Downham is a suburban district located in south east London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is located north of Bromley.
Downham was named in honour of Lord Downham, who was chairman of the London County Council between 1919-20.
Before 1920, the area had no houses, apart from a shooting range close to Rangefield Road and areas of farmland in the period around 1890. Some belonged to Holloway Farm and others to Shroffolds Farm. Following the First World War, local boroughs like Deptford, Bermondsey as well as the London County Council [LCC] felt it was essential to reduce overcrowding by erecting more residential property. This needed to excel that which was provided by private landlords. The final spur for LCC to commence works in the area was the new law of 1923 that provided government funding to enable residential developments to be built by local governments. As a result, the Downham Estate was developed towards the end of the 1920s by theLondon County Council.