Parsons Green is a mainly residential district in the

London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham () is a London boroughs, London borough in West London and which also forms part of Inner London. The borough was formed in 1965 as the London Borough of Hammersmith from the merger of the former Metr ...

. The Green itself, which is roughly triangular, is bounded on two of its three sides by the New King's Road section of the

King's Road King's Road or Kings Road (or sometimes the King's Road, especially when it was the king's private road until 1830, or as a colloquialism by middle/upper class London residents) is a major street stretching through Chelsea and Fulham, both ...

A308 road The A308 is a road in England in two parts. The first part runs from Central London to Putney Bridge. The second part runs from just beyond Putney Heath to Bisham, Berkshire. It traces four, roughly straight lines, to stay no more than fr ...

and Parsons Green Lane. The wider neighbourhood is bounded by the Harwood and Wandsworth Bridge Roads,

A217 road The A217 is a road in Greater London, London and Surrey in England. It runs north–south. It runs from Kings Road in Fulham, London, crosses the Thames at Wandsworth Bridge, then passes through Wandsworth, Earlsfield, Summerstown, London, Sum ...

to the east and Munster Road to the west, while the Fulham Road,

A3219 road Dawes Road or the A3219 is a street in Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hamm ...

may be said to define its northern boundary. Its southern boundary is less clearly defined as it merges quickly and imperceptibly with the Sulivan Court Estate and Hurlingham. At its historic centre lie two open spaces, the Green itself and

Eel Brook Common Eel Brook Common is common land in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, close to Fulham Broadway, with its south-eastern boundary along New King's Road. According to the Fulham Society, the name actually is a derivative of 'hill brook ...

. The name stems from the original

village green A village green is a commons, common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common pasture, grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for ...

, after the former residence of the rectors of Fulham Parish. It is one of the

Conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

s in

Hammersmith and Fulham Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

, that extends from the borough boundary in the east to

Fulham High Street Fulham High Street is a street in Fulham, London. It runs north–south, from the junction with the western end of Fulham Road in the north, where it continues to Hammersmith as Fulham Palace Road, past the junction with the western end of Kin ...

in the west.

History

Timber rights attached to the Green are mentioned in court rolls dating from 1391. In 1625 there were only six rated residents for the area. By 1706, John Bowack opined in his ''Antiquities of Middlesex'' that it "was inhabited mostly by gentry and persons of quality". Two

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

matches were held on Parsons Green in 1731 and 1733, both between sides from

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

and Chelsea. H. T. Waghorn (1906) ''The Dawn of Cricket'', p.9. Electric Press. In the 18th century, changes continued with the building of grand houses with grounds. These were bought by merchants and bankers from the

City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and not infrequently by members of the Court and their 'associations'. The area acquired a somewhat louche reputation at that time.

Fulham F.C. Fulham Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Fulham, West London, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of English football league system, English football. They have played home games at Craven ...

had their ground in the park for two years from 1889. Early in the 20th century, a few test flights were carried out there with flying machines. Parsons Green is referred to in an early poem by

Sir John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman, (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architect ...

, ''The Varsity Students Rag'', as a place where the poem's protagonist is said to have a "run-in" with a policeman. On 15 September 2017, an explosion occurred on a

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

train at Parsons Green, injuring 29 people. The

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional warfare, conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached t ...

was placed in a bucket but did not fully detonate, with injuries being largely burn related. No fatalities were reported. An 18-year-old Iraqi refugee was arrested the next day at the

Port of Dover The Port of Dover is a cross-channel ferry, cruise terminal, maritime cargo and marina facility situated in Dover, Kent, south-east England. It is the nearest English port to France, at just away, and is one of the world's busiest maritime pas ...

. He was subsequently sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

with a minimum jail term of 34 years, having found to have been in contact with members of

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

Demographics

In 2018, the ward of Parsons Green & Walham had a population of 11,041 people. Parsons Green & Walham has the highest income of any ward in

, with an average gross household income of £63,700. The ward is 56.8 per cent

White British White British is an ethnicity classification used for the White population identifying as English, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Northern Irish, or British in the United Kingdom Census. In the 2011 census, the White British population was 49 ...

and 25.4 per cent

Other White The term Other White, or White Other, is a classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom, used in documents such as the 2021 United Kingdom Census, to describe people who identify as white persons who are not of the English, Welsh, Scotti ...

, mainly consisting of

EU citizens The European Union citizenship is a legal status afforded to all nationals of member states of the European Union (EU). It was formally created with the adoption of the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, at the same time as the creation of the EU. EU ...

, Australasians and

North Americans North America is a continent in the Northern and Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the sou ...

Houses of note

* Holly Bush House – later 'East End', tenancy of

Maria Fitzherbert Maria Anne Fitzherbert (''née'' Smythe, previously Weld; 26 July 1756 – 27 March 1837) was a longtime companion of George, Prince of Wales (later King George IV of the United Kingdom). In 1785, they married secretly in a ceremony that was ...

, demolished 1884 * Belfield House – home of

Mrs Jordan Dorothea Jordan (née Bland; 22 November 17615 July 1816) was an Anglo-Irish actress, as well as a courtesan. She was the long-time partner of Prince William, Duke of Clarence (later King William IV), and the mother of 10 illegitimate children b ...

, later part of

Lady Margaret School Lady Margaret School is an all-girls' Church of England comprehensive secondary school in Parsons Green, Fulham, London. It was awarded specialist school status (a government funding scheme defunct since 2010) as a Mathematics & Computing Coll ...

* Elm House – also became part of Lady Margaret School * Henniker – later Park House, designed by

Thomas Cubitt Thomas Cubitt (25 February 1788 – 20 December 1855) was a British master builder, notable for his employment in developing many of the historic streets and squares of London, especially in Belgravia, Pimlico and Bloomsbury. Background The s ...

, demolished 1889 *

Aragon House Aragon House is a Grade II listed public house at 249 New King's Road, Parsons Green, London. It was built in 1805–06, but the architect is not known. Aragon House gets its name from having been the site of a dower house belonging to Queen C ...

* Gosford Lodge * Pitts Place terrace, including Albyn, Belgrave, Cradley, Rosslyn and Sefton

Notable residents of the Green

Sir William Butts Sir William Butts (c. 1486 – 22 November 1545) was a member of King Henry VIII of England's court and was the King's physician. His portrait was painted by Hans Holbein the Younger in 1543, and he was knighted in the following year. His grand ...

(c.1486–1545) – physician to

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

John Mordaunt, 1st Earl of Peterborough John Mordaunt, 1st Earl of Peterborough (died 18 June 1642) was an English peer. Life He was the eldest son of Henry Mordaunt, 4th Baron Mordaunt, a Roman Catholic kept for a year in the Tower of London on suspicion of complicity in the Gunpow ...

Peterborough House Peterborough House (''alias'' Millbank House, later Grosvenor House), on the south-west side of Parsons Green, near Eel Brook Common, was a London townhouse (Great Britain), townhouse owned by the Mordaunt family, Earl of Peterborough, Earls of P ...

Charles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of Peterborough Charles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of Peterborough, (1658 – 25 October 1735) was a British army officer and Whig politician. He was the son of John Mordaunt, 1st Viscount Mordaunt, and his wife Elizabeth, the daughter and sole heiress of Thomas ...

* Sir

John Powell (1645–1713) John Powell (1645–1713), of Gloucester, was an English politician and lawyer. He was elected as Member (MP) of the Parliament of England for Gloucester in 1685. Legal career He was appointed as a Baron of the Exchequer in 1691, and transferre ...

Baron of the Exchequer The Barons of the Exchequer, or ''barones scaccarii'', were the judges of the English court known as the Exchequer of Pleas. The Barons consisted of a Chief Baron of the Exchequer and several puisne (''inferior'') barons. When Robert Shute was ...

* Admiral Sir

Charles Wager Admiral Sir Charles Wager (24 February 1666 – 24 May 1743) was an English Royal Navy officer and politician who served as First Lord of the Admiralty from 1733 to 1742. Despite heroic active service and steadfast administration and diplomatic ...

(1666–1743) *

Samuel Richardson Samuel Richardson (baptised 19 August 1689 – 4 July 1761) was an English writer and printer known for three epistolary novels: '' Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'' (1740), '' Clarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady'' (1748) and '' The Histo ...

(1689–1761) – moved here from

North End, Fulham North End was, until the last quarter of the 19th-century, a scattered hamlet among the fields and market gardens, between Counter's Creek and Walham Green in the Parish of Fulham in the County of Middlesex. In connection with the development o ...

* T.

Crofton Croker Thomas Crofton Croker (15 January 1798 – 8 August 1854) was an Irish antiquary, best known for his ''Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland'' (1825–1828), and who also showed considerable interest in Irish song and music ...

(1798–1854) – Irish antiquary and writer on Fulham * Carol Lambrino (1920–2006) – First son of King Carol II of Romania

Transport

Bus route 22 includes New King's Road and the area is also served by

Parsons Green tube station Parsons Green is a London Underground station that opened in 1880. It is on the Wimbledon branch of the District line, between and stations. It is located in Travelcard Zone 2. There are entrances on Parsons Green Lane and in Beaconsfield W ...

on the

District line The District line is a London Underground line running from in the east and Edgware Road tube station (Circle, District and Hammersmith & City lines), Edgware Road in the west to in west London, where it splits into multiple branches. One br ...

References

External links

Eel Brook Common.
London Gardens Online. {{Authority control Areas of London Fulham Districts of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham