Castelnau, London facts for kids

Castelnau
OS grid reference	TQ226776
London borough	Richmond
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	SW13
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Richmond Park
London Assembly	South West

Castelnau is a road in Barnes, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, south west London, approximately 5.1 miles (8.2 km) west from Charing Cross on the south side of the River Thames. About 1.1 miles (1.8 km) long, it is the main road south from Hammersmith Bridge and forms part of the A306 road. It was originally named Upper Bridge Road.

An area of Barnes including Castelnau was designated a conservation area in 1977.

The name Castelnau is also used informally for Castelnau Estate (see below).

Etymology

Castelnau means "new castle" in the Occitan language.

Three different English pronunciations of the word "Castelnau" seem to be in current use, all differing only in the final vowel: "castle know" is more ancient, and resembles the original French vowel, "castle now" is perhaps used to match with Nassau Road in the area, and "castle gnaw" is favoured by more recent inhabitants.

Castelnau takes it name from Castelnau-le-Lez, near Montpellier in France: in 1691, the 10th Baron of Castelnau and St Croix, a Huguenot, fled France for England following persecution, and his son, Charles Boileau, settled in north Barnes and his descendants developed parts of the area.

History

Castelnau was developed after the opening of Hammersmith Bridge in 1827.

Major Charles Lestock Boileau built Castelnau Villas (now 84–122 and 91–125 Castelnau), designed by the architect William Laxton, in 1842, followed by rows of cottages called Castelnau Row, Castelnau Place and Gothic Cottages. After his death in 1889, Upper Bridge Road was renamed Castelnau.

Castelnau Estate, Barnes

Castelnau Estate

LCC Cottage estates 1918-1939

Estate name	Area	No of dwellings	Population 1938	Population density
Pre 1914
Norbury	11	218	867	19.8 per acre (49/ha)
Old Oak	32	736	3519	23 per acre (57/ha)
Totterdown Fields	39	1262	-	32.4 per acre (80/ha)
White Hart Lane Tower Gardens	98	783	5936	8 per acre (20/ha)
1919-1923
Becontree	2770	25769	115652	9.3 per acre (23/ha)
Bellingham	252	2673	12004	10.6 per acre (26/ha)
Castelnau	51	644	2851	12.6 per acre (31/ha)
Roehampton Estate Dover House Road Estate	147	1212	5383	8.2 per acre (20/ha)
1924-1933
Downham	600	7096	30032	11.8 per acre (29/ha)
Mottingham	202	2337	9009	11.6 per acre (29/ha)
St Helier	825	9068	39877	11 per acre (27/ha)
Watling	386	4034	19110	10.5 per acre (26/ha)
Wormholt	68	783	4078	11.5 per acre (28/ha)
1934-1939
Chingford	217	1540	-	7.1 per acre (18/ha)
Hanwell (Ealing)	140	1587	6732	11.3 per acre (28/ha)
Headstone Lane	142	n.a	5000
Kenmore Park	58	654	2078	11.3 per acre (28/ha)
Thornhill (Royal Borough of Greenwich)	21	380	1598	18.1 per acre (45/ha)
Whitefoot Lane (Downham)	49	n.a	n.a.
Source: Yelling,1995 Rubinstein, 1991, Just like the country.

In 1926, London County Council built a cottage estate of 640 houses, called Castelnau Estate, on the site of a market garden. In 1971 these passed to ownership of Richmond upon Thames Council. Many are now privately owned. Many of the roads in this estate are named after Deans of St. Paul's who had been Lords of the manor of Barnes between the 14th and 17th centuries: Everdon, Kilmington, Alderbury, Kentwode, Howsman and Stillingfleet.

Classical housing in Castelnau

Notable buildings

Holy Trinity Church Barnes

Castelnau is noted for 20 pairs of exceptional classical villas which were built in 1842 by Major Boileau (see above). There are also two churches:

• Holy Trinity Barnes
• Catholic Church of St Osmund, Barnes