Painsfield Villa is a mystery. There is no mention of it in the excellent works about Mortlake and East Sheen listed in the bibliography recently published here.

It does not appear on a map of the area in 1850. It is shown in the map above which is dated 1873 in what is now Paynesfield Avenue. Houses were built in that part of the road in 1902. An Indenture (or Lease) of that year sets out that Joseph Neville of Barnes granted the lease for 99 years to Alfred Basden of Fulham in consideration of the costs and expenses incurred by William Hattersley, Builder, who lived, according to the Electoral Register of 1904, at No 2 Paynesfield Avenue. An early example of a developer who lived on the premises?

The first of what might now be described as council housing was built in Alexandra Road in the 1890s. Between the two roads was a wall, the route of which appears originally to have run from Sheen Lane to Queen’s Road. It is believed that the wall was demolished shortly after the war, so that the two roads are now one thoroughfare. Exactly when that occurred is not recorded.

What happened to Painsfield Villa and who lived there?