Dulwich
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about Dulwich in London. Dulwich, South Australia is a suburb of Adelaide.
Dulwich is a generally prosperous settlement mostly in the London Borough of Southwark with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth. There are number of recognised districts in Dulwich. These include:
- North Dulwich which borders Herne Hill
- Dulwich Village which includes the traditional village centre
- East Dulwich which bounds Peckham and includes the best restaurants in the area.
- West Dulwich which is a mainly residential area in the London Borough of Lambeth, bordering West Norwood and Tulse Hill.
Dulwich is one of two places referred to as a village within London, the other village is Highgate
Dulwich is situated in a valley surrounded by Crystal Palace to the south, Dog Kennel Hill to the north and Herne Hill to the west.
It is basically divided into three parts: Dulwich Village, West Dulwich, and East Dulwich. Dulwich Village contains the original shopping street and still contains nearly all of its original 18th and 19th century buildings. It remains very uncommercialised and is a conservation zone. The village is considered to be very green for an urban area and borders on Dulwich Park, where the Dulwich Horse and Motor Show is held every year (it was here that the new Toyota Corolla made its first UK appearance at a motor show in 1997).
Dulwich is considered a desirable place to live. House prices in the Village routinely top £1 million, sometimes rising to several times that amount, even for houses of a relatively modest size. Margaret Thatcher used to own a house on Dulwich Common, Eddie George, Governor of the Bank of England still lives here and Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman reportedly bought a house right in the village, although this has never been confirmed.
Dulwich is also home to Dulwich Hamlet, an amateur football club set up in 1893 and still competing in the Isthmian League today.
East Dulwich now focuses around Lordship Lane, a much larger high street. There is traditionally a divide between East Dulwich and Dulwich Village and this is reflected in the property prices, similar houses costing as much as £5,000 more on the West side of Lordship Lane[specify].
Dulwich and East Dulwich cover a fertile valley between hills, Denmark Hill and Dog Kennel Hill to the north, Sydenham Hill and One Tree Hill, Honor Oak, to the south.
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[edit] History
The first documented evidence of Dulwich is as a hamlet outside London in 967AD, granted by King Edgar to one of his thanes Earl Aelfheah. The name of Dulwich has been spelt in various ways, Dilwihs, Dylways, Dullag, and may come from two old English words, Dill, a white flower, and wihs, meaning a damp meadow, giving a meaning of 'the meadow where dill grows'.
Dulwich Village is one of the oldest recorded villages in London, having been absorbed into the city as it expanded. It is now a suburb of South East London.
King Harold owned the land at one point, and after 1066, King William I of England. In 1333, the population of Dulwich was recorded as 100. In 1538, Henry VIII seized control of Dulwich and sold it to goldsmith Thomas Calton for £609.
The most important event in the history of Dulwich is the decision of Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn to construct a school and alms houses in Dulwich after his religious enlightment, with many of the buildings carrying names that show this (eg. Dulwich College of God's Gift). The school was founded in 1619. Alleyn bought the Dulwich estate from Calton's grandson Sir Francis Calton for £4,900 in 1605.
The original alms houses and school were also attached to a new chapel, now the Edward Alleyn Chapel where Alleyn is buried. The school was moved to a new building around 1840 to accommodate larger numbers of pupils. This building is no longer the used for the school instead housing the Estate's Governors. The school moved to larger premises and became Dulwich College in 1870. The new buildings having been designed by Charles Barry (junior), son of Sir Charles Barry who designed Westminster Palace seat of the United Kingdom Parliament.
In 1875, Alleyn's School was founded as a junior school for the College. Girls left the school in 1886 when it became an all boys school, and carried on their education at the new James Allen's Girl's Schoo (JAGS). At the beginning of the 20th Century, it became a secondary school in its own right and is now co-educational, following a decision by the then headmaster, Derek Fenner in the 1970s.
In the 1600s, King Charles I of England visited Dulwich Woods on a regular basis to hunt.
In 1738, a man named Samuel Bentyman was murdered in Dulwich Woods.
In 1739 a spa was discovered in Dulwich, which attracted visitors from miles around. Dr Glennie's Academy was established on the site years later, which is where Lord Byron was briefly educated in 1799. The 'Green Man' tavern stood nearby the site of the Wells, and then another public house, entitled 'The Grove' was built.
In 1803, Samuel Matthews - known as the 'Dulwich Hermit' - was also murdered in Dulwich Woods. He was buried in Dulwich Old Cemetery.
In 1811-1814, Dulwich Picture Gallery was built.
In 1901, the population was recorded as 10,247.
[edit] Local Landmarks
- Dulwich Park - Opened in 1890, this former farmland area offers duck and rowing ponds, children's play area, bowling green, tennis court, bridle path for horse-riding, and cafe.
- Belair House - A grand house designed by in 1785 for John Files. It remained a private house until 1938 when it came into the hands of Southwark Council. It fell into disrepair in the 1990s but was bought in 1998 and refurbished and turned into an upmarket restaurant. The house has a large park ground attached which is now public, including tennis courts and a children's play area. This area used to be the fields for its farm. The restaurant has recently been renamed as Beauberry House - which is what the building was called in the mid-1800s by former owner Charles Rankin.
- Bell House, College Road - Designed in 1787 for Thomas Wright, a stationer and later Lord Mayor of London. It became a Dulwich College boarding house and only returned to private ownership in 1993. Its beautiful design was not spoilt by a large extension added in the mid 19th century and it is accompanied by a pretty lodge house, now let as a two bedroom house. The house is Grade II listed and even the wall dividing the garden is listed as well. Its name comes from its Bell Tower situated on top of the original house although the bell no longer functions.
- Dulwich Picture Gallery, Gallery Road. Designed by Sir John Soane and opened in 1817.
- Dulwich College
- Alleyn's School
- St Barnabas Church (Church of England), Calton Avenue - The church covering the parish of Dulwich itself. The [1] old church was designed by W H Wood of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and consecrated in 1894. However the original Church burnt down in an arson attack by unknown persons on Monday 7th December 1992. The 'Phoenix appeal' began to raise money for the building of a new church and succeeded. In 1996 the new church, designed by Larry Malcic, was opened and now its all glass spire dominates the Dulwich skyline.
- All Saints, Rosendale Rd (Church of England) - An astonishing Victorian Gothic building, originally intended to be the cathedral for south London. The church was built between 1888 and 1897 and designed by George Fellowes Prynne, a pupil of George Edmund Street. Although plans were scaled down it was still a huge building and is a Grade I listed building. Unfortunately it was gutted by a huge fire on 9 June 2000, the cause remains unknown. The building reopened in April 2006 after a three-year restoration project.
- Dulwich Hospital, East Dulwich Grove - The hospital was designed by Henry Jarvis and built on seven acres of land purchased in East Dulwich by the Guardians of the Poor of the Parish of St Saviour, Southwark, for the price of £50,000. At the time of opening in 1887, it offered a 723 bed capacity. It was transformed from an infirmary into the Southwark Military Hospital during World War I, when it is estimated 14,000-15,000 wounded soldiers were treated at the hospital. After the Poor Law was abolished in 1930, the Southwark Union Infirmary was renamed Dulwich Hospital and the following year an operating theatre was built. In 1964, the hospital was aligned with King's College Hospital on Denmark Hill. There is no casualty department at Dulwich at present.
- Crown & Greyhound Public House, Dulwich Village - In the 1800s, two separate pubs stood in this area - the centre of Dulwich Village. The Crown - on the present site of the C&G - was for the labourers of the area, while the Greyhound across the road, was for local gentry. The Greyhound was a coach stop on the London Picadilly-Sittingborne line. Author Charles Dickens was a regular visitor to Dulwich Village in the 1800s and used to drink at The Greyhound pub. The current pub, known by locals as 'The Dog', is a Grade II listed building with garden at the back and a reception suite upstairs available for functions. The pub serves food as well as alcohol.
- Memorial fountain in Dulwich Village is in remembrance to Dr George Webster, founder of the first British Medical Association (BMA), who worked in Dulwich from 1815 until his death in 1875.
- Old Burial Ground, Dulwich Village. The small ground was created by Edward Alleyn as part of the foundation of his College of God's Gift. The George Abbot (Archbishop of Canterbury) conducted the consecration on Sunday 1st September 1616. Guests included Edmund Bowyer, Thomas Grimes, William Gresham, Thomas Hunt and Jeremiah Turner. Thirty five Dulwich victims of the plague were buried in unmarked graves in the ground. Old Bridget, queen of the Norwood Gypsies (who appeared in the writings of Samuel Pepys) was also buried here in 1768. The ground was declared 'full' in 1858, however the family of Louisa Shroeder obtained special permission for her remains to be interred in 1868. The ground's wrought iron gates and 12 tombs are Grade II listed.
- Old Grammar School, corner of Gallery Road and Burbage Road. Built by Sir Charles Barry in 1842 for the education of 60 boys.
[edit] Transport
[edit] Roads
Dulwich sits astride the South Circular (A205), one of London's Ring Roads. Also passing through the area is the A2199 and College Road, which features a working tollgate dating back to 1789.
[edit] Rail
West Dulwich station is about 12 minutes train ride from London Victoria, East Dulwich is 12 minutes from London Bridge and North Dulwich is 14 minutes from London Bridge. The nearest stations are:
- East Dulwich railway station
- West Dulwich railway station
- North Dulwich railway station
- Gipsy Hill railway station
- Herne Hill railway station
- Peckham Rye railway station
- Tulse Hill railway station
[edit] Buses
Dulwich is served by London Buses routes 3, P4, 12, P13, 37, 40, 115, 176, 185 and 484.
[edit] Neighbouring districts
[edit] Famous residents
Both past and present:
- Ernest Shackleton
- Peter Cushing
- Eddie George
- Margaret Thatcher
- Beatrix Potter
- James Nesbitt
- Nitin Sawhney
- Owen Luder
- John Major
- Enid Blyton
- Tessa Jowell
- Julia Morley (wife of the Miss World founder)
- Sacha Baron Cohen
- Sara Crowe, Scottish-born actress.
- Lord Haw-Haw
- Su-Elise Nash, former pop singer with Mis-teeq
- Robbie Coltrane
- Enid Blyton 352-356 Lordship Lane
- Sue Perkins was born and grew up there
- Bon Scott In 1980 the lead singer of AC/DC was found unconscious after a night's heavy drinking at 67 Overhill Road, East Dulwich. He was rushed to hospital but died at King's College Hospital.
- Boris Karloff born William Henry Pratt, 36 Forest Hill Road
- Lesley Sharp actress
- C. S. Forester Novelist, 58 Underhill Road
- Stephen Frost Comedian/Actor
- Serena Evans Actress (Thin Blue Line)
- Adrian Lester Actor (Hustle)
- Harriet Thorpe Comedienne/Actress (Britas Empire, Absolutely Fabulous, Calendar Girls)
- Helen Lederer Comedienne/Actress (Young Ones, Absolutely Fabulous)
- Jo Brand Comedienne/Actress
- Linda Barker Designer (Changing Rooms)
[edit] See also
[edit] Bibliography
- Norwood & Dulwich - Allan Maxley Galer (Truslove and Shipley, 1905)
- Dulwich History and Romance AD 967-1916 - Edwin T Hall (Bickers, 1917)
- Victorian Suburb - HJ Dyos (Univ of Leicester, 1962)
- Dulwich Discovered - William Darby (1966)
- Dulwich: A Place in History - William Darby (Darby; Cory, Adams & Mackay, 1967)
- The Story of Dulwich - Mary Boast (London Borough of Southwark, 1975)
- Victorian & Edwardian Dulwich - Brian Green (Quotes Ltd, 1988)
- East Dulwich - John David Beasley (South Riding Press, 1998)
- Dulwich & Camberwell Past: With Peckham - Richard Tames (Historical Publication Ltd, 1997)
- Dulwich, the Home Front, 1939-1945 - Brian Green (Dulwich Society, 1995)
- The houses in-between: A history of the houses on the north side of Dulwich Common, between College Road and Gallery Road - Patrick Darby (Dulwich Society, 2000)
- Dulwich: A History - Brian Green (2002)
- City Reborn: Architecture and Regeneration in London, from Bankside to Dulwich - Kenneth Powell (Merrell Publishers Ltd, 2004)
[edit] External links
- Photographs of Dulwich (History of Dulwich)
- Dulwich Park Friends
- Dulwich community website including history
- Dulwich College
- Old Alleynian Football Club
- Images of old Dulwich
- Dulwich Community Hospital
- All Saints Church
- St Barnabas Church
- Dulwich Picture Gallery
- History of Peckham & Dulwich
- Dulwich Festival - takes place every May
- World War II damage log sheet for Dulwich
- A page by The London Borough of Southwark which includes historic information on the College Road Tollgate.
