Description
St Helier Estate was the largest LCC estate to be built south of the river and spans the boroughs of Sutton and Merton. It is one of a number of important LCC cottage estates inspired by the Garden City movement encouraged by Sir Ebenezer Howard and the pioneering town planning of Barry Parker and Raymond Unwin whose common characteristic is small-scale housing, often with excellent detailing, cul-de-sacs, generous verges and communal open spaces.
Practical Information
| Site location | Bishopsford Road/Peterborough Road/Buckhurst Avenue/Winchcombe Road/Westminster Road/Glastonbury Road |
|---|---|
| Postcode | SM5 1JE (Middleton Circle |
| What3Words | ///gently.hurt.labs |
| Type of Site | Housing/Estate Landscaping |
| Borough | Sutton |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Public Transport | Rail: St. Helier. Bus.:151, 154, 164, 280, 157, 80. |
| Research Updated | 1 July 2008 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
St Helier Estate began as London overspill to rehouse people from poor housing in Inner London. The area was once ancient woodland and later in agricultural use, particularly for Mitcham's lavender and herb industry. Between 1926 and 1929 the LCC acquired 334 hectares of former farmland south of Mitcham and west of the River Wandle, which was then part of the Urban Districts of Merton & Morden (322 acres), Carshalton (495 acres), Sutton and Cheam (5 acres). The estate was named after Lady Susan Mary St Helier, Councillor and LCC Alderman of from 1910-1927 who had campaigned for the improvement of housing facilities in London. However she died in 1931 before the estate was completed.
The land was acquired through County of London (Morden and Carshalton) Housing Order of December 1925, and building commenced on 29 July 1929. It was designed by LCC's Architects Department under G Topham Forrest as a self-contained community with shops, schools, churches, places of recreation and a railway station, and was built for the LCC by C J Wills and Sons. The roads were named after monastic establishments and the estate layout was inspired by the Garden City ideals then prevalent, following the principles of Sir Ebenezer Howard, founder of Letchworth and Welwyn Garden Cities. Existing natural features and mature trees from the previous landscape were retained where possible in the verges of the roads, and more than an eighth of the estate was kept as open space, in the form of greens and shrubberies, sports and recreation grounds. To facilitate construction and to transport building materials round the estate, a light railway was built linked to sidings at Mitcham.
When completed St Helier Estate had 18 schools, 7 churches, 2 large pubs, and the large Gaumont cinema that later became a bingo hall. By 1938 there were 60 shops and 40,000 people were accommodated in 9,000 houses and flats. The portion of the estate in Sutton is south of Love Lane and Bishopsford Road, bounded to the east by Peterborough Road, with Westminster Road, Winchcombe Road and Buckhurst Avenue bounding the estate to the south, with Glastonbury Road to the west. A number of public open spaces are located in this part of the estate, including part of Rosehill Park West and East, St Helier Open Space and Revesby Wood (q.q.v.).
The land was acquired through County of London (Morden and Carshalton) Housing Order of December 1925, and building commenced on 29 July 1929. It was designed by LCC's Architects Department under G Topham Forrest as a self-contained community with shops, schools, churches, places of recreation and a railway station, and was built for the LCC by C J Wills and Sons. The roads were named after monastic establishments and the estate layout was inspired by the Garden City ideals then prevalent, following the principles of Sir Ebenezer Howard, founder of Letchworth and Welwyn Garden Cities. Existing natural features and mature trees from the previous landscape were retained where possible in the verges of the roads, and more than an eighth of the estate was kept as open space, in the form of greens and shrubberies, sports and recreation grounds. To facilitate construction and to transport building materials round the estate, a light railway was built linked to sidings at Mitcham.
When completed St Helier Estate had 18 schools, 7 churches, 2 large pubs, and the large Gaumont cinema that later became a bingo hall. By 1938 there were 60 shops and 40,000 people were accommodated in 9,000 houses and flats. The portion of the estate in Sutton is south of Love Lane and Bishopsford Road, bounded to the east by Peterborough Road, with Westminster Road, Winchcombe Road and Buckhurst Avenue bounding the estate to the south, with Glastonbury Road to the west. A number of public open spaces are located in this part of the estate, including part of Rosehill Park West and East, St Helier Open Space and Revesby Wood (q.q.v.).
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ271666 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 47 |
| Site Ownership | individual residents |
| Site Management | LB Sutton and individual residents |
| Dates | 1929-36 |
| Designers | LCC: G.Topham Forrest |
| 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 | Sutton |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
| Other LA Designation | Area of special local character (part) |
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
Revesby Wood is the remains of old woodland to the north west of St Helier Open Space with mature oaks and other trees. The 1st edition OS map of 1867 shows woodland here as today. Some new planting has taken place in recent years. It is within the large St Helier Estate, which was built by the LCC from 1929-38.
St Helier Open Space combines several pieces of land crossing south-west/ north-east across the St Helier Estate, which was built by the LCC from 1929-38. The 1st edition OS map of 1867 shows the site as farmland. The public open space is largely grassland with playing fields, with Revesby Wood to the north-west. Carshalton Sports Arena was built in the area to the south-west of Middleton Road, which bisects the site.
Poulter Park is named after the co-donor Reginald Poulter. Although much remains of the original estate Bishopsford House, first shown on the OS map of 1878, was burnt down in 2001. It was made into a public park c.1925 and has late C19th parkland around the house and avenues leading to it, although little there from the earlier park landscape.