Conservation areas

Designation date

June 1989

Number of properties

184

Area

7.2 hectares

Designation summary

The special architectural and historic interest of this area can be summarised as: An area of fine Victorian houses and local shops dating from 1890 -1900.

Archaeological background

Archaeological evidence suggests there has been settlement in the area from approximately 4500BC. Findings also suggest there was a Middle Stone Age settlement on Coombe Hill and farming from the Neolithic period. Flint and stone axes from this period have been found on Kingston Hill and in Richmond Park. It is highly likely that there was a late Bronze Age settlement on Kingston Hill, a short distance to the north-east of this conservation area.  There is also evidence of continuous activity through to the Roman occupation, the hill’s freshwater springs undoubtedly attracting settlement. These were exploited in the 16th century to pipe a water supply to Hampton Court Palace.

Historic background summary

Park Road conservation area remained agricultural until 1868 when the London and South West Railway line was extended from Kingston to Norbiton. Like many conservation areas in Kingston this then gave rise to speculative development and extensive building activity. As a consequence there are no buildings in the area which date earlier than the 1860s. By the end of the 1880s the Victorian development of this area was virtually completed so that during the 19th century the few remaining plots were infilled by additional building.

Architectural key features

A key feature of this area is 1-13 Park Road.  Built in the 1870s, with retail at ground and flats above, this group of buildings retains traces of the original 1870s shop fronts. No 9 survives intact and is one of the few surviving shop fronts from this period. Built from 1870 to the 1880s, Nos 9-11, 13 -15, 17-19, 23, 25 and 27 Kingston Hill are good examples of Victorian domestic architecture of the 1880s within the borough.

Listed Buildings

None

Locally Listed Buildings

• 9,11,13,15,17,19 Kingston Hill
• 1,3, 5,7,9,11,13 Park Road

Adjacent to Conservation Areas (CA) /Local Areas of Special Character (LASC)

Princes Road, Arthur Road and Borough Road (LASC)

Archaeological Priority Area

Adjacent to Kingston Town Centre APA

Article 4 Directions

None

Further Information 

• Park Road Conservation Area Designation Report
• Park Road Conservation Area Character Appraisal and Management Strategy Programme (2008)

Enquiries

If you have any general enquires relating to conservation areas you can contact us using our general enquires form. 

For enquires relating to planning advice for properties within a Conservation Area, you can use our pre application advice service. 

Map of Park Road conservation area