The first documented evidence of Dulwich is as a hamlet outside London in 967 AD, granted by King Edgar to one of his thanes.

The name of Dulwich has been spelt in various ways since the Medieval period: Dylways, Dullag and most commonly Dilwysshe (from dile-wisc 'meadow where the dill grew').

[2] The charity's modern successor, The Dulwich Estate,[3] still owns 1,500 acres (6.1 km2) in the area, including a number of private roads and a tollgate.

In the 17th century, King Charles I of England visited Dulwich Woods on a regular basis to hunt.

In 1739, Mr. Cox, master of the Green Man, a tavern situated about a mile south of the village of Dulwich, sunk a well for his family.

[7] The oak-lined formal avenue, known as Cox's Walk, leading from the junction of Dulwich Common and Lordship Lane was cut soon after 1732[8] by Francis Cox to connect his establishment of the Green Man Tavern and Dulwich Wells with the more popular Sydenham Wells.

[9] By 1815 the Green Man had become a school known as Dr. Glennie's academy in Dulwich Grove, although it was demolished about ten years later.

Dr Glennie held Saturday evening concerts which attracted visitors from outside the family circle, such as the poet Thomas Campbell, then living in nearby Sydenham, and Robert Barker, inventor of the panorama.

A possible explanation for this is that the British military when announcing V-1 and V-2 explosions deliberately gave map co-ordinates four miles north of the truth in an attempt to protect densely populated central London and focus the drops on the open spaces in the suburbs instead.

[citation needed] The Old Alleynian Football Club is a local rugby union team originally for former pupils of Dulwich College, but is now open to all who wish to play.

The men's team most recently winning Division 2 football league and Intermediate 2024 and Junior Championships.

After the Poor Law was abolished in 1930, the Southwark Union Infirmary was renamed Dulwich Hospital and the following year an operating theatre was built.

Old Burial Ground, Dulwich Village, was created by Edward Alleyn as part of the foundation of his College of God's Gift.

The ground was declared "full" in 1858, however the family of Louisa Shroeder obtained special permission for her remains to be interred in 1868.

The house has a large park ground attached which is now public, including tennis courts and a children's play area.

[12] Bell House (Dulwich) in College Road was designed in 1767 for Thomas Wright, a stationer and later Lord Mayor of the City of London.

He was responsible for the design or influence of in excess of 25 homes in the area, each built in its own individual style.

The site was originally occupied by a Georgian built home, known locally as "the Hall" which had become partially derelict during World War I and was demolished in 1925.

[15] The "Phoenix appeal" raised money to build a new church and the replacement structure, designed by Larry Malcic with an all-glass spire, was opened in 1996.

In the south, the spire of St. Stephen's Church can be seen above the trees of Dulwich Wood, adjacent to Sydenham Hill railway station.

Also passing through the area is the A2199 and College Road, which features a working tollgate dating back to 1789.

Famous people born in the area include: artist Madge Tennent in 1889;[17] the author, Enid Blyton in 1897;[18] the first compiler of the London A-Z, Phyllis Pearsall in East Dulwich in 1906, she went on to live in Dulwich Village; code breaker Mavis Batey, then Mavis Lever, was born in Dulwich on May 5, 1921; the war-time singer Anne Shelton who lived on Court Lane until shortly before her death in 1994; also on Court Lane, Dr Reginald John Gladstone FRSE embryologist, lived here until his house was destroyed in the blitz in 1941; footballer Trevor Sinclair in 1973; the actor Tim Roth in 1961; the television personality Lisa Vanderpump in 1960; actress Sally Hawkins in 1976 and actor Angus Castle-Doughty in 1995.

[19] In 1980, Bon Scott, the lead singer of AC/DC, after a night's heavy drinking, was found lifeless in a car outside 67 Overhill Road, East Dulwich.

Ronnie Reed, who ran double agents during the Second World War, and was an MI5 officer from 1940 to 1976, lived in Court Lane Gardens from 1960 to 1995.

Margaret Thatcher bought a house in a "gated community" in Dulwich after her time as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.