Sydenham Hill conservation area
Designated in 1976, this area contains a mix of 19th buildings and a 20th century housing estate, all of distinctive form and style and good quality.
Three different character areas can be distinguished: Mount Gardens, Mount Ash Road and Lammas Green.
Mount Gardens is on the site of the original Sydenham Common which was enclosed some time between 1810 and 1820. The first houses in Mount Gardens appear to have been developed from about 1833. The area covers a nearly rectangular site with unmade roads on three sides. It is covered with dense vegetation and many good trees which give Mount Gardens an almost rural atmosphere.
The detached properties are of varied design but each posses interesting architectural character and quality and many of them on our list of buildings of local interest. Also included are several Victorian mansions along Sydenham Hill which are notable for their rather ostentatious style.
Mount Ash Road to the south is a unique example of Victorian ‘byelaw’ housing designed as a set piece of identical three-storey terraces enclosing the road to both sides.
To the north, the conservation area includes Lammas Green, a 1950s housing scheme of the City of London comprising three terraces set round a village green, with views of the North Downs, and two blocks of flats behind, which serve as a buffer to the road. In 1998, the estate was listed Grade II as being of special architectural and historic interest in its own right.
Article 4 direction
We have made an Article 4 direction to Mount Ash Road to encourage the retention of high quality architectural features and ensure that changes are undertaken sympathetically.