Roehampton

infobox UK place
country = England
map_type = Greater London
region= London
population=
official_name= Roehampton
latitude= 51.4561
longitude= -0.2359
london_borough= Wandsworth
constituency_westminster=
post_town= LONDON
postcode_area= SW
postcode_district= SW15
dial_code= 020
os_grid_reference= TQ225745

Roehampton is a large district in south-west London, forming the western end of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It lies between the town of Barnes to the north and the large Wimbledon Common to the south. Richmond Park Golf Courses (Dukes and Princes) are west of the neighbourhood, and just north of these is the Roehampton Gate entrance to Richmond Park itself - the largest of London's royal parks. Roehampton is 6.3 miles (10.1 km) south west of Charing Cross.

Description

Roehampton was originally a village which became a popular residential area for the wealthy within easy reach of London. Roehampton House was built in 1710 and is used today as the administrative centre of the Queen Mary's Hospital complex. Manresa House was built in 1763 by the second Earl of Bessborough, and was the home of the socialite Caroline Lamb before being acquired in 1861 by the Jesuits. Many other 18th century aristocratic summer villas were set in parkland near Richmond Park and Putney Heath. Parkstead House, Downshire House, Grove House and Mount Clare are now all part of the Roehampton University campus. Much of the old village of Roehampton still remains dominated by large detached houses. An old watering trough for Victorian carriages exists at the junction of Medfield Street and Roehampton Lane.

Roehampton is home to a number of well known institutions: Roehampton University has 8000 students housed in 4 Colleges; the new Queen Mary Hospital with its renowned amputee rehabilitation centre opened in 2006 is a teaching centre for medical students based in Wandsworth NHS Primary Care Trust; Kingston University has one of its campuses in Roehampton Vale; South Thames College is also based here. It has long been a major centre for teacher - training, being the site of two constituent Colleges (Digby Stuart College and Froebel College) of the former federal Roehampton Institute of Higher Education (now Roehampton University), as well as South-East England's only lecturer-training college (Garnett College) which eventually relocated and became part of the University of Greenwich.

Apart from education other notable institutions based here include: The Priory Clinic; the Bank of England Sports Centre; Rosslyn Park Rugby Club; and Roehampton Club. The new headquarters of the Lawn Tennis Association opened here in 2007. Roehampton has long been an exclusive London address.

The notable Alton Estate, one of the largest council estates (public housing) in the UK, runs along the edge of Richmond Park in the south of the district. The estate is renowned for its mix of low and high rise modernist architecture, with Alton West (1959) inspired by the work of French architect Le Corbusier and Alton East (1959) in a more subtle Scandinavian-influenced style. The estate has also featured as a film and television loaction. "Fahrenheit 451" (1966) used some of the estate as its backdrop for a bleak dystopian society of the future. Thames Television's film division Euston Films used the Danebury Avenue area of the estate to film the opening scene's of "Sweeney 2" (1978) - the sequel to the film "Sweeney!" (1977) itself spun-off from the hugely popular British TV show "The Sweeney", and the first episode of "Minder", "Gunfight at the O.K. Laundrette" (1979). The estate is now part of a regeneration scheme with a number of Government initiatives such as SureStart helping to tackle issues of poverty and social exclusion.

Famous residents

Famous residents have included two Prime Ministers, William Pitt the Younger and the Earl of Derby; William Harvey, who discovered the principles of blood circulation; poet Gerard Manley Hopkins; The Sweeney actor Dennis Waterman; The Devil Wears Prada star Emily Blunt; James Bond star Sean Connery and Middlesex County Cricket Club player Dawid Malan.

Nearest places

* Putney
* Barnes
* Mortlake
* Wimbledon
* Wandsworth
* North Sheen
* Southfields
* New Malden
* Norbiton

Bibliography

*"Putney and Roehampton, A Brief History" The Putney Society, (1992)
*"Putney and Roehampton Past" Dorian Gerhold, (1994)
*"Putney in 1636 Nicholas Lane's Map" Dorian Gerhold, (1994)
* "Roehampton in 1617 The Village Surveyed" Dorian Gerhold, (2001)
* "Villas and Mansions of Roehampton and Putney Heath" Dorian Gerhold, (1997)

References

* [http://www.mywandsworth.co.uk/wandsworth/community-history.htm Local History] London Borough of Wandsworth. Accessed July 2008