Fulwell is a
neighbourhood
A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...
of
outer West London in the
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in south-west Greater London, London, England, forms part of Outer London and is the only London boroughs, London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller ...
. It straddles the west of the
"ancient" parish and urban district borders of
Twickenham
Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...
and
Teddington
Teddington is an affluent suburb of London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Historically an Civil parish#ancient parishes, ancient parish in the county of Middlesex and situated close to the border with Surrey, the district became ...
.
The area is not a postal district. There are two busy crossroads in the area: Hospital Bridge Road and Sixth Cross Road meet where they cross Staines Road (Twickenham), and where Sixth Cross Road, Hampton Road, South Road and Wellington Road all meet. Sixth Cross Road is one of six similarly named roads between Staines Road and Hampton Road, commencing with First Cross Road at Twickenham Green. There is a post office named Fulwell Park at the corner of Staines Road and Hospital Bridge Road. There are two
pub
A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...
s in Fulwell proper, on the corners of Staines and Sixth Cross Roads and Hampton and South Roads, and there is a large
garden centre
A garden centre (American English spelling; U.S. nursery or garden center) is a retail business that primarily sells plants and related products for Home gardening, domestic gardening. Gardening centers usually revolve around outdoor home imp ...
at the corner of Sixth Cross and Wellington Roads.
Fulwell has an
Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
parish church,
St Michael's, which, after a 15-year closure, was reopened for worship in 2014 and regained parish status in 2019.
Place name
The name is first known in documents of the fifteenth century. It may be from a reliably full well or a
corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...
of foul well.
Until 1965, Fulwell was in the historic county of
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
.
The place name is used in Richmond Borough Council's electoral district (
ward
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
) name, Fulwell and Hampton Hill, In 2009, a proposal to remove Fulwell from the electoral ward name was rejected.
Fulwell railway station,
Fulwell Golf Course,
Fulwell bus garage, Fulwell Park Avenue (Twickenham, TW2) and Fulwell Road (Teddington, TW11) all use the place name.
History
Fulwell has migrated south, and/or reduced in size, as maps from the late nineteenth century showed it spanning onto the north bank of the
Crane, which lies in
Whitton. It formed the southern extent of
Hounslow Heath
Hounslow Heath is a local nature reserve in the London Borough of Hounslow and at a point borders London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames. The public open space, which covers , is all that remains of the historic Hounslow He ...
and the near-surface raised
Taplow
Taplow is a village and civil parish in the Unitary Authority of Buckinghamshire, England. It sits on the left bank of the River Thames, facing Maidenhead in the neighbouring county of Berkshire, with Cippenham and Burnham to the east. It is th ...
gravel
Gravel () is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone.
Gr ...
that defined it. A reference to
assarts at Fulwell dating from around 1200 are amongst the earliest records of the name. The area was progressively enclosed for agriculture and was increasingly urbanised, beginning in the Victorian period of metropolitan expansion of outer London.
Although the Fulwell area was historically in Middlesex, in 1965 it became a part of the London Borough of Richmond in the newly formed ceremonial county of Greater London. Until 1965, it was in the
Municipal Borough of Twickenham
Twickenham was a local government district in Middlesex, England from 1868 to 1965.
History
Twickenham Local Government District was formed in 1868, when the civil parish of Twickenham adopted the Local Government Act 1858
A local board of hea ...
.
Fulwell Lodge and Fulwell Park
Fulwell Lodge was a grand house, dating from the early 17th century, located north of the
Staines Road, at the western end of what was then Twickenham parish, with Yorke/Fulwell Farm to its north.
In 1871
Charles James Freake, a London property developer, bought Fulwell Lodge, its grounds and estate worker's cottages. His estate extended south from the
A316 Chertsey Road and River Crane, and included the areas now known as ''Twickenham Green'' and ''Strawberry Hill'', encompassing what are now Strawberry Hill Golf Course and
Fulwell Golf Course. It extended to Apex Corner where the
A312 Uxbridge Road now meets the A316, and was bounded to the South-East by the
Shepperton Branch Line
The Shepperton branch line is a railway branch line in Surrey and Greater London, England. It runs from its western terminus at to a wye (rail), triangular junction with the Kingston loop line east of . There are intermediate stations at , Sunb ...
. Freake named the area Fulwell Park.
After Freake's death in 1884, ownership of the estate passed to his wife, Eliza Pudsey. After her death in 1900, the land was held by ''Freake Estates'', who leased some of it to establish
Fulwell Golf Course in 1904. In 1910, the exiled
last King of Portugal, Manoel/Manuel II, bought Fulwell Lodge as his English home, owning it until his death in 1932.
The lodge and its acres of grounds were then bought by a construction company,
Wates, and demolished. The area was redeveloped as housing, with some low-rise, landscaped-grounds flats. Its history is acknowledged through street names: Manoel Road, Lisbon Avenue, Augusta Road and Portugal Gardens.
Public transport
Fulwell bus garage was built in 1902 as a hub for trams, trolley cars, and buses. The depot also acquired the title of the top London bus garage of 2018.
Apart from train services at Fulwell railway station,
Transport for London
Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom.
TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...
has bus routes 33, 267, 281, 290, 481, 490, H22, and R70 serving the area. Both the 33 and 267 terminate at the garage in Stanley Road, the 33 coming up Stanley Road from Teddington, the 267 via Hampton and South Roads from Twickenham. The 281 runs via Hampton, South and Stanley Roads, the 290 runs via Hampton, Sixth Cross and Staines Roads (towards Hanworth), the 481 via Hospital Bridge, Sixth Cross, South and Stanley Roads, the 490 straight along Staines Road, the H22 via Hospital Bridge and Staines Roads (towards Twickenham), and the R70 along Hampton and Wellington Roads. Four different bus stops in the area are used as driver change points; for the 281 in South Road, the 290 in Hampton Road, the 490 in Staines Road, and the R70 in Wellington Road.
References
External links
Twickenham Museum''Hampton & Teddington Past'' by John Sheaf and Ken Howe
Hidden London: Fulwell, Richmond upon Thames
{{LB Richmond
Areas of London
Districts of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames