[3] Originally from Cumbria, the family made their wealth in South Carolina, where they built and managed water-powered rice mills.

In the five years surrounding the arrival of the Docklands Light Railway at Deptford Bridge and Elverson Road, house prices in the area quadrupled.

This resulted in an unusual mix of wealthy city folk commuting to Canary Wharf and less well-off people who had lived in the area for some time.

The recent establishment and expansion of Brockley Farmers' Market, nearest station to which is St. John's, is evidence of on-going gentrification.

At 6:20pm on Wednesday 4 December 1957, in dense fog, two trains collided at St Johns station, killing 90 people and injuring 176 more.

The 5.18pm electric train from Charing Cross to Hayes, with 1,500 passengers on board, was stationary beneath the railway bridge carrying the line to London Victoria, to the east of St Johns station.

Further disaster was narrowly averted two minutes later when the driver of the 5.22pm from Holborn Viaduct to Nunhead, travelling on the elevated section, noticed that the bridge was at an angle and stopped his train.

The official report into the incident, written by C. A. Langley and published in June 1958, goes into great detail, and includes diagrams of where each carriage came to rest, and images of the collapsed bridge as viewed from the Hither Green side.

To the north lies Deptford, an old-fashioned yet vibrant area including, according to BBC News, London's best shopping street.