Editing Roehampton

{{short description|District in south-west London, England}}
{{for|vessels of this name|Roehampton (ship){{!}}''Roehampton'' (ship)}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{infobox UK place
| country = England
| map_type = Greater London
| static_image_name = Roehampton High Street.jpg
| static_image_caption = Roehampton High Street
| region = London
| population = 16,132
| population_ref = (2011 Ward of Roehampton and Putney Heath)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=13689128&c=Roehampton+and+Putney+Heath&d=14&e=62&g=6339628&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&o=362&m=0&r=1&s=1476264884844&enc=1|title=Wandsworth Ward population 2011|access-date=12 October 2016|publisher=Office for National Statistics|work=Neighbourhood Statistics|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211131312/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=13689128&c=Roehampton+and+Putney+Heath&d=14&e=62&g=6339628&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&o=362&m=0&r=1&s=1476264884844&enc=1|archive-date=11 February 2017}}</ref>
| official_name = Roehampton
| coordinates = {{coord|51.451|-0.243|display=inline,title}}
| london_borough = Wandsworth
| constituency_westminster = [[Putney (UK Parliament constituency)|Roehampton & Putney Heath]]
| post_town = LONDON
| postcode_area = SW
| postcode_district = SW15
| dial_code = 020
| os_grid_reference = TQ225745
}}
[[File:Map-Roehampton.png|right|thumb|260px|Map of Roehampton, excluding Roehampton/Putney Vale to the south]]
'''Roehampton''' is an area in southwest [[London]], in the [[Putney]] SW15 postal district, and takes up a far western strip, running north to south, in the [[London Borough of Wandsworth]].<ref name="GLA 2002">{{cite book | url=http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/archives/uploads-tr11_villages.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529061141/http://london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/archives/uploads-tr11_villages.pdf |archive-date=2013-05-29 |url-status=live | title=A City of Villages: Promoting a sustainable future for London's suburbs | publisher=[[Greater London Authority]] | work=SDS Technical Report 11 | isbn= 1-85261-393-9 |date=August 2002 | access-date=16 January 2014}}</ref> It contains a number of large [[council house]] estates and is home to the [[University of Roehampton]].

==Etymology==
The ''Roe'' in Roehampton's name is thought to refer to the large number of [[Rook (bird)|rooks]] that still inhabit the area.

==Location==
Roehampton is centred about 6.3 miles (roughly 10&nbsp;km) south-west of [[Charing Cross]]. It occupies high land, with [[Barnes, London|Barnes]] to the north, [[Putney]] and [[Putney Heath]] to the east, and [[Richmond Park]] and [[Richmond Park Golf Course]] to the west. To the south is Roehampton Vale, that straddles the [[A3 road (Great Britain)|A3]], with [[Wimbledon Common]] and [[Putney Vale]] beyond.

==History==
Roehampton was originally a small village – with only 14 houses during the reign of [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]] – with the area largely forest and heath. The population gradually increased in the 18th and 19th centuries as it became a favoured residential outlying suburb for summer villas and larger houses set in parkland, following the opening of [[Putney Bridge]] in 1729.<ref name=Malden>{{cite web|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/surrey/vol4/pp78-83|title=Parishes: Putney|editor=H.E. Malden |publisher=Institute of Historical Research|date=1912|work=A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 4|pages=78–83|access-date=1 August 2021}}</ref> Several of the original houses survive.

[[Roehampton House]] (Grade I) by [[Thomas Archer]] was built between 1710 and 1712, and enlarged by [[Edwin Lutyens|Sir Edwin Lutyens]] in 1910. Until 2008, it was the administrative centre for [[Queen Mary's Hospital, Roehampton|Queen Mary's Hospital]]. The building was Grade I Listed in 1978 when it was still being used by the hospital.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England |num=1357694 |desc=Roehampton House (at Queen Marys Hospital) |date=6 March 2008|access-date= 26 January 2021}}</ref> It was subsequently developed into private flats.

[[Parkstead House]] (Grade I), built in 1760 for [[William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough]], was the home of the socialite [[Lady Caroline Lamb]] before being acquired in 1861 for use as a seminary by the [[Society of Jesus|Jesuits]] and renamed Manresa House.<ref name="Parkstead House">{{cite web|title=Parkstead House |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1357675|publisher=britishlistedbuildings.co.uk | access-date=2 August 2021}}</ref> [[Gerard Manley Hopkins]], the Jesuit poet, lived there. Parkstead House is now owned by [[Roehampton University]], as are a number of other surviving 18th century houses. These include [[Mount Clare, Roehampton|Mount Clare]] (Grade I) built in 1772 for George Clive, cousin of [[Lord Clive]]; [[Grove House, Roehampton|Grove House]] (Grade II*), built originally for Sir Joshua Vanneck in 1777 – [[Capability Brown]] is reputed to have laid out the grounds; and Downshire House (Grade II*) built in 1770 and once occupied by the [[Marquess of Downshire]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Downshire House |url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-207117-downshire-house-greater-london-authority |publisher=britishlistedbuildings.co.uk |access-date=7 January 2013 }}</ref>

Templeton House, a Georgian mansion, was built in the 1780s and its first resident was Lady Elizabeth Templetown. In 1930, the building was converted into student flats; during both World Wars, it was used as a hospital. From the winter of 1919 to the spring of 1920, [[Winston Churchill]] lived at Templeton House while it was owned by [[Freddie Guest]] and his wife Amy.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=OMP93v2i7qQC&dq=winston+churchill+1919+1920+templeton+house+roehampton&pg=PA221 Winston and Clementine: The Personal Letters of the Churchills, page 220 to 224]</ref> After its sale in 2010, the new owners again converted the building into a single family home, with the exterior also restored.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.countrylife.co.uk/architecture/templeton-houses-escape-from-demolition-and-oblivion-to-become-an-incredible-rarity-a-country-estate-within-the-m25-220847 |title=Templeton House's escape from demolition and oblivion to become an incredible rarity: a country estate within the M25 |date=13 December 2020 |magazine=[[Country Life (magazine)|Country Life]] |access-date=16 December 2020 |quote=probably in the 1780s – that Templeton House must have been built. The house is first recorded on a map of 1787.}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/gallery/london-templeton-house-winston-churchill-former-mansion#:~:text=News-,Inside%20the%20%C2%A332million%20restoration%20of,House%2C%20Winston%20Churchill's%20former%20mansion&text=The%20sprawling%2028%2C000%2Dsquare%2Dfoot,the%20home%20of%20Winston%20Churchill. |title=Inside the £32million restoration of London's Templeton House, Winston Churchill's former mansion |date=13 December 2020 |magazine=[[House & Garden (magazine)|House and Garden]] |access-date=5 July 2019 |quote=The sprawling 28,000-square-foot property, with its amber brick façade and stately decor, is nestled in the quiet suburb of Roehampton in southwest London, and was once the home of Winston Churchill. }}</ref> Some of the filming for series 3 of [[Downton Abbey]] was completed at Templeton House.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-40-million-renovation-11555518454 |title=The $40 Million Renovation at nearly 240 years old, Templeton House was a fixer-upper of seriously epic, outrageously expensive proportions |date=17 April 2019 |work=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=16 December 2020 |quote=its first occupant, in 1786, was Lady Elizabeth Templetown, the wife of an Irish aristocrat and an artist}}</ref>

Originally a part of Putney [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] [[parish]], Roehampton became a separate parish in 1845, after the building of Holy Trinity Church on Roehampton Lane in 1842.<ref name=Malden/> The [[Society of Jesus]] founded [[St Joseph Church, Roehampton|St Joseph Church]] in Roehampton in 1869 from the [[novitiate]] that became [[Whitelands College]].

The Maharajah [[Duleep Singh]] lived for a time in Ashburton House in Roehampton with the family of Sir [[John Spencer Login]] and Lady [[Lena, Lady Login|Lena Login]]. Lady Login wrote in her memoirs that the Prince Consort and the Prince of Wales visited him there on one occasion.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Login|first=E. Dalhousie|title=Lady Login's Recollections: Court Life and Camp Life, 1820-1904|publisher=Languages Department, Punjab|year=1970|edition=2nd|location=Jullundur City|pages=117}}</ref>

During [[World War I]] there was a [[Royal Naval Air Service]] [[Kite balloon|Kite Balloon Training School]] based on land now part of the university and golf course.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Flute |first=Dick |date=2014 |title=Roehampton |url=https://www.ukairfieldguide.net/airfields/Roehampton |website=UK Airfields and Airports}}</ref>

Much of the old village of Roehampton still remains, dominated by large detached houses. An old watering trough for Victorian carriage-horses exists at the junction of Medfield Street and Roehampton Lane.<ref name="Parkstead House"/>

===Council housing===
The [[London County Council]] (LCC) built the Roehampton Estate in the 1920s and 1930s (later renamed the Dover House Estate) and the [[Alton Estate]] in the 1950s, covering many of the large gardens and woodlands in the area.

[[Dover House Estate]] is one of a number of important [[London County Council]] [[cottage estate]]s inspired by the [[Garden City movement]]. The land was previously the estates of two large houses, ''Dover House'' and ''Putney Park House'', which were purchased by the [[London County Council|LCC]] soon after [[World War I]]. Dover House was demolished for the new estate, but [[Putney Park House]] remains. The common characteristic of the LCC cottage estates is picturesque housing influenced by the [[Arts and Crafts movement|Arts and Crafts]] style. It was the intention at Dover House Estate to create housing in groups that overlooked or had access to open space, to provide a sense of intimacy and individuality, and the estate was laid out with communal green spaces. Allotments were also provided in three backland areas behind houses, two of which remain, the third subsequently infilled by housing.

[[File:Alton Estate Roehampton London.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Some of the many high-rise blocks on the large [[Alton Estate]]]]
The [[Alton Estate]], one of the largest council estates in the UK, occupies an extensive swathe of land west of Roehampton village and runs between Roehampton Lane and Richmond Park Golf Course. The estate has a mix of low and high-rise [[modernist architecture]] consisting of Alton East (1958) styled a subtle [[Scandinavia]]n-influenced [[Vernacular architecture|vernacular]] and its slightly later brutalist counterpart: Alton West (1959). At Highcliffe Drive on Alton West the LCC essentially retained the Georgian landscape and placed within it five ultra modern slab blocks: Binley, Winchfield, Dunbridge, Charcot and Denmead Houses, (all grade II*) inspired by [[Le Corbusier]]'s [[Unite d'Habitation]]. At the time of its completion in 1958, Alton West was considered by many British architects to be the crowning glory of post-World War II council housing.<ref>{{cite book|first=Elain|last=Harwood|title=England: a Guide to Post-War Listed Buildings|edition=rev.|location=London|publisher=Batsford|year=2003|isbn=0-7134-8818-2}}</ref>

The estate is now part of a regeneration scheme with a number of government initiatives such as ''[[Sure Start|SureStart]]'' helping to tackle issues of poverty and [[social exclusion]].

===Recent history and today===
Roehampton contains a number of [[Conservation Area (United Kingdom)|conservation areas]], covering much of the Alton and Dover House estates, and the centre of Roehampton Village. This includes the [[King's Head, Roehampton|King's Head Inn]], at the foot of Roehampton High Street and the [[Montague Arms]], Medfield Street, both of 17th century origin.<ref>{{cite web|title=Wandsworth: conservation areas |url=https://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/building-conservation-and-design/conservation-areas/ |publisher=wandsworth.gov.uk | access-date=4 August 2021}}</ref>

In 2007, [[Justine Greening]], the local [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]], secured a commitment to install a pedestrian entrance to Richmond Park from the Alton Estate.<ref name="Gate to the Royal Park">{{cite web|url=http://www.justinegreening.co.uk/local-events/view_detail.php?id=ba75e2a84857f66e4f0511884b5864e5|title=Alton Estate entrance to Richmond Park agreed|work=Justine Greening's Parliamentary Website|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120228194812/http://www.justinegreening.co.uk/local-events/view_detail.php?id=ba75e2a84857f66e4f0511884b5864e5|archive-date=28 February 2012}}</ref> A footpath and cycleway from Chohole Gate to Richmond Park was opened in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/richmond-park/richmond-park-news/opening-of-chohole-pathway-and-beverley-brook-bridge-in-richmond-park |title=Opening of Chohole pathway and Beverley Brook Bridge in Richmond Park |publisher=royalparks.org.uk |date=19 August 2014 |work=Latest News |access-date=1 August 2021}}</ref>

Roehampton is home to a number of well-known educational institutions: the [[University of Roehampton]] has approximately 10,500 students housed in 4 colleges and around 4,000 students studying online; the new Queen Mary's Hospital with its renowned amputee rehabilitation centre opened in 2006 is a teaching centre for medical students based in Wandsworth NHS Primary Care Trust; [[Kingston University]] has one of its campuses in Roehampton Vale; [[South Thames College]] also has a campus on Roehampton Lane. It has long been a major centre for teacher-training, being the site of two constituent colleges ([[Digby Stuart College]] and [[Froebel College]]) of the former federal Roehampton Institute of Higher Education (now the University of Roehampton), as well as [[South East England]]'s only lecturer-training college ([[Garnett College]]) which eventually moved and became part of the [[University of Greenwich]].

Apart from education, other notable institutions based here include [[Priory Hospital|The Priory]] Clinic, the [[Bank of England]] Sports Centre, [[Rosslyn Park F.C.|Rosslyn Park]] Rugby Football Club, and the [[Roehampton Club]]. The [[International Tennis Federation]] (ITF) moved to Roehampton from Baron's Court in 1998, and in 2007 the [[Lawn Tennis Association]] moved to a newly built headquarters next to the ITF.

==Demography==
In the [[2011 United Kingdom census|2011 census]], the Wandsworth ward of Roehampton and Putney Heath did not record a single majority ethnic group. The largest ethnicity in the ward was [[White British]] at 45%, followed by [[other White]] (18.4%), [[Black African]] (7.9%), and other Asian (4.6%).<ref>{{cite web|author=Good Stuff IT Services |url=http://www.ukcensusdata.com/roehampton-and-putney-heath-e05000621 |title=Roehampton and Putney Heath – UK Census Data 2011 |publisher=Ukcensusdata.com |access-date=2019-12-10}}</ref>

In 2011, 59.1% of people living in Roehampton and Putney Heath were born in England. The other most common census responses were those born in [[Poland]] (5.6%), [[Pakistan]] (1.8%), [[Ireland]] (1.6%), the [[Philippines]] (1.6%), [[South Africa]] (1.2%), [[Ghana]] (1.1%), [[Germany]] (1.0%), and [[Somalia]] (1.0%).<ref name="localstats1">{{cite web|title=Roehampton and Putney Heath Demographics (Wandsworth, England)|url=http://www.ukcensusdata.com/roehampton-and-putney-heath-e05000621#sthash.AMuGpGzM.LdtVp8Kb.dpbs|access-date=2019-12-10|publisher=Roehampton-and-putney-heath.localstats.co.uk}}</ref>

The religious makeup of Roehampton and Putney Heath is 52.9% [[Christians|Christian]], 23.6% no religion, 11.1% [[Muslim]], 1.4% [[Hindu]], 1.1% [[Buddhist]], 0.7% [[Jewish]], 0.4% [[Sikh]], and 0.2% [[agnostic]].<ref name="localstats1"/>

==Transport==
Roehampton is served by bus route 170 (to Victoria), 265 (to Putney and Tolworth), 419 (to Richmond), 493 (to Richmond and Tooting), 430 (to South Kensington) and 85 (to Putney and Kingston).

[[Barnes railway station|Barnes]] and [[Putney railway station|Putney]] are the nearest railway stations. Roehampton University has campaigned to have nearby Barnes station renamed ''Barnes & Roehampton'', as the station is situated between the two areas.<ref name="Barnes & Roehampton">{{cite web|url=http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/about/strategies/Revised%20Campus%20Strategy%20Jul08%20webPDF.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120221225507/http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/about/strategies/Revised%20Campus%20Strategy%20Jul08%20webPDF.pdf |archive-date=2012-02-21 |url-status=live|title=6.4 Objective: Improve the transportation links to the campus.|work=Roehampton University Campus Strategy|date=October 2008|access-date=21 October 2009|pages=11–12}}</ref>

==Depiction in fiction, film and television==
{{unreferenced section|date=February 2019}}
Roehampton is an important location in [[H. G. Wells]]' novel ''[[The Sleeper Awakes]]''. Roehampton, along with five other locations in London, including [[Wimbledon Park]], [[Upper Norwood|Norwood]], [[Blackheath, London|Blackheath]] and [[Shooter's Hill]], form a series of rudimentary airports known as "Flying Stages". The Flying Stage at Roehampton is the scene for a major battle in the plot.

The Alton Estate has featured as a film and television location. ''[[Fahrenheit 451 (1966 film)|Fahrenheit 451]]'' (1966) used some of the estate as its backdrop for a bleak dystopian society of the future. [[Thames Television]]'s film division [[Euston Films Limited|Euston Films]] used the Danebury Avenue area of the estate to film the opening scenes of ''[[Sweeney 2]]'' (1978), the sequel to the film ''[[Sweeney (1977 film)|Sweeney!]]'' (1977).

==Notable residents==
{{unreferenced section|date=May 2019}}
{{divcol| colwidth=30em}}
* [[James Beck]] (1929–1973), actor 
* [[Sam Bird]], racing driver
* [[Emily Blunt]], actress
* [[Simon Le Bon]], lead singer of [[Duran Duran]]
* [[Earl of Cork and Orrery]], author
* [[Gwendolen Fitzalan-Howard, Duchess of Norfolk]]
* [[William Harvey]], physician (discovered the principles of blood circulation)
* [[Jack Hawkins]], actor
* [[Gerard Manley Hopkins]], poet
* [[Roy Kinnear]], actor
* [[Dawid Malan]], cricketer ([[Middlesex County Cricket Club|MCCC]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/236489.html|title=Dawid Malan|work=Player profiles—England|publisher=[[ESPNcricinfo]]|date=September 2008|access-date=15 September 2009}}</ref>
* [[Mildred Mansel]], suffragette and organiser for the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU)
* [[William Pitt the Younger]], prime minister<ref name=Malden/>
* [[Brian Rix]], farceur
* [[Ryan Sessegnon]], footballer
* Sir [[Joseph Simpson (police officer)|Joseph Simpson]], Chief Commissioner of the [[Metropolitan Police Service|Metropolitan Police]]
* [[Peter Westbury]], racing driver
{{div col end}}

==Nearest places==
{{Geographic location
|title = '''Destinations from Roehampton'''
|Northwest = [[Mortlake]], [[East Sheen]]
|North     = [[Barnes, London|Barnes]]
|Northeast = [[Putney]]
|West      = [[Richmond Park]], [[East Sheen]]
|Centre    = Roehampton
|East      = [[Putney]], [[Putney Heath]]
|Southwest = [[Richmond Park]], [[Kingston Vale]]
|South     = [[Putney Vale]], [[Wimbledon Common]]
|Southeast = [[Putney Heath]]
}}

==Bibliography==
* ''Putney and Roehampton, A Brief History'' The Putney Society, (1992)
* ''Putney and Roehampton Past'' D J Gerhold, (1994)
* ''Putney in 1636 Nicholas Lane's Map'' D J Gerhold, (1994)
* ''Villas and Mansions of Roehampton and Putney Heath'' D J Gerhold, (1997) {{ISBN|0905121058}}
* ''Roehampton in 1617 The Village Surveyed'' Dorian Gerhold, (2001)

==See Also==
*[[Ubuntu Museum: African Museum of Humanity]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Roehampton}}
*[http://www.mywandsworth.co.uk/wandsworth/community-history.htm Local History] London Borough of Wandsworth

{{LB Wandsworth}}
{{Public housing in the United Kingdom}}
{{London Districts}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Roehampton| ]]
[[Category:Areas of London]]
[[Category:Districts of the London Borough of Wandsworth]]