Penge was originally a hamlet in Surrey, close to the border with Kent. During the 19th century it became a suburb of London (postal district SE20). Penge Gardens was the first street in the Laganvale area of Stranmillis to be named after a suburb of London. It was followed by Willesden Park, Belvedere Park, Vauxhall Park, Cricklewood Park, Marylebone Park, Knightsbridge Park and Richmond Park. However, Penge Gardens is adjacent to Geneva Gardens and Lucerne Parade and the names were approved as a group. There is reason to believe that it may also fit thematically with these due to a Swiss connection, at least in terms of the developer's marketing strategy. Penge formerly had a Swiss-style building used as tea rooms and a hotel (in Anerley Pleasure Gardens), at least from 1860. This was an example of what was commonly called a "Swiss Cottage", a popular kind of folly in the 19th century. When Anerley Gardens closed in 1868, the building was re-purposed as a public house, the Anerley Arms.
This marketing ploy is confirmed by an advertisement placed in The Belfast Telegraph, 15/02/1927, which encouraged readers to "make your home in lovely Laganvale". It featured a half-timbered house with tall chimneys, probably a stylised depiction of a "Swiss cottage", on the bank of a stretch of water. The advert boasted of the "broad highways, pleasant boulevards, spacious sports grounds and picturesque scenery" in Laganvale. The houses in Penge Gardens are built in red brick. However, there are a few white houses featuring black ornamental half-timbering in Stranmillis Road and Sharman Road.
"Read letter, dated 15th inst., from the Lagan Vale Estate Brick & Terra Cotta Works, Ltd., renewing their application for the approval of proposed names of new streets on their property situate off Stranmillis Road. The Committee having re-considered the matter, it was resolved – That the names submitted be approved, viz., Sharman Road, Lucerne Parade, Prince Edward Park, Geneva Gardens, and Penge Gardens". (16th June 1925)