Editing Penge (section)

===Expansion===
The London and [[Croydon Canal]] was built across [[Penge Common]] along what is now the line of the railway through [[Penge West railway station]], deviating to the south before [[Anerley railway station]]. There is a remnant at the northern corner of [[Betts Park]], [[Anerley]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ww1.familygrowsontrees.com/|title=familygrowsontrees.com&nbsp;-&nbsp;familygrowsontrees Resources and Information.|website=ww1.familygrowsontrees.com|access-date=2 January 2019|archive-date=13 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613133845/http://ww1.familygrowsontrees.com/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Following the closure of the canal, the [[London and Croydon Railway]] was built largely along the same course, opening in 1839. Isambard Kingdom [[Brunel]] built an [[atmospheric railway]] along this alignment as far as Croydon. The [[Crystal Palace pneumatic railway]], which ran underground between the Sydenham and Penge entrances to [[Crystal Palace Park]], operated for a short while but proved not to be economically viable.

In the Victorian era, Penge developed into a fashionable suburb because of the railway line and its proximity to the relocated [[The Crystal Palace|Crystal Palace]]. It became a fashionable day out to visit the Crystal Palace during the day and to take the tram down the hill to one of the 'twenty-five pubs to the square mile'<ref>Abbott, Peter (2002) Book of Penge, Anerley and Crystal Palace: The Community, Past Present and Future, p114 Halsgrove. {{ISBN|1-84114-210-7}}</ref> that Penge was reputed to possess, or the two music halls—The King's Hall (later the Gaumont cinema) and, established in 1915, the Empire Theatre (later the Essoldo cinema).<ref>[http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/bromley/penge/empire-theatre.htm http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/bromley/penge/empire-theatre.htm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060526022625/http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/bromley/penge/empire-theatre.htm |date=26 May 2006 }} ''idealhomes.org.uk''</ref><ref>[http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/search/reference.asp?index=565&main_query=&theme=&period=&county=&district=&place_name=London&imageUID=77020&=&JS=True http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/search/reference.asp?index=565&main_query=&theme=&period=&county=&district=&place_name=London&imageUID=77020&=&JS=True] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001162156/http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/search/reference.asp?index=565&main_query=&theme=&period=&county=&district=&place_name=London&imageUID=77020&=&JS=True |date=1 October 2007 }} ''viewfinder.english.heritage.org.uk''</ref>

By 1862, Stanford's map of London and its Suburbs<ref>[http://www.mappalondon.com/london/south-east/map-london.htm http://www.mappalondon.com/london/south-east/map-london.htm] ''mappalondon.com''</ref> shows large homes had been constructed along Penge New Road (now Crystal Palace Park Road, Sydenham and Penge High Street), Thick Wood (now Thicket) Road and Anerley Road.<ref>[http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/postcodes/places/SE20/stories/CAT122.html http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/postcodes/places/SE20/stories/CAT122.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070712125308/http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/postcodes/places/SE20/stories/CAT122.html |date=12 July 2007 }} ''museumoflondon.org.uk''</ref>
This all came to an end in 1875 and 1877, with the notorious Penge murders. In 1875 Frederick Hunt murdered his wife and children,<ref>The Penge Murder, H. Sutherland, British Medical Journal v2 (766) 4 September 1875, 316–317</ref> then in 1877 a wealthy heiress, [[Murder of Harriet Staunton|Harriet Staunton]], together with her infant son, was starved to death by her husband and his associates.<ref>The Great Penge Murder, Victorian Calendar 19 September 1877 http://victoriancalendar.blogspot.com.au/2011/09/september-19-1877-great-penge-murder.html</ref> In 1934, [[Elizabeth Jenkins (author)|Elizabeth Jenkins]] published the novel ''Harriet'', based on the case,<ref>{{cite news|author=Rachel Cooke |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/apr/15/harriet-staunton-penge-murder-jenkins |title=The Penge Mystery: the terrible story of Harriet Staunton |newspaper=The Observer |date=15 April 2012 |access-date=2014-03-08}}</ref> whilst Forbes Road was renamed to Mosslea Road because of its connection with the murders.