Originally a farming area, Catford's name comes from the local wildcats that used to cross the river at this site.

As with so many of London's suburbs, it developed as a residential area after the arrival of the railway in 1857. Badly damaged during the Second World War, Catford has had a series of post-war improvements. However, the continuing uncertainty about the final route of the South Circular Road has prevented major refurbishment. The most prominent feature of Catford is the Catford Cat - a 10ft model hanging from the entrance of the shopping Arcade.

Catford's main focus is as the civic centre for the Borough of Lewisham. The old Town Hall, 'the Catford Cathedral' of 1875 was replaced by the current Civic Suite in 1968, soon after the merger of the metropolitan boroughs of Lewisham and Deptford. Laurence House where many of the borough's offices are housed is on the site of St Laurence's Church. The brutalist Eros House, an architectural award winner, which in 1960 replaced the Lewisham Hippodrome (Catford's music hall), is now Grade II listed. In Rushey Green outside Eros House, the old village hand-pump from the 1850s survives.

Catford's most impressive building is the Broadway Theatre, a curved stone structure decorated with shields and heraldic emblems and topped with an attractive copper-green spire. It was opened in 1932 as the Concert Hall and is now a Grade II listed building. The interior is in art deco style with extraordinary and fantastic detailing. The theatre's star-studded line-up has included Tommy Cooper, Morecambe & Wise, Danny La Rue and Eddie Izzard. It continues as a centre for entertainment in Lewisham. Although the big stars have regularly sold out, the fastest ticket-seller of all time was the late Doris Stokes, a medium from Lee. Doris wrote the best-selling book Voices in my Ear which ensured full houses. All night queues were a feature of her sell-out appearances at the theatre .  

Catford's oldest pub is the Black Horse which existed at least as early as 1700, though the present building dates from 1897. The Holy Cross shop on Brownhill Road is one of Catford's more unusual shops stocking a wide range of religious artifacts: the Virgin Mary statuettes will appeal both to Catholics and to lovers of kitsch!