Sydenham Hill runs along the top of the ridge which forms the Southwark/Lewisham border. Land to the west is owned by the Dulwich Estate and remains largely undeveloped even now. Many of the plots on the east side were built on in the later 19th century in a scale and style befitting their impressive natural location.

A number of the large houses have outlived their usefulness and have been demolished. They have been replaced by flats, or more usually, by single homes of individual design as seen here.