Historical version 9 of Locale Sydenham (view current version)

Dulwich E Dulwich Forest Hill
W Dulwich Sydenham Bellingham
Norwood Penge New Beckenham

An area of South-East London, mostly lying within the London Borough of Lewisham (in the SE26 postal district).

It is served by three rail stations, which from west to east are Sydenham Hill, Sydenham, and Lower Sydenham, offering mainline services to Victoria or London Bridge. Sydenham Station is also on the East London Line.

Prior to the late nineteeth century, Sydenham was basically a rural village. However, the coming of the railway in the mid-1800s, the divvying-up of the common land by local landowners, and the relocation of the Crystal Palace from [Hyde Park]? to Sydenham in 1852 all contributed to its transformation into a London suburb. The proximity of the Crystal Palace, where regular concerts were held, attracted a number of musicians and composers to the area, as well as writers such as George Grove (of Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians).

[Crystal Palace Park]? is still the largest public green space in the area, but there are also a number of smaller parks, such as Mayow Park. While Sydenham has been described as "pound shop capital of the world", this is perhaps a rather unfair characterisation. The public life of the area is mostly concentrated around Sydenham Road, which runs east from Sydenham Station, and is lined with cafes, mini-markets, independent furnishing shops, and other small businesses. The more ubiquitous high-street chain stores are absent, though smaller and more retro/local chains, like Wimpy and Morley's Fried Chicken, can still be seen.

See also:

Auto-generated list of places in Sydenham (view them on a map):

Historical info mostly extracted by Kake from Sydenham and Forest Hill, by Joan P Alcock.
This is version 9 (as of 2010-05-23 15:03:54). View current version. List all versions.