I am writing a piece about the history of my housing estate (Forest Estate, Eliot Bank) and the locally importance hedge that runs down the side of the site and checking the historic maps of the area. I was wondering if anyone knows about the area of Hensford Pond (Pound) which used to cover the area from bottom of Sydenham Rise and covers part of the area of the play park, Little Brownings, Tarleton Gardens and half of Eliot Bank according to the local historian if was a pound for animals as suppose to a pond and was used to keep animals that strayed from Sydenham Common on to Dulwich Estate land and impounded until a fee was paid to them, but other suggestions was that it was a pond, I can't see it personally has to the terrain as Eliot Bank is on a slope?. According to John Roque map of 1746 on the Layers for London website.
Also according to the 1893-1896 OS map the site of the former fire station used to stand where the entrance of Sainsburys is on London Road and the many disappeared the public houses (pubs) like the one behind where the William Hill betting shop the two is Park Road (Perry Vale) one on the site of Finches shop, one opposite the subway and along just pass just past the All in one Tavern where the council estate green is also site of Forest Hill Brewery. The Post office is now back where is used to be next to W H Smith. I have lived in Forest Hill for over 35 years and still learning about the area.