Fulham, Middlesex

Historical Description

Fulham, a parliamentary borough, a parish, and a metropolitan suburb in Middlesex. Situated on the Thames opposite Putney, 6¼ miles SW of St Paul's, Fulham is in the SW metropolitan suburban postal district. It was known to the Saxons as Fullenham, and was occupied by the Danes in j 879 and by the Parliamentarian forces in 1642 and 1647. It comprises numerous streets, several ranges of neat modern ( houses, and some detached villas. Its streets are rather irregularly built, but many of its houses are elegant. The parish includes Parsons Green, Walham Green, and North End, and prior to 1834 also included Hammersmith. Acreage, 1701; population, 91,639. The manor was given so early as 691 to the bishops of London, and has ever since continued in their possession. A palace of the bishops was here on low ground adjacent to the Thames a little west of the village from some timelongbefore the Conquest, but seems to have been repeatedly reconstructed. The present palace was begun by Bishop Fitz james in the time of Henry VII., consists principally of parts of more recent date, has been altered, renovated, extended, and beautified by successive bishops, presents an imposing appearance though built of brick, comprises two courts with chapel and library, and contains an interesting series of portraits of the bishops. The grounds connected with it are very fine, possess charming close scenes, both in themselves and in their combinations with the river, and have long been celebrated for containing rare plants. Lisle's Place, in the parish, belonged to the De Lisles and the Warwick. Munster House belonged to the Powells, and was a hunting seat of Charles II. Stourton House, now taken down, belonged to the Stourtons, passed to the Sharps, and was the death-place of Granville Sharp. Colehill House was the residence of Kent, the landscape gardener. Clay-brook House belonged to the Claybrooks. A house at Parsons Green, now destroyed, was inhabited by Samuel i Richardson, and was a resort of his admirers. Another house, also destroyed, was inhabited by the Earl of Peterborough, and was frequented by Locke, Swift, and other distinguished literati. Lord Bacon likewise was a resident, so was Sir Thomas Bodley, the founder of the Bodleian library, and so were many other distinguished literary men connected with the metropolis, from Florio to Theodore Hook. Much of the land in the parish is disposed in market-.gardens and nursery-grounds for the supply of vegetables and plants to the London market. The celebrated Hurling-ham Club has its house and'grounds at Fulham. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of London; net yearly value, £600 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of London. The church is ancient, has a tower of the 14th century, partly rebuilt in 1845, and contains monuments to Bishops Lowth, Gibson, Sherlock, Compton, Henchman, Porteous, and other bishops; also monuments to Lady Leigh, Dr Barrow, Secretary Smith, the physician Butts, the physician Cadogan, Lady Clarke, Lord Mordaunt, the biographer Fiddes, and others. There are also the ecclesiastical parishes of St Andrew, St Clement, St Dionis, St James, St John, St Mary, and St Peter; for particulars of which see LONDON.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Fulham from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Fulham (All Saints))

Land and Property

A full transcript of the Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Middlesex is online.

Maps

Online maps of Fulham are available from a number of sites:

• Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• Google Streetview.
• National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
• OpenStreetMap.
• old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
• Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)

Villages, Hamlets, &c