This neighbourhood area is commonly known as Upper Sydenham, immediately boarding Crystal Palace, Penge, Anerley and Beckenham. The neighbourhood area is primarily a residential area with many houses located nearby. It has Crystal Palace Park to its West, which is home to one of South London’s largest Parks and Sports venues. The neighbourhood area is culturally rich illustrated by its annual Sydenham Arts Festival held in the summer which showcases local music, art, workshops and family entertainment.

Once known as Shippenham, Sydenham was originally a small settlement made up of a small number of cottages in the woods, whose inhabitants made their livelihood through collecting wood and farming animals. In the 1640s, new crowds were attracted to Sydenham because springs of water containing medicinal properties were found in what is now Wells Park. This neighbourhood area benefited from rapid economic development due to the increased demand for housing.

The area is home to Lewisham’s only independent private girls Secondary School which was founded in 1887. Wells Park is located in this neighbourhood area and hosts a tennis court, water features and is one of nine parks in Lewisham to be awarded the green flag award.

This neighbourhood is home to St. Bartholomew Church, famous as it dates back to the 18th century and because it is featured in Danish-French painter Camille Pissarro’s ‘The Avenue Sydenham’ 1871 painting. Sir George Grove, arguably Sydenham’s first polymath, known for creating The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, the first director of the Royal College of Music, a Bible Scholar and a successful civil engineer once lived in Sydenham.

There are a number of large scale residential developments underway in Sydenham at the moment. Maybrey Works and Dylon Factory Works are the foremost of these schemes, hosting over 400 new homes between them, with the former offering a gym and Landscaped communal gardens. There are also a number of lower density developments currently underway offering more traditional housing to potential buyers rather than the flats on offer in the previously mentioned schemes. Sydenham Groves, the collection of 1 & 2-bedroom apartments and 3-bedroom townhouses between 154 and 158 Sydenham Road, is the largest example of this type of development in the area. Local primary school, Our Lady and St Philip Neri, are also in the process of expanding their premises that will see an increased intake of school places. A recently opened Nandos has been welcomed by residents.