[2] "Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the village of the River Peck, a small stream that ran through the district until it was enclosed in 1823.

King John probably hunted at Peckham and local anecdotes suggest that the right to an annual fair was granted to celebrate a particularly good day's sport.

By the 18th century the area was a more commercial centre and attracted industrialists who wanted to avoid paying the expensive rents in central London.

The formal gardens of the Peckham Manor House, rebuilt in 1672 by Sir Thomas Bond were particularly noticeable and can be seen on the Rocque map of 1746.

The manor house was sacked in 1688, as its then owner Sir Henry Bond was a Roman Catholic and staunch supporter of James II.

The house was finally demolished in 1797 for the formation of Peckham Hill Street, as the Shard family developed the area.

Today Shard's Terrace, the block that contains Manze's Pie and Mash shop, and the western side of Peckham Hill Street represent this Georgian planned expansion.

The drovers stayed in the local inns (such as the Red Cow) while the cattle were safely secured overnight in holding pens.

Most of the villagers were agricultural or horticultural workers but with the early growth of the suburbs an increasing number worked in the brick industry that exploited the local London Clay.

The rough roads constrained traffic so a branch of the Grand Surrey Canal was proposed as a route from the Thames to Portsmouth.

With the arrival of the railway and the introduction of horse-drawn trams about ten years later, Peckham became accessible to artisans and clerical staff working in the city and the docks.

Jones & Higgins opened a small shop in 1867 (on the corner of Rye Lane and Peckham High Street) that became the best known department store in south London for many years.

The Ordnance Survey Map of 1868 shows the museum building with a rifle range at the rear extending along the side of the railway embankment for 150 yards.

The late 19th century also saw the arrival of George Batty, a manufacturer of condiments, whose main business stood at Finsbury Pavement.

The Stone House at its main entrance was used as a film location for Entertaining Mr. Sloane (1970), adapted from the Joe Orton play.

Brenchley Gardens Park follows the route of the old line to the Crystal Palace culminating at the High Level station.

'The Peckham Experiment' recruited 950 families who paid one shilling (equivalent to £4 in 2023) a week for access to something like a modern sports club with facilities for physical exercise, games, workshops and socialising with no mandatory programme.

North Peckham was heavily redeveloped in the 1960s, consisting mainly of high-rise flats to rehouse people from dilapidated old houses.

However, high unemployment and a lack of economic opportunities led to urban decay and a period of decline in the late 1970s.

Vandalism, graffiti, arson attacks, burglaries, robberies and muggings were commonplace, and the area became an archetypal London sink estate.

This includes funding for public arts projects like the Tom Phillips mosaics on the wall of the Peckham Experiment restaurant.

[citation needed] 1994 saw the completion of the Peckham Arch designed by architects Troughton McAslan and funded in part by a £1m SRB (Single Regeneration Budget) grant.

Peckham has never been an administrative district, or a single ecclesiastical parish in its own right, but it developed a strong sense of identity in the 19th century when Rye Lane was one of the most important shopping streets in south London.

As well as these communities there has been a steady gentrification of some of the areas in the south of Peckham and this has meant an influx of cafés, wine bars, niche shops and artists' studios.

Existing railway stations in the district are as follows: Peckham bus garage is currently operated by London Central and is situated in Blackpool Road.

It opened in 1994 and replaced a similar but larger facility in Peckham High Street on part of whose site the present bus station now stands.