Named in 1952 after Ernest Christopher Dowson (1867-1895), an English poet, novelist and short-story writer from Lee. His great-uncle was Alfred Domett (qv Domett Close). One of a group of roads on the Champion Hill Estate, named after friends or connections of the Camberwell-born poet Robert Browning (1812-1889), although oddly not including one named after Browning himself. The others are Arnould Avenue, Domett Close, Moncler Close and Wanley Road.
