Castelnau, London


Castelnau is a road in Barnes, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, south west London, approximately west from Charing Cross on the south side of the River Thames. About long, it is the main road south from Hammersmith Bridge and forms part of the A306 road. It was originally named Upper Bridge Road. The name Castelnau is also used informally for Castelnau Estate.
An area of Barnes including Castelnau was designated a conservation area in 1977.

Etymology

Castelnau takes its name from Castelnau-Valence, near Nimes in France: in 1691, the 10th Baron of Castelnau and St Croix, a Huguenot, fled France for England following persecution, and his son, Charles Boileau, settled in north Barnes and his descendants developed parts of the area. Maurice Boileau, the other son of the 10th Baron, stayed in the Castle and his descendants still live in the castle.
Castelnau means "new castle" in the Occitan language. Three different English pronunciations of the word "Castelnau" seem to be in current use, all differing only in the final vowel: "castle know" is more ancient, and resembles the original French vowel, "castle now" is perhaps used to match with Nassau Road in the area, and "castle gnaw" is favoured by more recent inhabitants.

History

Castelnau was developed after the opening of Hammersmith Bridge in 1827.
Major Charles Lestock Boileau built Castelnau Villas, designed by the architect William Laxton, in 1842, followed by rows of cottages called Castelnau Row, Castelnau Place and Gothic Cottages. After his death in 1889, Upper Bridge Road was renamed Castelnau.

Castelnau Estate

In 1926, London County Council built a cottage estate of 640 houses, called Castelnau Estate, on the site of a market garden. In 1971 these passed to ownership of Richmond upon Thames Council. Many are now privately owned. Many of the roads in this estate are named after Deans of St. Paul's who had been Lords of the manor of Barnes between the 14th and 17th centuries: Everdon, Kilmington, Alderbury, Kentwode, Howsman and Stillingfleet.

Notable buildings

Castelnau is noted for 20 pairs of exceptional classical villas which were built in 1842 by Major Boileau. There are also two churches:
From around the time of World War II to 1987, the art dealership Abbott and Holder operated a gallery in the house at 73 Castelnau, which was also the home of the founder, Robert Abbott.