Sydenham started out 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.

The rapid growth of Sydenham in the 19th century can be attributed to the introduction of the canal (1801) which was then converted into a railway (1839), followed by the relocation of the magnificent Crystal Palace of the 1851 Great Exhibition in Hyde Park. Crystal Palace was moved to Sydenham in 1852. Exhibitions, concerts, conferences and sporting events were held at Crystal Palace (until it burned down in 1936), and Sydenham became a fashionable area; many new houses were built. Crystal Palace Park is still today a popular venue for concerts and recreation.

A church was an essential part of any quality suburb, so the people of Sydenham set about the planning of St Bartholomew's as soon as the enclosure of the common provided a prominent site.

However, various disputes delayed the start and the progress of the work, which took from 1827 to 1832.

The architect was Lewis Vulliamy.

Potential gas companies began to consider the Sydenham area in the 1840s after the opening of the railway had led to a significant increase of population. But it was the news that the Crystal Palace was to move to Sydenham that galvanised them into action

Companies were established in 1852 and 1853, and amalgamated as the Crystal Palace District Gas Company in 1854.

This helped to speed the development of the district as a whole, though in the immediate vicinity of the gas works at Bell Green the effect was to prevent the building of quality housing, and to produce one of Sydenham's few slums. The site partly occupied by a superstore.

This wooden terrace was known as Covell's Cottages after the butcher who occupied one of them, c.1830 to 1868.

They were probably built originally for farm labourers. The farm house, which was demolished in the early 1880s, stood to the left of the cottages.

The butcher's shop came to dominate the farming side of the business as the village grew into a suburb, and eventually the grazing lands were covered with houses.

Covell's Cottages were demolished in the 1960s

Sydenham Today

Sydenham is a bustling London village (population 20,000) located in the London Borough of Lewisham in Southeast London .

Sydenham is approximately seven miles from Central London with excellent public transport links, schools, parks, shops and restaurants. The town centre is home to 185 small and medium-sized businesses, many independently owned, offering a wide range of convenience and comparison goods and services.

Kirkdale, which is Sydenham's secondary shopping area, is another up and coming district full of antique shops and related furniture restoration businesses. J.D. Wetherspoon's recently built The Windmill, a large new pub attracting additional people to the area.

Coming soon

The East London Line Project (formerly known as ELLX) will extend and upgrade the existing (London Underground Limited) East London Line, converting it into a new metro-style (National Rail) train service. This will provide services that will ultimately extend North to Highbury & Islington, South to West Croydon and West to Clapham Junction and in the future could potentially facilitate ‘orbital' journeys around London .

The project will be delivered in two phases. Phase one will extend from the existing station at New Cross Gate onto the National Rail network south to Crystal Palace and West Croydon and include Honor Oak Park, Forest Hill and Sydenham Stations. Phase one of the project will be delivered by June 2010.

Lewisham Borough's famous residents, past and present

Sir Ernest Shackleton, the Antarctic explorer;

C.S. Forrester, author of the "Hornblower" novels;

Sir George Groves, compiler of the musical dictionary;

WG Grace, one of England 's greatest cricketers;

Linda Ludgrove, swimmer and winner of five gold medals at the Commonwealth Games on 1962 and 1966;

Rolf Harris, artist and singer

Danny Baker (Broadcaster)
Kate Bush (singer/song-writer)
James Callaghan (Labour Prime Minister)
Sir James Clark-Ross (polar explorer)
"Big" Jim Connell (socialist)
Ernest Dowson (poet)
Alfred "Titch" Freeman (cricketer)
Gabrielle (singer/song-writer)
Sir Isaac Hayward (politician)
Glenda Jackson MP (politician & actress)
David Jones (painter & poet)
Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen (TV presenter)
Spike Milligan (comedian & writer)
Mica Paris (singer/song-writer)
Sybil Pheonix MBE (community worker)
Doris Stokes (medium)
Terry Waite (Archbishop's Envoy)
Max Wall (comedian)
Ian Wright (footballer)

For more information

For more information on Sydenham and its history please refer to the following publications, all available at Lewisham Local Studies Centre in Lewisham Library:

The Changing face of Lewisham by Stephen Byrne (1965) Lewisham Borough Council: London

Images of London : Lewisham by John Coulter and Barry Olley (2003)

Sydenham & Forest Hill Past and Present by John Coulter Historical Publications

Looking back at Lewisham : Courtesy of Lewisham Arts and Library Services local History Centre,

IDEAL HOMES: SUBURBIA IN FOCUS - A joint venture of The London Boroughs of Bexley , Bromley , Greenwich , Lambeth , Lewisham , Southwark and the University of Greenwich .