Last days of Peckham Rye Station Arcade

The Arcade in front of Peckham Rye station is empty and awaiting demolition - in fact signs around the site say that it demolition was due to start in summer 2025.

The two-storey building was built in around 1935 to occupy the square in front of the Victorian train station. It was designed by Scottish architect John James Joass who was also responsible for some of the buildings at London Zoo and for Whiteley's department store in Bayswater. Its demolition is part of a plan to reinstate the original square, so that the grand main station building can be seen from Rye Lane (architect's impression below). 

I can't say the Arcade has particularly happy memories for me, the many hours I spent there were mainly in the dentists chair, though there were some really nice dentists there over the years.  Others have had more pleasant experiences, including in recent years some great soul and jazz nights at the CLF Art Cafe & Roof Garden upstairs.

'Brotherhood of Breath' at CLF Arts Cafe, Station Way in 2022

While I might not be going to the barricades to save it, I think in its final days we can certainly celebrate its features and history. There is a faded art deco grandeur to the place and in its current state of graffiti'd dereliction it is the classic example of a kind of early 21st century Peckham grime that is gradually being cleaned up and swept away.

In its earlier life the Station Arcade hosted an Irish dance hall, the Brian Boru Social Club, in the late 1930s:

James Power was the proprietor of the Brian Boru Social Club

During the Second World War the Camberwell district of the Young Communist League had its HQ at 1a Station Approach 

Stalin was right say the YCL in 1943! At this time of course, the USSR was a key ally in the war against Hitler, so such praise was not that unusual in Britain at the time.

'Young Communists' Talent Contest', South London Observer, 23 April 1943

After the war the London County Council ran one of its Civic Restaurants there, one of a chain aiming to offer affordable food. With Jenny's cafe in the arcade in its later years, many thousands of meals must have been eaten in the arcade, and many cups of tea drunk.

When The Pogues came to Skehans

Incredible scenes at Skehans pub (Kitto Road SE14) last week when the surprize musical guests turned out to be... The Pogues. Yes I know Pogues singer Shane MacGowan is two year's gone, but this line up included key founding members Spider Stacey and Jem Finer, and some amazing guest musicians including Darragh Lynch from Lankum and Iona Zajac

(photo from Pogues bassist Holly Mullineaux insta)

The event on 10 December 2025 was actually the Christmas party for food pop up Pears for Lunch, founded by food writer and cook Ben Lippett with the party sponsored by Jameson's whiskey. The place was absolutely packed, as you might expect.

(for people who don't know the pub I should point out that it's not one of those pubs with a big back room for gigs etc - the Pogues were right in the public bar)

Critical Mass mark killing of cyclist on Old Kent Road.

 Hundreds of cyclists rode down Old Kent Road and New Cross Road last week (Friday 28 November 2025) as part of the monthly Critical Mass ride. 

Critical Mass is a monthly bike ride on the last Friday in over 300 cities, started in 1992 and in London in 1994, to highlight bike-unfriendly cities. With no formal leadership, cyclists meet at a set time and place to ride together. In London, people meet on the last Friday of the month 19:00 on the South Bank under Waterloo Bridge.

Critical Mass outside the New Cross Inn

The ride paused on the Old Kent Road near the Dunton Road junction where a 'ghost bike' memorial had been placed to mark the death of a cyclist a week before. 34 year old Gery (full name not released) was killed there on 21 November 2025';  a driver has been arrested 'on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving' 

Flare and flowers on Critical Mass ride

The cyclist has not been publicly named at this stage, but there are some very touching messages from friends on site - 'you were one of the most genuine people we ever met, kind, generous and hilarious' - a reminder that behind each road death statistic is a terrible personal tragedy.

Update January 2026:

Sad to report that another cyclist has been killed on this road so soon after Gery. Irene Leardini, aged 39, died on 20 January 2026 after being hit by a lorry on New Cross Road close to New Cross Gate station. Irene, originally from Italy, was herself a bike mechanic (picture below from Insta),

I cycled through there earlier that day and thought to myself how dangerous that section is. Travelling south east on New Cross Road by the Sainsburys junction there is a bit where two lanes of traffic merge into one and where some of the left lane turns left into Sainsburys and some go straight ahead, so as a cyclist if you stay left you risk being hit by left turning traffic but if you go in the middle you risk being hit by vehicles in the left lane going straight ahead.

On that same route towards/from London Bridge, this time on Borough High Street, 35 year old David Clark was killed by the police when hit by a car on 6 January. His wife commented: 'My husband David was not a headline, a statistic, or a passing news story. He was a loving husband, a devoted father to our baby daughter, a son, a brother and a deeply cherished friend. His death has left a profound and lasting void in our lives'.

Rest in power beautiful people, make it stop those of us still here.