Clapham High Street: from Clapham North to the clock tower
A wartime shelter under one end, a 1906 clock tower at the other, and comedy, cabaret, clubs and a library in between. Clapham High Street, walked end to end.
By Clapham London Editorial
Clapham High Street runs from Clapham North station down to the clock tower over Clapham Common station, and the way to do it is in that direction, finishing at Venn Street and the Common. Along the way are free comedy, drag cabaret seven nights a week, a rooftop bar, a disco and some of the latest licences in SW4. By day it is coffee, the library and the Saturday market, and by night it is where SW4 goes to dance. Here is the High Street, end to end.
Start at Clapham North
Two stations sit at the top of the street: Clapham North on the Northern line, and Clapham High Street on the Overground's Windrush line, a short walk apart. Under your feet is a piece of wartime history. According to the Clapham Society, a deep shelter was dug beneath Clapham North, one of a chain of twin-tunnel shelters along the Northern line. It was handed over in October 1942, opened to the public in July 1944 when the V1 and V2 attacks began, and was used for document storage after the war, until 1951.
The Railway, 18 Clapham High Street
Start with a laugh. The Railway hosts Comedy Bandits on Wednesday and Thursday nights, free to watch, with a ticketed Most Wanted show on the last Friday of the month at 8pm, from £13.20. Reserve a seat even for the free nights: they fill up.
Along the street
The Two Brewers, 114 Clapham High Street
The Two Brewers is the LGBTQ+ bar that runs drag cabaret seven nights a week, 365 days a year. It opens at 5pm, or 4pm on Sundays, and stays open until 4am on Fridays and Saturdays. Over-18s only, with photo ID.
Clapham Library, 91 Clapham High Street
For the daytime, Clapham Library in the Mary Seacole Centre is Lambeth's largest library, with a performance space and meeting rooms. It is open seven days a week, has lift access, and is free and warm on a wet afternoon.
Aquum, 68-70 Clapham High Street
Aquum is the all-in-one: a bar, a steak restaurant, a club and a heated rooftop. It is closed Monday to Wednesday and open late Thursday to Sunday, until 3.30am on Fridays and Saturdays. The weekend bottomless brunch is £35 for 90 minutes of drinks with a dish from the menu.
Infernos, 146 Clapham High Street
Infernos is the disco: themed nights such as Pure Anthems and Ultimate Power, karaoke rooms and a queue that the club itself admits is long at peak times. Buy an advance ticket and arrive on time.
Coffee just off the street
Turn into Clapham Park Road for Common Espresso Bar at number 10. Chef Nikita Pathakji of MAAI told Hot Dinners it serves her favourite flat white in London.
The bottom: Venn Street and the clock tower
Venn Street
Near the Clapham Common end, Venn Street has the Saturday market, which runs from 10am to 3pm according to its own site, Clapham Picturehouse with four screens and a bar, and Venn Street Records at number 78, the vinyl-themed live music bar that stays open until 2am Thursday to Saturday.
The clock tower
The High Street ends at the clock tower above Clapham Common station. Lambeth Archives record that it was unveiled on 19 July 1906, a gift to the parish from Alexander Glegg, Mayor of Wandsworth, which then included Clapham, and that it was taken down and rebuilt when the station's new booking hall was built beneath it. Across the road is the Common, and beyond it the Old Town.
The High Street by day and by night
- Morning: coffee on Clapham Park Road, then the library.
- Saturday: Venn Street Market from 10am, and an afternoon film at the Picturehouse.
- Early evening: 2-for-1 cocktails at Venn Street Records on Mondays, or comedy at The Railway midweek.
- Late: drag at The Two Brewers, R&B at Aquum, disco at Infernos.
Know before you go
The High Street is at its busiest on Friday and Saturday nights, with queues outside the clubs. Book tables and tickets where you can, bring photo ID, and wear proper shoes: The Two Brewers turns away flip-flops and sliders. In the daytime it is a different street entirely, calmer and slower, and a good walk between the stations and the Common, with the library and the coffee to stop for on the way.
When you are done, walk across the Common to the Old Town, or catch the Northern line home from Clapham Common. Either way, you have done the High Street properly.
