Dulwich, in southeast London, has a split personality. On one hand there is affluent Dulwich Village, whose roots date to AD967 and which is awash with elegant villas such as Pickwick Cottage — a six-bedroom home, for sale for £3.95 million, reputed to have been used by Dickens as a setting for The Pickwick Papers. On the other hand, there is East Dulwich, a 19th-century suburb next to Peckham which, until the turn of this century, was largely overrun with betting shops and fried-chicken takeaways.
But East Dulwich is upwardly mobile, right?
Yes. Its recent gentrification, the result of an influx of middle-class families priced out of wealthier postcodes, means the area is a haven for free-range children on organic diets. It retains an edginess, though, which East Dulwich residents think is cool.
What’s the North Dulwich Triangle?
This is a term coined by estate agents to describe a neat patch of Edwardian Houses in, technically, Herne Hill.
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Is there good transport?
There’s no Tube. But the train from West Dulwich to Victoria takes only ten minutes. Trains from East Dulwich and North Dulwich go to London Bridge. The South Circular (A205), one of London’s ring roads, cuts through Dulwich.
What about green spaces?
It depends where in Dulwich you live. Much of the land is owned by the Dulwich Estate, so there is a lot of green here. Deep in Dulwich Woods or in the allotments near by, you can almost forget you are in London. There is even a golf club. That said, there is nothing pastoral about the parts of East Dulwich hugged by the council estates on the Camberwell border.
Are there good schools?
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Good state primaries — Dulwich Village C of E Infants’ School and Dulwich Hamlet Junior School. Celebrated independent secondaries — Dulwich College, Alleyn’s and James Allen’s Girls’ School And the prices in the best roads?
The tight grid between Lordship Lane and Barry Road offers the most popular houses in East Dulwich, where a three to four-bedroom Victorian terrace can cost £400,000- £500,000. A two-bedroom conversion flat costs about £250,000. Around the Village, the tiny workmen’s cottages on Boxall Road can sell for up to £600,000. An Edwardian four or five-bed terrace on Woodward Road costs up to £1 million, while a 1950s detached house on Frank Dixon Close sells for between £1 million and £2 million. The Georgian houses along the Village High Street rarely come on the market, but expect to pay about £2 million if you see one for sale.
What are the cafés and bars like?
East Dulwich beats the Village hands down when it comes to food and drink. The Palmerston and Franklins will keep even serious foodies happy. Meanwhile, Dulwich Village is dominated by a Pizza Express and Café Rouge. Lordship Lane abounds with trendy bars, such as Liquorish and Black Cherry. Green & Blue serves unusual wines next door to its deli.
Any architectural highlights?
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Dulwich College is impressive. It was designed in the mid-1800s by Charles Barry Junior, the eldest son of Sir Charles Barry, the architect of the Palace of Westminster. Junior seemed set on outdoing Dad by cramming in myriad Italianate flourishes. Dulwich Picture Gallery, the UK’s first purpose-built public art gallery, is a masterpiece of Neo- Classical restraint by Sir John Soane.