Barnes Property
Buying advice for property searching in Barnes, London
In many people’s eyes, this is one of the true London villages. It used to be known for its population of well-to-do artists and writers but now the preponderance of City money has pushed up prices beyond those of Putney and Wandsworth.
The village itself is a tight network of roads, centred around the duck pond, with Victorian red-brick terraces intermingled with streets such as Hillersdon Avenue and Laurel Road, with larger 5 to 6 bedroom houses. Running through the middle of the village is Church Road, with shops and restaurants; it runs west towards the river and the terrace locally known as 'Barnes on Sea' – an eighteenth-century patchwork of styles facing onto the river and looking north over Chiswick and Dukes Meadows.
To the north of Church Road is the major portion of Barnes, with swathes of Edwardian and inter-war housing on square plots of land giving good lateral space and off-street parking. The most popular houses in Barnes continue to be the large villas along Castelnau and Londsdale Road which range from 3,000 to 7,000 square feet. Most have off-street parking and some of those on the east side of Castelnau have large gardens which overlook the 105 acres of The Wetland Centre that is now a nature reserve in the midst of London. The downside is that this is the main route from the A3 over Hammersmith Bridge to the A4, so road noise is an issue.
At the north end of Castlenau before Hammersmith Bridge is the site of the former Harrods Furniture Depository, now called Harrods Village, and Barnes Waterside, both developments of flats and houses built in the 1990s.
The schools within Barnes itself are St Paul's, Collet Court and the Harrodian, the latter being mixed. Barnes is also home to the Swedish school - a huge influence on the rental market.
Access by road to Kensington and Knightsbridge is surprisingly easy from Barnes, as long as Hammersmith Bridge remains open. Mainline stations are at Barnes Common and Barnes Bridge to Waterloo. The closest underground station is Hammersmith, but there is a direct bus service to the station.
As with everywhere along the river, aircraft noise is a problem.
For more information on buying advice and property searching in Barnes, London, contact the Property Vision London property search and advice team.