CA20: Kingston Vale
Designation date: September 1996 and extended in January 2002
No of properties: 103
Area: 7.3 hectares
Designation summary
The special architectural and historic interest of this area can be summarised as: An early Victorian village on the London to Portsmouth Road at the Robin Hood Gate entrance to Richmond Park and Wimbledon Common. The village is made up of an eclectic mix of mainly small-scale housing and community uses.
Historic development
Kingston Vale is a continuation of Kingston Hill and has always been a busy road. From the middle ages it has been part of a strategic route from central London to Portsmouth and it formed part of the direct link between the City and Hampton Court, which became a royal palace from the 16th century. Robin Hood Lane led south to Cambridge Lodge and Robin Hood Farm which was set in open countryside well into the 20th century. There was very little development in the area until a small hamlet developed to serve local agriculture, the maintenance of Richmond Park and the needs of the travelling public.
The Robin Hood Inn (now converted into flats) was established at the junction of Kingston Vale and Robin Hood Lane. By the 1820s it had become an important staging post for the increased coach traffic. This significantly developed and in 1870, it was rebuilt across the road in its present form with stabling for 30 horses.
The area was passed over by the railway age and with a decline in agriculture in the 19th century, housing in this area developed slowly. In 1927 the Kingston Bypass was opened by Stanley Baldwin which started a building boom, fuelled by the sale of the remainder of the Coombe Estate land. This resulted in the construction of the Robin Hood Housing Estate through the 1930s. The 1931 census records 618 people in Kingston Vale but by 1953, the population was 3,500. In recent years new development includes the Sherwood Grange Care Home and the conversion of the Robin Hood Public House into flats.
Listed Buildings
Buildings of Townscape Merit
- Lamp Standard St John’s Churchyard Robin Hood Lane
- Stag Lodge Robin Hood Gate, Kingston Vale
Adjacent Conservation Areas/Local Areas of Special Character (LASC)
Kingston Hill CA
Archaeological Priority Area
No
Article 4 Directions
None
Further information
Kingston Vale Conservation Area Designation Report
Contacts
If you have any questions about this conservation area or would like to find out whether you need planning permission before carrying out works to your property, please contact the Duty Planning Officer on 020 8547 5002.