Forest Hill, London
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Forest Hill is a district of the
London Borough of Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is a London boroughs, London borough in south-east London, England. 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 ...
in south east
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, England, on the South Circular Road, which is home to the Horniman Museum.


History

Like much of Greater London, Forest Hill was only sparsely populated until the mid-19th century. The name Forest Hill, originally simply "The Forest",Hibbert, C. ''The London Encyclopedia'', Macmillan, p. 304 referred to the woodland which once covered the areaField, J. ''Place names of Greater London'', Batsford, 1980, p.49 and which was a relict 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 occ ...
. In 1809, the Croydon Canal opened, however, the large number of locks (28) meant it was not a commercial success, and it was bought by the London & Croydon Railway Company who used the alignment to construct the London Bridge to Croydon railway line opening in 1839. The ponds in the Dacres Wood Nature Reserve and the retaining wall of the footpath opposite the station outside The Signal pub are about the only physical evidence of the canal which still exist. When the Crystal Palace was moved from Hyde Park to
Sydenham Sydenham may refer to: Places Australia * Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Sydenham railway station, Sydney * Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne ** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne un ...
in 1854, many large homes were built on the western end of Forest Hill along with Honor Oak. In 1884, London's oldest swimming pool was constructed on Dartmouth Road. The tea merchant Frederick Horniman built a museum to house his collection of natural history artifacts. He donated the building and its gardens to the public in 1901 and this became the Horniman Museum.


Local area


Amenities

Horniman Museum is home to anthropological and cultural collections, an aquarium and one of the most varied collections of
taxidermy Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body by mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proces ...
in the
northern hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined by humans as being in the same celestial sphere, celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the Solar ...
including the worlds first taxidermy of a walrus. It also houses one of the finest collection of musical instruments in the British Isles. Contained within its accompanying gardens is an animal enclosure, flower gardens, and a Grade II listed early 20th century conservatory. Views from the gardens stretch out over central and north
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. Following a successful and widely supported campaign from local group Save The Face Of Forest Hill, Louise House was designated a Grade II
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
by English Heritage. Forest Hill Library was built in 1901 to an
Arts and Crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...
design by local architect Alexander Hennell. It is one of over 500 Grade II listed buildings in Lewisham Borough. It was refurbished in 2008.


Recreation

A few parks are located in and around in Forest Hill. Horniman Triangle Park is located directly opposite Horniman Museum and Gardens, with Tarleton Gardens close by. Blythe Hill is located on the border with Catford, while in Sydenham, Baxter Field, Mayow Park and Sydenham Hill Woods are located on the border with Forest Hill. Alongside Sydenham Hill Woods, is the Dulwich and Sydenham Golf course, dating back to 1893. There are three nature reserves in Forest Hill: Dacres Wood, Devonshire Road and Garthorne Road. Dacres Wood Nature Reserve is open on the last Saturday of each month and Devonshire Road Nature Reserve on the last Sunday of the month.


Architecture

With a range of architectural styles spanning the late 19th and 20th centuries, Forest Hill was described by Sir Norman Foster as "a delightful pocket of South London". Of particular note are the Capitol Cinema (latterly a JD Wetherspoon pub), the Horniman Museum, and classic
art deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
mansion blocks Forest Croft and Taymount Grange.


Gallery

Horniman Museum.jpg, The Horniman Museum Horniman_bandstand_skyline.jpg, Viewing the London skyline from the Horniman Museum garden St Antholin's Spire 1.jpg, Spire from Sir Christopher Wren's St Antholin's Church which once stood in the
City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
, now located in Round Hill, Forest Hill. The land that the spire is now on is now owned by the London and Quadrant housing association. Forest Hill Mural.jpg, Painted in March 2018, the Forest Hill mural was organised by Forest Hill community group SE23.life.


Notable residents

* Linda Barker, home decor personality * Dame Doris Beale, Matron-in-Chief of Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service for three years during the Second World War was born in Forest Hill on 9 August 1889. * Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945), the German Protestant theologian and Christian martyr killed by the Nazis, briefly lived and preached in Forest Hill. * A. C. Bouquet (1884-1976), academic, theologian and writer born in Forest Hill *
George Brown George Brown may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Loring Brown (1814–1889), American landscape painter * George Douglas Brown (1869–1902), Scottish novelist * George Williams Brown (1894–1963), Canadian historian and editor * Ge ...
, medical sociologist who developed the concept of "high expressed emotion" lives in Forest Hill. *
Raymond Chandler Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...
, mystery and thriller writer, author of ''The Long Goodbye'' and ''The Big Sleep''. Born in the US, but educated at Dulwich College. Probably lived with his mother at 148 (now 138) Devonshire Road, Forest Hill from 1909 until he returned to America in 1912. *
Andy Coulson Andrew Edward Coulson (born 21 January 1968) is an English journalist and political strategist. Coulson was the editor of the ''News of the World'' from 2003 to 2007, following the conviction of one of the newspaper's reporters in relation to ...
, editor, ''
News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national "Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top" Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling ...
'', 2003–07; Director of Communications, Conservative Party, 2007–11. *
Ernest Dowson Ernest Christopher Dowson (2 August 186723 February 1900) was an English poet, novelist, and short-story writer who is often associated with the Decadent movement. Biography Ernest Dowson was born in Lee, London, Lee, then in Kent, in 1867. His ...
, poet * Desmond Dekker lived in Devonshire Road, more towards Honor Oak. *Irish-born television, film and stage actor
Michael Gambon Sir Michael John Gambon (; 19 October 1940 – 27 September 2023) was an Irish-English actor. Gambon started his acting career with Laurence Olivier as one of the original members of the Royal National Theatre. Over his six-decade-long career ...
, famous for portrayal of
Albus Dumbledore Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is a fictional character in the ''Harry Potter'' series of novels by J. K. Rowling. For most of the series, he is the headmaster of the wizarding school Hogwarts. He is also the founder and ...
in the ''
Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...
'' movie franchise lived at Forest Croft in Forest Hill in the early to mid-1960s. * Henry Charles Fehr (1867–1940), sculptor, was born in Forest Hill * Denis Gifford, historian of film, comics, radio and television, was born in Forest Hill. * Kathleen Halpin (1903–1999), public servant and feminist * Sir Isaac Hayward, politician * Vince Hilaire, one of the first black players to establish himself in English football was born in Forest Hill on 10 October 1959 and went on to have a distinguished career with local club Crystal Palace. *Tea merchant Frederick John Horniman (1835–1906) lived in Forest Hill. A keen traveller, he accumulated a large collection of items relating to local cultures and natural history. This became so large that he built a special museum for it, donated to the public in 1901. *British film actor
Leslie Howard Leslie Howard Steiner (3 April 18931 June 1943) was an English actor, director, producer and writer.Obituary, '' Variety'', 9 June 1943. He wrote many stories and articles for ''The New York Times'', ''The New Yorker'', and '' Vanity Fair'' an ...
(1893–1943) was born in Forest Hill on 3 April 1893 * Craig Fairbrass, actor, lives in Forest Hill * Tanya Franks, actress * David Jones, painter & poet *Hollywood actor
Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), known professionally as Boris Karloff () and occasionally billed as Karloff the Uncanny, was a British actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstei ...
was a resident of Forest Hill Road, Honor Oak. *
Lionel Jeffries Lionel Charles Jeffries (10 June 1926 – 19 February 2010) was an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He appeared primarily in films and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Golden ...
, actor and film director, was born in Forest Hill. * Tom Keating (1917-1984) art restorer and famous art forger, was born and raised in Forest Hill. * Don Letts, filmmaker and musician *Singer Millie lived in Forest Hill at the time of her major hit ''My Boy Lollipop'' * Joan Morgan, actress, playwright, novelist, born 1905 * William Page (1861–1934), historian and editor, lived here 1886–96 *
Mica Paris Michelle Antoinette Wallen (born 27 April 1969), known professionally as Mica Paris ( ), is an English singer, presenter, and actress. Her debut album, '' So Good'', was released in 1988, spawning the singles " My One Temptation" and " Where I ...
, singer/songwriter * John Parris of Parris Cues world-renowned cue maker. * Peter Perrett, of The Only Ones, in its 1970s musical heyday. * Henry Price CBE was a Conservative politician who represented Lewisham West between 1950 and 1964. He founded the "Middle-Class Alliance" and in 1954, London County Council sought a compulsory purchase order for his home in Forest Hill to build council housing. * Luke Pritchard, lead singer of
The Kooks The Kooks () are an English indie rock band formed in 2004 in Brighton. The current lineup consists of Luke Pritchard on vocals and guitar, and Hugh Harris on bass, guitar, and synthesiser. Their music is primarily influenced by the 1960s Br ...
, was born in Forest Hill * Aaron Renfree dancer and former singer * Iwan Rheon, singer-songwriter and actor, formerly of the E4 series '' Misfits''. *
Arthur Rhys-Davids Arthur Percival Foley Rhys-Davids, (26 September 1897 – 27 October 1917) was an English flying ace of the First World War. Rhys-Davids was born in 1897 to a distinguished family. His father was a professional academic and his mother a prolif ...
,
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
ace fighter pilot was born in Forest Hill * Jon Robyns, actor, lived in Albion Villas Road in the early 2000's *Musician Francis Rossi, lead singer and guitarist of
Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, economic, legal, environmental, political, religious, scientific or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the curren ...
, was born in Forest Hill on 29 May 1949 *
Mary Patricia Shepherd Mary Patricia Shepherd (4 July 1933 – 20 October 2003) was a British thoracic surgeon who worked at Harefield Hospital in London. She is known for her research on plombage, Membrane oxygenator, membrane oxygenation, and Diaphragm (anatomy), diaph ...
, thoracic surgeon, was born in Forest Hill *Actor Timothy Spall was a resident of Honor Oak. *
Gavin Stamp Gavin Mark Stamp (15 March 194830 December 2017) was a British writer, television presenter and architectural historian. Education Stamp was educated at Dulwich College in South London from 1959 to 1967 as part of the "Dulwich Experiment", then ...
, architectural critic * Doris Stokes, medium * Broadcaster,
journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
and
cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
er E. W. Swanton was born in Forest Hill on 11 February 1907 * James Todd, cricketer * Jackie Trent the singer/songwriter lived in Forest Hill when she first had success in the 1960s * Hayley Squires actress and playwright, known for
Call The Midwife ''Call the Midwife'' is a British period drama television series about a group of nurse midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The principal cast of the show has included Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart, ...
and
Adult Material ''Adult Material'' is a four-part British drama television series concerning a woman's life working in the adult film industry. The show starred Hayley Squires and was created by an all female team. The series first aired on Channel 4 on 5 Oc ...
was born in Forest Hill on 16 April 1988 * Rachael Wooding, musical theatre performer, lived in Albion Villas Road in the early 2000's


Transport

Forest Hill railway station is located on the South Circular Road (A205), and is served by frequent
London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, it now serves a large part of Greate ...
and Southern trains to
London Bridge The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman Britain, Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 197 ...
,
London Victoria Victoria station, also known as London Victoria, is a London station group, central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Victoria, London, Victoria, in the City of Westminster, managed by Network Rail. Named afte ...
,
Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...
, , and Highbury & Islington. Forest Hill is also served by a number of bus routes: 75, 122, 176, 185, 197, 356, 363, N63 and P4.


Nearest places


References


External links

{{Authority control Districts of the London Borough of Lewisham Areas of London District centres of London