Peckham Rye is an open space and road 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 ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. 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, with Peckham Rye Common to the north and Peckham Rye Park to the south.Southwark Council
Peckham Rye Park and Common
The road ''Peckham Rye'' forms the western and eastern perimeter of the open space. Peckham Rye is also a ward of the London Borough of Southwark, forming part of the

Camberwell and Peckham Camberwell and Peckham is a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament since its 1997 creation ...

constituency.

Location

Peckham Rye railway station on Rye Lane is a short distance north of the open space in

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the vil ...

. To the east is

Nunhead Nunhead is a suburb in the London Borough of Southwark in London, England.Southwark Council Nunhead and Peckham Rye Community Council It is an inner-city suburb located southeast of Charing Cross. It is the location of the Nunhead Cemetery.BB ...

, to the south is Honor Oak and to the west is

East Dulwich East Dulwich is an area of South East London, England in the London Borough of Southwark. It forms the eastern part of Dulwich, with Peckham to the east and Camberwell to the north. This South London suburb was first developed in the nineteent ...

. Barry Road connects the Rye with

Dulwich Library Dulwich Library opened on 24 November 1897. It is an example of a Passmore Edwards library and is located at No. 368 Lordship Lane in East Dulwich, southeast London, England. The Library is managed by Southwark Council. The library has been ...

while Friern Road is named after an old

friary A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

History

It was on the Rye in the 1760s that the artist

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of t ...

claimed to have seen visions. According to Blake's biographer

Alexander Gilchrist Alexander Gilchrist (182830 November 1861), an English author, is known mainly as a biographer of William Etty and of William Blake. Gilchrist's biography of Blake is still a standard reference work about the poet. Gilchrist was born at Newingto ...

, his first vision was one of "a tree filled with angels, bright angelic wings bespangling every bough like stars." The Park includes the 49 acres of land south of the Common that surrounded Homestall Farm, which was purchased by the Vestry and London County Council in 1868, for £51,000. A few other small parcels of land were later incorporated into the Park when the leases of Homestall Farm and other properties expired. The land for Peckham Rye Park was purchased by the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kn ...

for £51,000 () and declared open on 14 May 1894. At that time the park was . Homestall Farm was 13 acres. One of the first features of the new park, an ornamental 'Old English Garden' was created. It was later renamed the 'Sexby Garden' after Lt-Col

JJ Sexby John James Sexby VD (known as JJ Sexby) (15 July 1847 – 10 May 1924) was a British civil servant who served as the first Chief Officer for Parks for the London County Council from 1892 to 1909, and was responsible for the creation of many of Lo ...

the London County Council's first Chief Officer of Parks. It was re-developed in 1936 and the paths re-laid with

yorkstone Yorkstone or York stone is a variety of sandstone, specifically from quarries in Yorkshire that have been worked since the middle ages. Yorkstone is a tight grained, Carboniferous sedimentary rock. The stone consists of quartz, mica, feldspar ...

paving. During World War II, part of the Common became a Prisoner of War camp for

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

prisoners of war. The River Peck was largely enclosed in 1823. Today, parts of this stream can still be seen on the west side of Peckham Rye Park. The Park includes a Japanese garden and hosts a weekly

Parkrun Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of events for walkers, runners and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across six continents. Junior Parkrun (stylised as junior parkrun) ...

event.

Local landmarks

Cultural references

Peckham Rye is also Cockney

rhyming slang Rhyming slang is a form of slang word construction in the English language. It is especially prevalent among Cockneys in England, and was first used in the early 19th century in the East End of London; hence its alternative name, Cockney rhymi ...

for ''tie'' (

necktie A necktie, or simply a tie, is a piece of cloth worn for decorative purposes around the neck, resting under the shirt collar and knotted at the throat, and often draped down the chest. Variants include the ascot, bow, bolo, zipper tie, crav ...

Muriel Spark Dame Muriel Sarah Spark (née Camberg; 1 February 1918 – 13 April 2006). was a Scottish novelist, short story writer, poet and essayist. Life Muriel Camberg was born in the Bruntsfield area of Edinburgh, the daughter of Bernard Camberg, an ...

's 1960 novel ''

The Ballad of Peckham Rye ''The Ballad of Peckham Rye'' is a novel written in 1960 by the British author Muriel Spark. It tells the story of a devilish Scottish migrant, Dougal Douglas, who moves to Peckham in London and wreaks havoc amongst the lives of the inhabitants ...

'' tells the story of a Scotsman moving to the area. 2019 movie

Blue Story ''Blue Story'' is a 2019 British musical crime drama film written, directed, and narrated by Rapman (Andrew Onwubolu) through the medium of rap and starring Stephen Odubola and Micheal Ward, with Eric Kofi-Abrefa, Khali Best, Karla-Simone Sp ...

makes many references to Peckham, and in particular Peckham Rye when talking about the location of rival gangs and gang warfare in the area. 2020 song ''Comet Face'' from

King Krule Archy Ivan Marshall (born 24 August 1994), also known by his stage name King Krule, among other names, is an English singer, songwriter, musician, rapper and record producer. He began recording music in 2010 under the moniker Zoo Kid. The fol ...

references Peckham Rye.

References

External links

{{Australian rules football in England
Know Your Ryes
local landmarks with "Rye" and "Peckham Rye" in their names Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Southwark Common land in London