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This article is about Dulwich in London. Dulwich, South Australia is a suburb of Adelaide.
Dulwich is a generally prosperous settlement and is with the exeption of West Dulwich, in the London Borough of Southwark. There are number of recognised districts in Dulwich.
These include:
Dulwich is situated in a valley with its top in Crystal Palace to the South and on other sides surrounded by hills Dog Kennel Hill to the North, Tulse and Herne Hills to the West and Sydenham hill to the East.
It is basically divided into three parts, Dulwich Village, West Dulwich, and East Dulwich. Dulwich Village contains the original high street, if it can be called that, and still contains nearly all of the original 18th and 19th century buildings. East Dulwich now focuses around Lordship Lane, a much larger high street. There is traditionally a divide between East Dulwich and Dulwich and this is reflected in the property prices, similar houses costing as much as £5,000 more on the West side of Lordship lane. The traditional divide between Dulwich and West Dulwich is the Croxted Road. On the West Dulwich side is Lambeth where the local authority is heavily endebted while along the Dulwich side are the Effra and a railway including West Dulwich Station which has had Eurostar trains passing through.
Dulwich Village in particular is still a very uncommercialised place and has no large department store or supermarket. It is a very green area and is a conservation zone. It boasts Dulwich Park a very pretty park that hosts the Dulwich Horse and Motor Show each year, where the new Toyota Corolla made its first UK appearance at a motor show in 1997. There are Dulwich woods, all that is now left of a previously much larger forest.
Dulwich is a popular place with the rich and famous. Margaret Thatcher used to own a house here, Eddie George, Governor of the Bank of England still lives here and Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman reportedly bought a house right in the village, although this has never been confirmed.
Dulwich is also home to Dulwich Hamlet, an amateur football club set up in 1893 and still competing in the Isthmian League today.
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History
Dulwich and East Dulwich cover a fertile valley between hills, Denmark Hill and Dog Kennel Hill to the north, Sydenham Hill and One Tree Hill, Honor Oak, to the south. Dulwich Village is one of the oldest recorded villages in London.
The name of Dulwich may be a clue to what the neighbourhood was like in the distant past. It 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. Dulwich was 'the meadow where dill grows'.
The first documented evidence of Dulwich is as a hamlet outside London about 1000 years ago.
It is now most definitely part of London and is situated in south east London and is part of the borough of Southwark. West Dulwich station is about 12 minutes train ride from Victoria and East Dulwich is 12 minutes from London Bridge.
The most important event in the history of Dulwich is the decision of Edward Alleyn (1566-1626) to construct a school and alms houses in Dulwich. The school was founded in 1616. This was after his religious enlightenment and this is why all buildings in the foundation are named like Dulwich College of God's Gift.
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 just next door around 1840 to accommodate larger numbers and although the school no longer exists here the building is now used to house the Estate's Governors. The school moved to larger premises and became Dulwich College 1870. The new buildings having been designed by Charles Barry Junior (1823-1900), son of Sir Charles Barry who designed the Houses of Parliament.
In 1875 Alleyn's School was founded as a junior school for the College. At the beginning of the 20th Century is became a secondary school in its own right and was made mixed in the 1970s by the then headmaster, Derek Fenner.
In 1886, the remaining girls left the previous Dulwich College junior school (not being allowed into Alleyn's since it was then an all boys school) moved into James Allen's Girls' School. James Allen's Girls' School was founded by a headmaster James Allen aka James Alleyn. JAGS later became a single sex school and remains so to this day.
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Local Landmarks
Belair House - A grand house designed by 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 a very impressive upmarket restaurant. The house has a large park ground attached which is now public but used to be the fields for its farm.
Bell House - Designed in 1787 for Thomas Wright, a stationer and later Lord Mayor of London. It became a Dulwich College boarding house and only returned to private ownership in 1993. Its beautiful design was not spoilt by a large extension added in the mid 19th century and it is accompanied by a pretty 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.
Dulwich College - See above for information the buildings and its founding.
Alleyn's School - See above for information the buildings and its founding.
St Barnabas Church (Church of England) - The church covering the parish of Dulwich itself. The old church was designed by W H Wood of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and consecrated in 1894. However the old Church burnt down in an arson attack by unknown persons on Monday December 7th 1992. An appeal began to raise money for the building of a new church and the Phoenix appeal succeeded. In 1996 the new church, designed by Larry Malcic, was opened and now its all glass spire dominates the Dulwich skyline.
St Stephens (Church of England) - by College Road, Sydenham Hill Station and Dulwich Wood Nursery School on the edge of the Kingswood Estate.
All Saints, Rosendale Rd - An astonishing Victorian Gothic building, originally intended to be the cathedral for south London. The church was built between 1888 and 1897 and designed by G H Fellowes Prynne, a pupil of G E 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.
Crown & Greyhound Public House, Dulwich Village - In the 1800s, two seperate 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. 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.
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Nearest railway stations
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Neighbouring districts
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Famous residents
Both past and present:
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See also
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