Denmark Hill is an area and road in

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This ...

, in the London Borough of Southwark. It is a sub-section of the western flank of the

Norwood Ridge The Norwood Ridge is a rectangular upland which occupies the geographical centre of south London, centred south of London Bridge. Beneath its topsoil it is a ridge of London Clay that is capped on all sides (including as isolated knolls in the ...

, centred on the long, curved Ruskin Park slope of the ridge. The road is part of the A215 which north of its main foot, Camberwell Green, becomes Camberwell Road and south of Red Post Hill becomes named

Herne Hill Herne Hill is a district in South London, approximately four miles from Charing Cross and bordered by Brixton, Camberwell, Dulwich, and Tulse Hill. It sits to the north and east of Brockwell Park and straddles the boundary between the borough ...

, another district.

Toponymy

The area and road is said to have acquired its name from Queen Anne's husband,

Prince George of Denmark Prince George of Denmark ( da, Jørgen; 2 April 165328 October 1708) was the husband of Anne, Queen of Great Britain. He was the consort of the British monarch from Anne's accession on 8 March 1702 until his death in 1708. The marriage of Geor ...

, who hunted there. High Street, Camberwell was renamed Denmark Hill as part of metropolitan street renaming.

History

In John Cary's map of 1786 the area is shown as ''Dulwich Hill''. The only building apparent is the "Fox under the Hill". The present "Fox on the Hill" pub is a hundred yards or so further up (south), on the site of former St Matthew's Vicarage adjacent to a triangle of land rumoured to be a " plague pit" or burial ground. The name of the area was changed in honour of the husband of Queen Anne,

The area is home of the Maudsley Hospital and King's College Hospital, and also of Ruskin Park, named after

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and pol ...

, who once lived nearby. The preface to his work '' Unto This Last'' is dated "Denmark Hill, 10th May, 1862". The Institute of Psychiatry is based behind the Maudsley Hospital, a school of King's College London (University of London). The college also has a hall of residence immediately east at Champion Hill. The Salvation Army's

William Booth Memorial Training College William Booth College on Champion Park, Denmark Hill in the London Borough of Southwark, is the headquarters of The Salvation Army leadership and officer training which delivers education and training programmes for the United Kingdom. Designe ...

on Champion Park which was designed by Giles Gilbert Scott was completed in 1932; it towers over south London. It has a similar monumental impressiveness to Gilbert Scott's other south London buildings, Battersea Power Station and

Bankside Power Station Bankside Power Station is a decommissioned electricity generating station located on the south bank of the River Thames, in the Bankside area of the Borough of Southwark, London. It generated electricity from 1891 to 1981. It was also used a ...

(now housing

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It ...

), although its simplicity is partly the result of repeated budget cuts during its construction: much more detail, including carved

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

stonework surrounding the windows, was originally planned. Shepherd's Bush F.C. played in the area as Old St Stephen's F.C.

Geography

Its postcode is SE5. North-east and south-easterly slopes of the same eminence are named Grove Hill and Dog Kennel Hill, on top of which the summit is shared with Champion Hill, the only divide being proximity to the respective two affluent streets which intersection on Camberwell descent. From Camberwell Green northwards the land is much lower and very gently sloped as in northern Brixton at its other foot, in the west. There are good views across central London from vantage points (e.g. top-storey windows). On a clear day some viewers can read the time on the

Big Ben Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England, and the name is frequently extended to refer also to the clock and the clock tower. The officia ...

clockface.

Transport

Recent Picture of Denmark Hill station building 2016

Denmark Hill has a major transport interchange served by London Overground,

Southeastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

and

Thameslink Thameslink is a 24-hour main-line route in the British railway system, running from , , , and via central London to Sutton, , , Rainham, , , , and . The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying ...

rail services and London Buses.

Rail

Denmark Hill railway station is served by Southeastern services to London Victoria via

Bexleyheath Bexleyheath is a town in south-east London, England. It had a population of 31,929 as at 2011. Bexleyheath is located south-east of Charing Cross, and forms part of the London Borough of Bexley. It is identified in the London Plan as one of ...

and

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

via Bexleyheath. London Overground also provides services to and . Thameslink operate services to

London Blackfriars Blackfriars, also known as London Blackfriars, is a central London railway station and connected London Underground station in the City of London. It provides Thameslink services: local (from North to South London), and regional (Bedford and ...

and Sevenoaks and

Orpington Orpington is a town and area in south east London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is 13.4 miles (21.6 km) south east of Charing Cross. On the south-eastern edge of the Greater London Built-up Area, it is south of St ...

Buses

Denmark Hill is served by many Transport for London bus services connecting it with areas including

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an exten ...

, Norwood, Dulwich, Peckham and

Penge Penge () is a suburb of South East London, England, now in the London Borough of Bromley, west of Bromley, north east of Croydon and south east of Charing Cross. History Penge was once a small hamlet, which was recorded under the name Penc ...

Sites of interest

Ruskin Park

Ruskin Park is a public park at the centre of the long curved slope and half of crest summit area which is Denmark Hill. It was opened on 2 February 1907 with and in 1910 a further were added on the south side of the park. It is named after

(1819–1900), who lived near the park.

Weston Education Centre

The Weston Education Centre, with its medical library, is in Denmark Hill.

Notable people

Among those who were born or lived in Denmark Hill are: *

Samuel Prout Samuel Prout painted by John Jackson in 1831 Market Day by Samuel Prout A View in Nuremberg by Samuel Prout Utrecht Town Hall by Samuel Prout in 1841 Samuel Prout (; 17 September 1783 – 10 February 1852) was a British watercolourist, and ...

(1783-1852), artist * Sir Henry Bessemer (1813-1898), inventor * John Belcher (1841-1913), architect * Philip Mainwaring Johnston (1865-1936), architect *

John Cyril Porte Lieutenant Colonel John Cyril Porte, (26 February 1884 – 22 October 1919) was a British flying boat pioneer associated with the First World War Seaplane Experimental Station at Felixstowe. Early life and career Porte was born on 26 Februa ...

(1884-1919), aviator * Arthur Vigers (1890-1968), flying ace *

Albert Houthuesen __NOTOC__ Albertus Antonius Johannes Houthuesen (; 3 October 1903 – 20 October 1979), known as Albert Houthuesen ( ), was a Dutch-born British artist. Life Early life and training Albert Houthuesen was born in the Oude Pijp neighbourhood ...

(1903-1979) artist * Catherine Dean (1905-1983), artist * Stan Tracey (1926-2013), jazz pianist and composer * Danny Kirwan (1950-2018), guitarist of Fleetwood Mac from 1968 to 1972 * Lorraine Chase (b. 1951), actress * Jenny Agutter (b. 1952), actress *

Jeremy Bowen Jeremy Francis John Bowen (born 6 February 1960) is a Welsh journalist and television presenter. He was the BBC's Middle East correspondent based in Jerusalem between 1995 and 2000 and the BBC Middle East editor from 2005 to 2022, before being ...

, BBC News reporter * Jenny Eclair (b. 1960), comedian/writer * Lord Nicholas Windsor (b. 1970), member of the Royal Family *

Rio Ferdinand Rio Gavin Ferdinand (born 7 November 1978) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back, and is now a television pundit for BT Sport. He played 81 times for the England national team between 1997 and 2011, and w ...

(b. 1978), footballer *

Cush Jumbo Cush Jumbo (born 23 September 1985) is a British actress and writer. She is best known for her leading role as attorney Lucca Quinn in the CBS drama series ''The Good Wife'' (2015–16) and the CBS All Access spin-off series ''The Good Fight'' ...

(b. 1985), actress

References

External links

Camberwell Society

SE5 Forum, a community group
{{Authority control Areas of London King's College London Streets in the London Borough of Southwark Camberwell Prince George of Denmark