Denmark Hill
Coordinates: 51°28′04″N 0°05′25″W / 51.4678°N 0.0902°W
Denmark Hill is an area and road in Camberwell, in the London Borough of Southwark.[1] The road forms part of the A215; north of Camberwell Green it becomes Camberwell Road; south of Red Post Hill it becomes Herne Hill. Its postcode is SE5. Nearby streets whose names refer to different aspects of the same topographical feature include Dog Kennel Hill, Champion Hill and Red Post Hill. It marks the edge of the Thames valley plain in this area — from here to the river the land is flat. There are good views across central London from vantage points (e.g. top storey windows) on the top of the hill to the north and neighbouring Dulwich to the south. On a clear day one can read the time on the Big Ben clockface.
History
In John Cary's map of 1786 the area is shown as Dulwich Hill. The only building apparent is the "Fox under the Hill". The present "Fox on the Hill" pub is situated a hundred yards or so further up the hill, on the site of former St Matthew's Vicarage adjacent to a triangular patch of land rumoured to be a "plague pit" or burial ground. The name of the area was changed to Denmark Hill in honour of the husband of Queen Anne, Prince George of Denmark, who lived there.
The area is home of the Maudsley Hospital and King's College Hospital, and also of Ruskin Park, named after John Ruskin, who once lived nearby. The preface to Ruskin's "Unto This Last" is dated "Denmark Hill, 10th May, 1862". The Institute of Psychiatry is based behind the Maudsley Hospital, a school of King's College London (University of London). The college also has a hall of residence in Champion Hill.
The Salvation Army's William Booth Memorial Training College on Champion Park which was designed by Giles Gilbert Scott was completed in 1932; it towers over South London. It has a similar monumental impressiveness to Gilbert Scott's other South London buildings, Battersea Power Station and Bankside Power Station (now housing Tate Modern), although its simplicity is partly the result of repeated budget cuts during its construction: much more detail, including carved Gothic stonework surrounding the windows, was originally planned.
Famous residents include, or have included artist Samuel Prout, inventor Sir Henry Bessemer, architect John Belcher, aviator John Cyril Porte, flying ace Arthur Vigers,[2] actresses Lorraine Chase and Jenny Agutter, news reporter Jeremy Bowen and comedian/writer Jenny Eclair[3]
Denmark Hill railway station has services to London Blackfriars and London Victoria as well as towards Dartford and Sevenoaks, and London Overground services to Clapham Junction and Highbury and Islington.
Shepherd's Bush F.C. played in the area as Old St Stephen's F.C.
References
- ↑ "Institutions in Camberwell - Camberwell - the place - Southwark Council". Southwark.gov.uk. 13 January 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
- ↑ Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915-1920. p. 372–373.
- ↑ "London living: Why I love Bonkersville, SE5". The Daily Telegraph. 11 November 2000. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
Further reading
- Shores, Christopher F.; Franks, Norman L. R.; Guest, Russell. Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915-1920, Grub Street, 1990. ISBN 978-0-948817-19-9
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