Peckham is an area of London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, located 3.5 miles (5.7 km) south-east of Charing Cross, about one mile (1.6 km) east of Camberwell and one mile (1.6 km) west of New Cross.
Peckham has never been an administrative district, or a single ecclesiastical parish in its own right, but it developed a strong sense of identity in the 19th century when Rye Lane was one of the most important shopping streets in south London.
The area known as Peckham covers a large geographic area of South London and takes in many diverse communities. A traditional London working class community now coexists with communities that have their origins in Bangladesh, the Caribbean, China, India, Ireland, Nigeria, Pakistan, Turkey, Eastern Europe and Vietnam. As well as these communities there has been a steady gentrification of some of the areas to the south of Peckham and this has meant an influx of cafés, wine bars, niche shops and artists' studios.
The European Union has invested heavily in the regeneration of the area; partly funding the futuristic, award-winning Peckham Library, a new town square and swathes of new housing to replace the North Peckham Estate. Throughout the area state funding is being provided to improve the housing stock and renovate the streets. This includes funding for public arts projects like the Tom Phillips mosaics on the wall of the Peckham Experiment restaurant and the South London Gallery.
The main shopping street is Rye Lane, and the large Peckham Rye Park is nearby. The oldest surviving building in Peckham is 2 Wood's Road, built in 1690.
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