London - Kirkdale, Sydenham, Lewisham - old timber houses - art card c.1970s

• • • Postcard ?

       

    • Picture / Image:  Old timber houses, Kirkdale Sydenham, drawn for The Sydenham Society, 1978 by F. G. Reeves
    • Publisher:  none guven (the artist?)
    • Postally used:  no
    • Stamp:  n/a
    • Postmark(s): n/a
    • Sent to:  n/a
    • Notes / condition:  NB - blank backed postcard sized card

Please ask if you need any other information and I will do the best I can to answer.

Image may be low res for illustrative purposes - if you need a higher definition image then please contact me and I may be able to send one. No cards have been trimmed (unless stated).

------------------------------------------------

Postage & Packing:

Postage and packing charge should be showing for your location (contact if not sure).

No additional charges for more than one postcard. You can buy as many postcards from me as you like and you will just pay the fee above once. Please wait for combined invoice. (If buying postcards with other things such as books, please contact or wait for invoice before paying).

Payment Methods:

UK - PayPal, Cheque (from UK bank) or postal order

Outside UK: PayPal ONLY (unless otherwise stated) please.   NO non-UK currency checks or money orders (sorry).

NOTE: All postcards are sent in brand new stiffened envelopes which I have bought for the task. These are specially made to protect postcards and you may be able to re-use them. In addition there are other costs to sending so the above charge is not just for the stamp!

I will give a full refund if you are not fully satisfied with the postcard.

----------------------------------------------

Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

*************

Sydenham /'s?dn?m/ is a suburban district of South East London in the London Boroughs of Lewisham, Bromley and Southwark. Sydenham was located in Kent until 1889 when the County of London was formed, additionally, in 1965 Sydenham became part of the current London Boroughs. The area was one of the first in southern England to have a railway station, opening 1839 by the London and Croydon Railway. Sydenham is the location where the Crystal Palace from the Great Exhibition was relocated in 1854. Today Sydenham is a diverse suburb, and at the 2011 census the population of Sydenham was 28,378[1]

Sydenham began as a small settlement, a few cottages among the woods, whose inhabitants grazed their animals and collected wood. In the 1640s, springs of water in what is now in Wells Park were discovered to have medicinal properties, attracting crowds of people to the area. Sydenham grew rapidly in the 19th century after the introduction of the Croydon Canal in 1809 which linked the Grand Surrey Canal to Croydon and a reservoir was constructed in Sydenham. However, the canal was never successful and closed in 1836[2] resulting in it being the first canal to be abandoned by an Act of Parliament. The London & Croydon Railway purchased the canal for £40,250 and quickly converted the alignment for a railway from London Bridge to West Croydon, opening in 1839. After the railway opened potential gas companies began to consider the Sydenham area with the Crystal Palace and District Gas Company having works at Bell Green, which continued production until 1969; a retail park now occupies most of the site.

In 1851 the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park was housed in an immense glass building, called the Crystal Palace. In 1854 the building was bought by a private company, dismantled and re-erected in Sydenham Park (now called Crystal Palace Park). Exhibitions, concerts, conferences and sporting events were held at the Crystal Palace (until it burned down in 1936), and Sydenham became a fashionable area; many new houses were built. In 1872, the Children's Hospital, Sydenham opened, closing in 1991, its services are now part of the University Hospital Lewisham.[3]

A former railway station, Upper Sydenham opened in 1884 and closed in 1954, with temporary closings in between. The station opened by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway had direct trains to Crystal Palace and London Victoria.[4] The station and the line was poorly used despite new houses being built in the area as passengers preferred to use other stations near-by Sydenham Hill (opening in 1863), Crystal Palace (Lower Level) and Sydenham which were on more direct routes. The ill fate of the Crystal Palace in 1936 saw patronage reduced and the route finally closed in 1954.

Sydenham was attacked by enemies during the Second World War. The gas works were a target, but were never damaged. The railway which ran through Upper Sydenham station was damaged, and some homes in the area were destroyed.

Sydenham is divided into many localities:

Sydenham Hill in the Boroughs of Lewisham and Southwark runs alongside Dulwich and Sydenham Woods on one of the highest points of Greater London being 112 meters above sea level.[5] From here, the City of London skyline is visible. Sydenham Hill has an abandoned railway tunnel from the Crystal Palace and South London Junction Railway located within the Woods. Another railway tunnel (one of the longest in Britain being 1,958 meters) goes beneath on the Chatham Main Line with Sydenham Hill station at the London end serving both Sydenham Hill and the College area of Dulwich.

Upper Sydenham is also located on Sydenham Hill and apart of the Parish of St Bartholomew. Its diverse both racially and in terms of income; recently branded as Kirkdale Village Upper Sydenham has a small range of shops including Costcutter, Tesco Express, local pubs and off-licences. Both Sydenham School and Sydenham Police Station are located on Dartmouth Road with Forest Hill Library and Forest Hill Pools alongside Thorpewood Avenue. Green Flag awarded Sydenham Wells Park, the location of the once famous Springs is one of the largest parks within the postcode. Upper Sydenham is also the location for the Sydenham Park allotments, the Sydenham electricity sub station which had major fire in 2008[6] and the Sydenham Hill estate.

Lower Sydenham & Bell Green is the location of Sydenham Community Library which was recently reopened by the local community after Lewisham council closed it. The Bell Green regeneration project is in its second phase with a new retail park which opened in 2013, on a site which was formally a gas works. A Currys PC World, B&Q [7][8] Toys ""R"" Us, Pets at Home and Sports Direct have opened. Next, and McDonald's are also expected to take some floor space in 2014.[9] Sainsbury's had already opened its large store on one part of the site in the 1990s as part of the Savacentre brand, additionally new residential apartments have also been constructed. The Bridge Leisure Centre is located on Kangley Bridge Road and Mayow Park is on the border with Forest Hill. Alongside the Hayes railway line and Lower Sydenhamstation, Lower Sydenham industrial estate houses the Clarkes of London coach company, City Link Beckenham and many other businesses as well as the Beckenham and Sydenham Cricket Ground.