Living in Eltham: area guide to homes, schools and transport links

Green spaces surround this south-east London town with the palace where Henry VIII grew up. Today it’s all about family houses and highly-regarded schools.
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Anthea Masey30 October 2019

The suburban town of Eltham in south-east London has a long and fascinating history.

There are the remnants of a Tudor palace where the era’s most famous king spent his childhood; a Tudor barn that once belonged to the man who married the learned daughter of Catholic martyr Sir Thomas More; an extraordinary listed Art Deco mansion built by textiles millionaire Sir Stephen Courtauld, who abandoned it soon after; and an Arts and Crafts estate built for First World War munitions workers at nearby Woolwich Arsenal.

Eltham has the benefit of being surrounded by open green spaces with the Capital Ring and Green Chain walking routes running through the area.

Estate agent Will Chidley from the local branch of Robinson-Jackson has seen big changes in Eltham in 10 years.

He says there are now many more incomers, with the Edwardian houses in the “Glen” roads in Eltham Park well and truly discovered and first-time buyers attracted by ex-council houses in the lesser-known garden estates that characterise the area.

He also points to big improvements to Eltham High Street, including new paving and planters, a new leisure centre and a recently opened Vue cinema.

Eltham is full of Victorian and Edwardian houses, as well as Thirties semis
Daniel Lynch

The murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence in Eltham has kept the nation’s wider war on racism in the spotlight for 26 years.

The area’s less recent history includes the story of Eltham Palace, the royal palace where Henry VIII grew up.

A magnificent great hall with an impressive hammer beam roof and a moat are all that remains of the palace. In 1933 Stephen and Virginia Courtauld arrived, leased the property from the Crown and built the country’s most complete Art Deco house.

Open to the public, visitors now view the circular entrance hall with its intricate marquetry panelling depicting scenes from the couple’s travels; Virginia’s golden bathroom; and the centrally heated quarters built for the couple’s pet ring-tailed lemur, Mah-Jongg.

The basement with its billiard room is where the Courtaulds took refuge from the Blitz, and, although no one knows why they abandoned the house in 1944, fear of being bombed is probably what drove them out, first to Scotland then to Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe.

Well Hall Pleasaunce is a park in Well Hall Road near Eltham station. It was the home of Margaret Roper, daughter of Sir Thomas More. He was executed for treason in 1535 for failing to recognise Henry VIII as head of the Church of England.

It is said Margaret rescued her father’s head after it was put on public display, and that it is buried in the family vault in St Dunstan’s Church in Canterbury, now a site of Catholic pilgrimage.

A later Georgian house was home between 1899 and 1920 to the children’s author and political activist Edith Nesbit, famous for the Railway Children and Five Children and It, and for being one of the founders of the Fabian Society.

Today, all that remains of all this history is a fine Tudor barn, now run as a restaurant and a popular wedding venue.

The Progress Estate on both sides of Well Hall Road is to Eltham what Hampstead Garden Suburb is to Golders Green. Now a conservation area, it was built in 1915 in just 10 months by the Government’s Office of Works to house workers needed for the war effort at Woolwich Arsenal.

The 1,200 homes, now a mix of social rent and owner-occupied two- and three-bedroom cottages, sit in winding streets and feature sweeping roofs, gable ends, dormer and leaded light windows and slate hung walls, all Arts and Crafts hallmarks.

Eltham is 10 miles south-east of central London with Plumstead and Woolwich to the north; Sidcup and Welling to the east; Chislehurst to the south and Hither Green and Lee to the west.

The property scene

Victorian and Edwardian houses are to be found in Eltham Park, in the roads that straddle the A2 close to Eltham station.

There are also affordable Thirties semis, terrace and other houses and cottages on the lesser-known cottage estates.

The most expensive homes, in Court Road, are big detached Victorian, Edwardian,Twenties and modern houses with carriage drives.

Currently the highest-priced house for sale is Shawfield in Court Road, a five-bedroom mock Tudor property overlooking Royal Blackheath Golf Club, priced £2.35 million.

Eltham Park’s Edwardian homes include large double-fronted semi-detached houses in Glenhouse Road and Beechhill Road. This is where the “Glen” houses are also found, in roads such as Glenlea Road and Glenlyon Road.

Many were built by Archibald Corbett, who is best known for the estate of houses he built in Catford. A four-bedroom double-fronted Corbett house in Glenshiel Road is for sale at £950,000; another, with three bedrooms in Dumbreck Road, is £599,995.

On the Progress Estate are two-bedroom houses varying in price from £360,000 to £375,000 and three-bedroom houses from £400,000 to £450,000.

New-build homes

Waterford Place is a Linden Homes development of 135 two-bedroom and three-bedroom flats and four- and five-bedroom houses, of which 43 are lower-cost.

The scheme is set in 13 acres of open space off Avery Hill Road in New Eltham on the site of the former Gaelic Athletic Association sports ground which had been unused since 1992.

The developer is also building a new sports pitch, community building and a school and community garden on the nearby Bardhill Sports Ground in Footscray Road, which had been unused for 15 years.

A few four-bedroom houses remain at Waterford Place, all move-in ready. Prices start at £699,950. Call 020 3553 0230.

Jefferies Lodge in Footscray Road is a retirement development of 38 one- and two-bedroom flats for the over-sixties from developer Churchill Retirement. One-bedroom flats are priced from £349,950, with two-bedroom flats from £496,950. Call 020 3918 7189.

First-time buyers

Berkeley has discount market sale homes at nearby Kidbrooke Village starting at £310,000 for a one-bedroom flat with a market price of £430,000 a discount of 30 per cent for residents of Greenwich, earning less than £80,000, who do not already own a home. Call 020 8023 6607.

Renting in Eltham

Eltham is not a busy rental area with four times as many homes to buy than there are to rent. Flat sharing is a popular option though, with rooms to rent varying between £500 and £950 a month.

One-bedroom flats start at around £825 a month; two-bedroom flats from around £1,100 a month; three-bedroom houses from £1,300 a month and four-bedroom houses from £1,600 a month.

A large double-fronted Edwardian house in Beechhill Road is available for £2,700 a month and there is a lavish seven-bedroom Victorian mansion in Court Road available for short lets at £8,000 a week.

Transport

Close to the A2 and A20, Eltham is also served by four railway stations: Eltham, Falconwood, Mottingham and New Eltham.

All stations have trains to Charing Cross, some stopping at Waterloo East; and Cannon Street, stopping at Lewisham for the DLR to Canary Wharf, and at London Bridge. The journeys take between 30 and 37 minutes.

Eltham and Falconwood also have 45-minute trains to Victoria. All stations are in Zone 4 and an annual travelcard costs £2,020.

Staying power

Families see Eltham as a place to stay — not as a staging post to somewhere else.

Postcode

SE9 is the large Eltham postcode which includes Mottingham.

Best roads

Court Road and a Corbett house in Eltham Park.

Up and coming

Estate agent Will Chidley of Robinson-Jackson suggests looking at the lesser-known garden estates.

For example homes around Middle Park Avenue close to Mottingham station are selling quickly to first-time buyers who can find two-bedroom houses for £325,000 and three-bedroom houses for £350,000 which is cheaper than on the Progress Estate.

Council

Greenwich council is Labour controlled. Band D council tax for 2019/2020 is £1,489.55.

Lifestyle

Shops and restaurants

Eltham has a busy, attractive High Street with a variety of architectural styles from medieval, through to Georgian, Victorian and more modern, which is holding up well with not too many charity or empty shops.

There is a mix of chains and independents with branches of Boots, TK Maxx, Iceland, JD Sports, M&S, Superdrug, Sports Direct, Lidl and Sainsbury’s and chain restaurants McDonald’s, Burger King; Pizza Express, Nando’s and Prezzo.

Legends is a popular American grill restaurant and Ziyafet serves Turkish food, while Greene King pub The Rising Sun occupies a landmark double bow-fronted building.

A little arcade off the High Street is home to Kubz Club Soft Play and BebeBonito, a smart baby and childrenswear shop. The Fabulous Tea Room is in Pound Place and Eltham Grill House is a smart fish and chip restaurant in Chequers Parade.

Off the High Street in Well Hall Road, Wicca Moon is a magic shop gearing up for Halloween. The Rusty Bucket in Court Yard is a craft beer pub with live music on Sundays. The Tudor Barn Restaurant in Well Hall Pleasaunce serves gastropub fare in an historic barn.

Open space

Eltham is surrounded to the north, east and south by open green spaces: Eltham Common and Oxleas Wood, Eltham Park and Avery Hill Park. The Capital Ring passes through as do routes six and seven on the Green Chain.

Leisure and the arts

The Bob Hope Theatre is an amateur theatre in Wythfield Road. It was rescued in 1980 by the late Hollywood comedian and actor Bob Hope who was born in Craigton Road in Eltham.

The Vue cinema in the High Street, a new six-screen multiplex, opened in April. The local council swimming pool is in the Eltham Centre in Archery Road, off the High Street.

Fans of gaming have the opportunity to test their skills at the Eltham Escape Rooms in St Mary’s Place. The Royal Blackheath Golf Club in Eltham’s Court Road is the oldest in England.

Schools

Eltham has a good choice of state schools with an “outstanding” rating from the Government’s education watchdog Ofsted, and two all-through private schools.

Primary schools

All but one of the local primary schools are judged “good” or better; those rated “outstanding” are: Eltham CofE in Roper Street; St Mary’s RC in Glenure Road; Deansfield in Dairsie Road; and St Vincent RC in Harting Road.

Comprehensive

The “outstanding” comprehensive schools are St Thomas More RC (co-ed, ages 11 to 16) in Footscray Road; Harris Academy Greenwich (co-ed, ages 11 to 18) in Middle Park Avenue; and Harris Academy Falconwood (co-ed, ages 11 to 18) in The Green in Welling.

Stationers’ Crown Woods (co-ed, ages 11 to 18) in Bexley Road is judged to be “good”.

Halley (co-ed, ages 11 to 18) in Corelli Road is judged to be in need of improvement; this is the former Kidbrooke School, the first purpose-built comprehensive in the country and its Festival of Britain-style buildings are now listed.

Private

The two all-through private schools are Eltham College (co-ed, ages seven to 18) in Grove Park Road and Colfe’s (co-ed, ages three to 18) in Horn Park Lane in Lee.

St Olave’s Prep (co-ed, ages three to 11) in Southwood Road is a private primary school.

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