West Dulwich ( ) is a neighbourhood in

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the boroughs, in whole or in part, of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Richmond, Southwark, ...

on the southern boundary of Brockwell Park, which straddles the

London Borough of Lambeth Lambeth () is a London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London is at Frazier ...

and 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 ar ...

Croxted Road List of A roads in zone 2 in Great Britain starting south of the River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest r ...

and

South Croxted Road List of A roads in zone 2 in Great Britain starting south of the River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest r ...

mark the boundary between Southwark to the east and Lambeth to the west. The suburb of West Dulwich dates back to the 17th century when the often flooded land known as Dulwich Common was acquired and drained by

Edward Alleyn Edward "Ned" Alleyn (; 1 September 156621 November 1626) was an English actor who was a major figure of the Elizabethan theatre and founder of the College of God's Gift in Dulwich. Early life Alleyn was born on 1 September 1566 in Bish ...

's estate. West Dulwich has two main parades of shops, the main one being on the Park Hall road junction, where Croxted Road becomes South Croxted Road and the other on Rosendale Road.

Buildings of interest

In addition to the

College A college ( Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

, other buildings of interest are Belair House; the Grade I listed All Saints Church, West Dulwich, home of the Lambeth Orchestra, which burned down in 2000 but reopened on the same site in 2006 thanks to the sustained work of parishioners and the local community; an
The Rosendale
pub, which is a historic coaching house that still retains the original

Royal Doulton Royal Doulton is an English ceramic and home accessories manufacturer that was founded in 1815. Operating originally in Vauxhall, London, and later moving to Lambeth, in 1882 it opened a factory in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, in the centre of En ...

tiles. It redeveloped into a

gastropub A gastropub or gastro pub is a pub that serves gourmet comfort food. The term was coined in the 1990s, though similar brewpubs existed during the 1980s. Etymology The term ''gastropub'' (derived from gastronomy) was coined in 1991, when Dav ...

and was awarded the title of

TimeOut Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an engine ...

London Best Gastropub 2007.

Transport

Buses

The London bus routes are 3, 37, 42, 68,

196 Year 196 ( CXCVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Dexter and Messalla (or, less frequently, year 949 ''Ab urbe condit ...

201 Year 201 ( CCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Fabianus and Arrius (or, less frequently, year 954 ''Ab urbe condit ...

322 __NOTOC__ Year 322 ( CCCXXII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Probianus and Iulianus (or, less frequently, year 1075 ...

468 __NOTOC__ Year 468 ( CDLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Anthemius without colleague (or, less frequently, year ...

, school route 690 and night buses N3 and N68.

Rail

Direct rail services are available from West Dulwich railway station to Victoria (via the Southeastern Metro Bromley South line) as well as limited service to Blackfriars at peak hours on the

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 ...

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter main line railway into London. Sevenoaks is from Charing Cross, the tradition ...

line. Nearby railway stations offer services to other destinations: London Bridge can be reached from North Dulwich and

Tulse Hill Tulse Hill is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in South London that sits on Brockwell Park. It is approximately five miles from Charing Cross and is bordered by Brixton, Dulwich, Herne Hill, Streatham and West Norwood. History Th ...

by the Southern Metro via

Peckham Rye Peckham Rye is an open space and road in the London Borough of Southwark in London, England. The roughly triangular open space lies to the south of Peckham town centre. It is managed by Southwark Council and consists of two contiguous areas, wit ...

line. The nearest

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The U ...

station is

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th centu ...

on the

Victoria line The Victoria line is a London Underground line that runs between in south London and in the north-east, via the West End. It is printed in light blue on the Tube map and is one of the only two lines on the network to run completely undergr ...

Green spaces

Belair Park is located in West Dulwich and

Brockwell Park Brockwell Park is a 50.8 hectare (125.53 acres) park located south of Brixton, in Herne Hill and Tulse Hill in south London. It is bordered by the roads Brixton Water Lane, Norwood Road, Tulse Hill and Dulwich Road. The park commands views of th ...

Dulwich Park Dulwich Park is a public park in Dulwich in the London Borough of Southwark, south London, England. The park was created by the Metropolitan Board of Works from former farmland and meadows. While the initial design was by Charles Barry (juni ...

, Dulwich Wood are all within walking distance of West Dulwich. The Rosendale Allotments, which were established in 1908, are on an site owned by the

Dulwich Estate The Dulwich Estate, previously the Estates Governors of Alleyn's College of God's Gift at Dulwich, is a registered charity in England, one of the successors to the historic charity Edward Alleyn's College of God's Gift that was founded in 1619. ...

in West Dulwich between

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 London b ...

and Knight's Hill. The

Old College Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club The Old College Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club is in West Dulwich, Southwark, southeast London, England, to the east off Gallery Road. The "Old College" name was adopted due to its longstanding close association with Dulwich College, its president ...

is on the east side of

Gallery Road The archaeological gallery roads () were roads through remote mountain areas of China. They consisted of wooden planks erected on holes cut into the sides of cliffs. They were most notably used in the Qin Mountains linking the Wei River and th ...

Knight's Hill

Confusingly, there are two areas called Knight's Hill nearby; the better known area is the residential area and electoral ward in

West Norwood West Norwood is a largely residential area of south London within the London Borough of Lambeth, located 5.4 miles (8.7 km) south south-east of Charing Cross. The centre of West Norwood sits in a bowl surrounded by hillsides on its east, ...

by the road called Knights Hill. But there is a hill to the north, in West Dulwich near Thurlow Park Road, known as Knight's Hill, in which is the Knight's Hill railway tunnel. This second Knight's Hill includes the hilly land between the western end of Thurlow Park Road (South Circular), Peabody Hill and Lovelace Road, where the adjoining Rosendale allotments in Dulwich stand today. The green area is still marked as Knight's Hill on detailed maps, but to avoid confusion is not normally named on modern street maps. Both areas have similar origins, first mentioned as belonging to Thomas Knyght in 1545, and were known as Knight's Hill Common and Knight's Hill Farm, respectively. The train line between North Dulwich railway station and Tulse Hill railway station runs through the hill. Today the Peabody Hill estate lies on the western side of Tulse Hill with the Rosendale Road allotments on the top.

Politics

West Dulwich forms part of the Dulwich and West Norwood constituency whose current

member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur ( Brown; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose career spanned 80 years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman to have w ...

MP of the Labour Party. At the local government level, West Dulwich is split between Dulwich Village and Dulwich Wood wards in the

and West Dulwich ward in

. Dulwich was traditionally a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

area but as of the 2018 local elections, all wards comprising the West Dulwich area are represented by Labour councillors.

Schools

West Dulwich has four state primary schools (Rosendale Primary School and three others) and one secondary school, Kingsdale Foundation School. There are a number of private schools in or near the area:

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2–19 independent, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose o ...

Dulwich Prep London Dulwich Prep London (DPL), formerly known as Dulwich College Preparatory School, is an independent preparatory school in Dulwich, south London, England for boys aged 3–13 years. The current Head Master is Louise Davidson. In 1938 headmas ...

, Oakfield Preparatory School, and Rosemead Preparatory School.

Sport and leisure

West Dulwich has a

Non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is s ...

club Wanderers F.C. who play at Belair Park. This club is famous for winning the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...

five times between 1872 and 1878.

Timeline

;Saxon Dulwich 967 -

Edgar the Peaceful Edgar ( ang, Ēadgār ; 8 July 975), known as the Peaceful or the Peaceable, was King of the English from 959 until his death in 975. The younger son of King Edmund I and Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury, he came to the throne as a teenager following ...

granted Dilwihs to a thane named Earl Aelfheah. Dilwihs meant 'meadow where the dill grew'. ;Medieval Dulwich 1066 - King

William I of England William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 108 ...

became owner of Dulwich, taking the land from King

Harold II of England Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon English king. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings, fighting the Norman invaders led by William the ...

Lordship Lane was the eastern boundary of Dulwich Manor with Friern Manor and Croxted Road (formerly Croks Street Lane) the western boundary with Lord Thurlow's estate. ;Tudor Dulwich 1538 - Dulwich ceased to be the property of

Bermondsey Abbey Bermondsey Abbey was an English Benedictine monastery. Most widely known as being founded in the 11th century, it had a precursor mentioned in the early eighth century, and was centred on what is now Bermondsey Square, the site of Bermonds ...

following the abbey's dissolution. 1544 - Dulwich was granted to goldsmith Thomas Calton for £609 by

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagr ...

. ;Stuart Dulwich 1605 - The estate was sold for £4,900 to

by Sir

Francis Calton Francis may refer to: People * Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) Places *Rural ...

. 1619 - Dulwich College was founded by Edward Alleyn. 1785 - Belair House was built by architect

probably Henry Holland Probably may refer to: * Probability, the chance that something is likely to happen or be the case * "Probably" (''South Park''), an episode of the TV series ''South Park'' * "Probably" (song), a song by Fool's Garden * A word that is used in t ...

. ;Georgian Dulwich 1805 (+1814) - Dulwich Common was enclosed. 1812 - Kingswood House was built by William Vizard. ;Victorian Dulwich 1851 - Dulwich's population reached 1,632. 1862 - West Dulwich railway station was opened as Knights Hill Station. 1868 - The Old village green was bought for public use. 1870 - Dulwich College moved to a new campus on College Road designed by

Charles Barry Junior Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

. 1888 - All Saints Church was built between 1888 and 1897; it was designed by

G H Fellowes Prynne G, or g, is the seventh letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''gee'' (pronounced ), plural ''gees''. History T ...

. 1890 -

was opened. ;Modern Dulwich 1900 - Dulwich became part of the

Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell Camberwell was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in south London, England. Camberwell was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey, governed by an administrative vestry from 1674. The parish was included in the area of responsibility ...

. 1901 - Dulwich's Population reached 10,247. 1940s -

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

The Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

and the V1 flying bombs &

V-2 rocket The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), with the technical name '' Aggregat 4'' (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was develop ...

s caused widespread damage to Dulwich. 1965 - Dulwich became part of the new

and

Notable residents

* Liv Boeree *

Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage, and radio roles. He achieved recognition ...

* John Lawson Johnston also known as 'Mr Bovril' *

Ernest Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of A ...

Gerry Wells Gerald 'Gerry' Lloyd Wells (18 September 1929—22 December 2014) was a British radio enthusiast and collector. He turned his childhood home in West Dulwich, South London, into the British Vintage Wireless and Television Museum to host his collect ...

, founded the

British Vintage Wireless and Television Museum British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

to host his collection of over 1,300 vintage radio and television sets. *

P G Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeve ...

attended the College

Nearest places

Dulwich Village Dulwich Village is an affluent area of Dulwich in South London. It is located in the London Borough of Southwark. History "Dulwich Village" is also the name of the village High Street. Residents in Dulwich Village have to pay ground rent to the ...

* Gipsy Hill *

Sydenham Hill Sydenham Hill forms part of a longer ridge and is an affluent locality in southeast London. It is also the name of a road which runs along the northeastern part of the ridge, demarcating the London Boroughs of Southwark, Bromley, and Lewisha ...

References

External links

Hidden London
{{LB Lambeth Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Southwark Districts of the London Borough of Lambeth Dulwich