Historic Peckham
From Peckham Vision
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[edit] Conservation Area for Peckham town centre
Peckham has a long history. In 1700 it was a rural village of just 600 people, centred on the junctions of the High Street, Hill Street, and Rye Lane.
Today many of the early buildings of Peckham survive. On the High Street there are some 17th and early 18th century reminders of the old village alongside later Georgian development.
On the High Street and Rye Lane, there are still Victorian and Edwardian banks, pubs and public buildings, and adapted Georgian houses with substantial Victorian, Edwardian and 20th century retail development. The west side of Peckham Hill Street is an almost unspoilt late Georgian development.
If Southwark Council designates a conservation area for central Peckham it would enable the various buildings of interest to be protected from demolition. The other benefits of a conservation area include the ability for the Council and local people to improve the quality of new developments. The Peckham Society welcomes new development and supports challenging contemporary design like the Peckham Library. Our campaign for a conservation area focuses on raising the profile and quality of both historic and contemporary architecture not simply the preservation of historic townscape. A conservation area will allow the council to insist on better quality buildings in our town centre. Further, the designation of a conservation area will also open the door to historic area grant schemes which can be targeted towards improving shop fronts and the repair and reuse of empty and unused buildings.
Click here for the Peckham Society displays about the Conservation Area proposals.
[edit] Peckham history in pictures
The following sites have a variety of pictures of Peckham's long history.
[edit] Peckham history in text
[edit] History of Peckham
Wikipedia Entry - Read all about Peckham on Wikipedia
[edit] The Peckham Experiment
"The Peckham Experiment was a study into the nature of health in the 1920s-1940s. The researchers decided to study the family unit in a community setting to study what contributes to human health. The centre/laboratory, known as the Pioneer Health Centre, was purpose built for the Experiment in St Mary's Road, in Peckham. The blue shaded area of the map shows the boundary of the Peckham Experiment. The research was conducted by annual medical checks and observations of families interacting in social activities. Recognising the importance of sound nutrition, they rented a farm to provide fresh organic food. The experiment pioneered thinking, decades ahead of its time, about the way in which health could be nurtured rather than just sickness remedied. The Peckham Research Findings have influenced authorities across the world including the WHO. The Health Centre building is still here in St Mary's Road and is listed by English Heritage in recognition of its historic importance as architecture and its pioneering in health and social understanding. Read more...
Download a map of the Peckham Experiment here
[edit] The history of Rye Lane Chapel
" ... the Church approves, as a site for a new chapel and chapel house, the piece of land 80 feet frontage on the east side of Rye Lane adjoining the south side of the house occupied by the late Mr. Samuel Leigh and further approves the purchase of the same for £550 ... ... The lowest estimate was accepted; as follows:- Chapel £1,734; Manse £580; School Hall £340. Building commenced in the month of May 1863 ... " Read more
[edit] World War Two bombs Peckham
"Whole quarters in both Southwark and Bermondsey were destroyed in the great blitz of 1940 and to-day present a scene of great desolation. Many buildings were destroyed … Many houses have been destroyed in Rye Lane’s tributary streets and also on the east side of Peckham Rye Common and in East Dulwich Road in successive air raids. No other part of London, except Croydon, has suffered more severely from the ravages of Hitler's flying and rocket bombs. …" Read more...
[edit] Peckham Pram Factories
“… the area seems to have been a centre of pram making. .. some of the finest perambulators in the world. Two well-known firms that specialise in these products pay particular attention to taste in colour and decoration, and the finished articles speak highly for the craftsmanship and regard given, not only to strength and durability, but also to individual character and beauty of line, the sine qua non of British Industry. …The firms in question were Royale Prams at the Besfoldas Works, 70a Nunhead Grove, SE15; and Deanes Limited at Denette Works, 163 Peckham Rye…” Read More...