Living in Mortlake: area guide to homes, schools and transport links

This south-west London village boasted a brewery for 500 years and US brand Budweiser was produced there for 20 years until the plant closed in 2015. Campaigners claim Reselton Properties’ plans for the site are overbearing and will cram 40 per cent of Mortlake’s population on to 15 per cent of its land.

The Singaporean developer says it aims to create a vibrant, sustainable new centre for Mortlake with a linear park linking station and riverside, plus green spaces, a cinema and cycle routes. Heritage buildings will be retained and converted.

Twenty per cent of the flats will be affordable, 150 will be for assisted living and there will be 80 care home rooms. Mortlake Brewery Community Group’s 127-page objection is being considered by Richmond council.

Seven miles from central London, Mortlake sits between the Thames and the South Circular road with Barnes to the east; Roehampton and Richmond Park to the south and North Sheen and Richmond to the west. Marsh & Parsons agent Sarah Gerrett calls it quiet and neighbourly, the perfect transition between central London and the country.

“Buyers looking in Barnes, Richmond or Putney often discover Mortlake by accident. A huge selling point is the number of primary schools rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.”

The property scene

Roads of small two- and three-bedroom terrace houses are a local feature, often with pretty front gardens or roses around the doors. These include Beverley Path, a pedestrian alleyway near the railway line between Barnes and Barnes Bridge stations.

Rosemary Cottages, a quaint group of railway cottages near Mortlake station, has a well-maintained communal front garden.

There are larger double-fronted Edwardian houses in First Avenue and Avondale Road. Ashleigh Road and Cowley Road have purpose-built Edwardian flats that look like houses but have two front doors leading to ground-floor and first-floor homes.

Holmesdale Avenue conservation area has 32 semi-detached Arts and Crafts houses with gable ends and front doors at an angle. Mortlake High Street has a mix of mansion flats and modern riverside flats.

The most expensive house now on the market, for the first time in 50 years, is Thames Bank Cottage, a listed four-bedroom Georgian riverside property, at £2.6 million. Two four-bedroom Arts and Crafts houses are for sale in Holmesdale Avenue, one at £1.06 million, the other £1.1 million.

The two-bedroom cottages that characterise Mortlake sell for £650,000 to £850,000. One in Queen’s Road is on the market for £725,000. A two-bedroom Rosemary Cottages home is for sale priced £850,000.

What's new?

The proposed development of the Stag Brewery site is the largest in the neighbourhood’s history, although it will be some time before any flats are available.

In the meantime, Boat Race House sits on the riverbank, off Mortlake High Street, by the finishing line of the annual Oxford v. Cambridge Boat Race.

There are 16 one-, two- and three-bedroom flats and penthouses, many with balconies overlooking the river. Prices start at £595,000 for a one-bedroom flat; £900,000 for a two-bedroom flat and £1.8 million for a three-bedroom flat.

Contact Knight Frank on 020 3826 0673 for details.

Renting

The spread of rental homes available range from £1,175 a month for a one-bedroom flat in Art Deco Chertsey Court in Clifford Avenue, to £2,200 a month for a two-bedroom cottage in Worple Street, to £3,500 a month for a four-bedroom Edwardian terrace house in Second Avenue.

Letting agent Ben Hayes of Marsh & Parsons says most of his renters are families, some from overseas, who come to Mortlake for the schools.

Rowing and the river are also magnets and some sharers come to be near Putney Town Rowing Club, a top club based upstream from Chiswick Bridge.

Staying power

Local estate agent Sarah Gerrett of Marsh & Parsons says Mortlake charms people and once there, they tend to stay.

Postcode

SW14 is the Mortlake postcode which also covers East Sheen.

Best roads

First Avenue has double-fronted Edwardian houses.

Up and coming

The inclusion of a 1,200-place comprehensive school on the Stag Brewery development site of up to 900 homes will increase the attraction of nearby roads such as Kingsway and Shalstone Road, where there are four-bedroom Edwardian houses and Twenties terrace houses.

Travel

Trains from Mortlake to Waterloo take around 27 minutes, stopping at Clapham Junction after 12 minutes and Vauxhall in 19 minutes.

There are also trains to Waterloo from Barnes and Barnes Bridge for commuters who live close to White Hart Lane. All stations are in Zone 3 and an annual travelcard costs £1,600.

Council

Richmond council is Conservative controlled. Band D council tax for 2018/2019 is £1,706.94.

Shops and restaurants

Mortlake’s shopping street is along Sheen Lane where the traffic frequently builds up at the level crossing by the station.

There is a Tesco Express, a bakery, a fish and chip shop, a tailor, a yoga centre and a number of coffee shops including Pickle & Rye, an American sandwich shop. Pandemonium is a well-stocked toy shop; The Long Room specialises in painted furniture for the shabby chic look and Classic Chrome, a classic car showroom, currently has a 1958 restored Fiat 500 on sale for £39,995.

There are also shops along White Hart Lane, including a branch of Sainsbury’s Local, a number of coffee shops and cafés such as No 40 and Annie’s Barnes, and tea shop Orange Pekoe. Gusto & Relish is the local delicatessen.

Long-established Tobias and the Angel sells painted furniture and beautiful block-printed fabric. Block printing courses are held at its workshop in Lingfield in Surrey.

Seafood chef and TV personality Rick Stein’s only London restaurant is in Tideway Yard overlooking the river off Mortlake High Street.

Open space

The Thames Path runs along the towpath in Mortlake. Mortlake Green park and playground is in Lower Richmond Road. Sheen Gate is the nearest entrance to the 2,500 acres of Richmond Park.

Leisure and the arts

A cinema is planned for the Stag Brewery development. Until then residents go to the cinema at the Olympic Studios in Barnes and the Odeon and Curzon cinemas in Richmond. There are two theatres in Richmond — the Orange Tree Theatre and Richmond Theatre.

Pools on the Park leisure centre in Old Deer Park, Richmond, with both indoor and outdoor pools, is the nearest council-owned swimming pool.

Primary school

Almost all the state primary schools in Mortlake and East Sheen get an “outstanding” Ofsted rating. They are: East Sheen in Upper Richmond Road West; St Mary Magdalen’s RC in Worple Street; Barnes in Cross Street; Thomson House in Sheen Lane and Sheen Mount in West Temple Sheen.

Comprehensive

Local comprehensive schools with a “good” Ofsted rating are: Richmond Park Academy (co-ed, ages 11 to 18) in Park Avenue in East Sheen; Christ’s CofE (co-ed, ages 11 to 18) in Queen’s Road in Richmond; and Ark Putney (co-ed, ages 11 to 18) in Pullman Gardens.

Private

There is also a wide choice of private schools including some of the most popular in London.

The primary and preparatory schools are: Tower House (boys, ages four to 13) in Sheen Lane; The Falcons School for Girls (ages three to 11) in Woodborough Road in Putney, and King’s House (boys, ages three to 13) in Kings Road in Richmond. Azbuka (co-ed, ages two to 11) in Vernon Road is a Russian/English bilingual school which opened in October 2016.

The all-through private schools are: Ibstock Place (co-ed, ages four to 18) in Clarence Lane in Roehampton; The Harrodian (co-ed, ages four to 18), The Swedish School (co-ed, ages three to 18) and St Paul’s School (boys, ages seven to 18), all three in Lonsdale Road in Barnes; and Putney High School (girls, ages four to 18) in Putney Hill.