The Denmark Hall Public House (after which Denmark Hill was named) and attached Tea Room (which continued in operation after the public house failed in the 1790s), was built by Luke Lightfoot on the site of what is now the Fox on the Hill, in about 1770. After World War Two, four substantial mansions ranged along Denmark Hill, each with its own large estate, were compulsorily purchased by the local authority, the proceeds of sale being applied towards rebuilding, improving and enlarging the buildings of Dulwich College.