Catford: no fishing allowed

Catford was mainly marshland - hence the name Rushey Green — and the name “Catford” clearly commemorates a ford over a river.  The land was mainly used for agriculture, when it was not flooded.  When the railway line reached Catford Bridge in 1857 this led to the development of the area for housing.

Queen Elizabeth I stayed at a house on Catford Hill. There were one or two rich people’s houses in Catford, but mainly it was an agricultural area until 1857 when the railways arrived. From then onwards, the area was extensively developed into residential houses, beginning at Rushey Green.

The one thing I always remember about Catford is that it used to have a stream running right through the middle of Rushey Green until one day in 1855, when some workmen laying a sewer pierced a hole in the river bed and the whole river simply drained away. I shouldn’t laugh, but the idea of some builders taking a swing with a pickaxe in the wrong place, and watching an entire river gurgle down the plug hole, does seem quite  amusing. Perhaps not if you’re living in Rushey Green, and you could have had a nice riverside property. I bet those builders cleared off before the populace came back from work looking forward to a nice evening with their fishing rods. No, mate, never saw a thing.