For over 30 years, until its eventual brutal demolition,  twenty four houses in this South London street were squatted by a fluid and diverse range of groups and individuals, who established an autonomous community which functioned outside the bounds of governmental control.

Over the years, this multicultural community provided a refuge and home to thousands of people.  It is often referred to as one of Britain’s most distinctive communities due to its unusual melting pot of people, many of whom have fallen through the net of society yet managed to form a fluid, stabilising and caring community outside the mainstream.
 
The street is also a well-known Rastafarian enclave with the International  Rastafarian Headquarters, a temple and the Rastafarian Community Centre. In the mid 70’s Bob Marley spent much of his time there and often played football in the street.