Everything about Dulwich totally explained
» This article is about Dulwich in London. Dulwich, South Australia is a suburb of Adelaide.
Dulwich (or /ˈdʌlɪdʒ/) is a settlement mostly in the
London Borough of Southwark with parts in the
London Borough of Lambeth. Dulwich,
West Dulwich and
East Dulwich covers a fertile valley in between the neighbouring districts of
Camberwell,
Crystal Palace,
Denmark Hill,
Forest Hill,
Gipsy Hill,
Herne Hill,
Honor Oak,
Peckham,
Sydenham Hill,
Tulse Hill and
West Norwood. Dulwich was in
Surrey until 1889 when the
County of London was created.
Dulwich is also known as the location of the
Dulwich Picture Gallery and
Dulwich College.
History
The first documented evidence of Dulwich is as a hamlet outside London in 967AD, granted by
King Edgar to one of his thanes Earl Aelfheah. The name of Dulwich has been spelt in various ways, Dilwihs, Dylways, Dullag, and may come from two old English words,
Dill, a white flower, and wihs, meaning a damp meadow, giving a meaning of 'the meadow where dill grows'.
King Harold owned the land at one point, and after 1066, King
William I of England. In 1333, the population of Dulwich was recorded as 100.
In 1538,
Henry VIII seized control of Dulwich and sold it to goldsmith Thomas Calton for £609.
The
Elizabethan actor
Edward Alleyn constructed a school and
alms houses in Dulwich after his religious enlightenment, with many of the buildings carrying names that show this (eg. Dulwich College of God's Gift). The school was founded in 1619. Alleyn bought the Dulwich estate from Calton's grandson Sir Francis Calton for £4,900 in 1605.
The original alms houses and school were also attached to a new chapel, now the Edward Alleyn Chapel where Alleyn is buried. The school was moved to a new building around 1840 to accommodate larger numbers of pupils. This building is no longer used for the school, instead now housing the Estate's Governors. The school moved to larger premises and became
Dulwich College in 1870. The new buildings having been designed by
Charles Barry (junior), son of
Sir Charles Barry who designed
Westminster Palace seat of the
United Kingdom Parliament.
In the 1600s, King
Charles I of England visited
Dulwich Woods on a regular basis to hunt. In 1738, a man named Samuel Bentyman was murdered in Dulwich Woods.
On August 5th 1677
John Evelyn writes that he took the waters at Dulwich. The Dulwich waters were cried about the streets of London as far back as 1678.
In 1739, Mr. Cox, master of the Green Man, a
tavern situated about a mile south of the village of Dulwich, sunk a well for his family. The water was found to be possessed of
purgative qualities, and was for some time used medicinally. While the water was popular much custom was drawn to the adjoining tavern, and it's proprietor flourished.
The oak-lined formal avenue, known as Cox's Walk, leading from the junction of
Dulwich Common and
Lordship Lane was cut in the 1740's by Francis Cox to connect his establishment of the Green Man Tavern and Dulwich Wells with the more popular
Sydenham Wells.
By 1815 the Green Man had become a school known as
Dr. Glennie's academy in Dulwich Grove, although it was demolished about ten years later. Among the pupils here there were a few who became well known,
Lord Byron,
General Le Marchant and
Captain Barclay.
Dr Glennie, held Saturday evening concerts which attracted visitors from outside the family circle, such as the poet
Thomas Campbell then living in nearby
Sydenham and
Robert Barker inventor of the panorama.
After the school closed a surviving part of the building became a pub, licensed to someone called Bew. In 1863 it was rebuilt and called The Grove Tavern, it was rebuilt again in 1923.
In 1803, Samuel Matthews - known as the 'Dulwich Hermit' - was also murdered in Dulwich Woods; he was buried in Dulwich Old Cemetery. At the time of opening in 1887, it offered a 723 bed capacity. It was transformed from an infirmary into the Southwark Military Hospital during World War I, when it's estimated 14,000-15,000 wounded soldiers were treated at the hospital. After the Poor Law was abolished in 1930, the Southwark Union Infirmary was renamed Dulwich Hospital and the following year an operating theatre was built. In 1964, the hospital was aligned with King's College Hospital on Denmark Hill. There is no casualty department at Dulwich at present.
There is a memorial fountain in Dulwich Village which is in remembrance to Dr George Webster, founder of the first
British Medical Association (BMA), who worked in Dulwich from 1815 until his death in 1875.
Old Burial Ground, Dulwich Village. The small ground was created by
Edward Alleyn as part of the foundation of his College of God's Gift. The
George Abbot (Archbishop of Canterbury) conducted the consecration on Sunday 1st September 1616. Guests included
Edmund Bowyer,
Thomas Grimes,
William Gresham,
Thomas Hunt and
Jeremiah Turner. Thirty five Dulwich victims of the plague were buried in unmarked graves in the ground. Old Bridget, queen of the
Norwood Gypsies (who appeared in the writings of
Samuel Pepys) was also buried here in 1768. The ground was declared 'full' in 1858, however the family of Louisa Shroeder obtained special permission for her remains to be interred in 1868. The ground's wrought iron gates and twelve tombs are Grade II listed.
The Old Grammar School is on the corner of Gallery Road and Burbage Road. It was built by Sir
Charles Barry in 1842 for the education of sixty boys.
Houses
Belair House in
West Dulwich opposite
West Dulwich railway station was designed in 1785 for John Files. It remained a private house until 1938 when it came into the hands of Southwark Council. It fell into disrepair in the 1990s but was bought in 1998 and refurbished and turned into an upmarket restaurant. The house has a large park ground attached which is now public, including tennis courts and a children's play area. This area used to be the fields for its farm. The lake is the only substantial stretch of the ancient
River Effra remaining above ground.
Bell House in College Road was designed in 1787 for Thomas Wright, a stationer and later
Lord Mayor of the City of London. It became a
Dulwich College boarding house and only returned to private ownership in 1993. A large extension was added in the mid-19th century and it's accompanied by a lodge house, now let as a two bedroom house. The house is Grade II listed and even the wall dividing the garden is listed as well. Its name comes from its Bell Tower situated on top of the original house although the bell no longer functions.
Crown & Greyhound public house is in Dulwich Village. In the 1800s, two separate pubs stood in this area - the centre of Dulwich Village. The Crown - on the present site of the C&G - was for the labourers of the area, while the Greyhound across the road, was for local gentry. The Greyhound was a coach stop on the London Picadilly-Sittingborne line. Author
Charles Dickens was a regular visitor to Dulwich Village in the 1800s and used to drink at The Greyhound pub. The current pub, known by locals as 'The Dog', is a Grade II listed building with garden at the back and a reception suite upstairs available for functions. The pub serves food as well as alcohol.
Churches
All Saints Church, West Dulwich (Church of England)on Rosendale Rd
West Dulwich is a Victorian
Gothic building, originally intended to be the cathedral for
south London. The church was built between 1888 and 1897 and designed by
George Fellowes Prynne, a pupil of
George Edmund Street. Although plans were scaled down it was still a huge building and is a Grade I listed building. Unfortunately it was gutted by a huge fire on
9 June 2000, the cause remains unknown. The building reopened in April 2006 after a three-year restoration project.
St Barnabas Church (Church of England) lies on Calton Avenue at the edge of
Dulwich Village. The old church was designed by W H Wood of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and consecrated in 1894. However the original church burnt down in an arson attack by unknown persons on Monday 7th December 1992. The 'Phoenix appeal' raised money for the building of a new church. In 1996 the new church, designed by Larry Malcic, was opened and now its all glass spire dominates the Dulwich skyline.
Transport
South Circular (A205), one of London's Ring Roads. Also passing through the area is the
A2199 and College Road, which features a working
tollgate dating back to
1789.
West Dulwich railway station is about 12 minutes train ride from
London Victoria and there are morning trains to London Blackfriars, East Dulwich is 12 minutes from
London Bridge and North Dulwich is 14 minutes from London Bridge. The nearest stations are in:
Denmark Hill,
East Dulwich,
West Dulwich,
North Dulwich,
Gypsy Hill,
Herne Hill,
Peckham Rye,
Sydenham Hill and
Tulse Hill.
Dulwich is served by
London Buses routes
3,
P4,
12,
P13,
37,
40,
115,
176,
185 and
484.
Famous residents
Famous people born there include: the author,
Enid Blyton in 1897;
the first compiler of the
London A-Z,
Phyllis Pearsall in East Dulwich in 1906, she went on to live in Dulwich Village;
the war-time singer
Anne Shelton in 1923 (or 1928?) and who lived on Court Lane until shortly before her death in 1994;
TV personality
Sue Perkins in 1969; footballer
Trevor Sinclair in 1973; and
Su-Elise Nash, former pop singer with
Mis-teeq in 1981.
In 1980
Bon Scott, the lead singer of
AC/DC, after a night's heavy drinking, was found lifeless in a car outside 67 Overhill Road, East Dulwich. He was rushed to hospital but was dead on arrival at King's College Hospital.
Jo Brand, the comedian, owns a house in Dulwich Village.
Tom Cruise, the actor,, looked at buying a house in Dulwich Village when still with
Nicole Kidman, but never bought.
James Nesbitt, the actor, lives in East Dulwich.
Margaret Thatcher, the politician, once owned a house in Dulwich, though she isn't thought to have stayed there much.
Bibliography
Boast, Mary (London Borough of Southwark, 1975) The Story of Dulwich
Darby, William (1966) Dulwich Discovered
Darby, William (Darby; Cory, Adams & Mackay, 1967) Dulwich: A Place in History
Darby, Patrick (Dulwich Society, 2000) The houses in-between: A history of the houses on the north side of Dulwich Common, between College Road and Gallery Road
Dyos, HJ (Univ of Leicester, 1962) Victorian Suburb
Galer, Allan Maxley (Truslove and Shipley, 1905) Norwood & Dulwich
Green, Brian (Dulwich Society, 1995) Dulwich, the Home Front, 1939-1945
Green, Brian (Quotes Ltd, 1988) Victorian & Edwardian Dulwich
Green, Brian (2002) Dulwich: A History
Hall, Edwin T (Bickers, 1917) Dulwich History and Romance AD 967-1916
Powell, Kenneth (Merrell Publishers Ltd, 2004) City Reborn: Architecture and Regeneration in London, from Bankside to Dulwich
Tames, Richard (Historical Publication Ltd, 1997) Dulwich & Camberwell Past: With PeckhamFurther Information
Get more info on 'Dulwich'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://dulwich.totallyexplained.com">Dulwich Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
