Honor Oak is an inner suburban area principally of the

London Borough of Lewisham Lewisham () is a London borough in south-east London; it forms part of Inner London. The principal settlement of the borough is Lewisham. The local authority is Lewisham London Borough Council, based in Catford. The Prime Meridian passes throug ...

, with part in the

London Borough of Southwark The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas ...

. It is named after the oak tree on

One Tree Hill One Tree Hill may refer to: * "One Tree Hill" (song), a 1987 song by U2 referencing One Tree Hill, New Zealand volcanic peak * ''One Tree Hill'' (TV series), a 2003–2012 American drama series named for the U2 song ** ''One Tree Hill'' (soundtr ...

that

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

is reputed to have picnicked under.

Overview

One Tree Hill is the central feature of Honor Oak's landscape. It is at the northern end of a string of hills stretching from Croydon, previously part of the

Great North Wood The Great North Wood was a natural oak woodland that started south-east of central London and scaled the Norwood Ridge. At its full extent, the wood's boundaries stretched almost as far as Croydon and as far north as Camberwell. It had occa ...

. A legend tells that on 1 May 1602,

picnicked with Sir Richard Bulkeley of Beaumaris in the

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified i ...

area by an oak tree at the summit of a hill. The tree came to be known as the Oak of Honor. The tree surrounded by railings is an oak, and was planted in 1905 as a successor to the historic one. In addition to its connection with

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

, the hill is reputed by a long-standing rumour to have been the site of the final defeat of Queen

Boudica Boudica or Boudicca (, known in Latin chronicles as Boadicea or Boudicea, and in Welsh as ()), was a queen of the ancient British Iceni tribe, who led a failed uprising against the conquering forces of the Roman Empire in AD 60 or 61. She ...

by the Romans in AD61, while

Dick Turpin Richard Turpin (bapt. 21 September 1705 – 7 April 1739) was an English highwayman whose exploits were romanticised following his execution in York for horse theft. Turpin may have followed his father's trade as a butcher ear ...

is also rumoured to have used it as a look-out post. A new development of exclusive houses was started in the 1780s on what is now Honor Oak Road. This gave rise to both Honor Oak and

Forest Hill, London Forest Hill is a district of the London Borough of Lewisham in south London, south east London, England, on the South Circular Road, London, South Circular Road, which is home to the Horniman Museum. History Like much of London, Forest Hil ...

communities. These localities have drifted about a mile apart North and South respectively since, aided by the arrival of a canal and then railways. Between 1809 and 1836, a canal ran through Honor Oak as part of its route from

New Cross New Cross is an area in south east London, England, south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, Telegraph Hill, Nunhead, Peckham, Brockley, Deptford and Greenwich, ...

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 extensi ...

. It also went via Forest Hill, London, Forest Hill and Sydenham, London#, Sydenham. The canal was replaced by a railway line after 1836, and this now forms part of the line between London Bridge station, London Bridge and

. Honor Oak Park railway station opened in 1886 on this line. Honor Oak railway station was opened in 1862 but closed in 1958 as part of the closure of the Crystal Palace and South London Junction Railway, originally built to take passengers to The Crystal Palace. The remains of the embankment of this line can still be seen, forming part of Brenchley Gardens. The beacon at the summit of One Tree Hill was erected to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of King George VI in 1935. It was subsequently used for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, her silver and golden jubilees and also at the Millennium. Beacons on the same site were used to give warning of invasion by the Spanish armada, Spanish and later the napoleonic wars, French. The Hill was also the site of Watson's General Telegraph, a relay system established in 1841 linking London with shipping in the English Channel Honor Oak & Forest Hill Golf Club (now defunct) was founded in 1893. The club disappeared at the time of WW2. This area is now Camberwell Cemeteries#Camberwell New Cemetery, Camberwell New Cemetery. In 1896, One Tree Hill was due to become part of a golf club, but there were riots and demonstrations by local people. This fell through, and later it was bought by Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell and made into a public open space by 1905. During World War I a gun emplacement was erected on the hill to counter the threat of raids by Zeppelin airships. One part of the open space eventually became a nine-hole golf course called the Aquarius Golf Club. It lies on top of the cavernous Honor Oak Reservoir, constructed between 1901 and 1909. When it was completed the reservoir was the largest brick built underground reservoir in the world and even today remains one of the largest in Europe. The reservoir now forms part of the Southern extension of the Thames Water Ring Main. The List of public art in the London Borough of Lewisham#Honor Oak, southern road bridge, which crosses the railway by the Honor Oak Park railway station, station, has relief sculpture parapets which were one of the first commissions for William Mitchell (sculptor), William Mitchell. In 2010 Honor Oak Park railway station became part of the London Overground extension, providing residents with direct links into Shoreditch and Highbury and Islington. As with neighbouring Forest Hill, Honor Oak is becoming increasingly desirable as a peaceful, leafy suburb with good transport links into the centre of town, and slightly lower-than-average property prices.

Amenities and entertainment

Honor Oak enjoys a number of well regarded restaurants and gastro pubs. The Babur Indian Restaurant has two AA Rosettes and has been described as "one of the best Indian restaurants in London" by ''The Independent'' newspaper. The high street has two cafes, one of which is Two Spoons, a cafe during the day and cocktail bar by night serves drinks inspired by the rich history of the local area. The area has a highly rated Italian restaurant, Le Querce (translation from the Italian "The Oaks"), Donde, a Spanish Tapas restaurant, an art gallery and a sourdough Pizza Restaurant called Mamma Dough that opened in February 2014. The Honor Oak is the reincarnation of the old St Germans public house. The Chandos, previously a more traditional south London pub, has recently been renovated and reopened in July 2016 as a craft-beer led pub, which also serves pizza and antipasti.

Notable residents

John Cowan (sheriff), Sir John Cowan (1774-1842), chandler and Lord Mayor of London (1837-8), lived on Honor Oak Road. In the year of her accession 1837, Queen Victoria visited the City; he received a baronetcy in recognition of the hospitality she was shown. Irish-born political activist Jim Connell (1852–1929), author of ''The Red Flag'', lived at 22a Stondon Park (which is on the border of Crofton Park and Honor Oak) from 1915–1929. He wrote the anthem while on a train journey to his home in

in December 1889. Engineer and astronomer Edwin Clark (civil engineer), Edwin Clark (1814-1894) lived at Observatory House on the corner of Honor Oak Park and Honor Oak Road from 1857–1879. He is principally known for his hydraulic boat lifts. Robert Stephenson left him money in his will which he used to build a telescope on his house. Only the gates survive now. Actor William Henry Pratt (1887–1969), better known as Boris Karloff, was born at 36 Forest Hill Road. Poet Walter de la Mare lived at what is now 61 Bovill Road from 1877-c.1887. Leslie Paul (1905–1985), founder of the Woodcraft Folk and author of Angry Young Man, lived on Bovill Road. Footballer Ian Wright grew up in the area, including on the Honor Oak Estate. Well known Journalist Thomas Roles is reported to be moving to the area later this year. The comedian Spike Milligan (1918–2002) lived at 22 Gabriel Street and 50 Riseldine Road after coming to England from India in the 1930s. Desmond Dekker (1941–2006) lived at flat 4, Dunoon Gardens, Devonshire Road in the 1980s and 1990s.
Other famous residents have included include actor Timothy Spall and Gabrielle (singer), singer Gabrielle.

Nearest places

References and notes

External links