Penge Common was an area of north east

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

and north west

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

which now forms part of

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 England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

; covering most of

Penge Penge () is a suburb of South East Greater London, London, England, now in the London Borough of Bromley, west of Bromley, north east of Croydon and south east of Charing Cross. Etymology The name ''Penge'' is first attested in charter of ...

, all of

Anerley Anerley () is suburb of south east London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is located south south-east of Charing Cross, to the south of Upper Norwood, west of Penge, north of Elmers End and east of South Norwood. The northe ...

, and parts of surrounding suburbs including

South Norwood South Norwood is a district of South London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, Greater London and formerly in the historic county of Surrey. It is located 7.8 miles (12.5 km) south-east of Charing Cross, north of Woodside and ...

. It abutted 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 ...

and

John Rocque John Rocque (originally Jean; –1762) was a French-born British surveyor and cartographer, best known for his detailed John Rocque's Map of London, 1746, map of London published in 1746. Life and career Rocque was born in France in about 1704 ...

's 1745 map of London and its environs showed that Penge Common now included part of that wood. An area named Penge Place was excised from the northernmost part of Penge Common and was later used for the relocation of

The Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around ...

. It included parts of the

which later became

Crystal Palace Park Crystal Palace Park is a park in south-east London, Grade II* listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. It was laid out in the 1850s as a pleasure ground, centred around the re-location of The Crystal Palace – the largest glass ...

. The London and Croydon Canal was built across Penge Common along what is now the line of the railway through Penge West railway station, deviating to the south before

Anerley railway station Anerley is a station on the Windrush line of the London Overground, located in the London Borough of Bromley in south London. It is down the line from , in Travelcard Zone 4. Additional limited peak-time National Rail services operated by ...

. There is a remnant at the northern corner of Betts Park,

. Following the closure of the London and Croydon Canal, The

London and Croydon Railway The London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) was an early railway in England. It opened in 1839 and in February 1846 merged with other railways to form the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR). Origins The Croydon line and other railways ...

, initially an

atmospheric railway An atmospheric railway uses differential air pressure to provide power for propulsion of a railway vehicle. A static power source can transmit motive power to the vehicle in this way, avoiding the necessity of carrying mobile power generating e ...

was built largely along the same course, opening in 1839. The Croydon Inclosure Act 1797 ( 37 Geo. 3. c. ''144'' ), the Dulwich Inclosure Act 1805 ( 45 Geo. 3. c. ''102'' ), an act of 1806, and the Penge Inclosure Act 1827 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. ''35'' ) resulted in most of the remaining Common and Penge Green being subdivided. One of the first new houses was named "Annerley" which gave its name to the

area; the name means 'lonely' or 'only' in Scots."Anerly adv., adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 3 Sep 2022 Remnants of Penge Common that survive as public open spaces include

, Penge Recreation Ground and Betts Park in Anerley.

References

External links

Penge Common Enclosure, National Archives

Penge Heritage Trail

Penge Green Gym
Crystal Palace, London History of the London Borough of Bromley History of the London Borough of Croydon {{London-geo-stub