We asked a Lewisham historic society what the name Lewisham means and discovered the name derives from Old English.

According to Lewisham Heritage, the name Lewisham derives from the Old English “ham”, meaning a village, and the name of a person, potentially Leof or Leofsa, meaning “Leofsa’s village.”

The parish of Lewisham included Hither Green, Sydenham, Catford and Forest Hill, however the village of Lewisham stretched along Lewisham High Street from the present railway station to the ancient parish church of St Mary.

King James I, who was “impressed” with the length of the High Street, was said to have remarked “On my soul, I will be king of Lusen.”

This suggests that Lewisham was originally pronounced Loos-am, as opposed to the modern day pronunciation of Loo-ish-am.

In the Middle Ages, the Manor of Lewisham belonged to the Abbey of Ghent.

It was originally thought that King Alfred’s daughter had granted it to them, however the document is now known to be a forgery according to Lewisham Heritage.

In 1086 there were eleven mills along the River Ravensbourne, before the Industrial Revolution these mills were used for grinding steel for weapons and for tanning leather.

Lewisham developed over the centuries, with the first railway through Lewisham to Dartford opening in 1849, and the current Lewisham station in operation opened in 1857.

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In turn, these railways encouraged the building of houses for commuters to live in, and transport links brought commerce to the area.

Lewisham’s Clock Tower was completed in 1900, to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897.

In 1977 Lewisham’s shopping centre was built and in 1994 the High Street in the town centre was pedestrianised, which gave way to the opening of a traffic-free street market.