Telling us where you are in the centre
Start with a landmark rather than a street name. People here say they are by the clock tower at the north end of the High Street, which was pedestrianised in 1994 and has a daily street market; outside Lewisham station, opposite the Glass Mill Leisure Centre; or near University Hospital Lewisham and St Mary's church on the older south side. With a landmark and a door number, you can be found fast, and you are told the price, who is coming and how they will try to get in without damage.
What the homes are like, and what that means for the lock
The centre moved north when the North Kent line arrived in 1849 and brought commuter housing, so older streets are Victorian houses, many now split into flats. A converted house has a shared front door and a separate door to each flat. If you are locked out of a flat, ask your landlord or managing agent who holds a key to the shared door before anything else.
The other change is the tall blocks built around Loampit Vale and Molesworth Street over the last fifteen years. Their flat doors are usually fire doors on a cylinder or mortice lock, and the block's management company often holds a spare key and sets rules on changing locks. A locksmith can help, but the block's rules come first.
Doors in a conservation area
For how Lewisham compares with its neighbours, see our UK burglary statistics. Lewisham Park is a mostly residential conservation area with its own Article 4 direction. It is not the shopping centre. Lewisham Council says that under an Article 4 direction, changes to doors on a house used as a single home need planning permission, while flats and commercial properties do not have those permitted development rights. A lock repair or a like for like cylinder is a different thing from a new front door, so check your street with the council before ordering one.
Common jobs
- Locked out of a converted flat or a tower block flat.
- Fire door cylinders and mortice locks that stick or have worn.
- Lock changes after losing keys or moving in.
- Shared hall doors that no longer latch.
Questions people ask
What if the block's agent holds the keys? Ring them while we are on the way; ask what they charge too. Our own prices are fixed before we set off. For market ranges, see what a locksmith costs in London.
Can you work on a fire door? We tell you before work starts whether a change is allowed.
Do you cover the south side near the hospital? Yes, the same hours and the same prices.
Nearby
We also cover Catford, Hither Green and Brockley.
All areas