In the 1640's visitors to the common
land, which Sydenham now covers, stumbled upon a series of
springs. At the height of Sydenham's popularity, it was
thought that there were 12 wells concentrated around what is
now Wells Park. As with any great body of water, there is
a strong likelihood that a variety of animal life will
flourish and there remains local speculation that the life
forms beneath Sydenham may not be entirely at a pace with
evolution. The earliest records tell of unusual
guttural sounds coming from the very soil, this was at a
time when Thomas Cator was laying the foundations of a great
house (later sited at Beckenham Place). The noises were so
frequent and of such volume that many workers were
discouraged from their labours and eventually the project
was abandoned.
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