Alas, the romance didn't long survive on arrival within the district for the place was condemned and pulled down to make way for a modern building."

However, the programme concluded that local legends about a highwayman called Brockley Jack may have been later embroidery to drum up business.

The Grade II listed building is constructed of Crowborough brick with Chilmark stone dressings and is a fine example of Arts and Crafts ideas superimposed onto Gothic church design.

[21] The war memorial in front of the church is in the form of a granite Celtic cross and is inscribed with 141 names of the fallen.

[23] The library building has been given local listing by Lewisham Borough Council, which describes it as making "a handsome contribution towards the streetscape".

A small group of local actors, David Kincaid, Peter Rocca and Michael Bottle, hit upon the idea of staging dramatic productions in this back room.

Gradually, finance was secured and with the help of the brewery, Greene King, the room has been transformed over the years into the vibrant little theatre, fully equipped, that it now is.

It has now become a hub of local creativity, staging plays as diverse as 'Julius Caesar', 'Of Mice and Men', 'She Stoops to Conquer' and 'Lilies'.

Originally built as Crofton Park Picture Palace in 1913, the early cinema was renamed the Rivoli in 1929 and subsequently turned into a ballroom.

[32] The English Heritage listing rests largely on the Rivoli's 1950s makeover, describing it as a: "luxuriant, exotic and deeply theatrical" interior, little altered since 1960.

Described as a popular location of music, fashion and TV shoots because of its kitsch and authentic interior, the article also notes: "There is nothing quite like it anywhere else in London.

The Liberal Democrats lost a net of five seats, Crofton Park ward being the party's only gain from Labour anywhere in London.