Martyn Barr's new family history guide to the London Borough of Lewisham has become an instant best seller.

The 56-page softback book Lewisham’s Got History! has been sponsored by Lewisham shopping. The centre has purchased 6,000 books in order to provide a free copy for every year 6 primary and year 7 secondary pupil in the borough. This generous gesture has already made it the largest circulation history guide ever on Lewisham.

Martyn says: “I was brought up in South London and have always been interested in local history. When I was first approached to write this book, I didn’t think I would find much to say about Lewisham. As it turned out, there’s so much that the biggest challenge was deciding what to leave out!

“Looking at Lewisham today, it’s hard to imagine that only 200 years ago it was mostly fields, woods and quaint villages. ‘Leafy Lewisham’, as it was known, was not even in London then – it was part of Kent. But it has a fascinating story to tell!”

Lewisham’s Got History! is available for purchase online priced £5.99 including delivery. £1 from every copy sold is being donated to Demelza Hospice Care for Children, to support its work locally. An accompanying Teachers Resource Guide is also available for free download from the website.