Independent spirit

“KFH have been market leaders in Crystal Palace, Beckenham and Forest Hill for over a decade now,” explains Julian Peak, KFH’s Sales Director for South East London. “Whilst we have enjoyed some success in SE26, we needed an office there to complete the puzzle.” Having been active in the area already, Peak is well placed to break down how and why Sydenham has suddenly become a property hotspot. “There has been significant investment in local shops, schools and transport in this area of south east London for a number of years, but Sydenham has always lagged behind its more progressive Crystal Palace, Beckenham and East Dulwich neighbours.

Over the last three years, though, buyers have seen Sydenham as representing better value for money with direct trains to Victoria in 15 minutes, some excellent shops, and great cafés, restaurants and bars.” “It’s a vibrant and thriving area with lots of green open spaces and good transport links into the City, and there’s also a good selection of schools to choose from,” adds Sarah Mitchell, KFH’s Lettings Director for South East London. “One of the biggest attractions is the wide range of different property types on offer – there is something for everyone.” Peak agrees. “In Sydenham, you will see a wide selection of one and two bedroom conversion and purpose built apartments, with many period cottages and family houses – but don’t be surprised to see some very imposing period mansions that have preserved much of their original charm, character and features.”

To explain the housing stock and its variety, a look into Sydenham’s past certainly sheds plenty of light on how the area has evolved. For a place that throws up some intriguing finds off the beaten track, it’s rather apt that Hidden London offer up a concise overview of its history.

The area was known as Chipeham in 1206, probably the farmstead of a man called Cippa, and the name evolved in stages over several centuries. The last change, when the ‘p’ became a ‘d’, did not occur until the late 17th century. By this time two distinct settlements had evolved: one around Bell Green in present-day Lower Sydenham and the other in what is now Sydenham Wells Park, where the presence of springs with alleged medicinal qualities was drawing visitors. These two halves of Sydenham were subsequently divided by the Croydon Canal, which was constructed from 1801, and by Westwood Common, which was enclosed in the 1810s.

“That’s one of the historical facts I love about the area,” Peak says. “The canal used to stretch from Croydon to London Bridge and went straight through Sydenham and South Norwood. This was the main transport mode for transporting goods and smuggling, but in 1836 it was closed and the railway was built on the old canal bed.” When the canal company went bankrupt, a railway line was laid along the course of the filled-in canal and Sydenham station opened in 1839, after which houses for wealthy Londoners began to appear on the former common.

The aforementioned arrival of The Crystal Palace on the southern ridge of Sydenham Hill in the south-west corner of the district transmuted the fortunes of the extended village. Improvements in communications made Sydenham the best connected place south of the Thames, and hotels and every kind of amenity catered to the needs of the tens of thousands of tourists. Grand houses were built for the new residents in Upper Sydenham and Lawrie Park.

Many of Sydenham’s grandest houses were eventually replaced by homes for the new breed of commuter, while municipal estates were built in several corners, for example at Sheenewood in Lawrie Park, High Level Drive in Upper Sydenham, the Dacres estate in Lower Sydenham, in the Kirkdale area north of Sydenham station, and at Bell Green. On Dartmouth Road, Sydenham School was greatly enlarged to become a comprehensive in 1957. Despite the changes, the hilly terrain and surviving vestiges of its Victorian heyday continue to endow Sydenham with a distinctive character.

Kirkdale is where this story hurtles forward to the present day, with Peak explaining it has undergone a complete transformation. “There has been the arrival of a Sainsbury’s Local, Nandos, PureGym, Cobbs Corner Café, and in February 2018 The Greyhound pub underwent a complete refurbishment and is now one of the most popular gastropubs in the south east London area.” And, of course, KFH opened a branch here, too.

Visiting on a cold, grey winter morning, it’s certainly a welcoming respite from the bitter wind outside. Located right next door to The Greyhound, KFH's office is well-designed and spacious, and is a hive of activity. Siobhan Melaugh heads up the sales operation here, coming across from the Beckenham office and having 12 years’ experience with KFH. “It’s really exciting,” Melaugh says about her role here. “It makes sense to be in Sydenham.” Despite opening their doors during a pandemic, this hasn’t seemingly translated into any kind of uncertainty in the Sydenham sales market. “It’s really busy,” she nods. “There are houses we are selling within a day or two.” COVID-19 may have made working operations a little trickier, but it has seemingly had a different impact on those looking to buy. “With more people working from home, it has pushed them into realising they need more space,” Melaugh explains. “I have seen a lot of people move out of London. If they have children, they want to be closer to family for childcare, but to move from Central London to Sydenham you do also get more for your money – and with the transport links, you can still get back into the city quickly.”

One quirky aspect to Sydenham is that you have different pockets in the area: the high street leading to Upper Sydenham and Sydenham Hill, and heading the other way to Lower Sydenham. “The bigger properties are in Upper Sydenham and Sydenham Hill,” Melaugh says on the stock. “That’s where you are going to get your detached and bigger Victorian houses. There are a lot of flats in Lower Sydenham, but you can also buy a nice Victorian house for around £550,000. Then you have the Dulwich Estate that has been really popular with buyers, where you have the woodland at the bottom.” As Julian Peak says, there are a remarkable number of conservation areas in Sydenham. “Sydenham Hill conservation area is one of the largest,” he says. “Cobbs Corner at Kirkdale covers many of the large opulent early Victorian properties, Jews Walk is incredibly popular with its gothic revival style of architecture, but my personal favourite is the Thorpes estate conservation area, where there are just six roads, which all end in ‘-Thorpe Road’, and feature impressive premium Edwardian properties.”