In Saxon times Camberwell had a well whose waters were meant to be good for invalids. “Cam” in old Celtic means crooked. So the name probably meant the well of the crippled or crooked.

In the 18th century Camberwell was a village famous for having its local species of butterfly - the Camberwell Beauty. It is now extinct. In the first half of the 19th century it was caught up in the general expansion of housing out from the centre of London. Some quality Georgian houses were built in Camberwell Grove.

Camberwell and the SE5 postcode area are roughly identical. Camberwell suffers from not being on the tube system, but it has trains from Denmark Hill to central London. Denmark Hill is also the main shopping area. Camberwell Grove contains the most sought-after properties in the area. It is a virtually unspoiled series of Georgian houses. Some are still family homes. There are mainly Edwardian houses (but also some Georgian) in Grove Park and Grove Lane nearby. Regency and Victorian houses can be found on Champion Hill to the west of Grove Lane, De Crespiny Park and in surrounding areas, where there are also mansion blocks from the pre-War period, such as Ruskin Park House.

Around Ruskin Park, the houses are mainly 20th century, but in attractive streets such as Deepdene and Ferndene Road. More Victorian terraces exist in the streets below Peckham Road, such as Vestry Road and Crofton Road. An old piano factory there was converted into flats.

Although Denmark Hill is essentially Camberwell’s shopping area, nearby Love Walk contains attractive cottages, some from 1930s and others from the 1980s. There are mainly council developments north of Peckham Road although Addington Square is a conservation area containing Georgian houses. South of New Road it is mainly Council estates, but with the odd patch of period properties, with the conservation area of Myatts Fields.