Tulse Hill is a district in the

London Borough of Lambeth Lambeth () is a London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London is at Frazi ...

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

that sits on Brockwell Park. It is approximately five miles from

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...

and is bordered by

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of H ...

Herne Hill Herne Hill () is a district in South London, approximately four miles from Charing Cross and bordered by Brixton, Camberwell, Dulwich, and Tulse Hill. It sits to the north and east of Brockwell Park and straddles the boundary between the London ...

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

and

West Norwood West Norwood is a largely residential area of south London within the London Borough of Lambeth, located 5.4 miles (8.7 km) south south-east of Charing Cross. The centre of West Norwood sits in a bowl surrounded by hillsides on its east, ...

History

The area known as Tulse Hill is part of the former Manor or Manors of Bodley, Upgroves and Scarlettes whose precise boundaries are now uncertain. The name of the area comes from the Tulse family who came into ownership of farmland in the area during the period of the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

in the 1650s. Sir Henry Tulse was

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

in 1683 and his daughter Elizabeth married

Richard Onslow, 1st Baron Onslow Richard Onslow, 1st Baron Onslow PC (23 June 1654 – 5 December 1717), known as Sir Richard Onslow, 2nd Baronet from 1688 until 1716, was a British Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1679 to 1715. He wa ...

. The land remained in Onslow ownership until 1789 when most of it was purchased by William Cole. The estate was further divided on Cole's death in 1807. The western part was left to "Mercy Cressingham, spinster" (now commemorated by the Cressingham Gardens estate in the area) and the eastern part -now mostly occupied by Brockwell Park - was left to Richard Ogbourne who promptly sold it on to John Blades. In 1810 Tulse Hill Farm was the only building in the western part of the area. The

enclosure Enclosure or inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land", enclosing it, and by doing so depriving commoners of their traditional rights of access and usage. Agreements to enc ...

of land in the parish of

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...

in 1811 led to the construction of Effra Road in the area immediately to the north. Together with improvements to Brixton Road by the local

turnpike trust Turnpike trusts were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road toll road, tolls for maintaining the principal roads in Kingdom of Great Britain, Britain from the 17th ...

this greatly improved road communications with central London, and the value of the local landholdings. Mercy Cressingham eventually married Dr Thomas Edwards, who took the initiative in buying extra land to make an access from

Brixton Hill Brixton Hill is the name given to a section of road between Brixton and Streatham Hill in south London, England. Brixton Hill and Streatham Hill form part of the traditional main A23 road, London to Brighton road (A23). The road follows the li ...

in 1814 and laying out two new roads, Lower Tulse Hill Road (now known simply as Tulse Hill) and Upper Tulse Hill Road (now Upper Tulse Hill), by 1821. A plan of 1821 in the

RIBA ''Riba'' (, or , ) is an Arabic word used in Islamic law and roughly translated as " usury": unjust, exploitative gains made in trade or business. ''Riba'' is mentioned and condemned in several different verses in the Qur'an3:130

Library shows a proposed speculative development of both the Edwards estate and the adjacent Blades estate with large detached villas, although only the former actually came to fruition. The new roads were adopted by the parish in 1822. An 1832 map shows that Tulse Hill still had only a few buildings on the new roads in contrast to nearby recently developed areas in

and Norwood and the longer established hamlet of

. However, by 1843, there was a continuous line of houses, predominantly detached and usually with separate coach houses along the full length of Lower Tulse Hill Road from Brixton to the top of the hill. Development of the area to the east of this road commenced in 1845 when Trinity Rise was built to connect Upper Tulse Hill with Norwood Road. Holy Trinity Church on Trinity Rise was built in 1855-6 and is now

grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

. Major development of the area further east did not come until the opening of the

and

Tulse Hill Tulse Hill is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in South London that sits on Brockwell Park. It is approximately five miles from Charing Cross and is bordered by Brixton, Dulwich, Herne Hill, Streatham and West Norwood. History The a ...

railway stations in the 1860s. Most of the original villas with large gardens on the original Edwards-Cressingham landholding have been redeveloped at much higher densities for

council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council housing or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. D ...

since the 1930s. The most prominent survival of 19th century Tulse Hill is Berry House, later called Silwood Hall, and now forming the front part of St Martin-In-The-Fields High School for Girls, a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

secondary school which outlasted the nearby 1950s schools before its closure in 2024. The redevelopment of Tulse Hill after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

by the

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

had included the construction of two large secondary schools - Tulse Hill School and Dick Sheppard School (originally for girls only). Both schools have now closed, and their sites have been redeveloped for housing of very contrasting types. The Dick Sheppard School site was redeveloped as Brockwell Gate, a gated

Regency style Regency architecture encompasses classical buildings built in the United Kingdom during the Regency era in the early 19th century when George IV was Prince Regent, and also to earlier and later buildings following the same style. The period co ...

with houses and apartments overlooking Brockwell Park. The site of Tulse Hill school was redeveloped as affordable housing.

Politics

Tulse Hill is represented on the

Lambeth London Borough Council Lambeth London Borough Council, which styles itself Lambeth Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Lambeth in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of the 32 in London. The council has been under Labour ...

by councillors for the Brixton Rush Common, St Martin's, and West Dulwich wards. All three wards are held by the Labour Party although the ward now known as West Dulwich was historically a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

ward until the

2014 Lambeth London Borough Council election The 2014 Lambeth Council election was held on 22 May 2014 to elect members of Lambeth Borough Council in Greater London, England. This was on the same day as other 2014 United Kingdom local elections, local elections. The election saw the Labou ...

. Tulse Hill is represented in the London Assembly by Marina Ahmad and in Westminster by

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur (; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress. Often referred to as the "First Lady of American Theatre", she was the second person and first woman to win EGOT, the EGOT (an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and ...

and

Bell Ribeiro-Addy Bellavia Janet Ribeiro-Addy (born 1 March 1985) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clapham and Brixton Hill (UK Parliament constitue ...

. In March 2022 Lambeth Council initiated a consultation with residents as to renaming the area, to avoid a possible association with Henry Tulse who was once a board member of the

Royal African Company The Royal African Company (RAC) was an English trading company established in 1660 by the House of Stuart and City of London merchants to trade along the West African coast. It was overseen by the Duke of York, the brother of Charles II of Eng ...

, a slave-trading concern in the seventeenth century.

Transport

Buses

The area is served by

London Bus Buses have been used as a mode of public transport in London since 1829, when George Shillibeer started operating a horse-drawn ''omnibus'' service from Paddington to the City of London. In the decades since their introduction, the red London ...

es routes 2, 68, 196, 201, 322, 415, 432, 468 and P13.

Rail

Tulse Hill railway station Tulse Hill railway station is in the Tulse Hill area of the London Borough of Lambeth in south London, between railway bridges over the A205, South Circular Road and the A215, Norwood Road. It is measured from . There are currently 4 platfo ...

( Zone 3) is served by the Southern Metro via

Peckham Rye Peckham Rye is an open space and road in the London Borough of Southwark, London, England. The roughly triangular open space lies to the south of Peckham and consists of two contiguous areas, Peckham Rye Common to the north and Peckham Rye Park t ...

line (to

London Bridge The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman Britain, Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 197 ...

) and the

Thameslink Thameslink is a mainline route on the British railway network, running from , , , , , and via central London to , , , Rainham, , , and . The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying more than ...

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

loop (to

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

via Blackfriars, City Thameslink, Farringdon, and St Pancras). The railway bridge over the A205 was frequently subject to vehicle strikes until a new warning system was installed in 2017. Nearby stations provide services to Victoria from

and

West Dulwich West Dulwich ( ) is a neighbourhood in South London on the southern boundary of Brockwell Park, which straddles the London Borough of Lambeth and the London Borough of Southwark. Croxted Road and South Croxted Road mark the boundary between Sou ...

(via the Southeastern Metro Bromley South line) and from

(via the Southern Crystal Palace line). The nearest

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

station is

on the

Victoria line The Victoria line is a London Underground line that runs between in South London, and in the east, via the West End of London, West End. It is printed in light blue on the Tube map and is one of the only two lines on the network to run comp ...

Roads

At the southern end of Tulse Hill is a major road junction between the A204 (''Tulse Hill''), A205 (''South Circular'') and the A215 (''Norwood Road'') where the historic Tulse Hill Hotel stands.

Cultural references in literature

The "Tulse Hill Parliament", a political club, features in

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse ( ; 15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975) was an English writer and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Je ...

's comic novel '' Psmith in the City''. The author attended

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

, which is in the vicinity.

Noel Streatfeild Mary Noel Streatfeild OBE (24 December 1895 – 11 September 1986) was an English author, best known for children's books including the "Shoes" books, which were not a series (though some books made references to others). Random House, the U.S. ...

's novel "''Tennis Shoes''" (1937) is written about a family who live in Tulse Hill. Samson Young, protagonist in

Martin Amis Sir Martin Louis Amis (25 August 1949 – 19 May 2023) was an English novelist, essayist, memoirist, screenwriter and critic. He is best known for his novels ''Money'' (1984) and '' London Fields'' (1989). He received the James Tait Black Mem ...

's '' London Fields'' goes to Tulse Hill to buy drugs. Jason Strugnell, a fictional poet in

Wendy Cope Wendy Cope (born 21 July 1945) is a contemporary English poet. She read history at St Hilda's College, Oxford. She now lives in Ely, Cambridgeshire, with her husband, the poet Lachlan Mackinnon. Biography Cope was born in Erith in Kent (now ...

's ''Making Cocoa For Kingsley Amis'', lives in Tulse Hill and mentions it a couple of times in "his" poems. Tulse Hill and its surrounding areas are locations in Mark Billingham's crime novel "''In The Dark''".

Prominent buildings

*''Brockwell Hall'' - built 1811–1813,

. *'' Brockwell Lido'' - opened 1938, grade II listed. *''Carisbrooke'' - mid 19th century villa, grade II listed. *'' Holy Trinity Church, Trinity Rise'' - built 1855–6, grade II listed. *'' St Martin-In-The-Fields High School for Girls'' - built mid 19th century, grade II listed. *''

Strand School Strand School was a boys' grammar school in the Tulse Hill area of South London. It moved there in 1913 from its original location at King's College in London's Strand. Distinguished in its heyday for its contribution of young men to the ci ...

'' - Grammar School building, opened in 1913 in Elm Park; it is now called Elm Court School. *''166 Tulse Hill'' - early-mid 19th century villa, grade II listed.

Notable people

Julian Cope Julian David Cope (born 21 October 1957) is an English musician and author. He was the singer and songwriter in Liverpool post-punk band the Teardrop Explodes and has followed a solo career since 1983 in addition to working on musical side proj ...

, lead singer of band Teardrop Explodes, lived at 149a Tulse Hill in the late 1980s where, as he described in his autobiography ''Repossessed'', he had a 40 ft Scalextric track and an extensive collection of

Corgi The Welsh Corgi ( or Corgi, plural Corgis, or occasionally the etymologically consistent Corgwn; ) is a small Dog type, type of herding dog that originated in Wales. The name ''corgi'' is thought to be derived from the Welsh language, Welsh w ...

, Dinky and other toy cars. * Michael Finnissy, composer * Sir William Henry Harris was a chorister at Holy Trinity Church towards the end of the 19th century. * The astronomers Sir William Huggins and his wife Margaret Lindsay, Lady Huggins, had a home and observatory known as Huggins' Observatory from about 1850 until 1915 at 90 Upper Tulse Hill. It no longer stands but was at the approximate location of today's Vibart Gardens. * The Ionides family lived there between 1838 and 1864. Alexander Constantine Ionides was Greek consul, art patron and donor. His son Constantine Alexander Ionides left his collection of

Old Masters In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...

to the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

. * Mick Jones, guitarist in The Clash, lived in Christchurch House on Christchurch Road with his aunt during his childhood years. *

Arthur Mee Arthur Henry Mee (21 July 187527 May 1943) was an English writer, journalist and educator. He is best known for ''The Harmsworth Self-Educator'', ''The Children's Encyclopædia'', ''The Children's Newspaper'', and ''The King's England''. Ea ...

(1875–1943), British writer, journalist and educator, author of '' The King's England'' and '' The Children's Encyclopædia''. * Jean Charles de Menezes (1978–2005), Brazilian man killed by officers of the Metropolitan Police at Stockwell station after he was wrongly deemed to be involved in the previous day's failed bombing attempts. *

John Sentamu John Tucker Mugabi Sentamu, Baron Sentamu, (; ; born 10 June 1949) is a retired Anglican bishop and life peer. He was Archbishop of York and Primate of England from 2005 to 2020. In retirement he was subject to investigation over his handl ...

, previous

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...

, was vicar of Holy Trinity Church for 13 years.Profile: Archbishop John Sentamu, BBC
/ref> * Euan Uglow, artist.

References

External links

Hidden LondonNorwood ForumSouth London Botanical InstituteTulse Hill and Brockwell Park , British History OnlineTulse Hill & Dulwich Hockey Club
{{Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Lambeth Areas of London History of the London Borough of Lambeth Streets in the London Borough of Lambeth Geography of the London Borough of Lambeth District centres of London