Lewisham
6C – probably founded by Jutes (‘ham = old!) in an early Anglo-Saxon estate possibly called Ravens.
Church of St Mary the Virgin built between 7C and 964. The earliest sketch does not show the original church, but mixed work of 13C+15C+18C. The church tower was built (or rebuilt) around 1500 (body of the church rebuilt in 1770s).
862 – first mention of Lewisham in a charter defining the boundaries of Bromley.
Lewisham had begun to expand upstream and downstream the River Ravensbourne; east and west were wooded.
Local place names:
Sydenham
Unable to find any dates on the origins; 6C?
Bellingham
973 – first mention.
Blackheath
1012 - Danes camped at Blackheath.
Brockley (‘ley = previously wooded)
1182 – first mention.
Catford
1254 – first mention.
Romborough/Hither Green
13C – first mention of Romborough.
Romborough was the original name for modern Hither Green, but the hamlet was wiped out by the plague. Romborough Forest and Romborough Lane retains the name. The hamlet could have lost it’s name with no settlement for perhaps a century or longer.
1716 – first mention of Hither Green
Sangley
13C – first mention
Westwood/Sydenham Common
13C – first mention of Westwood (Woods at the west of Lewisham)
Sydenham Common in 1640 after the discovery of the wells?
Swaynesfield/High Field/Peak Hill
14C – first mention
Rushey Green
1500 – first mention
Sydenham/Bell Green
Unable to find any info/dates on the origins.
Honor Oak
1602 – first named
Southend
Unable to find any info/dates on the origins.
Perry Slough
Unable to find any info/dates on the origins.
Ladywell
1793 – first mention. Before that it was called Brockley Lane.
Forest Hill
1797 – first mention.
Mottingham, Greenwich, Woolwich and Combe/Eastcombe also regarded as part of The Manor Of Lewisham in 10C, but I wonder if they were included in the parish at the time?
964 – Lewisham manor gained by the Abbey of St Peters, Ghent (in Belgium) from King Edgar (King Alfred The Great’s daughter Elfrida had nothing to do with it = forged document dated 918).
The Abbots of Ghent temporarily lost control of Lewisham between 1012 and the reign of Edward the Confessor (1043-1066) due to Danish invasion.
From 10C-17C Lewisham had a medieval manor house or priory with a great hall, small library and chapel among other things, as well as outbuildings containing a brewery, granary and stable. The location of Lewisham Priory is unknown, but disputed to have been on the site of:
*Priory Farm (although Rushey Green Place was most likely here instead)
*Church House (next door to St Mary’s Church).
*Tudor mansion—built 1612—east of High Street (Albacore Crescent and shops to the north now occupy site).
1086 – Lewisham mentioned in the Domesday Survey. Woodland was evidently being cleared fast. 11 Mills are mentioned (along the Ravensbourne); there were 9 and 6 in the 13C and 19C, respectively.
Lewisham Manor lost Woolwich and Mottingham—seized by William the Conqueror.
13C – Subsidiary Manors were created inside ¾ of Lewisham manor:
Bankers
This sub-manor shared it’s north and west boundaries with Lewisham, and extended as far east as the Ravensbourne River. The boundaries went from north to south from Loampit Hill and Lewisham Bridge to Stanstead Road and Catford, respectively.
Shroffold/Shafholt
Partly in Bromley, Southend, Bromley Hill and Plaistow.
Apparently included Priory Farm in Rushey Green or was this in the Catford sub-manor?
Bellingham
Between Catford and Southend.
Catford
St Germans Estate in Brownhill and Stanstead Road, as well as adjoining roads.
Sydenham
Perry Hill and Lower Sydenham. Place House was the manor house.
Around this time part of Hither Green was ceded to the Manor of Lee, which included the whole of the Lee parish + Mount Pleasant, Rosenthal, Park Hospital.
The era of moat construction began in 1200 (there was a dispute over one seized in Lewisham in 1205). Lee Manor House was surrounded by one, and there might possibly have been another at Ladywell. At this time there was conflict between the manors of Lee and Lewisham, which might explain the need for defences.
Catford had two houses surrounded by moats: one was called Rushey Green Place, which wasn’t heard of after early 17C, when Priory Farm replaced it; the other was the manor house of Catford located east of the station site (moat lasted until 19C). Manor Farm later occupied this site, which was converted into a villa called Ravensbourne Lodge in 1806.
The was also a High Street Stream from Rushey Green to Lewisham Bridge and several water courses around Catford.
1348 – Greenwich and Lewisham churches practically derelict with no clergy!
1381 – Peasant’s Revolt—Lewisham now had wide stretches of common land on either side of roadway from Blackheath to High Street.
Blackheath was a pageant ground between late 14C – 16C.
1414 – Henry V expelled all foreign monks and confiscated possessions. The Manor Of Lewisham had now passed over to the Priory of Shene; new land was given over to farming. Greenwich was still part of the manor.
Much of Sydenham’s woodland was cleared.
1531 – The Manor Of Lewisham now belonged to the Royals, and Greenwich was separated.
Almshouses existed in Lewisham. A Grammar School was built mid-1500s.
1610 – Sir Nicholas Stoddard began to clear the thickly forested ridge that divided Lewisham and Lee, including Hither Green.
1624 – Lewisham lost its Royal connection.
