Mortlake is a place of great antiquity. The presence of Stone Age implements in the River Thames has suggested the existence of a prehistoric settlement. There have been various occupiers, including the Archbishops of Canterbury and King Henry VIII.

The first recorded church in the village of Mortlake was erected about 1348 near the Manor House on the site of the present brewery. In 1543 it was replaced by a church on the present site. It has undergone many alterations and enlargements during its long history, and of the original Tudor church, only the tower remains.

In 1619 the Tapestry Works were set up opposite the church and produced many famous tapestries which are in museums around the world. The Queen’s Head was built on land bought after the closure of the Tapestry Works in the early eighteenth century.