The council rehoused us in flats, then we moved to our current house. That second house was also scheduled to be pulled down, but the council changed its mind. Similar tales of destruction averted occurred elsewhere in Nunhead, some of them involving Woollacott. "My childhood home was compulsorily purchased and demolished in 1976. We work well together with the council, and in 2000 we got £1.25m from the Heritage Lottery for the cemetery." Thanks to the grant, 50 memorials and the Anglican Chapel, designed by Thomas Little, were restored. "In my breaks I would walk through the cemetery and I started exploring the backgrounds of the people buried there It became my hobby. "We started the Friends of Nunhead Cemetery 24 years ago to stop the council from demolishing the monuments They razed about 1,000 before we put an end to it.
"I grew up in a house opposite and worked in a post office near it," Woollacott says. Despite the absence of an official border with Peckham, " Nunhead Green is the centre of Nunhead," Woollacott says. Now a Grade II*-listed landmark, the cemetery itself had a near-death experience. Nunhead has its own train station and a Nunhead Road, Grove, Lane and Passage. "There's no boundary between Nunhead and Peckham because the Post Office lumped them together in SE15 when they brought in postcodes in about 1915," says Ron Woollacott, chairman of the Friends of Nunhead Cemetery and a former Post Office employee. If Nunhead has an identity crisis, blame the GPO. Kennington has good transport links with the nearby Underground stations of Vauxhall, Elephant & Castle, Kennington and Oval.If you would like House Hunter's help in finding a property in the UK or overseas, write to: The Independent, 191 Marsh Wall, London E14 9RS, 020-7005-2000 or e-mail: househunter independent.co.uk. Although unappealing in some ways, they offer more space at less cost.
They still sell for up to 20 per cent less than a comparably-sized flat in a block that has always been privately owned. Lettings agents say one-bedroom apartments in the Camberwell, Kennington and Elephant areas would fetch £155 to £225 a week, depending on size, condition and proximity to transport.Many landlords in the area buy former local authority flats. After some years of gentle falls, high demand means rents are now rising slightly. It is 10 minutes from Oval underground station; close to major bus routes to the West End.Agent: Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward, 020-7582 7773.Property three: An open-plan apartment, Gabriel's Manor, near the Oval, SE5.Price: £175,000.Agent's details: This apartment is in a converted monastery just 10 minutes from Oval underground.
