Description
Mallard Place is a development of houses and flats built by Eric Lyons Cunningham Partnership. Like Lyons' earlier Span developments the design adheres to the principles of building housing within a landscaped setting of trees, communal lawns and gardens. Here there are gardens down to the river where there are moorings for the residents. Trees including mature conifers, areas of lawn, ornamental planting and courtyard gardens. Towards the river is a small hedged residents' swimming pool.
Practical Information
| Site location | Strawberry Vale, Twickenham |
|---|---|
| Postcode | TW1 |
| What3Words | ///foster.rear.proven |
| Type of Site | Housing/Estate Landscaping |
| Borough | Richmond |
| Open to Public | Partially |
| Opening Times | private, but communal areas appear accessible |
| Public Transport | Rail: Strawberry Hill/Teddington then bus. Bus: R68. |
| Research Updated | 1 February 2004 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
A development of 45 houses and 57 flats built by Eric Lyons Cunningham Partnership, responsible for earlier Span Development Ltd.'s estates such as Fieldend (q.v.), and described by Pevsner as 'a denser but more affluent development than the earlier Span schemes'. Eric Lyons' Span developments were built from the late 1950s, particularly in Twickenham and Petersham, with a governing principle being to set the housing amidst gentle landscaping with trees planted, communal lawns, and courtyard gardens important components. Mallard Place won a 1983 Civic Trust Award and a 1985 Housing Design Award, and was Sir Eric Lyons' last project.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ161721 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 1.76 |
| Site Ownership | private |
| Dates | 1978-80 |
| Designers | Eric Lyons Cunningham Partnership |
| 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 | Richmond |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Mallard Place |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - Thames Policy Area |
Gallery
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Nearby parks and gardens
* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens
In 1747 Horace Walpole leased then purchased a late C17th house in Twickenham and between 1749 and 1776 he created Strawberry Hill, extending the house into what has been called a cross between a medieval castle and an abbey. He purchased further land over the years, including meadows to the east and south, and his grounds eventually ran down to the river. Although land has been lost to housing and the view lost to woodland the grassed areas and the layout of his tree planting survive.
In 1747 Horace Walpole leased then purchased a late C17th house in Twickenham and between 1749 and 1776 he created Strawberry Hill, extending the house into what has been called a cross between a medieval castle and an abbey. He purchased further land over the years, including meadows to the east and south, and his grounds eventually ran down to the river. Although land has been lost to housing and the view lost to woodland the grassed areas and the layout of his tree planting survive.
Radnor Gardens are named after one of the many substantial C18th properties that lined the riverside, although the gardens of both Radnor House and Cross Deep House were once on the site. Before the river was embanked part of the site encompassed two aits or small islands, and in 1903 Cross Deep Ait became a public pleasure garden. Radnor House was destroyed in WWII and its gardens became part of the public park. In 1968 the intervening channel was filled in. In the gardens are a rococo seat/shelter from Cross Deep House and a small gazebo, both restored with support from the MPGA and others. A war memorial with bronze statue of a soldier is in the south of the park near the bowling green.
* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens
Eric Lyons' Span developments were built from the late 1950s, particularly in Twickenham and Petersham, with a governing principle being to set the housing amidst gentle landscaping with trees planted, communal lawns, and courtyard gardens. Fieldend was built in 1960/61, a development of 51 weather-boarded terrace houses with private gardens arranged informally among landscaping that has silver birches, grass areas and shrubs. The estate was described by Nikolaus Pevsner as 'now the most sylvan of all Span developments in London'.
Eric Lyons' Span developments were built from the late 1950s, particularly in Twickenham and Petersham, with a governing principle being to set the housing amidst gentle landscaping with trees planted, communal lawns, and courtyard gardens. Fieldend was built in 1960/61, a development of 51 weather-boarded terrace houses with private gardens arranged informally among landscaping that has silver birches, grass areas and shrubs. The estate was described by Nikolaus Pevsner as 'now the most sylvan of all Span developments in London'.
