Sydenham Greater London hotels:

Sydenham is a bustling London village (population 20,000) located in the London Borough of Lewisham in Southeast London. is approximately seven miles from Central London with excellent public transport links, schools, parks, shops and restaurants. The town centre is home to 185 small and medium-sized businesses, many independently owned, offering a wide range of convenience and comparison goods and services. Kirkdale, which is Sydenham's secondary shopping area, is another up and coming district full of antique shops and related furniture restoration businesses. J.D. Wetherspoon's recently built The Windmill, a large new pub attracting additional people to the area. Both areas benefit from a town centre management programme. Sydenham started out 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 Wells Park were discovered to have medicinal properties, attracting crowds of people to the area. The rapid growth of Sydenham in the 19th century can be attributed to the introduction of the canal (1801) which was then converted into a railway (1839), followed by the relocation of the magnificent Crystal Palace of the 1851 Great Exhibition in Hyde Park. Crystal Palace was moved to Sydenham in 1852. Exhibitions, concerts, conferences and sporting events were held at Crystal Palace (until it burned down in 1936), and Sydenham became a fashionable area; many new houses were built. Crystal Palace Park is still today a popular venue for concerts and recreation.