Sydenham () is a district of south-east London, England, which is shared between the London boroughs of Lewisham, Bromley and Southwark. Prior to the creation of the County of London in 1889, Sydenham was located in Kent, bordering Surrey. Historically, the area was very affluent, with the Crystal Palace being relocated to Sydenham Hill in 1854. Today, Sydenham is a diverse area, with a population of 28,378 (2011 census) and borders Forest Hill, Dulwich, Crystal Palace, Penge, Beckenham, Catford and Bellingham.

History

Originally known as Sippenham, Sydenham began as a small settlement, a few cottages among the woods, whose inhabitants grazed their animals and collected wood. In the 1640s, springs of water in what is now Wells Park were discovered to have medicinal properties, attracting crowds of people to the area. Sydenham grew rapidly in the 19th century after the introduction of the Croydon Canal in 1809 which linked the Grand Surrey Canal to Croydon and a reservoir was constructed in Sydenham. However, the canal was never successful and closed in 1836 resulting in it being the first canal to be abandoned by an Act of Parliament.

The London & Croydon Railway purchased the canal for £40,250 and quickly converted the alignment for a railway from London Bridge to West Croydon, opening in 1839. After the railway opened potential gas companies began to consider the Sydenham area with the Crystal Palace and District Gas Company having works at Bell Green, which continued production until 1969; a retail park now occupies most of the site.

In 1851 the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park was housed in an immense glass building, called the Crystal Palace. In 1854 the building was bought by a private company, dismantled and re-erected at Penge Peak on Sydenham Hill (now Crystal Palace Park). Exhibitions, concerts, conferences and sporting events were held at the Crystal Palace (until it burned down in 1936), and Sydenham became a fashionable area with many new houses being built. In 1871 the French impressionist painter Camille Pissarro produced The Avenue, Sydenham, a largely still recognisable view on today's Lawrie Park Avenue; the painting is now owned by the National Gallery.

In 1860 the Walter Cobb department store at Lawrie Place, Kirkdale (now known as Cobbs Corner) opened, lasting until the 1980s. In 1872, the Children's Hospital, Sydenham opened. It closed in 1991, its services being now part of the University Hospital Lewisham. In 1884, Upper Sydenham railway station opened on the Crystal Palace and South London Junction Railway linking Crystal Palace to London Victoria via Peckham Rye. The station and the line were poorly used despite new houses being built in the area, as passengers preferred to use other stations near-by, Sydenham Hill (opening in 1863), Crystal Palace (Lower Level) and Sydenham which were on more direct routes. The ill fate of the Crystal Palace in 1936 saw patronage reduced and the route finally closed in 1954.

Sydenham was attacked by enemies during the Second World War. The gas works were a target, but were never damaged. The railway which ran through Upper Sydenham station was damaged, and some homes in the area were destroyed.

Local area Sydenham is divided into several localities:

Sydenham Hill in the Boroughs of Lewisham and Southwark runs alongside Dulwich and Sydenham Woods on one of the highest points of Greater London being 112 metres above sea level.Hill Bagging: Tallest Hills of London Retrieved 9 June 2013 From here, the City of London skyline is visible. Sydenham Hill has an abandoned railway tunnel from the Crystal Palace and South London Junction Railway located within the Woods. Another railway tunnel (one of the longest in Britain at 1,958 metres) goes beneath on the Chatham Main Line with station at the London end serving both Sydenham Hill and the college area of Dulwich.

Upper Sydenham is also located on Sydenham Hill and is a part of the Parish of St Bartholomew. It is diverse both racially and in terms of income; the central section of Kirkdale was Sydenham's original High Street. Renamed "Kirkdale" in 1936, the area now has a small range of shops including Tesco Express, local pubs and off-licences. Sydenham School is located on Dartmouth Road with Forest Hill Library and Forest Hill Pools alongside Thorpewood Avenue. Green Flag awarded Sydenham Wells Park, the location of the once famous Springs is one of the largest parks within the postcode.

In the area where West Hill (later renamed Westwood Hill) and Crystal Palace Park Road raise in elevation and eventually meet, many fine villas were built in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Designed in revival architectural styles, fashionable at the time, most of the properties were three or four stories high and large enough to attract more affluent residents. UK Census records suggest that many employed one or more live-in domestic staff. One of the more unusual residential streets, due to its circular arrangement is Charleville Circus,WikiTree: One-Place Study of Charleville Circus Retrieved 21 March 2024 subject of an in-depth One-place study. Upper Sydenham is also the location of the Sydenham Park allotments, the Sydenham electricity sub station which had a major fire in 2008 and the Sydenham Hill estate.

Lower Sydenham & Bell Green is the location of the Sydenham Community Library, formerly run and funded by the local council. Alongside to the library is Home Park and the Home Park estate. The Bridge Leisure Centre is located on Kangley Bridge Road, near to railway station and an industrial estate home to Clarkes coach company, many other businesses and the Beckenham and Sydenham Cricket Ground. Bell Green retail park houses the Sydenham Gas Works and a large Sainsbury's superstore. The section of Kangley Bridge Road that runs south of Lower Sydenham Station is in the London Borough of Bromley and provides land for local employment.

Commercial area Sydenham's main commercial area begins on Kirkdale around Cobbs Corner, continuing onto Sydenham Road, often known as "Sydenham High Street". It houses many independent shops, including a bakery, bookshop and several restaurants and chains stores. Furthermore, Sydenham is noted for the number of independent coffee shops. There is a Post Office branch and many estate agents. After recent closures, Natwest remains the only bank with a branch in the High Street. The first ever location of the Morley's chicken chain opened in Sydenham in 1985, and remains in operation today.

Since the Transport for London and Lewisham Council funded high street upgrade in 2012–13, there is now a monthly market located within the pocket squares, known as "Queensthorpe Square" and "Venner Square". The 18th century Greyhound pub, demolished by a developer without council permission in 2013, was rebuilt and reopened in 2017. Several new businesses such as a Sainsbury's Local opened in 2016 and Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward Estate Agents in 2021/22.

Community Sydenham has a very active community, with several groups concerning the local area. Sydenham Town is the local website for the area, where residents can also voice their opinions in an on-line form.Sydenham Town: The Community Website For SE26 Accessed 30 July 2013 The Sydenham Society is a Civil society formed in 1972 to represent the local community. It holds local events, works with organisations and authorities as well as campaigning for improvements to the area.Sydenham Society: About Us Accessed 30 July 2013 Green Flag and Mayor of London Award winner, Sydenham Garden, was formed in 2002. It is a charity which is involved in improving the health of residents in the boroughs of Bromley and Lewisham.Sydenham Garden: About Us Accessed 30 July 2013

Sydenham with Forest Hill won a bid for the national Portas Pilot competition which provided a grant to improve high streets; extra money was provided from Lewisham Council and private developers.News Shopper: Sydenham and Forest Hill win Portas Pilot funding 25 July 2012, Accessed 30 July 2013 Annually every summer since 2009, the Sydenham Arts Festival is held, where there are workshops, music, family activities etc.Sydenham Arts Festival Accessed 30 July 2013

Conservation areas

Sydenham has seven conservation areas: Cobbs Corner, Dulwich Village (covering Crescent Wood Road),London Borough of Southwark: Map of Conservation Areas Accessed 30 July 2013 Halifax Street, Sydenham Hill/Kirkdale, Sydenham Park and Sydenham Thorpes. Sydenham has the highest concentration of conservation areas in the London Borough of Lewisham.LB Lewisham: Map of Lewisham's conservation areas Accessed 30 July 2013

Recreation

A number of parks are within the Sydenham postcode. Mayow Park, Lewisham's oldest municipal parkLB Lewisham Accessed 12 June 2013 and Sydenham Wells ParkLB Lewisham: Sydenham Wells Park Accessed 12 June 2013 are both Green Flag Awarded. Other open spaces in Sydenham include Alexandra Recreation Ground,LB Bromley: Alexandra Rec Ground Accessed 27 July 2013 Baxters Field, Home ParkLB Lewisham: Home Park Accessed 12 June 2013 and Kirkdale Green.LB: Lewisham Kirkdale Green Accessed 27 July 2013 Riverview Walk is a nature conservation areaLondon Borough of Lewisham: Riverview Park & River Pool Accessed 12 June 2013 which runs along the River Pool from Catford. Additionally, located along the borders of Sydenham, there are Crystal Palace Park, Dulwich Woods, Southend ParkLB Lewisham: Southend Park Accessed 12 June 2013 and Sydenham Hill Woods.

Alongside Dulwich and Sydenham Hill Woods is the Dulwich and Sydenham Golf course, dating back to 1893. Located on Lawrie Park Road, there is the Sydenham Tennis Club, while the Beckenham and Sydenham Cricket Ground and the Lewisham Indoor Bowls Centre are both located in the Lower Sydenham industrial estate.

Sydenham Arts

Sydenham Arts is a local charitable organisation,Team London on Sydenham Arts Accessed 14 March 2016 promoting the arts for the local community, which provides free and ticketed cultural events at several festivals through the year.Sydenham Arts Accessed 11 March 2016Sydenham Visual Art Trail Accessed 11 March 2016Event Reviewed by The Arts Desk Accessed 18 April 2016

Notable buildings and structures

St Bartholomew's church, (1827–1832), at the end of Lawrie Park Avenue, featured in Camille Pissarro's painting of 1871: "The Avenue, Sydenham". The building was designed by Lewis Vulliamy. Park Court, (1936), by Frederick Gibberd, pioneering modernist development of residential flats on the estate on Lawrie Park Road adjacent to the famous Crystal Palace Park. Six Pillars, (1934–35), by Berthold Lubetkin, on Crescent Wood Road, a villa strongly in the spirit of Le Corbusier with eponymous six pillars at street level. Cobbs Corner, takes its name from a draper's shop at 291–307 Kirkdale run by Walter Cobb. The shop grew into a large department store catering to the gentry of the area. Interesting imposing dome where you can find the date on the building. 180 and 182 Kirkdale, built in the 1850s in Gothic style, with Tudor doorcases. 168–178 Kirkdale, three pairs of Italianate houses built around 1862. Number 174 was briefly the home of the conductor August Manns. Memorial to Queen Victoria (1897), baroque-style memorial celebrating Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. Restored for Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee and designed by Alexander Hennell, a Sydenham resident and architect. Jews Walk, it is believed that a wealthy Jewish resident planted a row of trees to define the boundary of his walk from the Common. Numbers 2,4 and 6 are classical villas dating from the 1840s. Karl Marx's daughter Eleanor lived on Jews Walk. On 9 September 2008 a blue English Heritage plaque was placed on the house to commemorate this fact.