West Dulwich
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| West Dulwich | |
  West Dulwich shown within Greater London |
|
| OS grid reference | |
|---|---|
| London borough | Southwark |
| Lambeth | |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | London |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LONDON |
| Postcode district | SE21 |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| European Parliament | London |
| UK Parliament | Dulwich and West Norwood |
| London Assembly | Lambeth and Southwark |
| List of places: UK • England • London | |
West Dulwich is an area in England that straddles the London Borough of Lambeth and the London Borough of Southwark. Croxted Road and South Croxted Road mark the boundary between London Borough of Southwark on the east and London Borough of Lambeth to the west. The South London suburb dates back to the seventeenth century when the land was acquired by Edward Alleyn. Best known for the respected Dulwich College, it is a relatively affluent residential area which has a sleepier feel to it than that of neighbouring areas such as East Dulwich or West Norwood.
It has two main parades of shops, the main one being on the Croxted Road/Park Hall Road junction. Shops there include Tesco, and a number of high end or independent shops. The second parade is on Rosendale Road which features more typical local shops. Recently The Rosendale Pub was redeveloped into a Gastropub and was awarded the title of Timeout London Best Gastropub 2007. There is a talk of further developments on this stretch of road to capitalise on the success of the Rosendale. Another upscale eatery is Beauberry House which is set in the grounds of Belair Park opposite West Dulwich Train Station. Slightly further afield is the shopping area of Norwood Road in West Norwood which has a selection of national retail outlets.
On the fourth Sunday of every month there is a Farmers' Market in the grounds of Dulwich College.
West Dulwich Train Station sits on the Thurlow Park Road part of the South Circular and is in the north eastern part of the area. Off peak the station is served four times an hour with trains into Victoria train station and peak times to both Victoria and to Blackfriars train station. The closest tube station is Brixton tube which is 10 minutes distance by bus.
Contents |
[edit] Politics
West Dulwich forms part of the Dulwich and West Norwood constituency whose current member of Parliament is Tessa Jowell MP of the Labour Party. At the local government level, West Dulwich is split between College Ward, East Dulwich and Village Ward in London Borough of Southwark and Gipsy Hill Ward and Thurlow Park Ward in London Borough of Lambeth. Dulwich is a traditional Conservative area: currently six of the nine Dulwich councillors are Conservative.
[edit] Green spaces
Dulwich Wood, Dulwich Park, Brockwell Park and Belair Park are all within walking distance of West Dulwich. Being so close to Dulwich Village means that there are many small pockets of greenery such as those on Park Hall Road, Rosendale Road and College Road.
The Rosendale Allotmentswere established in 1908. It is an 18 acre site owned by Dulwich Estate on the eastern side of Knights Hill between Herne Hill and Tulse Hill in South London.
[edit] Knight's Hill
Confusingly, there are two areas called Knight's Hill nearby; the better known area is the residential area and electoral ward in West Norwood by the road called Knights Hill. But there is another hill to the north near Thurlow Park Road known as Knight's Hill (over the Tulse Hill railway tunnel, West Dulwich), which West Dulwich railway station was originally named after. It includes the hilly land between the western end of Thurlow Park Road (South Circular), Peabody Hill and Lovelace Road, where the adjoining Rosendale allotments in Dulwich stand today. The green area is still marked as Knight's Hill on detailed maps, but not normally on modern streetmaps to avoid confusion. Both areas have similar origins, first mentioned as belonging to Thomas Knyght in 1545, and were known as Knight's Hill Common and Knight's Hill Farm, respectively. The train line between Herne Hill railway station and Tulse Hill railway station runs underneath the hill. Today the Peabody Hill estate lies on the western side of Knights Hill with the Rosendale Road allotments on the east.
[edit] Schools
Although renowned for excellent independent schools at all age levels, there is inadequate state schools provision. Added to this is the fact that residents in West Duwlich will live either in Southwark or Lambeth and therefore their choice of schools is limited even further. Within West Dulwich there are four state primary schools and one secondary school. Whether as a consequence of this or not, the number of private schools is well above the local average - Oakfield Preparatory , Rosemead Preparatory , Dulwich College and Dulwich college Preparatory schools.
[edit] Timeline
- Saxon Dulwich
967 - Edgar the Peaceful granted Dilwihs to a thane named Earl Aelfheah. Dilwihs meant 'meadow where the dill grew'.
- Medieval Dulwich
1066 - King William I of England is owner of Dulwich, taking the land from King Harold II of England
Lordship Lane was the eastern boundary of Dulwich Manor with Friern Manor and Croxted Road (formerly Croks Street Lane) the western boundary with Lord Thurlow's estate.
- Tudor Dulwich
1538 - Dulwich no longer property of Bermondsey Abbey with Dissolution.
1544 - Dulwich granted to goldsmith Thomas Calton for £609 by Henry VIII.
- Stuart Dulwich
1605 - Estate sold for £4,900 to Edward Alleyn by Sir Francis Calton
1619 - Dulwich College was founded by Edward Alleyn
1785 - Belair House Beauberry House was built by architect Robert Adam.
- Georgian Dulwich
1805 (+1814) - Dulwich Common enclosed.
1812 - Kingswood House built by William Vizard
- Victorian Dulwich
1851 - Dulwich's population: 1,632.
1856 - West Dulwich railway station opened as Knights Hill Station.
1868 - Old village green is bought for public use.
1870 - Dulwich College moved to new campus on College Roasd designed by Charles Barry Junior
1888 - All Saints Church built between 1888 and 1897 designed by G H Fellowes Prynne
1890 - Dulwich Park opened.
- Modern Dulwich
1900 - Part of the Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell.
1901 - Dulwich's Population: 10,247
1940s - World War II: the Blitz and the V1 & V-2 rocket flying bombs caused widespread damage to Dulwich.
1965 - Became part of new London Borough of Southwark and London Borough of Lambeth.
2000 - All Saints Church Gutted by fire
[edit] Buildings of interest
In addition to the College other buildings of interest are Beauberry House, The Grade 1 listed All Saints Church, West Dulwich home of the Lambeth Orchestra, burned down, but re-opened on the same site in 2006 thanks to the sustained work of parishioners and the local community, Kingswood House a grade 2 listed mansion and The Rosendale gastropub is housed in a fine coaching house and still retains the original Royal Doulton tiles.
[edit] Notable residents
- P G Wodehouse attended the College
- John Lawson Johnston also known as 'Mr Bovril'
[edit] References
[edit] See also
- Dulwich
- East Dulwich
- West Norwood
- Dulwich Wood
- Belair Park
- All Saints Church, West Dulwich
- West Dulwich railway station
