EastSheenMatters

Almshouses have a long history and provide a significant contribution to the housing stock in the Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The Juxons Almshouses arose as a result of a bequest by John Juxon who bought the Manor of East Sheen and West Hall in 1619. After his father died in 1626 his son John built the almshouses in 1631 at the end of Church Path. The photograph below shows the original almshouses with the mock tudor house on the Upper Richmond Road in the background.

Part of Church Path which leads into Church Avenue is still wide to the right of the photograph. It is thought there was an air raid shelter there in the 1940s but there is now no trace of it.

Juxon’s Almshouses were rebuilt on Milton Road just round the corner in 1911.

And now

The closure reported yesterday as planned to continue to 16 September appears to have reopened.

What can we expect tomorrow?

St. Leonards Road is currently closed. There is no through road from Sheen Lane to the Upper Richmond Road. Expect delays at the Milestone Junction, as more turn right there. Cadent emergency gas works are estimated to be completed by 16 September 2024.

Sarah Olney reports that the works at Manor Circus are due to be completed ‘soon’. Don’t hold your breath then.

Barnes and Mortlake Past with East Sheen, Maisie Brown, (1997), Barnes and Mortlake History Society

Barnes, Mortlake and Sheen, Patrick Loobey (1995), Alan Sutton Publishing Limited

Halfpenny Green: Postcards from Barnes and Mortlake (1994), Barnes and Mortlake History Society

They lived in Sheen Lane, Mike Smith (2011), Barnes and Mortlake History Society

The Wizard of Mortlake: Essays on the Legacy of John Dee. JJ Griffin IV (2020), Crown Hill Press

Some of the pictures on this blog are copied from works published by the Barnes and Mortlake History Society and used with their kind permission.

The invaluable website of the Society is at www.https://barnes-history.org.uk/ It contains videos of past lectures, a gallery of pictures, publications and antique maps.

Portobello House was one of the largest and most imposing of Mortlake houses. It may be something of a surprise to discover that it was at the corner of Sheen Lane and South Worple Way.

The picture of the House was posted last week.

Built in 1747 for Vice-Admiral Perry Mayne it took its name from the naval action which resulted in the capture in 1739 from the Spanish of Porto Bello in the West Indies in which Mayne took part under Admiral Vernon. The entrance was in South Worple Way.

Mr Joseph Gandolfi resided in the house around 1782. Lady Constantia Mostyn, a  Catholic, lived here from 1842 to 1849. There was no nearby Catholic church, so  she fitted up her hayloft as a place of worship. Many of the local Irish market-garden workers attended this small chapel. Consequently St. Mary Magdalene’s Church was built in Worple Way in 1852.

The illustration shows the house ten years before demolition in 1893. So from 1846 until then it was adjacent to the Richmond Railway.

Vernon and Howgate Roads were laid out on the grounds in 1898.

•Palewell Lodge stood on the site of one of Mortlake’s common fields, Stonehill Shott, built in 1756. The Palewell estate was an extensive one from the Upper Richmond Road to what is now Vicarage Road and from Richmond Park Road to Hertford Avenue. The house was approached by a fine avenue of elms, now East Sheen Avenue. During the 19th century it was owned by three generations of the Gilpin family, notably William Gilpin.

In 1896 50 acres of the estate were sold for development, and  150 houses were built on Palewell Park and later All Saints’ Church. The house itself was pulled down in 1925.

From the River to the Park

There was a good turnout and an interesting discussion at the Tuesday Talk about the history of East Sheen and Mortlake. Some of the slides from the talk have already been posted, Hare & Hounds 1900, Portobello House and information on St. Mary the Virgin and its graveyard. More will be posted over the next few days.

The Tuesday Talk on 10 September 2024 at 11am at the Barnes Green Centre is about Agatha Christie. Mystery awaits.

The title of the site has been changed to reflect the content and objectives of the blog as it now is.

The blog will continue to be outward looking and seek to foster a community spirit:

to raise and discuss issues affecting the local population;

to look across the immediate borders and address matters of common interest within East Sheen, Mortlake, Barnes and Richmond Park;

to publicise events which may be of interest;

and to reflect on local history.

If you wish to introduce a new topic please reply to the email in which you received notice of a posting.

If you wish to comment on an existing posting you should be able to do so by clicking on the BLUE COMMENT button in the email you receive. I am aware that some subscribers are having difficulty activating this. For the time being and until I have resolved this problem, you can make a comment by replying to the email, from where the COMMENT, once approved, will be added to the blog.

The Royal Parks Agency has applied to Richmond upon Thames Council for planning permission to develop the Roehampton Gate Cafe area.

The plans include demolition of existing buildings, revision to site entrances and layout, construction of a new cafe, public toilets and cycle hire building, associated hard and soft landscaping, and a new pedestrian access gate on the park boundary.

The plans are currently out for public consultation. A decision should be made by 23 October 2024.

For full details see https://www2.richmond.gov.uk/Plandata2/Planning_CaseNo.aspx?strCASENO=24/1985/FUL#details