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

Rugby Union is synonymous with Twickenham, known the world over as the home of the sport. But for residents, this south-west London suburb is first and foremost a peaceful riverside location to call home.

Occupying a big, sweeping bend in the Thames, it offers one of London’s best selections of high-performing state schools, a wide choice of family homes and a strong sense of community.

But not all is as tranquil as it may appear, for in recent times this has been among London’s most politically turbulent locations.

Lib-Dem leader Sir Vince Cable, a former leading light in the Tory/Liberal Democrat coalition government, was Twickenham MP from 1997 until he lost his seat in the 2015 general election, only to win it back last year.

Then the Conservatives, who controlled the local Richmond upon Thames council for eight years, lost control to the Lib-Dems in this year’s council elections.

One of the first things new council leader Gareth Roberts did was halt the contentious Twickenham Riverside scheme. The design by traditionalist architect Francis Terry for the area between King Street and the river is now on hold, with the promise of a new architectural competition next year.

Twickenham has more than its fair share of historic sites. In the 17th and 18th centuries large mansions such as York House, now the local civic centre, and Marble Hill House, a Palladian mansion now owned by English Heritage, were built on the banks of the Thames as aristocratic rural retreats.

In 1747 the connoisseur and collector Horace Walpole bought Chopp’d Straw Hall, one of the last available riverside sites in fashionable Twickenham, transforming it into his “little Gothic castle”, Strawberry Hill House, now run by a charity.

There he entertained, among others, the poet Alexander Pope, who lived nearby.

The property scene

In the mix are Victorian, Edwardian and later houses of the big detached, semi-detached and terrace varieties, along with period purpose-built flats and modern apartments, while in Montpelier Row a fine terrace of Georgian houses overlooks Marble Hill Park.

St Margarets, the area between Twickenham Bridge and Richmond Bridge, has the “Trust Grounds”, with big Victorian detached and semi-detached houses backing on to large communal gardens in St Peter’s, St George’s and Ailsa Roads and The Avenue.

In Strawberry Hill, there are big Victorian red-brick detached houses and semis in roads including Strawberry Hill Road and Waldegrave Gardens. Pretty period cottages can be found in First Cross Road overlooking Twickenham Green and in Second Cross Road.

Nearby, the Belmont Road conservation area has a row of detached early Victorian villas. Fieldend off Waldegrave Park is a Sixties-built Span estate of 51 small houses much sought after by architects and designers.

The most expensive house for sale now in Twickenham is Ferry House, an eight-bedroom, 6,677sq ft listed residence with an outdoor swimming pool and landscaped garden overlooking the slipway to Eel Pie Island, priced £8.5 million.

In favoured Strawberry Hill Road, a six-bedroom detached Victorian house is for sale at £3.5 million and in St Margarets Road, a five-bedroom semi is priced at £2,695,000. A three-bedroom Span house in Fieldend is on for £795,000 and a pretty two-bedroom house in First Cross Road has a price tag of £699,950.

What's new?

In the Sixties, Eel Pie Island, a nine-acre island in the Thames, was at the centre of the emerging blues and rock music scene with the Rolling Stones, The Who, The Kinks and David Bowie all playing some of their first concerts at the legendary Eel Pie Island Hotel, which was destroyed by fire in 1971.

Twickenham is 10 miles south-west of central London with Isleworth to the north, Richmond over the river to the east, Teddington to the south and Whitton to the west.

Estate agent Erika Hopkins of Featherstone Leigh says families love its riverside setting and the Twickenham community likes nothing better than throwing a street party. Also, homes are slightly cheaper than in Richmond.

First-time buyers and shared ownership

So Resi Twickenham is an office to residential conversion in Holly Road close to Twickenham station.

Housing association Metropolitan Thames Valley is converting the building into 49 one- and two-bedroom flats, 29 for shared ownership and 16 for affordable rent, which are move-in ready.

One-bedroom flats start at £106,250 for a 25 per cent share of a home with a market value of £425,000. The two-bedroom flats start at £150,000 for a 30 per cent share of a home with a market price of £500,000. Call 020 8012 7818.

Help to Buy is available at Kestrel House, another office to residential development, above the Giant bicycle store on the corner of Heath and Radnor Roads.

Five one- and two-bedroom flats are available to move into now, with one-bedroom homes from £375,000 and two-bedroom flats at £450,000. Call Featherstone Leigh on 020 8744 0595.

Renting

Erika Hopkins of Featherstone Leigh says Twickenham is a popular area with renters and available homes are quickly snapped up, with half the properties listed on the Rightmove website only added during the last month.

Rents vary from around £1,000 a month for a one-bedroom flat to £7,600 a month for a four-bedroom house in Pomeroy Close in the Richmond Lock development in St Margarets.

Wharf House, a new development opposite Twickenham station, is popular with commuters. Two-bedroom flats are available for £1,900 to £2,250 a month. House shares are popular with students at St Mary’s University in Strawberry Hill.

Staying power: Twickenham is a family area where people put down roots. Some families downsize at the point when their children leave for university. However, most stay within the area.

Postcode

TW1 is the riverside postcode; it includes the town centre, St Margarets and parts of Strawberry Hill. TW2 abuts TW1 to the west and includes parts of Twickenham, including the area around The Green, and Strawberry Hill and spills over into Whitton and Fulwell.

Best roads

Montpelier Row for Georgian houses; Strawberry Hill Road and Waldegrave Gardens for large detached Victorian houses; the St Margarets Trust Grounds area for Victorian and Edwardian houses backing on to communal gardens.

Up-and-coming areas

Estate agent Erika Hopkins from Featherstone Leigh tips Whitton, which has mainly Thirties semi-detached houses. “The entry price for a three-bedroom house in Twickenham is £750,000; in Whitton it is £550,000 and the local high street is much improved.”

Transport

Fast trains from Twickenham take between 20 and 25 minutes to Waterloo. Direct trains from Strawberry Hill and St Margarets can take up to an hour, so many commuters change at Twickenham or Richmond for a faster service. Some trains stop at Vauxhall for the Victoria line Tube.

There are no commuter bus routes although the No 490 goes to Terminals 4 and 5 at Heathrow.

Twickenham and Strawberry Hill are in Zone 5 and an annual travelcard to Zone 1 costs £2,328. St Margarets is in Zone 4 and an annual travelcard costs £1,960.

Council

Richmond upon Thames council is Liberal Democrat controlled. Band D council tax for 2018/2019 is £1,706.94.

Shops and restaurants

Twickenham town centre suffers from its proximity to nearby Richmond and Kingston, both popular shopping destinations. The town centre stretches from the station along London Road, Richmond Road, Church Street, King Street and Heath Road, and the signs are that it is larger than it can economically support.

There are branches of Waitrose, Iceland and M&S Simply Food; a modern butcher, The Meat Room in York Street, with branches in Leamington Spa and Warwick, this being its first London outlet; Sandys Fishmongers; P Cooper & Sons for fruit and veg; and two bakeries — German Bakery and Ruben’s Bakehouse.

Branches of chain restaurants and coffee shops include PizzaExpress, KFC, Harris + Hoole and Patisserie Valerie.

Church Street is pretty and semi-pedestrianised, with independent cafés, restaurants and boutiques. There are independent restaurants serving everything from French to Vietnamese, Italian, Lebanese and Japanese food. Ballarò in Heath Road specialises in Sicilian food and Valentino’s Bellissimo in London Road is a well-rated Italian restaurant.

Good pubs include The Crown in Richmond Road, The White Swan on the river in the town centre and The Prince Albert in Hampton Road, which serves Thai food.

In St Margarets, there are shops around the station in St Margarets Road and also in Crown Road, where you’ll find independent coffee shops and Le Salon Privé, a French restaurant. TW2 is a steak bar and grill on The Green.

Open space

The Thames Path runs on both sides of the river as far as Teddington Lock and passes through Marble Hill Park which has a café plus cricket, rugby and football pitches in its 65 acres.

Leisure and the arts

Richmond Shakespeare Society is an amateur dramatic theatre which puts on eight productions a year at The Mary Wallace Theatre on The Embankment. This Christmas there is a production of Twelfth Night set in the Fifties.

Newly restored Orleans House Gallery in Riverside is a free public art gallery and holds arts and crafts classes for adults and children.

Bringing local history to life are The Twickenham Museum, housed in a period building on The Embankment, and The Eel Pie Island Museum in Richmond Road, open from Thursday to Sunday.

There are two golf clubs: nine-hole Strawberry Hill Golf Club in Wellesley Road and the 18-hole Fulwell Golf Club in Wellington Road in nearby Hampton Hill.

There are more theatres and cinemas in both Richmond and Kingston upon Thames.

Twickenham’s state schools are a big draw for families, with a good choice of primary and secondary schools with an “outstanding” Ofsted rating.

Primary school

The “outstanding” primary schools are: St Mary’s CofE in Amyand Park Road; St Richard Reynolds Primary RC in Clifden Road; Orleans Park Primary in Hartington Road; St James RC in Stanley Road; Bishop Perrin CofE in Hospital Bridge Road, and Trafalgar Infants (ages five to seven) in Gothic Road (the Junior school is judged to “require improvement”).

Comprehensive

The “outstanding” comprehensive schools are: St Richard Reynolds RC (co-ed, ages 11 to 18) in Clifden Road; Orleans Park (co-ed, ages 11 to 18) in Richmond Road; and Waldegrave (girls, with boys in the sixth form) in Fifth Cross Road.

Further education

The local further education college, Richmond upon Thames College in Egerton Road, is rated “good”. A new comprehensive school, Richmond upon Thames School (co-ed, ages 11 to 16) opened on the FE college campus in Egerton Road in September 2017, has not yet been inspected by Ofsted.

Private

Private primary and preparatory schools are Newland House (co-ed, ages three to 13) in Waldegrave Park, and The Mall School (boys, ages four to 11) in Hampton Road.

The private all-through schools are: St Catherine’s RC (girls, ages three to 18) in Cross Deep; Radnor House (co-ed, ages nine to 18) in Pope’s Villa in Cross Deep; and in nearby Hampton there’s Lady Eleanor Holles (girls, ages seven to 18) and Hampton (boys, ages two to 18), both in Hanworth Road.