This is a charming old street in Carshalton. In this post we’re gradually adding houses and history, so please check back as we discover and share more information.
So, in no particular order…
Nelson House
19 West Street
The exact history is unclear, but it’s considered to be a place where Lord Nelson and his mistress Lady Hamilton stayed when visiting friends in Carshalton – hence the name over the door. Nelson was shot during the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, which suggests the home was built before this date. Nelson lived at nearby Merton Place from 1801, the only home he owned and which is now demolished. The front of the building seen here in West Street is dated early to mid 19th Century and is Grade 2 listed.
Alton Lodge
70 West Street
A grand white weatherboarded property, and thought to be the oldest home on West Street. The main house could date back to the early 1600s. The front is mid to late 1700s, and during this time it was known as Coslars Hall, owned by the Gerrard and Lodge families. It was Grade 2 listed in 1954.
Row of cottages
72 – 78 West Street
A row of four Grade 2 listed buildings, dated circa 1850. Number 72 on the far right was lived in by Edwin Searle, a porter at nearby Carshalton Station. It was possibly called Stone Cottage and Edwin lived here with his wife Edith until 1930, from perhaps as far back as the 1880s. Read more here
Barn Cottage
10 West Street
On the left is the rather lovely Barn Cottage. Cast your mind back to what it may have been like circa 1725. A quiet country lane, livestock on nearby pastures and an open sided wooden barn being built. Three hundred years later that barn has been converted into a beautiful home.
The old picture shows Joyce Hagley pictured outside what was one part of her large family home. She’s standing with her husband Derek, in a photo taken back in 1952. A stylish Vanguard car is parked in the driveway. Joyce lived in this beautiful Grade II listed home in West Street during the late 1940s and early 1950s. She lived with her mother and father, Louisa and George Keen at the house attached on the far left – out of shot, and now known as 10a. Her father ran a successful photography business based in Rosehill. George would use their single-storey converted barn, seen in the back of the old photo, as a photography studio. Joyce and Derek had their wedding reception at the barn in 1952.
The White House
10a West Street
This quaint two-storey home has been named The White House. It’s connected to the old barn on its right. This pretty weatherboarded property has 4 bedrooms and is Grade II listed. It’s probably of 18th Century origin, and over the years has been extended. This house once formed a larger single property which included the converted barn next door.
The Hope
48 West Street
The iconic Hope pub at 48 West Street, Carshalton. The lease was purchased from Punch Taverns by a bunch of locals back in 2010. In 2015 they eventually gained full ownership having secured the Freehold. Since then it’s won CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) Greater London Pub of the Year an astounding 5 times. With its regular beer festivals and welcoming atmosphere it’s become a firm favourite on the famous Carshalton Pub Crawl.
The Racehorse
17 West Street
The Racehorse was built in 1910 by Ashby’s Staines Brewery (from 1970 known as Courage). It replaced a wooden 17th Century pub called the Running Horse which stood where the car park at the rear now is. The ornate tiled floor is now partly covered, but perhaps a horse was once visible here too? The angled part of the pub to the right was once a doorway. This area has been inhabited for at least 2000 years – to the right of the pub, about 20 years ago, the remains of an 18-month-old Roman baby was discovered. Burying small children near your home was a common practice in Roman times.
Rose Cottage
80 West Street
Step out of Carshalton train station and close by at 80 West Street, you’ll find Rose Cottage. This is a very old home built circa 1675, during the reign of King Charles II (1630 – 1685). In the garden remains an ancient well. Read our extended post about Rose Cottage.
Waterhouse Cottage
2 West Street
This is the charming Waterhouse Cottage on West Street in Carshalton. So called, because it was once surrounded by water – that part of West Street was once a forded stream and it was next to a large old spring behind the Honeywood museum. So few houses look like this nowadays, showing such a dramatic floral display – which to me, makes this old postcard so fascinating to see. Do you like it too?
🗝 BONUS FACT 1: Interestingly this is also the house lived in by Tom Preen in the 1880s – he was the one who is thought to have buried his wood cutting machinery in what is now part of the All Saints graveyard.
🗝 BONUS FACT 2: As of 1868, did you know that West Street was known as Waterhouse Road, and the spring was called Waterhouse Pond.
© Secret Carshalton, collating research and current photos, © Scott Hagley, with permission, old 10 West Street photos.
More updates soon…
What do you know about the houses in West Street? Have you got any old pics to share? Where should we feature next? We reserve the right to amend details found in this post, as new information comes to light. Please comment below, it also helps keep all feedback in one place across social media. Thank you.
I am very interested if anyone has information about a thatched cottage in carlshalton. Apparently I have been told there is a family photograph of my great grandfather who used to live there standing outside the door and he has a shock of white hair just like my father. His name was Edmund white I think and it goes back a long time
Off the top of my head the only nearby thatched cottages I know of are in Carshalton Beeches and Wallington
I live in West Street Cottages, so was interested to see your ‘Wonders of West Street’ article. I have included a photo of when the cottages were derelict and about to be refurbished, with a new internal layout and an extension at the back. This was in the early 70s. At the time, I was a 16 year old electrical apprentice, and because my firm was short of work, my boss began buying the odd property here and there, doing them up, and then selling, hopefully at a profit. He actually considered buying all eight of these cottages and took me with him to view them. So there I was, gazing at the terrible state they were in, not realising that in about thirty years time, one would become my home. In the end, he couldn’t afford them so it came to nought, but I am very happy here, even with the confusing non-front-door, plus I am sure we would have done a better job with the refurb!
Thanks for sharing
I found out that No. 26-32 West Street were known as 1-4 Western Villas & as early as 1880 the dwellings were occupied. Sometime around 1922/23 they changed to the numbers 26-32 as we know the houses to be now. (sources were the Piles Street Directory)
Interesting, quite often rows of buildings would have a name on them, though that doesn’t seem to be the case here.