East Sheen

East Sheen was a hamlet in the parish of Mortlake:

East-Sheen is a pleasant hamlet in this parish, situated on a rising ground considerably above the level of the river. It contains about ninety houses. Here are several handsome villas; the vicinity to Richmond-park, and the beauty of the surrounding country, making it a desirable situation.

— 'Mortlake', The Environs of London 1792, Daniel Lysons[6]

Earliest references specifically to the present area of land, rather than references to parts of Mortlake, emerge in the 13th century, generally under its early name of Westhall. Originally one carucate, it was sold in 1473 by Michael Gaynsford and Margaret his wife in the right of Margaret to William Welbeck, citizen and haberdasher, of London. The Welbecks held it until selling in 1587. Later owners of what remained, the Whitfields, Juxons and Taylors were equally not titled, as with Mortlake's manorial owners, nor had an above average size or lavish manor house.[7]

Prime Minister Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston sold the southern purported manor to private developers as a young man.

The southern estate of Temple Grove, East Sheen, first belonged to Sir Abraham Cullen, who was created a baronet in 1661. He died in 1668, and his first son Sir John in 1677. His second son Sir Rushout Cullen seems to have sold the estate shortly afterwards to Sir John Temple, attorney-general of Ireland, brother to Sir William Temple, diplomat and author, who was earlier of adjoining West Sheen, giving the home his name. It belonged to the Temples until Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, who later would serve as Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister, sold it soon after coming of age in 1805. It was bought by Sir Thomas Bernard, who rebuilt the Jacobean style front of the house shown in a drawing hung in the house of 1611. Sir Thomas sold it about 1811 to Rev. William Pearson who founded the Temple Grove Preparatory School for boys. The school moved in 1907 to Eastbourne and the estate was given over to house and apartment builders.[7]

East Sheen was included in the Metropolitan Police District in 1840. Before 1900, Mortlake developed a secular vestry to help administer poor relief, maintain roads, ditches and other affairs.[8] From 1892 to 1894 Mortlake (including East Sheen) formed part of the expanded Municipal Borough of Richmond.[9] In 1894, nearby North Sheen was created as a civil parish, being split off from Mortlake and remaining in the Municipal Borough of Richmond.[10] The remainder of Mortlake (including East Sheen) was instead transferred to the Barnes Urban District,[11] which became the Municipal Borough of Barnes in 1932.

In 1965 North Sheen was incorporated into Kew[12] which, with the rest of the Municipal Borough of Richmond, joined the Municipal Borough of Twickenham and the Municipal Borough of Barnes to form the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In the wards of the United Kingdom, Sheen has the largest share of Richmond Park of its surrounding five wards.

Mosaic by Sue Edkins at Sheen Lane Centre honouring Tim Berners-Lee

• Sir Tim Berners-Lee (born 1955), computer scientist and inventor of the World Wide Web, grew up in East Sheen[17] and attended Sheen Mount Primary School.[18] A mosaic by Sue Edkins was placed at Sheen Lane Centre in June 2013 to commemorate his association with Sheen[18]
• Carol Cleveland (born 1942), actress and comedian, who worked with Monty Python, was born in East Sheen[19]
• Abigail Cruttenden (born 1968), actress, lives in East Sheen[20]
• Omid Djalili (born 1965), actor and comedian, lives in East Sheen[21]
• Philip Glenister (born 1963), and Beth Goddard (born 1969), actors, live in East Sheen[22]
• Tom Hardy (born 1977), actor, lives in East Sheen[23]
• Andrew Marr (born 1959), political broadcaster and Jackie Ashley (born 1954), political journalist, have lived in East Sheen[24]
• Sir Trevor McDonald (born 1939), broadcaster, lives in East Sheen[25]
• Valerie Vaz (born 1954), politician and solicitor, Labour MP for Walsall South, was brought up in East Sheen.[26]

George Eliot lived in East Sheen in 1855

Richard Dimbleby lived in a flat at Cedar Court

Marc Bolan, pictured here in 1973, lived in East Sheen

• John Partridge (astrologer) (1644–c.1714), was born at East Sheen and apprenticed to a local shoemaker. He died in Mortlake and is buried there[27]
• Robert Shirley, 1st Earl Ferrers PC (1650–1717), peer and courtier, was born in East Sheen[28]
• Sir Charles Pole, 1st Baronet (1757–1830), Admiral of the Fleet, who married Henrietta Goddard, niece of Henry Hope of Sheen House, in 1792, lived at Sheen House from 1806 onwards[27]
• Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (1764–1845), British Prime Minister from 1831 to 1834, rented Sheen House from the Marquess of Ailesbury during his premiership, for use as a country house near London[29]
• Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, usually known as Lord Castlereagh (1769–1822), British Foreign Secretary, rented Temple Grove, East Sheen, from Lord Palmerston's trustees, from 1802 to 1806. His wife's mother, the Countess of Buckinghamshire, lived next door, at The Firs[27]
• Joshua Bates (1788–1864), the Boston born banker had a villa in Sheen from 1841–1863[30]
• Edwin Chadwick (1800–1890), social reformer, died at Park Cottage, East Sheen[31]
• Sir Henry Parker (1808–1881), Premier of New South Wales, acquired Stawell House, East Sheen, on his return to England in 1868, and his family continued there until 1935[27]
• Thomas German Reed (1817–1888), composer, musical director, actor, singer and theatrical manager, died at St. Croix, Upper East Sheen, and is buried at Old Mortlake Burial Ground.[32] With his wife Priscilla Horton (1818–1895), he created the German Reed Entertainments
• The novelist Mary Anne Evans, better known as George Eliot (1819–1880), took rooms at 7 Clarence Row, East Sheen (now demolished) from May to September 1855[33][34]
• Sir Arthur Blomfield (1829–1899), architect, one of whose early works was Christ Church, East Sheen, designed and lived in The Cottage, now divided into two as 53 and 55 Christ Church Road[35]
• Ralph Knott (1879–1929), architect of County Hall, the former London County Council building on the South Bank, Westminster, lived and died in East Sheen[36]
• Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife (1891 East Sheen Lodge–1959), granddaughter of King Edward VII and great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria
• Princess Maud, Countess of Southesk (1893 East Sheen Lodge–1945), granddaughter of the British King Edward VII
• Esmond Knight (1906–1987), actor, was born in East Sheen[37]
• Desmond Hawkins (1908–1999), author, editor and radio personality, was born in East Sheen[38]
• Frank Broadbent (1909–1983), architect, designed churches and schools for the Roman Catholic Church, lived at 71 Christchurch Road, East Sheen[39]
• Richard Dimbleby (1913–1965), radio broadcaster, was born in the borough[40] and lived in a flat at Cedar Court, East Sheen. This has been commemorated by an English Heritage blue plaque[41]
• Patricia Hornsby-Smith, Baroness Hornsby-Smith (1914–1985), Conservative Party politician, was born in East Sheen[42]
• John Chadwick FBA (1920–1998), linguist and classical scholar, was born in East Sheen[43]
• Peter Graham Scott (1923 East Sheen–2007), film producer, director, editor and screenwriter[44]
• Don Lawrence (1928–2003), comic book artist and author, was born in East Sheen[45]
• Marc Bolan (1947–1977), musician, who died at what is now the site of Bolan's Rock Shrine, a few miles from his home at 142 Upper Richmond Road West in East Sheen[46]