Lyndhurst Square, off Lyndhurst Way, is a very small square in the Holly Grove Conservation Area. It is truly a ‘pocket park’ and very different from the Community Playground of Leyton Square described in our Autumn issue. It is little more than a small strip of ornamental landscaping with shrubs and mature trees. There is not even any seating.
Lyndhurst Way was laid out in the 1830s. The first houses in Lyndhurst Square were built in about 1843, a series of two-storey detached paired villas around a small secluded garden. They are among the earliest Gothic styled houses in Peckham. They were unusual in their location as most previous desirable development had been along main roads while these were in a purpose-built square, avoiding through traffic. Today, following wartime damage, ten houses remain: those in the north-east have been replaced by a modern apartment block.
It was never a closed square but open to Lyndhurst Road (now Way) on the East side. Unlike Leyton Square, this speculative development was a success.
Read More in Peckham Society News Issue 171 Winter 2022
