North Peckham Estate

Peckham
Peckham
Peckham Peckham shown within Greater London
Population	71,552 (Peckham, Peckham Rye, Nunhead, Livesey, The Lane wards)
OS grid reference	TQ345765
London borough	Southwark
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	SE15
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Camberwell and Peckham
London Assembly	Lambeth and Southwark
List of places UK England London 51°28′17″N 0°03′45″W / 51.4714°N 0.0625°W / 51.4714; -0.0625Coordinates: 51°28′17″N 0°03′45″W / 51.4714°N 0.0625°W / 51.4714; -0.0625

Peckham (/ˈpɛkəm/) is a district of south-east London, England, 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward of the London Borough of Southwark had a population of 14,720.

Peckham was originally part of the parish of Camberwell, which later became the Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell, and also included Camberwell, Dulwich, Nunhead, and other London districts.

"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. Archaeological evidence indicates earlier Roman occupation in the area, although the name of this settlement is lost.

Peckham appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Pecheham. It was held by the Bishop of Lisieux from Odo of Bayeux. Its Domesday assets were: 2 hides. It had land for 1 plough, 2 acres (8,100 m²) of meadow. It rendered 30 shillings (£1.50).

The manor was owned by King Henry I, who gave it to his son Robert, Earl of Gloucester. When Robert married the heiress to Camberwell the two manors were united under royal ownership. 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. The fair grew to be a rowdy major event lasting three weeks until its abolition in 1827.