Description
Fairlawn was built in 1853, a fine villa with substantial gardens designed by Robert Marnock. After WWII the house was acquired by the LCC and in the early 1950s became a home for the blind and later for the elderly. In 1980 the GLC, who had taken over from the LCC, relinquished the house and it fell into disrepair. In 1984 Hiram Walker International purchased the site and restored the house, but later vacated and the house has since been adapted as apartments and renamed Fairlawns. Today the original gardens are severely truncated and the lower area is now part of Windlesham Grove Estate.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Fairlawn |
|---|---|
| Site location | 89, Wimbledon Park Side |
| Postcode | SW19 |
| What3Words | ///they.sheets.horses |
| Type of Site | Private Garden |
| Borough | Wandsworth |
| Open to Public | No |
| Opening Times | private grounds |
| Public Transport | Rail: Putney then bus |
| Research Updated | 1 April 2012 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Fairlawn is a Victorian villa designed in 1853 by Rawlinson Parkinson for Edwin Saunders (1814-1901), surgeon dentist to Queen Victoria and Edward VII and eminent in the field of dentistry, for which he was knighted in 1883. Parkinson exhibited his plans for the villa at the Royal Academy in 1853; he was later District Surveyor of the Western District of the City of London. The house is in late classical style with two wings, heavy pediments on giant pilasters and a screen of Ionic columns in front of the entrance. It once had substantial gardens, which were designed by Robert Marnock. A contemporary account describes 'a semi circular carriage drive with belts of picturesque trees, evergreens and deciduous shrubs. In the rear of the mansion and grounds were woodlands and pleasant country roads. On the south side is a spacious ornamental conservatory gay with flowering plants at all seasons of the year (. . .) from the terrace at the back of the mansion, the visitor looks down upon a pleasant rose garden'.
Following Sir Edwin's death his widow remained here until 1907, after which it was purchased by a Mrs Ganzoni and then by Alfred Robert Faulkner, whose grandfather set up the successful Faulkner's tobacco business. Faulkner lived at Fairlawns until his death in 1939.
Following Sir Edwin's death his widow remained here until 1907, after which it was purchased by a Mrs Ganzoni and then by Alfred Robert Faulkner, whose grandfather set up the successful Faulkner's tobacco business. Faulkner lived at Fairlawns until his death in 1939.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ236734 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | private |
| Dates | 1853 |
| Designers | Robert Marnock |
| Listed Structures | LBII: Fairlawn |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Wandsworth |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Putney Heath |
| Tree Preservation Order | Yes |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
Victoria Drive Open Space is a landscaped open space and garden at the rear of Fairlawns (q.v.), a large mansion now converted for private residential use. The gardens were once part of the original grounds, as marked on OS maps of the 1890s, which shows the pond that remains in the gardens. A small built structure may be a relic of the earlier estate.. The gardens are part of the Ackroyden (west) housing estate, that includes Oatlands Court to the north of the garden.
Wildcroft Manor Gardens Estate comprises 56 flats built in 1936 on the 3-acre site of the former Wildcroft Manor. David Hartley's historic Fireproof House previously stood on the site. An obelisk in his memory stands nearby on Putney Heath. The estate gardens comprise lawns, mature trees, a formal area with box hedging and a pond with a small fountain. The gardens are constantly evolving but retain their original 1930s layout, a traditional garden with many roses and mature shrubs. The gilded ornamental entrance gates of c.1900 to Wildcroft Manor survived being taken for the war effort in WWII, reputedly because Queen Mary had admired them when passing by. They were made by J & C McLaughlin Ltd of Dublin.
Linden Lodge School for the Blind is in the grounds of North House, a private residence designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens for Robert Wilson Black, its garden designed by Gertrude Jekyll. The house later became Linden Lodge School in the late 1940s, taking the name from its sister school on Wandsworth Common, which itself eventually relocated here in 1964 to create the single site school of today. In 2006 the original house was refurbished, the Jekyll garden restored and a new residential building erected. The school gardens now consist of a number of areas, including a Sensory Garden and Woodland Walk, designed to support its work as a specialist regional centre for children with visual impairment. In 2006 Sprunt Architects extensively refurbished the Lutyens house, designed a new residential building for the students in the grounds and restored the original Gertrude Jekyll garden.
