Edward Alleyn – a favourite actor of Queen Elizabeth 1 – bought the Manor of Dulwich. He left it in trust for the education of local children. 400 years on, the estate survives and the Trust thrives. Its management, over time, has fashioned this slice of south London. Walk through it to find how. Start with Turney Road. Why are its elegant Edwardian frontages out of period in a Victorian suburb – because after building the road the estate took 30 years to let the land. Spreading behind the house fronts are the many playing fields. All the sports along the walk – croquet, cricket, tennis, rugby golf were once the fields of estate farms – even the nearby velodrome of the 1948 Olympics. Reach Dulwich Village to find its old Almshouses, its Picture Gallery and Dulwich Park – a park on land the estate donated.
Image compliments of Peter Trimming and Creative Commons 2.0
Wander across the park to take in the lovely long avenue of Cox’s Walk which meets the disused line of the high-level railway to Crystal Palace.
The railway land was the estate’s too – railway compensation rebuilt the Dulwich schools below. Following the line of the railway through Sydenham Hill Woods there’s soon a tunnel entrance blocked for all but the bats. The path takes a woodland circuit round the slope to reach Sydenham Hill station.
IT All COMES DOWN TO THE GUIDING
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