Gipsy Hill


Gipsy Hill is an area in south London within the London Borough of Lambeth. It borders the London Boroughs of Southwark and Croydon.

About

Gipsy Hill is the name of the main road that runs in a southerly direction from Gipsy Road, near its junction with South Croxted Road, up to Westow Hill in Upper Norwood. It takes its name from in what was a relatively remote rural area until Gipsy Hill railway station was opened in 1856. On 11 August 1668, Samuel Pepys recorded in his diary that his wife had visited "the gypsies at Lambeth"; they may well have been located in this area.
Gipsy Hill is also a geographical expression for the hilly area in the south-eastern corner of Lambeth that is situated south of Gipsy Road and east of Salters Hill.
Gipsy Hill ward is represented by three elected members of Lambeth Borough Council and includes some areas that are often identified as parts of West Norwood and West Dulwich.
Gipsy Hill Police Station is on Central Hill, a road about 50 m from the top of the one named Gipsy Hill. It is London's highest Police station. The area hosts two independent brewing companies – the Gipsy Hill Brewing Co and the London Beer Factory.
In Lunham Road there is a decommissioned nuclear bunker. The 18-room bunker was constructed between 1963 and 1966 as part of a block of flats on the Central Hill Estate called Pear Tree House.

Schools

Elm Wood, Kingswood and Paxton schools are all members of The Gipsy Hill Federation.
There are no private schools in Gipsy Hill itself, but a number operate nearby in areas such as West Dulwich.

Churches

The following congregations meet in buildings that are readily identified as places of worship:
These buildings were constructed as places of worship but are now used for other purposes: