Windrush Square
*Windrush Square was dedicated on this date in 1998. Often referred to as Brixton Oval, it is an open public space in the center of Brixton, South London. It honors Britain's Windrush generation and occupies an area in front of the Brixton Tate Library. After changing its name to Tate Gardens, it has its current moniker.
The square name recognizes the important contribution of the Afro Caribbean community to the area, marking the 50th anniversary of the community's arrival. It was the Windrush that in 1948 brought to the United Kingdom from Jamaica, the largest group thus far of post-war West Indian migrants (over 800 declared their last residence in the Caribbean), 236 of whom had no abode on arrival and were temporarily housed in the deep-level air raid shelter in Clapham Common. Some 1.7 miles away, at the western end of Coldharbour Lane in Brixton, was the nearest employment exchange to the shelter.
Many of these migrants eventually found accommodation in the area. The organization Black Cultural Archives is now at 1 Windrush Square. On this date in 2017, the African and Caribbean War Memorial, the United Kingdom's first national memorial to African and Caribbean service personnel who fought in the First and Second World Wars, was unveiled in Windrush Square. Windrush Square is protected from development as it was formerly part of Rush Common.
