East Sheen

East Sheen

The Triangle and Upper Richmond Road
East Sheen
 East Sheen shown within Greater London
Area  5.84 km2 (2.25 sq mi)
Population 10,348 (East Sheen ward 2011)[1]
   – density  1,772/km2 (4,590/sq mi)
OS grid referenceTQ2075
London borough Richmond
Ceremonial county Greater London
RegionLondon
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town LONDON
Postcode district SW14
Dialling code 020
Police Metropolitan
Fire London
Ambulance London
EU Parliament London
UK ParliamentRichmond Park
London Assembly South West
List of places
UK
England
London

Coordinates: 51°27′50″N 0°15′58″W / 51.464°N 0.266°W

East Sheen, also known as Sheen, is a suburb[2] of London, England in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.

Its long high street has goods stores, convenience services, offices, restaurants, cafés and pubs and suburban supermarkets and is also the economic hub for Mortlake of which East Sheen was once a manor. This commercial thoroughfare, well served by public transport, is the Upper Richmond Road West which connects Richmond to Putney. Central to this street is The Triangle, a traffic island with a war memorial and an old milestone [3] dating from 1751, marking the ten-mile distance to Cornhill in the City of London.[4] The main railway station serving the area, Mortlake, is centred 300m north of this. Sheen has a mixture of low and mid rise buildings and it has parks and open spaces including its share of Richmond Park, accessed via Sheen Gate; Palewell Common, which has a playground, playing fields, tennis courts and a pitch and putt course; and East Sheen Common which is owned by the National Trust[3] and leads into Bog Gate, another gate of Richmond Park.

Etymology

The earliest recorded use of the name is c. 950 as Sceon and means shed or shelters. The area was designated separately from Sheen (an earlier name for Richmond) from the 13th century, as the southern manor of Mortlake.[5]

History

The area lay in the Brixton hundred of Surrey, until these faded into obscurity not least as these were not a major economic possession in most of the evolution of the feudal system, and became more of a unit of land used for taxation.

Manor and hamlet status

Throughout its history, East Sheen has not formed an independent unit of administration and was instead included as part of the Mortlake parish which not a borough, developed by 1900 a secular vestry to help administer poor relief, maintain roads, ditches and other affairs.[6] Earliest references specifically to the present area of land, not under references to the once far longer land of Mortlake emerge in the 13th century, generally under its early name of Westhall. Originally one carucate, it was sold in 1473 by Michael Gaynsford and Margaret his wife in the right of Margaret to William Welbeck, citizen and haberdasher, of London. The Welbecks held it until selling in 1587. Later owners of what remained, the Whitfields, Juxons and Taylors were equally not titled, as with Mortlake, nor had an above average size or lavish manor house.[7]

Less established than Mortlake, 18th century texts occasionally make passing mention of the place when describing Mortlake, such as:

East-Sheen is a pleasant hamlet in this parish, situated on a rising ground considerably above the level of the river. It contains about ninety houses. Here are several handsome villas; the vicinity to Richmond-park, and the beauty of the surrounding country, making it a desirable situation.
—'Mortlake', The Environs of London 1792, Daniel Lysons[8]
Development of the Temple Grove, Palmerston country estate
Prime Minister Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston sold the southern purported manor to private developers as a young man.

The southern estate of Temple Grove, East Sheen, first belonged to Sir Abraham Cullen, who was created a baronet in 1661. He died in 1668, and his son Sir John in 1677. The latter's son Sir Rushout Cullen seems to have sold the estate shortly afterwards to Sir John Temple, attorney-general of Ireland, brother to Sir William Temple, diplomat and author, who was earlier of adjoining West Sheen, giving the home his name. It belonged to the Temples until Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, politician his grandson of the same profession sold it soon after coming of age in 1805, who would later would serve as Foreign Secretary three times and twice as Prime Minister. It was bought by Sir Thomas Bernard, who rebuilt the Jacobean style front of the house shown in a drawing hung in the house of 1611. Sir Thomas sold it about 1811 to the Rev. William Pearson who founded the Temple Grove Preparatory School for boys which moved in 1907 to Eastbourne and the estate was given over to house and apartment builders as demand rose for work in the City of London and park-side London retirement properties.[7]

It was included in the Metropolitan Police District in 1840. From 1892 to 1894 Mortlake (including East Sheen) formed part of the expanded Municipal Borough of Richmond.[9] In 1894 nearby North Sheen was created as a civil parish, being split off from Mortlake and remaining in the Municipal Borough of Richmond.[10] The remainder of Mortlake (including East Sheen) was instead transferred to Barnes Urban District.[11]

In 1965 North Sheen was incorporated in Kew[12] which, with the rest of the Municipal Borough of Richmond, joined Twickenham and Barnes M.B.s to form the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In the wards of the United Kingdom, Sheen has the largest share of Richmond Park of its surrounding five wards.

Economy

East Sheen concentrates its commercial area to the main through street: its long high street has transport/furniture/hardware stores, convenience services, offices, restaurants, cafés and pubs[13] and suburban supermarkets and is also the economic hub for Mortlake of which East Sheen was once a manor. This wide-footpath street with bus lanes is the Upper Richmond Road West which connects Richmond to Putney. Central to this street is The Triangle, a tree-lined traffic island with a war memorial and an old milestone[3] at the intersection of Upper Richmond Road West with Sheen Lane. The main railway station serving the area, Mortlake, is centred 300m north of this.[14]

Churches

Christ Church, East Sheen.

Until the 19th century, East Sheen lay in the parish of St Mary the Virgin Mortlake. Today the district has two Anglican parish churches: Christ Church, and All Saints. Christ Church, situated near the crossroads of Christchurch Road and West Temple Sheen, was built by Arthur Blomfield on land formerly part of a farm at the entrance to Sheen Common in the 1860s. It was originally planned to be opened in April 1863; however, the tower collapsed shortly before completion and had to be rebuilt. The church was finally completed and consecrated nine months later, on 13 January 1864.[15]

All Saints was built on land bequeathed under the will of Major Shepherd-Cross, MP for Bolton who lived at nearby Palewell Lodge from 1896 until his death in 1913. The church was consecrated on All Saints Day 1929, a year and two days after the foundation stone was laid by Elizabeth Duchess of York (later Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother).[15]

East Sheen has three other churches: East Sheen Baptist Church, Elim Pentecostal Church and Christian City Church, which meets at Hampton Works on Sheen Lane.[16]

East Sheen has no separate Roman Catholic church; the church of St Mary Magdalen Mortlake and Our Lady Queen of Peace Church, Richmond also serve East Sheen.

Notable residents

Living people

Mosaic by Sue Edkins at Sheen Lane Centre honouring Tim Berners-Lee

Historical figures

Education

Schools in the area include: Richmond Park Academy; Tower House Boys' Preparatory School, a small independent prep-school for boys aged 4–13; East Sheen Primary School, a state school on Upper Richmond Road West; Sheen Mount School, a state primary school on West Temple and Thomson House School located on Vernon Road.

Transport

The area is served by Mortlake railway station centred 300m north of The Triangle. Transport for London bus routes are:

Demography and housing

2011 Census homes
Ward Detached Semi-detachedTerracedFlats and apartmentsCaravans/temporary/mobile homes/houseboatsShared between households[1]
(ward)471 1,129 1,310 1,192 0 49
2011 Census households
Ward Population Households % Owned outright % Owned with a loanhectares[1]
(ward)10,348 4,252 35 35 584

East Sheen in art

The Triangle in East Sheen is the subject of a painting, The Triangle, Sheen Lane, East Sheen, Surrey by James Isaiah Lewis (1861–1934), which is in the Richmond upon Thames Borough Art Collection and is held at Orleans House Gallery in Twickenham.[30]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Key Statistics; Quick Statistics: Population Density Office for National Statistics
  2. ↑ A City of Villages: Promoting a sustainable future for London's suburbs (PDF). SDS Technical Report 11 (Greater London Authority). August 2002. ISBN 1 85261 393 9. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Barnes, Mortlake and Sheen". Visit Richmond. London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  4. ↑ "East Sheen Milestone". Milestones. Waymarking.com. 20 February 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  5. ↑ Anthony David Mills (2001). Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-280106-6.
  6. ↑ IGEW John Marius Wilson: Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870–72)
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 H. E. Malden (editor) (1912). "Parishes: Mortlake". A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 4. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  8. ↑ Daniel Lysons (1792). "Mortlake". The Environs of London: volume 1: County of Surrey. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  9. ↑ Vision of Britain – Mortlake parish (historic map)
  10. ↑ Vision of Britain – North Sheen parish (historic map)
  11. ↑ Vision of Britain – Barnes UD/MB (historic map)
  12. ↑ David Blomfield: Kew Past, p 131, Phillimore, 1994
  13. ↑ Restaurants in (Upper Richmond Road) Mortlake / East Sheen squaremeal.co.uk Retrieved 22 December 2013
  14. ↑ Grid square map Ordnance survey website
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Halfpenny Green – Postcards from Barnes and Mortlake. Picton. pp. 40–41. ISBN 0-948251-78-6.
  16. ↑ "Christian City Church". Find a Church. UK Church Directory Limited. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  17. ↑ Daniel S. Morrow (23 April 2001). "Tim Berners-Lee Oral History" (PDF). ComputerWorld Honors Program International Archives. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Gabriela Kerezova (27 June 2013). "Worldwide Web founder honoured at Sheen Lane Centre". Richmond and Twickenham Times. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  19. ↑ "Conflict of the heart". Richmond and Twickenham Times. 31 May 2013. p. 35.
  20. ↑ "Comedian Omid Djalili who starred in Gladiator gets let off driving ban after employing Mr Loophole lawyer". Daily Mail (London). 14 June 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  21. ↑ Daphne Lockyer (3 June 2001). "Interview: Beth Goddard – The woman who went wife-swapping with Robson Green; But sadly for Beth Goddard it was only for a new TV drama, she tells Daphne Lockyer". The Free Library. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  22. ↑ Elizabeth Grice (12 May 2007). "The view from Marr". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  23. ↑ Christine Fleming (14 May 2010). "Broadcaster Sir Trevor McDonald's wife called police after seeing a teenager acting suspiciously near her East Sheen home". Richmond and Twickenham Times. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  24. ↑ Colin Daniels (12 May 2013). "Tom Hardy 'buys £2m London home'". Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  25. ↑ "Local architects" (PDF). People of Mortlake, Barnes and East Sheen. Barnes and Mortlake History Society. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  26. ↑ "East Sheen". Hidden London. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  27. ↑ "George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans: 1819–1880)". Local History Notes. London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  28. ↑ K A L Parker (1987). "George Eliot and Richmond 1855–1859". Richmond History (42–51). ISSN 0263-0958.
  29. ↑ Jane W Stedman "Reed, (Thomas) German (1817–1888)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, January 2008, accessed 1 February 2013 (subscription or UK public library membership required)
  30. ↑ "The Triangle, Sheen Lane, East Sheen, Surrey". Your Paintings: uncovering the nation's art collection. BBC. Retrieved 4 January 2014.

External links