It is at the northern end of a string of hills stretching from Croydon, previously part of the Great North Wood.

A legend tells that on 1 May 1602, Elizabeth I picnicked with Sir Richard Bulkeley of Beaumaris in the Lewisham area by an oak tree at the summit of a hill.

During World War I a gun emplacement was erected on the hill to counter the threat of raids by Zeppelin airships.

The southern road bridge, which crosses the railway by the station, has relief sculpture parapets which were one of the first commissions for William Mitchell.

[11] In 2010 Honor Oak Park railway station became part of the London Overground extension, providing residents with direct links into Shoreditch and Highbury and Islington.

As with neighbouring Forest Hill, Honor Oak is becoming increasingly desirable as a peaceful, leafy suburb with good transport links into the centre of town, and slightly lower-than-average property prices.

Sir John Cowan (1774–1842), chandler and Lord Mayor of London (1837–1838), lived on Honor Oak Road.

[5] In the year of her accession 1837, Queen Victoria visited the City of London; he received a baronetcy in recognition of the hospitality she was shown.

[20] Leslie Paul (1905–1985), founder of the Woodcraft Folk and author of Angry Young Man, lived on Bovill Road.

[21] Footballers Ian Wright and David Rocastle both grew up in the area, living on the Honor Oak Estate.

[22] The comedian Spike Milligan (1918–2002) lived at 22 Gabriel Street and 50 Riseldine Road after coming to England from India in the 1930s.