Living in Balham: area guide to homes, schools and transport

Go south for family houses, green space and buzzing café culture.
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Anthea Masey16 October 2017

Balham rose to fame in the Fifties as the joke location “Bal-ham: Gateway to the South” in a mock-American travelogue by Peter Sellers. The sketch, originally commissioned for a radio comedy show, went on to become the 1958 top-selling record The Best of Sellers.

Today, Balham is regarded as a popular south London neighbourhood full of young families, cafés and restaurants, with a good supply of fine Victorian and Edwardian family houses against a backdrop of the open green spaces of Tooting Common.

In the 2007 movie Atonement, based on Ian McEwan’s novel of the same name, Keira Knightley’s character dies in the Balham Tube station disaster. In the real-life tragedy, 68 of 500 people sheltering in the station were killed on October 14, 1940, at the height of the Blitz, when a bomb burst a nearby water main.

Du Cane Court, the huge Art Deco block of 676 flats in Balham High Road, is a local landmark. When built in the Thirties it was billed as Europe’s largest block of flats and there is a local legend that it escaped wartime bombing only because Hitler planned to occupy it after invasion.

Designed by George Kay Green, it was named after the Du Cane family, the original landowners.

Stars who have called Du Cane Court home include comic Arthur Smith — the self-styled “Bard of Balham” — and Balham-born character actress Margaret Rutherford (1892-1972).

Furniture makers Made.com recently produced a history of the block — visit made.com/under-the-same-roof/ to see it.

Five miles south of central London, Balham has Clapham to the north, Streatham to the east, Tooting to the south and Earlsfield to west.

Local Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward estate agent Leigh Munday says it’s popular with young first-time buyers, often with hefty deposits from their families, and has some of south London’s best and busiest cafés, bars and restaurants.

Balham’s housing stock is mostly from the Victorian and Edwardian periods
Daniel Lynch

The property scene

Balham’s housing stock is mostly from the Victorian and Edwardian periods. The Heaver Estate, between Tooting Common and Balham High Road, has two-storey and three-storey Edwardian houses, including some double-fronted examples, built by Alfred Heaver between 1890 and 1910.

These red-brick homes are in a Queen Anne style, distinguished by carved brickwork and tessellated tile paths.

In the Nightingale Lane conservation area, Nightingale Square is a private garden square that’s maintained by the residents.

What's new?

In Balham High Road, Ipsus10, Bedford House is a new-build development of 52 one-, two- and three-bedroom flats, of which 11 are affordable. The scheme launches in November for completion in spring next year. Call Savills on 020 3883 6491.

Aura, on the corner of Balham Hill and Oldridge Road, is a scheme of 37 one-, two- and three-bedroom flats. The development is car-free and the two-bedroom apartments are priced from £595,000.

Visit aura-house.london or call 0800 012 1442 for more information.

Affordable homes

Housing association A2 Dominion will be responsible for the affordable homes at Ipsus10 (as before). Contact A2 Dominion on 0800 783 2159.

Renting

Lettings manager Will Brindley from the local branch of Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward says Balham tenants tend to be couples and sharers in their mid-twenties and thirties, rather than first-time renters.

The district is also popular with families who are often looking to rent a home on the Hyde Farm Estate between Weir Road and Emmanuel Road, close to either Henry Cavendish or Telferscot Primary Schools, both rated “outstanding” by the Ofsted schools watchdog.

Staying power

There are twice as many flats for sale as there are houses, so there are plenty of opportunities for couples to move from a flat to a house and vice versa — and local KFH estate agent Leigh Munday says people do like to stay in Balham.

Postcode

SW12 is the Balham postcode, although the Heaver Estate falls into SW17, the Tooting postcode.

Best roads

The houses on the Heaver Estate in Elmbourne Road overlook Tooting Common. In the Nightingale Lane conservation area, Nightingale Square has houses arranged around a residents’ garden and Endlesham Road has an eclectic array of Victorian houses.

Up and coming

Telford Park, between Balham and Streatham Hill, is a little-known group of streets arranged around a tennis club where there are some fine Arts and Crafts houses in roads such as Killieser Avenue and Criffel Avenue.

Travel

On the Northern line Tube, the area is served by three stations — Clapham South, Balham and Tooting Bec. Balham train station has services in about 15 minutes to Victoria via Clapham Junction. Clapham South is in Zone 2 and an annual travelcard to Zone 1 is £1,296.

Balham and Tooting Bec are in Zone 3, with a travelcard costing £1,520. Long-term there is the promise that Crossrail 2 will be routed through Balham.

Council

Most of Balham is in Tory-controlled Wandsworth, where Band D council tax in 2017/2018 is £722.61. The Hyde Farm Estate is in Labour-controlled Lambeth, with Band D council tax of £1,310.34.

Lifestyle

Shops and restaurants

Balham has large Waitrose and Sainsbury’s stores and the town centre offers a good selection of cafés, bars and restaurants — so you’re never far from a cappuccino.

Milk in Hildreth Street is a popular weekend brunch spot, often with queues out the door. A few doors away, Brickwood offers quality brunch and coffee and has its fans, too. Esquires Coffee in Bedford Hill is part of a growing Canadian chain, while Bertie and Boo Adventure Island in Balham High Road has a soft play area to keep small children entertained.

Also in Balham High Road, Lamberts is a long-standing restaurant serving seasonal British food; Arlo’s in Ramsden Road specialises in steak; Foxlow in Bedford Hill, with a meaty modern European menu, is part of the Hawksmoor group and has a downstairs cocktail bar called The Owl, and Ciullo’s is an Italian restaurant with a strong local following. Chain restaurants include PizzaExpress and Franco Manca.

Chadwicks in the High Road is the local butcher specialising in organic and rare-breed meat. Bunka in Bedford Hill, a lifestyle boutique selling clothes and gifts, is part of a small south London chain.

Open space

There’s plenty of it, with Wandsworth Common and Clapham Common to the north and Tooting Common to the south.

Leisure and the arts

The Exhibit, entered via Sainsbury’s car park in Balham Station Road, has a bar, restaurant and cinema and describes itself as “a youth club for adults”.

The Bedford pub in Bedford Hill is a legendary music venue, having hosted early performances from the likes of Ed Sheeran, The Staves and James Bay.

It also hosts the 30-year-old Banana Cabaret, one of London’s leading comedy venues, which has nurtured talents such as Michael McIntyre and The Mighty Boosh. It is also home to Theatre N16 which encourages young writers and producers.

Balham Leisure Centre in Elmfield Road houses the local council-owned swimming pool.

Schools

Primary schools

Balham’s state schools get the thumbs-up from the Government’s education watchdog, Ofsted. Primary schools rated “outstanding” are: Holy Ghost RC in Nightingale Square; Henry Cavendish in Hydethorpe Road; Telferscot in Telferscot Road and St Anselm’s RC in Tooting Bec Road.

Comprehensive

Comprehensive schools rated “outstanding” are Chestnut Grove (co-ed, ages 11 to 18) in Chestnut Grove, and La Retraite RC (girls, ages 11 to 18) in Atkins Road.

Private

There is also a wide choice of private schools. The primary and preparatory schools are: Hornsby House (co-ed, ages four to 11) in Hearnville Road; London Steiner (co-ed, ages three to 14) in Weir Road; Eveline Day School (co-ed, ages two to 11) in Swan House, Balham High Road; Oliver House (co-ed, ages three to 11), a Catholic school in Nightingale Lane; Broomwood Hall (boys, ages four to eight; girls, ages four to 13) also in Nightingale Lane with boys often moving on to the associated Northcote Lodge (boys, ages seven to 13) in Bolingbroke Grove; The White House Preparatory School and Woodentops Kindergarten (co-ed, ages six months to 11) in Thornton Road; Bertrum House (co-ed, ages two to seven) in Balham High Road; Finton House (co-ed, ages four to 11) in Trinity Road, and St Thomas’s Clapham (co-ed, ages four to 13) in Broomwood Road.

Streatham & Clapham High (girls, ages three to 18) is an all-through private school in Abbotswood Road. The Laurels (girls, ages 11 to 18) is a Catholic school in Atkins Road and Emanuel (co-ed, ages 10 to 18) is a local private secondary school in Battersea Rise in Wandsworth.

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