Lillie Road is a street in the north of Fulham, in the

London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham () is a London borough in West London and which also forms part of Inner London. The borough was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan Boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham. The borou ...

. A mixed residential and commercial road, it is the westerly continuation of

Old Brompton Road Old Brompton Road is a major street in the South Kensington district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. It starts from South Kensington Underground station and runs south-west, through a mainly residential area, until i ...

, running from

Lillie Bridge The Lillie Bridge Grounds was a sports ground on the Fulham side of West Brompton, London. It opened in 1866, coinciding with the opening of West Brompton station. It was named after the local landowner, Sir John Scott Lillie (1790–1868) a ...

to the A219 Fulham Palace Road. Its main junctions are with North End Road and with Munster Road at Fulham Cross.

History

'The Hermitage' at North End, Parish of Fulham

The road is named after

Sir John Scott Lillie Sir John Scott Lillie (1790 – 29 June 1868) was a decorated officer of the British Army and Portuguese Army who fought in the Peninsular War (1808–1814). He was a landowner, entrepreneur and inventor. He was Deputy Lieutenant of the C ...

, who first laid out the easternmost section of the road across his North End Hermitage estate in 1826 running from Gunter's footbridge over the tidal

Counter's Creek Counter's Creek, ending in Chelsea Creek, the lowest part of which still exists, was a stream that flowed from Kensal Green, by North Kensington and flowed south into the River Thames on the Tideway at Sands End, Fulham. Its remaining open water ...

to the T junction of the old Crown Lane with North End Lane. The intention was to link traffic from the new

Hammersmith Bridge Hammersmith Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the River Thames in west London. It links the southern part of Hammersmith in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, on the north side of the river, and Barnes in the London Borough ...

with the North End wharves of the planned

Kensington Canal The Kensington Canal was a canal, about two miles long, opened in 1828 in London from the River Thames on the parish boundary between Chelsea and Fulham, along the line of Counter's Creek, to a basin near Warwick Road in Kensington. It had one l ...

, thus obviating passage through Hammersmith and Kensington, or following the entire loop of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. Lillie's development also included late

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

housing, terraces called, 'Rosa Villas' and 'Hermitage Cottages', on the north side of his 'New' road, some of which remain and recall Hermitage House that once stood here. He also built a brewery on the opposite side of the road in 1832. Only its 1835 public house, 'The Lillie Arms' remains, renamed the ''Lillie Langtry'', due to the surmise that the Jersey actress had her assignations with the future

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

in one of the Georgian houses in Lillie Road. The ''Lillie Langtry'' is one of the oldest extant pubs in Fulham, while the 1883 ''Prince of Wales'', opposite, rebuilt by

Watney Combe & Reid Watney Combe & Reid was a leading brewery in London. At its peak in the 1930s it was a constituent of the FT 30 index of leading companies on the London Stock Exchange. It produced Watney's Red Barrel. History The Watney family were the mai ...

in the Arts and Crafts style in 1938, is destined for imminent demolition, unlike the former Fuller's

Seven Stars, West Kensington 7 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 7 or seven may also refer to: * AD 7, the seventh year of the AD era * 7 BC, the seventh year before the AD era * The month of July Music Artists * Seven (Swiss singer) (born 1978), a Swiss recording artis ...

, around the North End Road corner, also from 1938, which has been preserved as flats. Lillie Canal Bridge

Lillie Road is historically associated with the eponymous bridge over the West London Line, the

Lillie Bridge Grounds The Lillie Bridge Grounds was a sports ground on the Fulham side of West Brompton, London. It opened in 1866, coinciding with the opening of West Brompton station. It was named after the local landowner, Sir John Scott Lillie (1790–1868) a ...

, a popular 19th-century sports destination, with the

Lillie Bridge Depot Lillie Bridge Depot is a historic English traction maintenance depot on the London Underground Piccadilly and District lines, situated between West Brompton and West Kensington stations in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It is a ...

, the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

maintenance workshops, the Sir John Lillie Primary School and, at its western extremity, with the Lillie Road Recreational Grounds, where Sunday league football has been played for generations. Lillie Road was formerly the address of Beaufort School which commemorated Beaufort House and the South Middlesex Rifle Volunteers. There are a number of statutorily and locally listed buildings in Lillie Road. A little known resident of 62 Lillie Road was the specialised builder and decorator Joseph Bickley (1835-1923). He ran his business from Seagrave Road nearby and patented a plaster formula which became the mainstay of indoor tennis and Real tennis courts throughout Britain and in the United States (such as that at the

Tuxedo Club The Tuxedo Club is a private member-owned country club located on West Lake Road in the village of Tuxedo Park, New York, in the Ramapo Mountains. Founded in 1886 by Pierre Lorillard IV, its facilities now include an 18-hole golf course, lawn ten ...

). Its main virtue was to withstand condensation and damp. His courts, and courts he was consulted about, survive to this day, at

Petworth House Petworth House in the parish of Petworth, West Sussex, England, is a late 17th-century Grade I listed country house, rebuilt in 1688 by Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, and altered in the 1870s to the design of the architect Anthony Sa ...

Jesmond Dene House Jesmond Dene House is a 19th-century mansion house at Jesmond Dene, Newcastle upon Tyne, England which is now a hotel. It is a Grade II listed building. History The house, which was designed by John Dobson for Thomas Emerson Headlam, a physician ...

, Moreton Morrell, Queen's Club and at Hampton Court Palace. He faced bankruptcy proceedings in 1913 when he was in his late 70s. Described as the 'Stradivarius' of the indoor court, he took his secrets with him to the grave.Last Hammersmith and Fulham entry in https://content.historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/played-in-london-directory-sporting-assets-london/DirectoryofHistoricSportingAssetsinLondon.pdf/ ccessed 24 October 2016/ref>

Commerce

Much of Lillie Road - with the exception of the blighted eastern end - retains some of Fulham's old character and individuality through the presence of small shops and businesses, that include upholstering and picture framing, a famous toy shop, along with a collection of antique shops by Fulham Cross.

Transport

Railways

West Brompton station West Brompton is a London Underground, London Overground and National Rail station on Old Brompton Road ( A3218) in West Brompton, located in west London, and is on the District line and West London Line (WLL). It is immediately south of the de ...

is at the eastern commencement of Lillie Road serving the London Underground's

District line The District line is a London Underground line running from in the east and Edgware Road in the west to in west London, where it splits into multiple branches. One branch runs to in south-west London and a short branch, with a limited serv ...

as well as

London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a large part of Greater London as w ...

services. This station also serves Southern services, running between East Croydon, and Watford Junction.

Buses

Bus routes 28, 74,

190 Year 190 ( CXC) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Sura (or, less frequently, year 943 ''Ab urbe condita'' ...

211 Year 211 ( CCXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, in the Roman Empire it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Terentius and Bassus (or, less frequently, year 964 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomin ...

, 295, 424 and

430 __NOTOC__ Year 430 ( CDXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Theodosius and Valentinianus (or, less frequently, yea ...

run along the road, with the 74 and 430 traversing the entire length of the road. The 190 begins its journey to Rochmond at the Empire State Building, which is on the road, with the 211, 295 and 424 only running part of the route (from the A3219 Munster Road to the A219 Fulham Palace Road).

Places of interest

with vestige of 1826

bridge and steps to canal basin and wharves. *

John Young John Young may refer to: Academics * John Young (professor of Greek) (died 1820), Scottish professor of Greek at the University of Glasgow * John C. Young (college president) (1803–1857), American educator, pastor, and president of Centre Col ...

's Mid-Victorian Empress Place, former access to Earl's Court Pleasure Gardens * Lillie Yard recording studio * Empress State Building * Metropolitan Police Service Heritage Centre * Ibis London exhibition centre * Normand Park * Fulham Pools * Twynholm Baptist Church * Bishop Creighton Community Centre

Gallery

File:Lillie Bridge, eastwards into Lillie Road, 2016.jpg, Entry into Lillie Road from the east File:Lillie Road.JPG, Shop parade in Lillie Road File:Imperial Arms, Earls Court, SW6 (5306453603).jpg, The Imperial Arms, 8 Lillie Road File:Lillie Road and Earls Court Exhibition Centre from Ibis Hotel - geograph.org.uk - 1774684.jpg, Lillie Road skyline eastwards with Mid-Victorian terrace File:Lillie Langtry, Earls Court, SW6 (5306440165).jpg, The Lillie Langtry pub (Former ''Lillie Arms'', 1835) File:Lillie Rd Scene - geograph.org.uk - 1428495.jpg, Coming east from Fulham Cross File:Prince of Wales, Earls Court, SW6 (5306444465).jpg, The Prince of Wales, 12 Lillie Road, a Chelsea supporters haunt File:Suffrage meetings and events- Central Society For Women's Suffrage- A Public Meeting In Connection With The Fulham Constituency Work18 May 1903 (22475005713).jpg, 1903 Suffrage poster for meeting in Lillie Road File:Lillie Road Recreation Ground, Fulham. - geograph.org.uk - 27857.jpg, Lillie Road Recreation Ground File:Lillie Bridge Fulham, north parapet 2015.jpg, Empress State Building File:Bishop Creighton House.JPG, Bishop Creighton House, Lillie Road File:Twynholm Baptist Church - geograph.org.uk - 1088440.jpg, Twynholm Baptist Church, Lillie Road

References

External links

* * Cannons 1867 Brewery from Lillie Road

* The Lillie Road Association, representing the antique shops in Lillie Road

{{coord, 51.48752, -0.19558, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title, format=dms Streets in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham History of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Transport in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Fulham