anon5422159
17 Jul '16
Forest Hill
Simply named after the Great North Wood, which once covered much of the terrain hereabouts, and still survives in pockets. The various nearby Norwoods tell the same story.
Sydenham Hill
There’s some argument over this one. Our favourite origin story has Sydenham taking its name from the Anglo-Saxon word Cippas, to mean ‘drunkard’s settlement’ — somewhat aptly given the number of excellent pubs round the corner in Crystal Palace. Alternatively, if less evocatively, it may derive from the medieval term ‘syp’, meaning sheep. Others think it simply comes from a personal name, such as Cippa.
Gipsy Hill
Unsurprisingly, the hill, once covered in trees, was a well-known haunt of Romani people up until the 19th century.