Living in Putney: area guide to homes, schools and transport links
Once a small riverside village, Putney’s history is rich. A few paces east of Putney Bridge in Brewhouse Lane, a blue plaque commemorates Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s chief minister and “most faithful servant”, who nevertheless was beheaded as a traitor and heretic on the king’s orders in 1540.
Cromwell was born in Putney in 1485, most likely the son of Walter, a blacksmith — and who can forget the brutal beating the young Thomas receives at the hands of his father in the first few pages of Hilary Mantel’s novel, Wolf Hall, seen in the opening episode of the award-winning 2015 TV adaptation?
Scattered with blue plaques and with local council green plaques, too, Putney can claim more than its fair share of famous residents. Celebrated photographer Norman Parkinson (1913-1990) grew up in a semi in Landford Road.
The Victorian poet Algernon Swinburne lived and died in Putney Hill. Historian Edward Gibbon (1737-94), author of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, spent his formative years in Lime Grove, one of Putney’s then-large estates.
Post-war prime minister Clement Attlee was born in Portinscale Road in 1883. Early aircraft designer Sir Edwin Alliott Verdon Roe built his first biplane in his brother’s garage in West Hill, and former deputy prime minister and Lib-Dem leader Nick Clegg and his family live locally today.
Putney Bridge is one of London’s busiest Thames crossings and if you drive it in rush-hour, those six miles into central London can take as long as 60.
For many years, it was the only Thames crossing between Putney and London Bridge. Putney’s first bridge, a wooden affair, opened in 1729, reputedly after a campaign led by Sir Robert Walpole, first British PM.
The story goes that the Putney ferryman refused to leave the pub to take Walpole over the river on his way to the Commons after a meeting with George I in Kingston, so Walpole had to take another, longer route. Today’s stone bridge, starting point for the annual Oxford/Cambridge Boat Race, opened in 1886.
The Thames is central to life here. East of the bridge are riverside restaurants, pubs and homes in the Putney Wharf development, while on the west side the bank is lined with boathouses and walkers.
Putney has the Thames and Fulham to the north; Wandsworth and Earlsfield to the east; Wimbledon to the south and Richmond to the west. Estate agent Alex Howard Baker, from the local branch of Savills, says Putney High Street has improved greatly in recent years, with more varied shops, cafés and restaurants. A couple of new High Street developments in the pipeline will further boost the area.
The property scene
Putney has a bit of everything, from Victorian cottages to big Edwardian mansions; from period conversion flats to purpose-built mansion flats. And recent years have seen a number of large developments of modern apartments along the river and Upper Richmond Road.
One of the most expensive houses currently for sale is an eight-bedroom double-fronted Twenties property with a carriage drive in St Simon’s Avenue, at £5.85 million. Deodar Road has a number of houses with direct access to the Thames — one is on the market, priced £4,195,000.
In Bristol Gardens, an enclave of large houses surrounded by the green acres of Putney Heath, a house is for sale for £3,895,000.
One of the cheapest houses, priced £650,000, is a three-bedroom cottage with a near-90ft garden in Huntingfield Road on the Dover House Estate, a former London County Council garden estate built after the First World War to provide “homes for heroes”.
Putney has nearly twice as many flats for sale as houses. The most expensive flat on the market now is a 3,000sq ft period conversion spread over two floors in Keswick Road, priced £2.5 million.
Mansion flats are also much sought after. One of the best blocks is Kenilworth Court in Lower Richmond Road, where a four-bedroom flat is for sale at £1.15 million. One-bedroom flats start at about £350,000. For example, a one-bedroom period conversion in Santos Road is for sale, priced £375,000.
What's new?
On the site of the former Putney Hospital, 100 Putney Common is a Durkan development of 24, one-, two- and three-bedroom flats. Two-bedroom homes start at £695,000. Visit 100putneycommon.co.uk or call 020 8619 9700.
Fabrica, part of housing association A2 Dominion, is building Carlton House in Upper Richmond Road, a development of one-, two- and three- bedroom flats with a communal roof terrace and residents’ lounge. By Assael Architecture, it launches early next year. Call 020 3811 0858.
One Putney is a mixed-use scheme in the Art Deco style, with shops and two- and three-bedroom flats in Putney High Street, by developer The Thackeray Estate. Prices have yet to be released. Call James Pendleton estate agents on 020 8099 1111.
Renting
Lettings manager Yacine Trenerry at the local branch of Dexters says two-bedroom period conversions range between £1,600 and £2,100 a month and two-bedroom flats in new-build developments rent for between £2,100 and £2,500 a month.
Staying power
With enough variety to upsize and downsize, people tend to stick with Putney, says estate agent Alex Howard Baker of Savills. “Most of our incomers are English families from other, more expensive areas of south-west London. But Putney is increasingly popular with European families, too.”
Postcode
SW15 is the Putney postcode. On the eastern edge it merges with SW18, the Wandsworth code.
Best roads
Gwendolen Avenue has large, detached, red-brick Edwardian houses. The parallel street, St Simon’s Avenue, has Edwardian and later detached houses.
Coalecroft Road is a particularly pretty street with early Victorian semi-detached houses on one side and Edwardian semis on the other. Parkfields is a quaint, narrow street with mainly early Victorian cottages.
Up and coming
Dover House Estate, a cottage estate built by London County Council along garden suburb lines after the First World War, has its own small shopping street along Upper Richmond Road.
Travel
The South Circular Road runs through Putney, a Zone 2 location with two Underground stations and a train station.
Putney Bridge and East Putney Tube are on the Wimbledon branch of the District line, while Putney station has services to Waterloo taking 15 to 20 minutes, with most trains stopping at Clapham Junction and Vauxhall.
There are two useful commuter bus services — the No 22, which goes to Oxford Circus via King’s Road and Knightsbridge, and the No 170, which goes to Victoria. An annual travel card to Zone 1 costs £1,296.
Council
Wandsworth council is Conservative-controlled. Band D council tax for 2017/2018 is £694, or £722.61 for those living in the Wimbledon and Putney Common Conservators area.
Lifestyle
Shops and restaurants
Putney High Street and Upper Richmond Road combine to form the busy shopping centre and at the junction of these two roads is London’s largest concentration of estate agents, with 15 firms represented.
Savills’ Alex Howard Baker offers no clue as to how they all survive beyond commenting that following the 2007 downturn, only one firm disappeared.
There are large Waitrose and Sainsbury’s branches — Waitrose is in the covered Putney Exchange Shopping Centre in the High Street, which also has branches of H&M, Waterstones, River Island, Phase Eight, Oliver Bonas, Gap and Tiger.
The High Street itself has branches of Jigsaw, M&S and Paperchase, plus chain restaurants Bill’s, Five Guys, Byron and Franco Manca.
Independent offerings include Pata Negra tapas restaurant in Upper Richmond Road, and, back in the High Street, Casa Manolo is a tapas café with an impressive display of Jamón ibérico.
Putney High Street also has cocktail bars Tequila Mockingbird and The Toy Shop; recently opened Foodilic, part of a small restaurant chain focusing on “raw, vegetarian, vegan and organic produce”, and Boma Bridge all-day restaurant.
Off the High Street, Lacy Road has local independent shops and cafés. Isola Del Sole is a Sardinian restaurant; Chez Stephan is an interesting mix of hairdresser and wine merchant, and Blåbär is a concept store and café which demands we “Live a Life more Nordic”.
Open space
Putney has lovely waterside walks along the Thames and the Beverley Brook, a nine-mile walking trail from New Maldon station to the Thames close to Putney Bridge, taking in Barnes Common and Richmond Park along the way.
The Wimbledon and Putney Commons Conservators, who are appointed by the Home Office, are in charge of the 1,140 acres of countryside split between Wimbledon Common, Putney Heath and Putney Lower Common.
The latter is half a mile west of Putney town centre and a-mile-and-a-half from the other commons, which are to the south of the town centre. Around 900 acres of the commons are a Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation.
Leisure and the arts
Putney Arts Theatre on the corner of Ravenna Road and Upper Richmond Road is home to the Putney Theatre Company, one of the UK’s leading amateur theatre companies.
The local Putney Odeon cinema is currently closed for refurbishment.
Putney Leisure Centre in Dryburgh Road houses the local council-owned swimming pool.
Schools
Primary school
All of Putney’s state primary schools are rated “good” or better by the Ofsted education watchdog. Those rated “outstanding” are: Our Lady of Victories RC in Clarendon Drive; Brandlehow in Brandlehow Road, designed by modernist architect Ernö Goldfinger; St Mary’s CofE in Felsham Road; All Saints CofE in Putney Common; Ronald Ross in Beaumont Road, and Greenmead in St Margaret’s Crescent. Oasis Academy Putney, a new state primary school in Lower Richmond Road, has yet to have an Ofsted inspection.
Comprehensive
Local state comprehensive schools are: Ashcroft Technology Academy (co-ed, ages 11 to 18) in West Hill, rated “outstanding”; Ark Putney Academy in Pullman Gardens (co-ed, ages 11 to 18), formerly Elliott School, where film star Pierce Brosnan and indie pop group The XX were pupils, rated “good”, and Saint Cecilia’s CofE (co-ed, ages 11 to 18) in Sutherland Grove, also rated “good”. Nearby state comprehensive schools are: the “outstanding” Lady Margaret CofE (girls, ages 11 to 18) in Parsons Green; Southfields (co-ed, ages 11 to 18) in Merton Road, and Richmond Park Academy (co-ed, ages 11 to 18) in Park Avenue, East Sheen, both rated “good”.
Further education
South Thames College (co-ed, ages 16-plus) in Wandsworth High Street is the local further education college.
Private
Putney private primary schools are: Merlin (co-ed, ages four to eight) in Carlton Drive; Lion House (co-ed, ages five to seven) in Gwendolen Avenue; Hurlingham (co-ed, ages four to 11) in Putney Bridge Road; Prospect House (co-ed, ages three to 11) in Putney Hill and Falcons School for Girls (ages three to 11) in Woodborough Road. Putney High (girls, ages four to 18) is an all-through school in Putney Hill.
Private schools which require a car journey from Putney are the Roehampton-based Ibstock Place (co-ed, ages four to 18) in Clarence Lane; Emanuel (co-ed, ages 10 to 18) in Battersea Rise, Wandsworth, and the Barnes-based schools — 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 in Lonsdale Road.