Mortlake, United Kingdom
Mortlake is a town of 10,919 people in England, United Kingdom.
Why visit Mortlake
Townapedia lists 91 museums and landmarks, 79 parks and trails, 216 places to eat, 7 places to stay and 15 attractions in and around town.
Highlights include Orange Tree Theatre, Chiswick Bridge, Kew Palace and Chiswick House.
Weather in Mortlake
Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Full forecast
About Mortlake
Mortlake is a suburban district of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the south bank of the River Thames between Kew and Barnes. Historically it was part of Surrey and until 1965 was in the Municipal Borough of Barnes. Its Stuart and Georgian history was economically one of malting, brewing, farming, watermen and the Mortlake Tapestry Works (1617–1704) Britain's most important producer. A London landmark, the former Mortlake Brewery or Stag Brewery, is on the edge of Mortlake.
From the Wikipedia article Mortlake (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photos of Mortlake
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Things to do15
Orange Tree Theatre
Cinema and theater · 1.5 mi
Theatre in Richmond, London, England
53 Kew Road, London
London Butterfly House
Zoo and aquarium · 2.2 mi
Zoo in Middlesex, England
Q Theatre
Cinema and theater · 1.6 mi
Former theatre and cinema in Chiswick, Hounslow, London, England
Richmond Bridge
Bridge · 1.9 mi
18th-century bridge in London, England
Richmond Lock and Footbridge
Bridge · 2.2 mi
Lock and pedestrian bridge, situated on the River Thames in south west London
Richmond Railway Bridge
Bridge · 2.1 mi
Grade II listed steel bridge in London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, United Kingdom
Richmond Theatre
Cinema and theater · 1.6 mi
Theatre built in 1899 in Richmond, London, England
The Exchange, Twickenham
Cinema and theater · 3.1 mi
Theatre and arts venue in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
Kew Railway Bridge
Bridge · 1.1 mi
Bridge across the River Thames in London, UK
3 more on the map.
Museums and landmarks91
Kew Palace
Monument and historic site · 1.5 mi
Grade I listed historic house museum in London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, United Kingdom
Apr 03-Sep 24 11:00-18:00
Hogarth's House
Museum · 1.3 mi
Hogarth Lane, London
Tu-Su 12:00-17:00; PH 12:00-17:00; Dec 24-26 off; Jan 01 off; easter off
Bolan's Rock Shrine
Monument and historic site · 1.3 mi
Memorial in Barnes, London
Boston Manor
Museum · 2.7 mi
Historic house museum in Brentford, London, UK
Ham House
Museum · 2.7 mi
Historic house museum in Ham, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England, UK
Kilmorey Mausoleum
Monument and historic site · 2.5 mi
Mausoleum in St Margarets, London
London Museum of Water and Steam
Museum · 1.7 mi
Museum in London, United Kingdom
Mausoleum of Sir Richard and Lady Burton
Monument and historic site
Tent-shaped mausoleum in London
Burton Mausoleum
Monument and historic site
Grade II* listed mausoleum in the form of a Bedouin tent carved to resemble draping canvas. Houses the coffins of Sir Richard and Lady...
61 North Worple Way, London
79 more on the map.
Parks, trails and playgrounds79
Marble Hill Park
Park · 2.4 mi
Parkland in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England, UK
Richmond Hill
Park · 1.8 mi
Place and street in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
East Sheen Common
Park · 1.0 mi
Public space in East Sheen, London, England
Ham Lands
Park · 3.4 mi
Nature reserve in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England, UK
67 more on the map.
Restaurants and cafes216
George and Devonshire
Bar and pub · 1.3 mi
Dating back to 1650, the George & Devonshire in Chiswick serves up a slice of history alongside its fabulous food and drink
8 Burlington Lane, London
Caffè Nero
Cafe · Coffee Shop · 1.6 mi
386 Chiswick High Road, London
Mo-Fr 06:30-19:00; Sa 07:00-19:00; Su 07:30-18:30
Lil' Nashville
Restaurant · Burger, Chicken, Wings · 1.6 mi
11 Barley Mow Passage, London
Mo off; We-Th 17:00-23:00; Fr 17:00-24:00; Sa 12:00-24:00; Su 12:00-20:00
Rom Mai
Restaurant · Thai · 1.3 mi
8-9 Rocks Lane, London
Tu-Th 17:30-23:00; Fr-Su 12:00-14:30,17:30-23:00
Awesome Thai
Restaurant · Thai · 1.2 mi
68 Church Road, London
Mo-Th 18:00-23:00; Fr-Sa 12:00-15:00,18:00-23:00; Su 12:00-22:00
Kaalika
Restaurant · Indian · 0.4 mi
425 Upper Richmond Road West, London
Mo,We,Th 17:00-22:00, Fr 17:00-23:00, Sa 16:00-23:00, Su 16:00-22:00
Neighbourhood Cafe Yukari
Cafe · Japanese · 0.9 mi
110 North Road, Richmond
Mo-Th off; Fr 12:00-18:00; Sa 10:00-20:00; PH 10:00-18:00; Dec...
204 more on the map.
History
The place-name 'Mortlake' is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Mortelaga and Mortelage, a name with two possible derivations. If the second element is the Old English lacu meaning a stream, then the first element is very likely the fish-name mort meaning a young salmon, hence 'salmon stream'. If the second element is the dialect lag meaning a long, narrow marshy meadow, then the name means 'Morta's meadow'.
According to the Domesday Book, the manor and parish of Mortlage was held by Archbishop Lanfranc of Canterbury when its assets were: 25 hides; 1 church, 2 mills worth £5, 1 fishery, 33 ploughs, 20 acres (8 hectares) of meadow, wood worth 55 hogs. It rendered a large £38 plus 4s 4d from 17 houses in London, 2s 3d from houses in Southwark and £1 from tolls at Putney per year to its feudal system overlords. The manor belonged to the Archbishops of Canterbury until the time of Henry VIII, when it passed by exchange to the Crown. From the early part of the 17th century until after the English Civil War, Mortlake was celebrated for the manufacture of tapestry, founded during the reign of James I at the Mortlake Tapestry Works.
Mortlake was reduced by 732 acres (296 hectares) when Richmond Park was created by Charles I in 1637. Other parishes also lost smaller amounts of land to the new deer park.
Read more of the history
Colston House's forebear was built by Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex then acquired by Edward Colston, major benefactor and investor to the port city of Bristol. This was pulled down in 1860. John Barber, Lord Mayor in 1733, a suspected Jacobite opposed to the 'Georgian' House of Hanover but Member of Parliament for the City on the strength of his opposition to Walpole's protectionist excise scheme, was buried in Mortlake in 1741. He had given land to extend the churchyard. Sir Henry Taylor, KCMG, the dramatic poet, lived in Mortlake in the 19th century.
Sir John Barnard, Lord Mayor of London in the year 1737 and also an MP, used public addresses and private campaigns to outstanding effect in supporting the government against the Jacobite movement in 1745.
Since 1845, the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race has had its finish point at Mortlake, marked by the University Boat Race stone just downstream of Chiswick Bridge. Several other important rowing races over the Championship Course also either start or finish at the stone. The first National School in Mortlake was built providing compulsory education at primary level in 1869, followed by an infants school in 1890 and county level, into secondary level school in 1906. James Chuter Ede taught there in the years leading up to his election to Surrey County Council in 1914, when he became the leading figure in the development of education in Surrey; he eventually became Home Secretary throughout the Attlee administration.
From the History section of Mortlake on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
More about Mortlake
Economy
Mortlake is mostly a residential commuter town with a strong history of self-employed trades as it has traditionally centred its commerce on its foreshortened boundary, the Upper Richmond Road, arguably half part of East Sheen. Some businesses on the north side of the Upper Richmond Road make reference to the old ecclesiastical and ward boundaries supported by their still Mortlake side streets. East Sheen was once a manor in the parish of Mortlake and since early times an economic forum, and now a dining and convenience hub of the two districts. The Victoria County History's volume on Surrey, written from 1910 to 1912, does not list East Sheen as a parish, describes its detailed history under Mortlake and states the parish was "now connected with Barnes on one side and with New Richmond on the other". With the advent of motor transport, the buildings on Mortlake's winding high street, also known as the Lower Mortlake Road, have been mostly residential or used by the brewery.
From the Wikipedia article Mortlake, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Notable people from Mortlake
Humphrey BennetBritish politician (1605–1667), MP for PetersfieldPhoto: LGWHT, CC BY-SA 4.0- Shirley Driscollcricketer (born 1935)
- Alfred BigwoodEnglish cricketer (1857-1940)
- Edmund Henry LenonEnglish military officer (1838–1893); recipient of the Victoria Cross
- John HearmanAustralian politician
- Vic GodardBritish singer
- Joan TullyAustralian agricultural scientist (1907-1973)
- Montagu Frederick OmmanneyBritish civil servant
- Mary Frances ApplebeyEnglish civil servant and mental health campaigner (1916-2012)
Born in Mortlake, according to Wikidata (CC0). Each name links to its Wikipedia article.
Where to stay7
Churches and places of worship69
Barnes Methodist Church
Church · Methodist · 0.9 mi
Station Road, London
Cathedral of the Nativity of the Mother of God and the Holy Royal Martyrs
Church · Orthodox · 1.4 mi
57 Harvard Road, London
Grove Gardens Chapel
Church · Anglican · 1.4 mi
Lower Grove Road, Richmond
East Sheen Baptist Church
Church · Baptist · 0.4 mi
Temple Sheen Road, London
Shopping63
Gas and EV charging16
Schools, colleges and libraries52
Christ's Church of England Comprehensive Secondary School
School · Anglican · 1.1 mi
Queens Road, Richmond
Healthcare26
HCA UK Chiswick Outpatients & Diagnostics Centre
Clinic and pharmacy · 1.6 mi
347-353 Chiswick High Road, London
Dumlers Pharmacy
Clinic and pharmacy · 0.4 mi
495-497 Upper Richmond Road West, London
Map of Mortlake
250 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
Heathrow Airport (LHR) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 8 miles away.
- Barnes 1 mi east, about 1 min by car
- Kew 1 mi northwest, about 2 min by car
- Richmond 2 mi west, about 3 min by car
- Brentford 2 mi northwest, about 3 min by car
- Isleworth 3 mi west, about 5 min by car
- Osterley 4 mi west, about 6 min by car
- West Ealing 4 mi northwest, about 6 min by car
- Wimbledon Park 4 mi southeast, about 6 min by car
- Earlsfield 4 mi southeast, about 6 min by car
- Hampton Wick 4 mi southwest, about 6 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Towns near Mortlake
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Headlines from INDB.
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Sources and licences
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, coordinates, regions and time zone
- Mapillary (see each image): photos
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- Chiswick-Bridge-15-540-3, Patche99z, Public domain
- Kew Bridge in London 2007 Sept 21, Patche99z, CC BY 3.0
- Richmond 018 Richmond Bridge TT panorama, Amandajm, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Richmond Lock from Isleworth,Middx looking SE, Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Richmond Railway Bridge 333r1, Patche99z, CC BY 3.0
- The Exchange, Twickenham, Robert Smith, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Twickenham Bridge312-315b, Patche99z, CC BY 3.0
- Kew Palace (5942717068), xlibber, CC BY 2.0
- Marc Bolan's Rock Shrine - 1 - 2023-01-21, The wub, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Boston manor front 2943, P.g.champion, CC BY-SA 2.0 uk
- Ham House, London, Stevekeiretsu, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Entrance to The Kilmorey Mausoleum, Maxwell Hamilton, CC BY 2.0
- London Museum of Water & Steam entrance, Smurfy, CC0
- 'Sir Richard Francis Burton síremléke (2015), Bartholomeus Thoth, CC0
- London - April 2009 (3496483619), Cristian Bortes from Cluj-Napoca, Romania, CC BY 2.0
- Richmond Deer Park Obelisk, Amanda Slater from Coventry, West Midlands, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Radnor Gardens 20150516184455, KenBailey, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Terrace Gardens, juicyverve from London, UK, CC BY 2.0
- Isabella Plantation, Richmond Park, London - April 2011, Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Kew Baptist Church, Robert Smith, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Barnes Methodist Church - 2023-01-21, The wub, CC BY-SA 4.0
- East Sheen Christ Church fr SW, GeoUK 2139925, Eirian Evans, CC BY-SA 2.0
- East Sheen Baptist Church, Robert Smith, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Chiswick House from SE, Michael Coppins, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Chiswick Community School - London - 20110904b, GeorgesP, CC0
- King's House Sports Ground, Mx. Granger, CC0
- Hogarths house 5832, Unknown author, Public domain
- The Priory Hospital, Roehampton, London, Robert Smith, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Barn Church, Kew, Robert Smith, CC BY-SA 3.0
- George and Devonshire, Chiswick, W4 (4794395278), Ewan Munro from London, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0
- St Nicholas church Chiswick 806r, Patche99z, Public domain
- Russian Orthodox Cathedral, Gunnersbury - 1, The wub, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Kew Gardens Marian North Gallery, Prl42, CC BY-SA 3.0
- King William's Temple, Kew Gardens (3997546741), Rob Young from United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0
- Grove Gardens Chapel northwest, Cewjones01, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Kew Gardens Palm House, London - July 2009, Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Chiswick House from SE (cropped), Michael Coppins, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Queen Mary’s Hospital, 27 April 2020, United Hospitals, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Butterfly at Syon House, Keven Law from Los Angeles, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Beatrice Lewisohn Q theatre programme 1935, Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain
- GOC Richmond 213 Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond (14700706386), Peter O'Connor aka anemoneprojectors, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Richmond Theatre ceiling and chandelier, Gts-tg, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Richmond Green 5260-6s, Patche99z, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Street-level photo, peterneubauer, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, athuler, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, alexanderar, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, alexanderar, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, milhouse, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, ecatmur, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, southglos, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, ecatmur, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, southglos, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, alexanderar, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, gness, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, RyanBush, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, athuler, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, ecatmur, CC BY-SA 4.0
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