Honor Oak
Early-attested site in the Parish of Camberwell
Historical Forms
- the Oke of Honor 1609 LRMB
- Oak of Arnon Wood c.1745 RocqueSurv
- Oak of Honour Wood 1763 ParReg
Etymology
Honor Oak. This was the name of a wood partly in Lewisham (K), the oak itself being a boundary-mark. It is referred to as the Oke of Honor 1609LRMB , Oak of Arnon Wood c. 1745 RocqueSurv, Oak of Honour Wood 1763 ParReg. According to Hasted (252) “Between Lewisham and Dulwich is a hill with an oak on it, which was called the Oak of Honour because Queen Elizabeth dined under it….” Nichols in his Progresses of Queen Elizabeth (iii, 577) notes that “on May Day 1602 the Queen went a maying to Sir Richard Buckley's at Lewisham.”The spelling in Rocque is probably, as often, corrupt.