Derelict house on Coldharbour Lane. Is this Brixton’s longest abandoned house?

Is this Brixton's longest abandoned house?

Slowly rotting away on Coldharbour Lane (by Barrington Road) is this four-floored Victorian terraced house.

It’s looked like this for getting on for two decades and now seems to be in a rather precarious state of repair.

Is this Brixton's longest abandoned house?

Although the front door has been covered in a metal grill for as long as I can remember, I can recall seeing a light on in the top window a few years ago and an urban75 poster noticed a  ” light on in the downstairs hallway when I went past on the bus the other week.”

Irish and English flags have been draped from the top windows, although the Irish one seems to have disappeared from the badly deteriorated right window. Maybe the place was squatted for a while?

Is this Brixton's longest abandoned house?

A view from March 2011 shows the roof in slightly better condition.

Is this Brixton's longest abandoned house?

Top floor detail, March 2007.

abandoned-house-coldharbour-lane-3

Another March 2007 view.

With Brixton gentrifying at a hideous rate and property prices soaring, it seems remarkable that the building has remained untouched for so long. Anyone knows its history?

Update: it seems that despite its dilapidated appearance, the building is in fact occupied. Many thanks to readers for the info. See the thread on urban75 for more info. 

6 Comments on “Derelict house on Coldharbour Lane. Is this Brixton’s longest abandoned house?”

  1. Hi. It’s not abandoned or squatted. A bloke lives there, in the back of the house. He owns the property. Apparently the house is structurally sound even though it looks derelict. PS the downstairs light is always on!

  2. Thanks for the update Ruth. It must be mighty grim inside!

    Do you know how he gets in to the building? The front door doesn’t look like it’s opened in a long while.

  3. Don’t think it’s abandoned. Just last week I saw an older gentleman exiting the property through the front door in the early evening.

  4. I live a couple of houses down. John, who owns it, has lived there for years and comes and goes through the front door like we all do. He’s often out sweeping the front step and during the snow was shoveling it away from outside. He often stops to chat to people along that block of houses.

  5. hi peanut monkey please be alert this derilict house could be in the sight of the planners they will find any excuse to demolish more of victorian houses of brixton remember the late geneva rd / sussex rd /somerleyton / loughbourgh rd/

  6. The house isn’t abandoned, we used to live next door. The man that lives there often sweeps the pavement to clear away leaves and snow. He’s a nice man, just doesn’t like being bothered so don’t knock on the door!

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