Castelnau runs from Upper Richmond Road and becomes Rocks Lane on the way. At the top it branches left to form Lonsdale Road which runs along the Thames bank towards Barnes Bridge. These streets have huge detached and semi-detached mentions set well back from the road behind gardens and driveways. At the Hammersmith Bridge end there are Edwardian mansion blocks in Riverview Gardens and Clavering Avenue. The streets between Lonsdale Road and Castelnau contain family houses from the Victorian and Edwardian eras through to the 1930s. They include streets such as Nassau Road, Westmoreland Road and Kitson Road. On the east side of Castelnau is the former waterworks which has been converted into the Barnes Waterside estate. Part of the site is now a large nature reserve. Nearby is another new estate, Harrods Village, containing houses and flats in the former Harrods warehouse.

The original Barnes village is in the area below Church Road. Piper Road and neighbouring streets towards Barnes Common contain Victorian houses in Gothic style. Station Road leading from the village pond to the railway station contains Victorian terraces and workers cottages, as well as large Victorian mansions. Towards the railway lines, there are Victorian and early 20th-century semi-detached houses in Cleveland Road and Brookwood Avenue. By the river, The Terrace contains beautiful Georgian houses. On the other side of the Barnes Bridge, Elm Bank Gardens has more Georgian houses as well as an Edwardian mansion block called Elm Bank Mansions.

Inland from the river, there are small cottages in Charles Street, Thorne Street, Archway Street and Westfields Avenue which were originally constructed for local brewery workers. This area is called Little Chelsea because the houses are similar to mews houses across the river.

Battersea is the trendy end of Wandsworth. It has always been popular as a cheaper alternative to Chelsea a short walk across the river. But in recent years its status as a residential area has been enhanced by the transformation of the old commercial river front into a highly desirable new residential area. All along the river front dramatic new blocks of flats have sprung up and former warehouses have been converted. Battersea is an area of contrasting neighbourhoods. As well as the new riverside, Battersea offers Edwardian mansion blocks around the park, and a large area of solid Victorian houses. The drawbacks are that there is no tube link and traffic is congested, but Clapham Junction provides train services in central London.

Nearly all of Battersea’s river front has been turned into new flats. One of the earliest development was Plantation Wharf, near Wandsworth Bridge. On Vicarage Crescent near the river in the west is Valiant House, a 1970s mansion block and an original riverside block. Many other developments have been constructed between Wandsworth Bridge and Battersea Power Station in recent years; these are some of the more prominent examples. Montevetro, Lord Rogers’ glass wedge, towers over the original village church, St Mary’s, near Battersea Bridge. More new blocks, such as Lord Foster’s Albion Wharf overlooks the Thames on Hester Road between Battersea Bridge and Albert Bridge. Waterside Point is in this area too. Battersea Park takes up most of the land between Albert Bridge and Chelsea Bridge and runs right to the river’s edge so there is no development there. But between Chelsea Bridge and the rail bridge is Chelsea Bridge Wharf, a Berkeley Homes’ development. Beyond Chelsea Bridge and Queenstown Road is Battersea Power Station, yet to be developed.

Battersea Park has long been popular for its mansion flats. Prince of Wales Drive on the south side Battersea Park is lined with Victorian mansion blocks such as York Mansions, Overstrand, and Cyril Mansions. Parallel streets behind Prince of Wales Drive – Lurline Gardens and Warriner Gardens – contain similar mansion blocks, but there are houses too. There are more mansion blocks lining Albert Bridge Road, such as Albert and Albany.

Battersea also contains large tracts of Victorian houses. On either side of Queenstown Road there is a conservation area called the Park Town Estate, and also known as the “Diamond” to local estate agents. This contains mainly small mid-Victorian terraced houses. Further west, back towards Latchmere Road, is the Shaftesbury Estate consisting of working men’s cottages built in the Gothic style of the late Victorian era.

Between Clapham Common Northside and Cedars Road there are streets of late Victorian terraced houses known as “The Northside Square” with two and three-storey houses, and some larger houses now mainly converted into flats. There are more Victorian houses and some Edwardian houses in the streets below St John’s Hill and blocks of flats in the streets off Lavender Sweep. Northcote Road runs south from Battersea Rise to Thurleigh Road. This area is called “Between the Commons” - Clapham Common and Wandsworth Common. Here there is a large lattice-work of streets containing terraces of late Victorian and Edwardian houses. The streets nearest Nightingale Lane form part of the Broomwood House Estate. The largest houses are in Bolingbroke Drive which runs along the edge of Wandsworth Common.

There are smaller caches of houses nearer Battersea village and the river. Off Falcon Road is “Little India” - a group of Victorian terraces with street names from the Raj such as Khyber Road and Cabul Road. There is a group of streets called “the Sisters” off Shuttleworth Road (so named because some of them have women’s names, such as Octavia Street and Ursula Street). A conservation area at West Bridge Road contains attractive Victorian houses. Battersea Village is a pre-War flat development near Vicarage Crescent.

Bayswater has the advantage that it is very close to the West End and Central London, and has the largest expanse of parkland in London right across the road. It is more sedate than Notting Hill. Whether that is an advantage or disadvantage is a matter of taste. Bayswater is roughly defined by the W2 postcode. Bayswater is sandwiched between Westway in the North and Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens in the South, and runs from Notting Hill as far east as Edgware Road.

The jewel in the crown is the Hyde Park Estate which is roughly the triangle of streets between Sussex Gardens Edgware Road and Bayswater Road. This is an estate developed by the Bishop of London in the 19th century; the freeholders are now the Church Commissioners. It was originally called Tyburnia - name which is coming back into use. This estate contains mainly Regency houses in stucco faced terraces. There are a few modern houses but they have been inserted tastefully. Gloucester Square contains some of the grandest houses, along with Hyde Park Gardens which has its own substantial communal gardens right opposite Hyde Park. Sussex Square and Connaught Square also contain beautiful terraces of Regency houses. Many of the original houses were long ago converted into flats. The estate was built with mews behind the grand houses and very attractive mews houses are to be found in Hyde Park Garden Mews, Albion Mews and Albion Close. (The area further north from Sussex Gardens, up to Praed Street, falls into Paddington.)

Moving further west along the Bayswater Road, the area between Paddington Station and Queensway, there are a series of long streets running from Bishops Bridge Road to Bayswater Road which still have original large Victorian houses. Inverness Terrace and Gloucester Terrace contain large stucco fronted houses, mainly divided into flats. Many of the houses became hotels in the mid-20th century, as in Westbourne Terrace for example, but now they are gradually being converted back into private homes. Between Inverness Terrace and Gloucester Terrace at the top near Bishops Bridge Road is Hallfield Estate, a large council estate with tower blocks surrounded by gardens. Below the Hallfield Estate and off Gloucester Terrace, is a cluster of smaller streets also containing attractive stucco faced houses from the Victorian era. Further south, below Craven Road, everything is on a smaller scale with a series of attractive mews leading down to Lancaster Gate. Lancaster Gate and Portchester Terrace contain some of the most attractive houses in the area.

On the west side of Queensway are streets which ultimately merge into Notting Hill. These streets similarly contain attractive stucco fronted houses, many of them five storeys high, which were converted into flats in the 1980s. Much of this area was laid out in large squares, such as Leinster Square, Kensington Gardens Square and Princes Square. There are also a number of mansion blocks. Westbourne Grove is now a fashionable street for shops and restaurants. Over the other side of Westbourne Grove towards Royal Oak tube station, are more squares with flats. The housing here is more varied. There are detached villas on a grand scale as well as apartment blocks in Westbourne Park Road. Alexander Street contains houses which are still family homes for the most part.

The various streets of Bedford Park contain about 400 houses. There are some very large detached houses with up to seven bedrooms, and also terraces of smaller houses, right down to workers’ cottages. Very few of the houses have been turned into flats, and there has been a tendency in recent years to convert those that were flats back into single houses. St James’s Court in Bedford Road is a more modern flat development. Saint Catherine’s Court is a block of flats dating from the pre-War period.

Estate agents refer to “Bedford Park borders” or “West Bedford Park”, to try to include nearby streets within the cachet of Bedford Park proper. Such streets include the little roads between Bath Road and Flanders Road, such as Gainsborough Road and Lonsdale Road. There are later houses and mansion blocks in the streets north of Blenheim Road. The streets running west from the Park towards Acton Lane also contain similar houses which are not part of the Park itself.

Belgravia is the home of huge stucco fronted houses. The area operates as its own separate enclave to a very considerable degree, and much of it is still owned - or at least the ground rents are owned - by the Grosvenor Estate. The Grosvenor Estate rigorously applies uniform standards - cream coloured stucco buildings must be repainted in the official colour. They also tend to ensure that shops and restaurants are clustered together, mainly in Elizabeth Street and Motcombe Street. Belgrave Square is the centrepiece of Thomas Cubitt’s Belgravia. The buildings there are so huge that they are now almost exclusively used as embassies and there are few family houses. Wilton Crescent runs from the northern corner, and many more of the properties there are residential, but mainly flats. Kinnerton Street contains houses on a rather smaller scale, and there are a number of mews and yards off it with flats and cottages.

From a residential point of view, Eaton Square is the centre of Belgravia. It is more like a series of terraces than a square because a large road runs down the middle. But the terraces are built so far back from the road that it doesn’t detract from the beautiful cream buildings. Nearly every property is converted into flats. Chester Square has some of the most attractive houses in the whole area, although they were originally assumed to be less prestigious than Eaton Square. South of Chester Square is definitely a step down as you head towards Buckingham Palace Road and Victoria Station. Apart from the main squares, there are other terraces of very similar quality houses, such as Eaton Terrace and South Eaton Place. Eaton Place between Belgrave Square and Eaton Square is a location for more grand houses.

When Belgravia was constructed, there were no railways and trams, and every household depended on its own horses and carriages. So mews were built behind the huge squares where horses and carriages were housed. One of the attractions of Belgravia today is the considerable number of mews streets with little cottages, often with cobbled streets. There are many mews streets between Belgravia square and Eaton Square. Belgavia stops short of Sloane Street. Lowndes Square at the top is regarded as part of Knightsbridge, and the Cadogan Estate is part of Chelsea.

Belsize Park is essentially the area immediately west of Haverstock Hill. Belsize Village, as it is now known, is centred on Belsize Lane. Some of the best properties in this area are in Parkhill Road, Park Road and North Road. There are flats in Haverstock Hill, and there are some large mansion blocks there. Belsize Avenue is the centre of the area. To the north, there are attractive houses in roads leading to Lyndhurst Gardens and Wedderburn Road. Belsize Park, Belsize Park Gardens and Belsize Square run to the south. These all contain attractive houses, many converted into flats. “The Glens” – Glenloch, Glenilla and Glenmore Roads – close to the tube station contain sought after Victorian terraced houses. Between Belsize Park and Chalk Farm there are more terraced houses in the group of streets containing Primrose Gardens and surrounding streets. Antrim Mansions is a large mansion block in Antrim Road. Nearly at Chalk Farm, Steels Road and surrounding streets contain some of the largest houses in the area.

Bethnal Green appeals to young executives who want a flat within easy access of the City and who enjoy the exotic appeal of Brick Lane. It’s a total mixture of architectural styles, with enclaves of Georgian and Victorian houses, converted factories and warehouses, new builds, and council flats, all rubbing shoulders with each other. Cambridge Heath Road runs straight through the middle of Bethnal Green. At the top end of Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green borders Victoria Park and the Grand Union Canal. This is a very desirable area with streets of Victorian properties overlooking the Park and the Canal, such as Sewardstone Road and Cyprus Street. (Around Old Ford Road and Roman Road there are large council estates, such as the Cranbrook Estate.)

There are pockets of Victorian terraced houses in Victoria Park Square, and streets near Bethnal Green tube station such as Moravian Street and Gawber Street. On the west of Bethnal Green, south of Hackney Road, is Columbia Road with its famous Sunday morning flower market. Nearby are attractive Victorian terraced cottages of the Jesus Hospital Estate, such as Columbia Road and Ezra Street. Further south towards Bethnal Green itself there are converted houses, new developments, and council properties.

For modern homes, look in Globe Town (the area east of Globe Road). The are has been extensively redeveloped with new flats and houses. Victoria Wharf in Palmers Row on the edge of the canal is a large development of new flats. There is another large development area in Warley Street. Millennium Place is another recent flat development, on Cambridge Heath Road.

Blackheath is separated from Greenwich by Shooters Hill. It runs down as far as the High Road. Dartmouth Row, near Blackheath Hill and west of the heath, contains Georgian houses. South of the heath there are streets such as The Pagoda, Eliot Hill and South Row containing large Victorian houses with a view of the heath. There is a sought-after council estate in Fulthorpe Road. North of the heath, the streets of Vanbrugh Park and St John’s Park are actually on the north side of Shooters Hill but regarded as part of Blackheath. These also contain desirable Victorian houses.

East of Lee Road is Blackheath Park and the Cator Estate. This was an estate laid out by John Cator in Georgian times. The estate has its own entrances so it was an original gated community. The estate takes in the roads from Blackheath Park down to Manor Way. There are now a huge variety of houses from Victorian through to 1960s houses. It is regarded as a very desirable area. On the other side of Lee road there are attractive Georgian and Victorian houses in the streets round Belmont Park and Dacre Park.

I have done a bit of research into the local history of Bloomsbury. It seems that the area was originally called “Blemondisberi” (which means the “bury” or manor of Blemond) after a 13th century lord of the manor, William Blemond. The earls of Southampton took Bloomsbury over as lords of the manor in the 16th century and the Fourth Earl built Southampton House in 1660. His daughter inherited Bloomsbury and married the Earl of Bedford and Marquess of Tavistock (That’s just the one guy!). While the Fifth Duke was a child, his mother Gertrude Gower - who gave her name to Gower Street, but mercifully spared us a Gertrude Street - developed Bedford Square. The Sixth Duke let most of the available land to James Burton and Thomas Cubit for development. Thomas Cubit went on to build Belgravia. Most of the squares of Bloomsbury are the result of this period of work. Later much of the residential area towards the West End was taken over by the British Museum and London University, and that is the area which I still think would be quite a nice place to live in. I just like all those ancient coin shops mixed in with organic cafes and old bookshops! Also, I really like the British Museum, and would drop in there all the time, given the chance.

In the early 19th century, there were hamlets at Brixton Hill and Coldharbour Lane, but otherwise it was mainly uninhabited moor land. After Vauxhall Bridge was constructed in 1816, it became an attractive area for suburban development. Mainly large houses were built for rich city business men. Most of the large houses and gardens were redeveloped after the Second World War. After about 1816, when railway lines arrived, the area was extensively developed with much cheaper housing for the working classes. After the Second World War there was extensive building of council estates. Many of the larger houses were converted into multiple uses. Brixton Prison in Jebb Avenue was built in 1820 to house 175 prisoners (now over 1,000). It was a hard-labour prison and the treadmill was first introduced here. Apart from shortening prisoner’s lives it had the side benefit of grinding corn for the kitchens.