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, A308 road 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 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. 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, that extends from the borough boundary in the east to Fulham High Street 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, ''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 Hammersmith and Fulham, 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.

Houses of note

* Holly Bush House – later 'East End', tenancy of Maria Fitzherbert, demolished 1884 * Belfield House – home of Mrs Jordan, later part of Lady Margaret School * 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 * Gosford Lodge * Pitts Place terrace, including Albyn, Belgrave, Cradley, Rosslyn and Sefton

Notable residents of the Green

* Sir William Butts (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 at Peterborough House * Charles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of Peterborough at Peterborough House * Sir John Powell (1645–1713) Baron of the Exchequer * Admiral Sir Charles Wager (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 * T. Crofton Croker (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 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