ON
TOUR
BROCKLEY
Exchange extra took a trip south of the river to meet colleagues at Brockley station
ON THE WILD SIDE
It may be in the heart of one of south London’s most built-up boroughs, but you’d be forgiven for thinking Brockley station was in the middle of a country park.
One route to the ticket office is via a sloping walkway that takes passengers through the station’s community garden – a picturesque landscaped area of trees, bushes and shrubs. But a decade or so ago it looked very different.
“The area near the entrance was either bare or covered in weeds, so we arranged for someone to clear it and we put a few bulbs in the ground,” recalled gateline assistant Daniel Wright. The full-scale garden that has since sprung up is a community benefit of a nearby residential development. It is meticulously maintained by station colleagues and by volunteers from the Brockley Cross Action Group.
“I’ve always loved gardening. It’s great for your mental wellbeing.”
DID YOU KNOW?
The name Brockley is thought to derive from broc – the Old English for badger.
SEEDS OF AN IDEA
In line with the station’s urban garden approach, colleagues are hoping to launch a planting project with local young people. The idea is to offer packets of sunflower seeds to school children for them to plant and nurture until the plants are large enough to be displayed at the station – their own contribution to the floral furnishing. Because it’s now too late in the season to plant, the team hopes to get the scheme up and running next spring.
WHY I LOVE BROCKLEY
Angela Davis,
service delivery manager
HONEST FEEDBACK
“We have good colleagues here and customers who are very proud of the station. They will always tell us if there something we can do better.”
Andrea Witter,
customer host
DIVERSE AND FRIENDLY
“It’s a vibrant area. There’s a real diverse mix of people here – old, young, families, commuters and local business people – and everyone is very friendly.”
Daniel Wright,
gateline assistant
FIELD OF DREAMS
“I heard a lot about a park near here called Hilly Fields but I’d never been there so my daughter and I decided to go one weekend and we loved it.”
COVID CALMING
One lasting consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic has had a beneficial impact at Brockley. The street immediately outside the station was pedestrianised during the height of Covid restrictions, and while lockdowns have eased, the road has remained traffic free. Colleagues say it has helped create a more relaxed atmosphere and also made it safer for customers. “It is somewhere people enjoy stopping for a coffee or a drink on the way home. It’s a meeting place, not just somewhere to catch the train,” said customer host Andrea Witter.
DID YOU KNOW?
Brockley’s Grade II listed Rivoli Ballroom has featured in many films and TV shows, from Strictly Come Dancing to The Muppets.
BROCK 'N' ROLL
For a relatively small corner of London, Brockley has been home to a surprising number of pop stars. Among those who have lived in the area are Kate Bush, the 80s icon rediscovered in 2022 by the Netflix generation. Brockley has also been home to soul superstars Gabrielle and Mica Paris, as well as noughties indie band Athlete.
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