Penge Common

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Penge Common was a large area in the southeast of England that is now part of London. It covered most of Penge, all of Anerley, and parts of nearby places such as South Norwood, and it bordered the Great North Wood. A 1745 map by John Rocque shows that Penge Common included part of that wood.

A part of the northern edge called Penge Place was cut off from Penge Common and later used for the relocation of The Crystal Palace. This area also included parts of the Great North Wood that became Crystal Palace Park.

The London and Croydon Canal was built across Penge Common along roughly the same route as the railway that now runs through Penge West, veering south before Anerley station. A tiny remnant survives at the northern corner of Betts Park in Anerley.

After the canal closed, the London and Croydon Railway was built largely along the same route and opened in 1839; it was originally an atmospheric railway.

Enclosure acts in the area — the Croydon Inclosure Act (1797), the Dulwich Inclosure Act (1805), another act in 1806, and the Penge Inclosure Act (1827) — divided most of the remaining Common and Penge Green into private parcels.

One of the first new houses was named Annerley, which gave its name to Anerley; the name is said to mean lonely or sole in Scots.

Today, the remaining parts of Penge Common survive as public open spaces, including Crystal Palace Park, Penge Recreation Ground, and Betts Park in Anerley.