10 April 1999: The Party on Railton Road, Brixton

Night number two down at Sheppard’s
Right up Railton road
It was a night name Friday when everyone was high on brew or drew
A pound or two worth of Kali

– Lynton Kwesi Johnson, Five Nights A Bleeding

 

 

We’re in South London on 10 April 1999. There’s a street party outside the 121 Centre at 121, Railton Rd, Brixton, Lambeth. Peter Marshall was there taking pictures of an event that marked the end of an era. From 1981 to 1999, the building’s three floors had hosted a squatted autonomous centre. There was a bookshop, cafe, rehearsal space, printing room, office and meeting space. It was the headquarters for many organisations, including Bad Attitude magazine, AnarQuist, Brixton Squatters’ Aid and Anarchist Black Cross.

It all began to end in January 1999 when the squatters lost a court case against Lambeth Council’ claims to ownership of the building. To protest, the squatters launched an ‘invasion’ of Lambeth Town Hall, staged street theatre productions, handed out flyers and self-published South London Stress magazine.

As the date for eviction neared, some squatters barricaded themselves inside the building. they held out. And almost three months after the eviction deadline had passed, on 10th April 1999 the party began. The road was blocked off with barricades.

 

 

As someone who was there writes:

By 5 the party was in full swing with a wild d’n’bass set. As night drew in fires were lit in the street and the Ragga returned hard and heavy till 11. There was some strange echoes and recontextualising of Railton Road’s history here. The locals looked on with a mix of curiosity and indifference. All are welcome but you know that the audience is white/euro anarchists.

 

 

The building as cleared in mid-August 1999. The London Evening Standard reported:

Six sheriff’s bailiffs, assisted by a specialist armed police force, entered the 121 Centre in Brixton’s Railton Road shortly after 6.30am and successfully removed the seven remaining illegal residents.

The centre, which has drawn worldwide attention since residents barricaded themselves in to resist eviction more than seven months ago, was set up in 1981 as a collective.

Lambeth council has attempted to evict them on a number of occasions, but until today its actions proved fruitless.

At the last attempt, police were met by a demonstration of nearly 70 protesters who blocked the road and set up barricades inside the building, which also acted as an advice centre for squatters as well as a cafe, party venue and printing office.

 

 

Occupants had organised a highly efficient campaign from inside the three-storey building with the use of a website and newsletter circulated among supporters, who included anarchists, hunt saboteurs and other radical issue campaigners.

An emergency siren and internal defences with easy-to-assemble barricades were also used to maintain occupancy.

However, there was no sign of any resistance from the small group of residents woken this morning, and the building was vacated in minutes.

One squatter, Tom, 22, from Norway, said residents had become disillusioned with efforts to keep the centre open since police attempted their last eviction in February…

 

 

“It was so aggressive and people just kind of gave up. But they won’t be able to secure the building and people will try and enter it again.” Tom says he will move to another London squat. He described today’s raid: “They forced us out of the building. There seemed to be two groups and the first one came through the windows on the second floor. They did not even let us put our shoes on.”

The council said staff had prepared themselves for a fight, with more than 150 police officers standing by. It had, however, been a success, he added. “It was very successful, with everything happening very swiftly.”

The bailiffs, with the specialist unit, entered the brightly-coloured building through windows on the upper floors, Chief Inspector Martin Bagg said. They met with no resistance, he added.

 

 

Lambeth leader Jim Dickson, who was once the victim of an office raid when 30 protesters from the centre stormed his council room, said: “We are systematically clearing up the borough and dealing with the legacy of the past. Our action today sends out a very clear message to the squatters – the council will keep taking action over squatted property until there is none left.”

However, Kuru, a 24-year-old squatter from Brazil, said: “What the police and the council are doing is just adding to the problem of homelessness in London. But they won’t succeed in stopping us from squatting because we’ll just go elsewhere.”

The building, which is being cleared of the occupants’ belongings, will be auctioned.