Words Nigel Lewis
Half a century ago the last place many wealthy Londoners wanted to live in was central London. Bombed out streets and a reputation for ‘pea soup’ fogs persuaded many to flee to the suburbs and, even better, the emerging garden towns. But over the past 20 years this trend has been turned on its head. Central London is now world famous for its luxury homes and prime prices as both UK and overseas buyers fight over the capital’s central neighbourhoods.
So which are the most sought after? Look online and the internet is awash with advice on where to live. But let’s be honest, they’re based on opinion, not fact; one person’s neighbourhood nirvana can be another’s least likely locality. How therefore do you find out if Mayfair is more sought after than Marylebone, Clapham more popular than Chelsea and whether Peckham has a steal on Paddington these days? One organisation that knows the answer is Google. Every week thousands of us search for homes, property, houses and apartments in London. And if you work in the digital economy, you’ll know Google tracks who searches for what. I logged on to find out the most popular searched-for areas during September.
Why so popular?
Famed for many years as THE fashionable haunt of London’s political set but for many centuries better known as the source of London’s milk and spring water, it has been a prosperous area of London since the early 19th century. Today the borough covers a wide range of areas including parts of fast-regenerating Kings Cross as well as Angel, geeky Clerkenwell, Highgate and the upper reaches of Tufnell Park, where former Labour leader Ed Miliband lives.
Why so popular?
This family-friendly and genteel bulge of neighbourhoods within a bow of the Thames has been a sought-after haunt of lawyers, advertising executives and media stars for over 30 years now. But its areas still reflect the original villages that once dotted the landscape including Fulham Town, Parsons Green, Walham Green, North End and Sands End, although few people living here now realise these were once where London’s fashionable set went to party, gamble and engage in pleasures of the flesh.
Why so popular?
Wandsworth Town is quickly being revamped as a plethora of new luxury developments pop up, and the town centre may soon join its surrounding commons as a prime area of London. But this is all a very new development. From the 14th century until very recently (when the Ram brewery shipped out) Wandsworth was a largely industrial zone, once famed for its hat makers and cloth dyers.
Why so popular?
Residents of Richmond might be surprised to know that the town was named by Henry VII after his favourite and eponymous earldom in Yorkshire, or to use his spelling, Rychemonde, and that is is where both he and later royals liked to escape London’s smoke. Not much has changed on that front, and Richmond and its fabulous deer park are still prized by London commuters and their families, particularly the roads around Richmond Hill and The Green
Why so popular?
Mayfair may be a small patch of central London but what it lacks in size it makes up for in fame and luxury. To own a home within the W1 postcode requires the deepest of pockets and rightly so – not only is it a residential area in the heart of London but it also contains elements of the capital’s greatest estates including such famous land-owning families such as the Burlingtons, Berkeleys, Curzons and Grosvenors all of whom are reflected in the names of its squares and roads.
