Sydenham

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…

Geography

Sydenham is approximately to the south east of Charing Cross. It is also at the centre of many of south London's major shopping districts being south of Lewisham, north west of Bromley and north of Croydon. Upper Sydenham and Sydenham Hill is located on the large Norwood Ridge formed of London Claygate beds deposits; Sydenham Hill is one of the highest points in London at 367 feet (112 m). Sydenham Hill Wood is a nine-hectare nature reserve located west of Sydenham Hill Road, along with Dulwich and Sydenham Hill Golf course. The hill was once covered by the Great North Wood which covered all of Sydenham, Norwood, Woodside, Gipsy Hill etc. In the 19th Century it was home to the spa and health resort of Sydenham Wells. The western parts of Sydenham, from Upper Sydenham and Forest Hill towards Crystal Palace Park is a more leafy, suburban area with some parts like the Lawrie Park and Thorpes areas being more affluent than others. Lower Sydenham at the bottom of more gentle slopes being east of Upper Sydenham, south of Forest Hill and west of Bellingham. The River Pool, a tributary of the River Ravensbourne straddles the east of Lower Sydenham along the Hayes railway line. The nearest Met Office climate station is based in Greenwich Park:

Most-observed species

• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  63,485
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  61,783
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  59,381
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  56,060
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  53,929
• Rose-ringed Parakeet

  Psittacula krameri (Scopoli, 1769) · Aves
  52,275
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  47,270
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  46,681

Most recent

• M 3.1 — 2020-09-22
  5 km N of Aylesbury, United Kingdom
• M 3.9 — 2020-09-08
  2 km WSW of Pitstone, United Kingdom
• M 3.3 — 2019-02-27
  3 km SE of Dorking, United Kingdom
• M 2.8 — 2018-07-05
  1 km S of Ewhurst, United Kingdom
• M 2.6 — 2018-06-27
  5 km W of Capel, United Kingdom
• M 2.7 — 2018-04-01
  4 km E of Holmwood, United Kingdom