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Oak of Honor Hill also known as One Tree Hill is where Elizabeth 1 picnicked with Sir Richard Bulkeley of Beaumaris in the Lewisham area on May Day in 1602 and it is reliably believed that it was by an oak tree on the summit of this hill. The tree became known as the Oak of Honor. In 1896 the open space was enclosed to form an extension to a golf club, but a campaign involving demonstrations and rioting led to its acquisition by Camberwell Borough Council as public open space in 1905. Steps lead steeply from the road called Honor Oak Park through woodland, originally part of the Great North Wood to the summit at some 90 meters high. At the summit and surrounded by railings is an oak, planted c1905 and a successor to the historic one; nearby is an old iron Camberwell Parish marker. The tree was on the original boundary between the Metropolitan Boroughs of Lewisham and Camberwell, but Oak of Honor Hill is now entirely in the London Borough of Southwark. Also at the summit is a gun emplacement from the first world war and a beacon erected in 1988 on the fourth centenary of the defeat of the Armada.
There is no evidence of a beacon here at the time of the Armada in the 16 th Century, but a beacon (and a telegraph) here were used later by the East India Company and during the Napoleonic wars. The Croydon Canal Company was formed in 1801, constructing a canal from New Cross to Croydon via Forest Hill and Sydenham. It required 28 locks between Deptford and Honor Oak, due to the gradient over that land. From Honor Oak, through Forest Hill and Sydenham and onto Croydon there were no more locks. It opened in 1809 but had a short life, being closed in 1836 and taken over by the Croydon and London Railway for their new tracks.
After realigning the tight bends of the canal, they built the railway along the route of today's line. It ran from London Bridge Station to Croydon, via New Cross Gate, Forest Hill and Sydenham. In 1846 the London and Croydon Railway was amalgamated with the London and Brighton Railway to form the London , Brighton and South Coast Railway. Honor Oak Park Station was opened in 1886 . The original building of 1886 remains, with covered walkways leading down to the platforms in a cutting.
Stone House later The Abbey in Honor Oak Rise, was built in the 1850's and used as the Forest Hill School for Young Gentlemen by Dr John Holdsworth Morgan, late of Mount Pleasant , Lewisham. It is seen here shortly after it became the Scared Heart School in about 1913. The house has been replaced by a tall block of flats.
The view up Honor Oak Park to St Augustine 's Church in about 1900. The houses on the left are not much altered, but the growth of the trees has now made the church almost invisible from this point.
 St. Augustine is an Anglican parish church in southeast London located in the Park of 'One Tree Hill' on Honor Oak Park. The entrance gates of St Augustine 's on Honor Oak Park have now largely mouldered away. The church was built in 1872-73 to the designs of William Oakley, who must be said to have squandered the opportunity offered to him by this magnificent site. The church is a Gothic ragstone church, heavy and solid, with additions from 1887 through to 1900. The church is surround by railings and fencing and it is difficult to get a close look from anywhere except the south west entrance gates. Honor Oak pumping station of Thames Water is a fantastic and splendid building of 1901, inscribed ‘Southwark and Vauxhall Water Company' with an impressive tower topped by a fancy French Chateau roof. The tower is over the original well, 100 meters deep and still in use. In front is Honor Oak Reservoir, the largest ever brick built underground reservoir when completed in 1909 and still probably the largest in Europe . The roof is grassed over and looks impressive; it is now used as a golf course. Honor Oak Road was the original Forest Hill laid out in the 1780s. The road retains a strong appeal, with a mix of early, mid and late 19 th century houses and post war developments. The road winds gently along the shoulder of a ridge, with higher ground to the west and fantastic views to the east. This charming pavilion off Dunoon Road was built in 1899 for the Honor Oak Park Lawn Tennis Club. After the First World War it became a convalescent home for nurses from Guys Hospital and in the 1920s and ‘30s was known as the Guy's Recreation Cottage. It was demolished in the 1960's and Haredon Close has now been built over the site of the pavilion and tennis courts.
Honor Oak Today Honor Oak is approximately six miles from Central London with excellent public transport links, schools, parks, shops and restaurants. The town centre is home to 30 small, predominately independently owned businesses offering a wide range of convenience and comparison goods and services. The town centre benefits from an active traders association. Coming soon The project will be delivered in two phases. Phase one will extend from the existing station at New Cross Gate onto the National Rail network south to Crystal Palace and West Croydon and include Honor Oak Park, Forest Hill and Sydenham Stations. Phase one of the project will be delivered by June 2010. Lewisham Borough's famous residents, past and present Danny Baker (Broadcaster) For more information For more information on Honor Oak and its history please refer to the following publications, all available at Lewisham Local Studies Centre in Lewisham Library: Images of London : Lewisham by John Coulter and Barry Olley (2003) Sydenham & Forest Hill Past and Present by John Coulter Historical Publications Looking back at Lewisham : Courtesy of Lewisham Arts and Library Services local History Centre Forest Hill and Sydenham by Adrian Prockter www.augustine onetreehill .org.uk Britain in Old Photographs, Forest Hill and Sydenham by John Coulter and John Seaman. The Archive Photographs Series Sydenham and Forest Hill by John Coulter and John Seaman. Discover Sydenham and Catford by Darrell Spurgeon Beyond the Meridian; The alternative guide to Lewisham by Lewisham Shopping Centre and Deptford Forum Publishing.
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