1799 Map. Oak of Honor Wood. We believe that in its earliest days there was a farm on this site.
There is evidence in the basement of 39 Honor Oak Road that the building used
to be a dairy. There has been a house on the site since the 1770s, and at some point a doctor was living here and was presumably using part of the building for his practice. |
1863 Map. Oak Honour Hill. The Limes. By the 1870s it was known as Bay House because of a large bay tree at the front of the property. It is believed that Charles Peace, the notorious criminal and murderer, hid in the tree to evade the police chasing him. |
1893 Map. Oak of Honor Hill. Forest Hill House. In these maps, Oak Honour Hill or Oak of Honor Hill is marked – the area now known as Honor Oak. The story goes that Queen Elizabeth I dined under an oak tree (on what is now One Tree Hill), and therefore particularly honoured it, while on a visit to Lewisham on May Day (possibly in 1602). ‘Forest Hill’ possibly came into use in the 1790s. |