Chard Estate Agents - Hammersmith area guide

Hammersmith, W6

The area known as Hammersmith sprawls out on each side of the Shepherd’s Bush Road and property-wise, has something for everybody. There are grand mansion flats, Victorian and Edwardian terraced houses of varying sizes, good-value conversions and purpose-built apartment blocks.  The area suits families, singles, sharers,young couples and students equally as it is very near to all the facilities of Central London but offers a quick getaway on the A4/M4 towards Heathrow, M40 to Oxford and Birmingham and is only a short drive away from the North Circular and A3.

Because Hammersmith is so built up, there are not many new developments and possibly the newest is the large gated estate of Windsor Way at the end of Brook Green near Olympia.  But there is plenty of property choice, with quiet streets and busy streets, characterful little cottages and large ex-local authority estates which are mainly in excellent condition. Three high-rise blocks on Shepherds Bush Green offer fantastic views from the top floors and are extremely secure and well kept.
The area is highly recommended for City and West End commuters owing to the excellent transport links.

Hammersmith rose to prominence in Victorian times when rows of houses were built to cater for the newly professional and upper working classes who needed homes near to London. Architecturally more modest and less daunting than nearby Holland Park, it is an easy, comfortable place to live. Many of the local authority blocks date back to just after the Second World War, when the area was extensively bombed and left gaps in the streets. Some of the Victorian houses still standing have suffered from bomb damage, as the wonky walls bear witness.  

Shepherd’s Bush Road itself has come up enormously in recent years and offers trendy restaurants such as Snow’s, a Café Rouge and upmarket florists, gift shops and a fishmonger as well as all the useful convenience shops, plus a huge Tesco.  For families, there are excellent schools nearby including the famous highly academic St Paul’s School for Girls.

The covered Shepherds Bush W12 Centre has chains such as Peacocks and Boots, and just over the road is the brand-new Westfield London Centre, (opening October 2008) which is advertised as being the biggest shopping centre in Europe. The Westfield Centre is bringing Bond Street shopping to the area for the first time in its history and boutiques such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Armani will give the Centre an American, Miami shopping-mall feel.

For entertainment, there is the Lyric Theatre in King Street, the long-established fringe Shepherds Bush Theatre, and a multiplex cinema in the Shepherds Bush W12 Centre, as well as a huge Wetherspoons.
At the end of Castelnau in Barnes is the Wetlands wildlife centre and Richmond Park and Kew Gardens are only a short drive or bus ride away.

Fitness fanatics are supremely well catered for as there are at least four excellent fitness centres in the area, plus the spa at the K West Hotel. All the fitness centres are membership clubs. There are public tennis courts on both Shepherds Bush Green and Brook Green.  

Shepherds’ Bush roundabout is phenomenally busy with traffic day and night and parking is difficult although there is a basement car park at Morrisons in the Shepherds Bush W12 Centre. There are several all-night shops and bagel bars on the roundabout, and an underground nightclub on Shepherd’s Bush Green.