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East
Dulwich
General
East Dulwich is a classic Victorian suburb situated 6 miles
from central London and located between Camberwell, Forest
Hill and Peckham. It is made up of a plethora of different-sized
Victorian properties comprising 2, 3 (and sometimes 4) bedroomed
terraced roads directly off the main thoroughfare of Lordship
Lane, as well as the grander double-fronted mansions of Underhill
Road. East Dulwich stretches up to the border of the beautiful
Dulwich Park and down as far as the green expanse of Peckham
Rye. In recent years Lordship Lane has undergone a massive
“trend” injection and is now full of popular bars,
restaurants and shops buzzing with activity. The area has
borne some famous people such as C S Forester, Boris Karloff
and Enid Blyton. In the future the East London line looks
likely to come to East Dulwich, improving what are already
great transport links into central London.
Property
The area stretches from the edges of Dulwich Village to Peckham
Rye with its enormous Georgian villas, and from Forest Hill
in the south to Camberwell (King’s College Hospital).
The properties are largely Victorian, street after street
of 2+-bedroom terraced houses which have benefited from the
gentrification and fairly recent popularity of East Dulwich
as an “in” place to live.
Lordship Lane, which runs from Dulwich
Common down to Peckham Rye, is the focal point of the community
with excellent shops, cafes, restaurants and bars. Roads running
off to the east and west of Lordship Lane are made up of solid
Victorian houses mainly 2, 3 and 4 bedrooms, such as Goodrich,
Bawdale, Hansler, Shawbury and Crystal Palace Road. Barry
Road, stretching from Dulwich Library and The Plough (an old
Victorian pub which keeps changing its name even though buses
stop at The Plough) to Peckham Rye forms a central point for
what is really a huge Victorian housing estate such as existed
all over London, in particular in places like Fulham and Wandsworth
(to mention some that have now become very smart).
On Northcross Road with its cluster
of shops and cafes (and popular Saturday market), there are
flats above some of the shops which are ideal as rental investments
or for first time buyers. Further along, the road becomes
Upland Road with more of a mixture of flats and larger 3 and
4 bedroom houses with good sized gardens. Smaller properties,
commonly known as half houses, can be found in Heber Road,
Pellatt Road, Zenoria Street and Tintagel Crescent. They usually
have 2 bedrooms and 2 reception rooms, a first floor bathroom
and private garden. They are slightly more expensive than
some of the garden flats in the area but still represent good
value for money.
To the west side of Lordship Lane are
Elsie Road, Derwent Grove, Ashbourne Grove and Matham Grove
(to name but a few), these popular streets consist of a mixture
of semi-detached and terraced Victorian houses comprising
3 to 4 bedrooms with good reception space.
There also a number of recent modern
developments in the area, comprising houses and flats which
are especially in and around the Dog Kennel Hill area which
is especially good for the station. Another pocket of roads
are those around East Dulwich Grove, which links the area
with Dulwich Village, namely Trossachs, Tarbert and Glengarry,
which are perfectly placed for Alleyn’s School and only
a short walk from the Village.
Shops
Gentrification in East Dulwich has brought a new look to its
streets. Lordship Lane and Northcross Road are overflowing
with shops which are thronged with people at weekends. These
are the main shopping streets in SE22. Every service is catered
for. There is the enormous Sainsbury’s
at the bottom of Dog Kennel Hill, which is open 24 hours a
day, seven days a week. There is a Somerfields Market Fresh
and some smaller green grocers on Lordship Lane. Rumour has
it that Iceland is soon to be a Marks and Spencer Food. Lordship
Lane has the usual high street banks and building societies,
a couple of bakeries also serving sandwiches at lunchtime, and William
Rose, a top butcher providing free-range and organic
British meat and game, and sausages made on the premises,
with queues often out onto the street! Moxons Fishmongers
- fantastic wet fish shop selling organic fruit and
vegetables. White Stuff (casual clothing)
is now open where glaziers used to be. The East Dulwich
Deli is full of delicious meats, cheeses and other
groceries including a good selection of wines. There is a
choice of hairdressers and barbers, some great grocer shops
including Budgens Express which is 24-hour,
an organic grocer called SMBS Foods, Health
Matters health shop and a fantastic cheese shop called
The Cheese Block, which sells every cheese
you could possibly think of! There is a good choice of florists
including Spray Rose, which now operates
online too. There is every kind of building supplier available
-- timber merchants, roofing, electrical supplies, bathrooms
and plumbing, hardware, tiles and plaster arts. Chemists,
newsagents, opticians and off licences are in abundance too,
including the newly opened Green and Blue,
a wine bar and a shop combined. There is a fantastic shoe shop called
John Barnett to cater for the whole family
and shoe repairers close by for aftercare!! Soup Dragon
has some great children’s fashions and toys. Upstairs
is the Family Natural Health Care Centre which hold yoga and
pilates classes amongst others. Hope and Greenwood
on Northcross Road is a traditional sweet shop selling things
that you haven’t seen since you were a child, dispensing
them from old fashioned jars. Other shops on this
road include Dr Boo, a great shop selling
clothes, footware and a good range of beauty ptoducts, The
Drum, a new coffee shop and The Never Ending
Story Bookshop and Stella B selling a wide range of fabulous shoes and boots. There are a great array of gift shops
including Eds, sister shop to The
Dulwich Trader (see West Dulwich) and Tomlinsons
(see Dulwich Village), Grace and Favor, Moo
Too, Willow, Celestial and a new contemporary jeweller,
Nina Christie. Also some great design and
interiors shops including Anterior Trading,
Karavan, Linwood and Searle,
Mrs Robinsons (which now has a clothing boutique too) and Roullier White, The Dulwich Music Shop has moved from West Dulwich to Upland Road recently with a huge collection of musical instruments and music. Laundrettes, dry cleaners, locksmiths and even
funeral directors make it an area that covers everything!
There is even a street market on Northcross Road every Friday
and Saturday with a wide range of quality items on sale. GG
Sparkes, organic butchers of Blackheath, now has
a stall on the market too.
Restaurants and Bars
Lordship Lane at night has a multiplicity of restaurants,
pubs and bars. The area is overflowing with choice. The
Palmerston has it all. It’s a quality gastro-pub
serving set lunches and excellent evening meals. It still
retains the “pub” feel, but with the added bonus
of fantastic food so booking is essential. Franklins
is a great modern British restaurant. It serves a simple menu
with well-sourced ingredients, excellent service and a good
wine list. Le Chardon is a very French experience
situated in a former butcher’s shop. It has great décor
and a fantastic atmosphere -- a place to relax, have a glass
of wine or two and enjoy a fantastic meal. The Sea
Cow is an upmarket fish and chip shop with long tables and benches
either side. There is a wide variety of fish and a great wine
list too. The East Dulwich Tavern is an impressive
landmark pub at the beginning of Lordship Lane and overlooks
Goose Green with Cafe Nero opposite. Famous as a comedy venue, it now has a restaurant with a bar
upstairs. The bar and lounge space look more like something
you’d find in Soho or Hoxton Square. The dining room
is vast, but full of Victorian charm. The Green,
on East Dulwich Road is a popular neighbourhood restaurant
which also has jazz nights and art shows. It has a lovely
patio area at the front, next to Goose Green. Springers
Wine Bar on East Dulwich Grove is a well-established
local favourite and has been in existence since 1985. It now
also has a takeaway lunch menu. There are an assortment of
Indian, Chinese and Thai restaurants on offer including Sema Thai
restaurant, Thai Corner Café
that now also does good value set lunches,Chopsticks,
Surma (Indian), Tandoori Nights,
and The Curry Cabin to name but a few. There
are also numerous cafes too. All Fired Up is a ceramics café that hosts
childrens parties too, the Blue Mountain Cafe,
which is fabulous, offering great breakfasts, lunches and
supper, and Mon P’tit Chou, a French style
café. East
Dulwich also has its fair share of pubs and bars these days,
with a crop of recent additions. The Bishop
(ex-The Foresters Arms) has been recently refurbished, big
glass coffee tables and patterned wallpaper, the food and
service is great with a good range of bitters. The
Black Cherry Bar offers stylish décor with
dark wooden floors, roses and candlelight. It serves an eclectic
range of drinks, delicious food and is a good staple for trendy,
upcoming East Dulwich. Inside 72 is another
new bar which has great music and is perfect to sit and watch
the bustle of Lordship Lane go by. It is quirky and original
and serves quality bar food and a Sunday roast. It attracts
an arty, unpretentious crowd and serves an enlightened choice
of drinks. Liquorish is a modern, airy, spacious
bar with a great variety of drinks and cocktails and a really
exciting menu. The service and atmosphere is friendly with
a diverse clientele, more like that of a pub. Almost
next door is the Gourment Burger Bar. The
Magdala has also been recently refurbished. It is
a spacious pub with a dining room and a garden and now serves
a great selection of food, including a fab pizza.
Schools
As with all parts of London, catchment areas cross boundaries
and, included in this list, therefore, are schools where the
catchment areas include West Norwood and Tulse hill. In addition
as children from the area use the nearby Dulwich Schools,
these have also been included:
State primaries: Dog Kennel Hill School,
Dulwich Infant School, Dulwich Hamlet Junior School, Goodrich
Community School, Goose Green Primary School, Heber Primary
School, St. Anthony’s Catholic Primary School, St. John’s
and St. Clements CofE Primary School. State secondaries: Kingsdale
Secondary School (now with 6th form), The Charter School (New
Labour flagship school), Waverley School.
Fee paying schools in the proximity
include: Herne Hill School, Rosemead Prep School, Oakfield
Prep, Dulwich College, Dulwich College Prep School, Alleyns
Junior School, Alleyns, James Allen Prep School, James, Allen
Girls Schol, Sydenham Girls School.
For details of school results (SATS, GCSEs and A level) together
with addresses and map visit schools
in Southwark and schools
in Lambeth. A list of all schools in Dulwich can be found
on www.dulwich.co.uk/schools.html
Other
Dulwich Leisure Centre on East Dulwich Road
has many classes to choose from, as well as a well-equipped
gym and a swimming pool. It also has a crèche. If you
overdo it there you can hotfoot it to The Vale Practice
close by for all types of health care including osteopathy,
acupuncture, homeopathy and massage. Dulwich Park
is a beautiful park in easy reach of Lordship Lane. It has
a fantastic café in the middle of it serving great
doorstep sandwiches and kids meals, even wine! There is a
boating lake with pedal boats available for hire during the
summer, a very well equipped childrens’ playground and
various bicycles for hire throughout the year via London Recumbents.
The park hosts events during the summer months, the biggest
being the Craft Fair in July. Dulwich Hospital
on East Dulwich Grove is going to be demolished this year
to make way for the new Community Hospital. The Melbourne
Grove Health Practice will relocate there in 2007.
The Dulwich Festival is an annual arts festival
held in various locations throughout Dulwich and East Dulwich.
It started in 1993, aims to make a broad variety of artistic
events easily available to the whole Dulwich community and
celebrates a range of local talent, both professional and
amateur. Run as an independent charity by a small group of
volunteers, the Festival is tremendously indebted to the generosity
of its sponsors and to the hard work of volunteers. A great
website that gives a mine of local information is www.lordshiplane.co.uk.
Transport
Train services run southbound to Streatham, Selhurst and East
Croydon and northbound to London Bridge via Peckham Rye (12
minutes roughly every 10 minutes during peak times and 20
minutes thereafter). Change at Peckham Rye for northbound
services to Victoria, Elephant and Castle and Blackfriars,
and southbound services to Nunhead, Lewisham and Orpington.
For details of train services go to journeycheck.
Tube connections are London Bridge
(Northern – direct train service from East Dulwich station),
Elephant and Castle (Northern/Bakerloo – train from
East Dulwich station, change at Peckham Rye, buses 40 or 176),
Victoria (Victoria/District/Circle – train from East
Dulwich station, change at Peckham Rye, bus 185), Brixton
(Victoria – Bus 37). Buses include 12 (to Dulwich Library
and Oxford Circus via Trafalgar Square), 37 and N37 (to Peckham
and Putney via Clapham Junction), 40 (to Dulwich Library and
Aldgate/Blackwall), 176 and N176 (to Penge and Oxford Circus
via Waterloo), 185 (to Victoria via Camberwell and Blackwall
Tunnel via Greenwich), 484 (Lewisham and Camberwell Green),
P13 (Surrey Quays and Streatham). A great website re: buses
is www.londonbuses.co.uk
. Mobility buses are 861 (Peckham and Waterloo), 937 (Bromley
and Orpington), 972 Bromley Common and Elephant and Castle),
973 (Catford and London Bridge) and P15 (Herne Hill and West
Norwood).
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