Hatcham was the name for most of the New Cross area until the wider fame of the New Cross Turnpike Trust and its gate (called after the local pub) brought about a change. Hatcham, a charity estate administered by the Haberdashers' Company, was an area of farms and country houses, often let to Haberdashers.

The largest property was the moated Hatcham House.

Map by John Rocque 1741 - 1745.