Area Description
Built rapidly at the turn of the 20th century it became a byword for family respectability until it provided one of the first examples of gentrification in the Seventies and Eighties.
As befitting such a large postcode SW6 has five old centres around which most of the new and varied gastronomic delights of Fulham can be found. These are Walham Green, Parsons Green, Fulham Town, Sands End and North End.
The seemingly endless rows of red brick terraces which characterise this part of town look set to remain among the most popular housing stocks in the capital.
Housing
There is a huge reservoir of housing in Fulham, all in great demand and with a uniformity that is surprising given the size of SW6, but less so given how fast the area was built up; virtually all of Fulham's dwellings were constructed between 1880 and 1914.
The western strip of Fulham runs between the river and Fulham Palace Road. This saw the final developments within SW6, with larger terraced and semi-detached houses to the south and slightly smaller ones to the north.
This is the place to come if a garden is important, for these houses tend to have the largest in SW6. Conversions are plentiful here, with backtunneling and dormers creating unique properties which belie the grid pattern on the A-Z.
Purpose built flats from the Seventies, such as Alder, Elm and Willow Lodges, form a contrast to the sea of red brick by the river.
Carrying on round the river to the south we encounter Hurlingham, sheltered by the exclusive club at its heart and like the west of SW6 a conservation area.
The houses get even larger, six bedrooms being not uncommon, and architectural diversity makes a rare appearance in this postcode.
The streets are tree-lined and a surprisingly large number of new developments, from the late Sixties to the late Nineties, have been slotted into this popular part of town.
They reflect how British homes have developed, from Sixties' apartment blocks to Eighties' gated developments and Nineties' loft apartments.
No less in demand is the Peterborough Estate to the east of Hurlingham. This is where the transformation of Fulham began back in the Seventies.
Gardens are small here but that is the only drawback, in a land of big gables, loft/cellar conversions, extensions and a range of house sizes.
The proliferation of stone lions found all over the houses on Peterborough are, according to local legend, the result of a developer's mistake. Somewhere along the line a pen slipped and orders for tens became orders for hundreds.
Following the river round to the east of SW6 we come to Sands End, always the poor underbelly of Fulham with its display of heavy industry and council blocks.
Things began to change with the decommissioning of the power station in 1978, with 250 varying sized flats put up on the site. All eyes here though are now on the redevelopment of Imperial Wharf.
Mirroring the Lots Road power station scheme just over the border in SW10 this is a grandiose affair, aimed at realising shops, restaurants, a 10-acre park, a 175-bed hotel, a health centre and offices.
About 1,600 homes are also envisaged at Imperial, of which around half will be pegged at affordable prices.
The bugbear here is a new railway station, eagerly sought by the residents at nearby Chelsea Harbour and Lots Road as well as Sands End. It has yet to materialise.
Crossing north over Kings Road we come to the ancient centre of Fulham, once known as Walham Green. One of the last parts of SW6 to turn salubrious the Broadway has been rebuilt recently to provide new shopping requirements.
There are a few house here predating the 1880s, with some mid-Victorian villas in yet another conservation area.
Otherwise things are hereabouts dominated by the Samuel Lewis Estate and Chelsea Village, the ambitious complex of hotels and restaurants around Chelsea Football Club.
Like Imperial Wharf this is a site for the future. Manhattan Lofts and the local council are redeveloping the area, with an eye to creating "Fulham Island", replete with affordable housing on Coomer Place, affordable and market-price housing on an old taxi depot site in Seagrave Road and in the longer term redevelopment of wasteland on Vanston Place.
South-west of Walham and the Broadway is the other old centre in SW6. This is Parsons Green, very sought after and even boasting the occasional Georgian property.
Terraces armed with bay windows are the order of the day, varying from 3 to 6 bedrooms, and with that common sight in SW6, the loft conversion.
Some of the larger properties here underwent conversion into flats, while two new mews' developments and the reworking of Courtaulds factory into 35 apartments are witness to the popularity of Parsons Green.
North of Parsons Green is classic Fulham, row upon row of solid, red brick, respectable terraces in tree-lined streets. The great number of 3 and 4 bed terraced houses does nothing to diminsh the prices, although the flavour here is leavened somewhat by yellow brick mansion blocks. The closer you get to W14 and Barons Court the cheaper properties get.
Even given its short building history it remains something of a puzzlement to see so few purpose-built flats in SW6 apart, of course, from the ubiquitous over-the-shop variety.
The new developments at Imperial and "Fulham Village" should go some way to redressing the balance.
Facilities
Now that Fulham's transformation is complete there are many differing attractions in this large postcode. For food lovers there is a cornucopia of delights spread around SW6.
Food
Most outlets congregate on or around the main roads of Fulham Road/Broadway, Kings Road and Wandsworth Bridge Road. The selection on offer is not merely confined to restaurants but extends to every shade of delicatessen you could wish for.
Beyond the usual suspects of Indian, Chinese, French and Italian there are some rare temptations. The Russians are here both with a deli (New Russian Taste on Fulham Road) and a restaurant (Stravinsky's on Fulham High Street).
Fiesta Havana is a Cuban restaurant on Fulham Road while the Thai eaterie Blue Elephant on the Broadway hosts a culinary festival each summer based on a different region of Thailand. Sash Oriental on Fulham Road has Thai and Chinese cuisine in the style of Tapas.
The Belgians pop up with Bierodrome on Fulham Road while the Turks can be found at HH Mangal on North End Road and Oz Best on the Broadway. Spain is represented by La Rueda on Fulham Broadway where a North African restaurant can also be found (Medea).
Bonjour Vietnam is on Fulham Road while marine lovers can head to Ghillies (New Kings Road), Loch Fyne (Fulham Road) and Fishnets (Fulham Broadway). Seafood delicatessens are here too, with the Salmon Shop (Munster Road) and Copes' Seafood Company (Fulham Road).
Other deli outlets here include J.J's (Wandsworth Bridge Road), Salumeria (Fulham Road), Delitalia (Munster Road), Buxtons' Gourmet To Go (Parsons Green Lane) and Megan's (Kings Road). The Windmill on Fulham Road is one of London's oldest vegetarian restaurants.
Shopping
There are two great shopping emporia here from very different eras. The North End Road Market was established in the 1880s and can be found in full flow every day bar Sunday. Specialities are fruit & veg, fish, clothing, some specialist foods and household goods.
In contrast Fulham Broadway has a new shopping parade, with some fifteen outlets in the shadow of the tube station, Warner cinema and Sainsbury's.
Sport/Fitness
The David Lloyd Health centre is also here, set in 40,000 sq ft of space, stretching to a cardio theatre and a group cycling studio.
Fulham is particularly well off for such establishments. Fulham Pools, run in conjunction by the council and a private health firm, has three swimming pools and a gym and is on Lillie Road. This is also the road for the Fitness Centre, with its gym, creche, sports therapy and children's parties.
Apart from David Lloyd there are other private health clubs, notably Cannons (Stevenage Road), the Chelsea Club (Fulham Road), Circle Health (Parsons Green), Harbour Club (Water Meadow Lane) and Top Notch Health (North End Road).
There is in addition Napiers Health Care on Fulham Road, a wide-ranging clinic which can offer the likes of cranio-sacral therapy, nutritional therapy, therapeutic massage, Alexander technique and shiatsu. The Hypnotherary Centre on Ricketts Road is self-explanatory.
Medical centres come in the form of Basuto on Basuto Road, Fulham Medical on Fulham Road and Sands End Clinic on Wandsworth Bridge Road. There is also a walk-in clinic for minor injuries at Parsons Green. More serious concerns will have to head north to Charing Cross Hospital in Hammersmith.
Sporting buffs may wish to make for Hurlingham Stadium. This is the public portion of an otherwise private club ground, and deals in athletics, bowls, football, rounders, netball, tennis and rugby.
The last sport mentioned is important here, for this is the home of Hammersmith & Fulham Rugby Club, who run four sides of various abilities and are always on the look out for new blood. A new £1.3m complex has upgraded the facilities at Hurlingham.
Martial art enthusiasts might like to make their way down to Hugon Road for Senso Karate, which includes classes for children, and Parsons Green to the Ki Society for aikido and kiatsu. Lovers of dance will be interested in the Dance Attic on North End Road.
Overlooking the river is Craven Cottage, home to London's oldest football club, Fulham FC. The fortunes of the ground are in the balance, with the team having to play at Queen's Park Rangers in Shepherds Bush while the money men sort out just what kind of a future the Cottage has. Strictly speaking Chelsea FC are also in SW6 but their spiritual home lies elsewhere and it is dealt with in the guide to SW10.
Green Spaces
SW6 does well for open spaces. It has, of course, a very long river frontage as well, but there are some sizeable parks in the district too. Pineapple Park is a new creation in the old Fulham Power Station district. South Park is a large park off Wandsworth Bridge Road while there are two ancient centres still with open land at Eel Brook Common and Parsons Green.
The 27 acres of Bishops Park are a real pleasure, with sports grounds, an ornamental park, an open air theatre and the Bishops Palace, home of the Bishops of London until 1973 and now a museum. There is also a garden centre here.
There are two adult education centres in SW6. The Dawes Road Centre concentrates on computer skills and language classes while the Sands End Community Centre (Broughton Road) has all sorts, from a sports hall and glass fusing workshops to floral art, stained glass, computer courses and the ever-reliable pottery classes.
Transport
Beyond spiralling prices the Achilles' heel of Fulham is transport. Stuck in a large bend in the river, with only two
bridges over it (Putney and Wandsworth) and only eight main roads heading in or out congestion can be a way of life.
When the Imperial Wharf and "Fulham Village" schemes are complete things can only get worse. On the map things look good, with the A4 running along the top of SW6 and the A3 to the south just over the river but traffic jams are irreversibly turning into gridlocks in this part of the world.
Public transport does nothing to inspire either. The new developments at Sands End, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour are crying out for the long-promised new station on the line between Clapham and Willesden Junctions, the tracks of which form the north-eastern border of this postcode.
Buses are plentiful and they need to be. The District Line (Wimbledon branch from Earl's Court) is the workhorse here, with stations at Putney Bridge, Parsons Green and Fulham Broadway.
Those who can be bothered to drag themselves over the river can avail themselves of the railway line from Surrey into Clapham Junction and Waterloo, using Putney Bridge to get to Putney station and Wandsworth Bridge for Wandsworth Town station.
But the position of Fulham points up one of the capital's disgraces. Most of SW6's border lies along the river, a vast highway easily accessible and promising fast journeys into central London - and completely unused.
Steve Roberts
History
This area was granted to the Bishops of London in the eighth century and from the 11th century until 1973 the Bishops Palace became the official residence of each incumbent. The present palace dates from the early 1500s.
The area now encompassed by SW6 is a conglomeration of two old village centres, Walham Green (now Fulham Broadway) and Parsons Green, both making their first entries in recorded history in 1383 and 1391 respectively.
Other hamlets in the district were Sands End (based on a 14th century manor), Fulham Town (now the High Street) and North End (now partly West Kensington). The 17th century Sandford Manor House in Sands End survives.
Throughout history Parsons has been seen as a cut above Walham. The former was described in 1705 as having "several very handsome houses all standing very airy upon a dry clean green".
By the same time Walham Green was a site for stocks and a whipping post and saw some creeping urbanisation in the early 19th century. Sands End was also a harbinger of things to come when the Imperial Gas Company arrived to set up shop in 1824.
To the south in 1729 the first Putney Bridge was built out of wood and Hurlingham House was built in 1760 for gout expert Dr. William Cadogan. In 1867 the House was acquired for a pigeon shooting club, thus kick-starting its history of sporting associations.
Otherwise this part of London gained a reputation for being the market garden for the capital centre, and London was supplied from here for centuries with fruit and vegetables. All this changed in 1880 when the District Line came through the area.
Fulham was filled with housing in the ensuing 35 years. The homogenous nature of the place made it ideal as a family district, and the place gained the reputation as one where entire families stayed put for generation after generation.
And then came Chelseafication in the Seventies. Housing built for the commercial class of pre-Great War London became upper middle class dormitories, with 2,450 industrial jobs around Sands End in 1972 falling to 1,450 by 1977. By 1990 Chelseafication was complete, the industry had gone and the families moved west, with landlords labouring under Rent Acts all too keen to sell to those coming from the east.
Steve Roberts.
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