Property

Nestled between Wandsworth and Clapham Commons, Northcote Road is half a mile long and runs in a near-straight line south from the busy crossroads with Battersea Rise to Broomwood Road. Visit during the day in the middle of the week, and you’ll find the street bustling with young mums on their way to baby yoga or one of the local organic grocery shops. So numerous are young families that the area was dubbed ‘Nappy Valley’ a few years back.

However, pop by in the evening and it’s a different picture: bars and restaurants burst with young professionals, many of them residents who are either renting or have bought their first flats. At weekends market stalls selling artisan breads, cheeses, fruit and veg, flowers, clothes and other crafts attract people from further afield in the borough. In short, Northcote Road is the thriving hub of Battersea, and although living on its doorstep comes at a price, it’s still possible to buy or rent in the area if you are prepared to spend time looking, buy ex-council or venture slightly further away to one of the streets leading off Northcote Road or even nearby Lavender Hill. And another plus: Wandsworth has one of the lowest council tax rates in the capital.

The area has exceptionally good transport links despite having no tube station (Clapham Common, Clapham South and Balham on the Northern Line are 30-40 minutes’ walk away) with numerous bus routes and trains throughout the day to Victoria and Waterloo. However, Clapham Junction railway station is misnamed as technically it is in mid-Battersea – Clapham Common starts half a mile away (it’s a mile-and-a-half to Clapham Old Town). When the station opened in 1863 (incidentally the same year the Metropolitan Railway first opened to the public) it was given the more fashionable name of ‘Clapham’ and the name has stuck. Until the mid-1800s the area was largely agricultural – nearby Lavender Hill was, literally, lavender fields until the 1830s. In the 1880s the area was built up into a busy suburb by enterprising developers; construction of Northcote Road and adjoining St John’s Road began in 1865, following the course of the old Falcon Brook that had been covered over and diverted to enable construction of roads, houses and shops. You can see the shallow valley if you look down one of the perpendicular roads from Bolingbroke Grove or Webb’s Road.

Battersea suffered heavily during WWII due to its railway yards, power station and bridges, and the area fell into decline, with Clapham and nearby Wandsworth regarded as smarter places to live. As a result, Clapham Junction and its surrounds became very working-class and in the 1960s gangs of skinheads would come to look for trouble. The current middle-class revival began in the 1980s when young, urban professionals with disposable incomes started to move in.

(click to enlarge) A Bollingbroke books B Kelly's Foods C Holy Drinker D Hamish Johnson E The HIve

Walk along Northcote Road today and there is a palpable sense of community. Alongside the ubiquitous chains – Waterstone’s, Starbucks and All Bar One, for example – there are real gems: the Bolingbroke Bookshop (No 155a; 020 7228 6850) has a loyal customer following; the Hive Honey Shop (No 93; 020 7924 6233) is one of London’s most unusual shops and people travel from far and wide to visit or take a beekeeping course; near the grey concrete bunker of a public library (No 155e; 020 8871 7469) are plenty of antiques shops as well as the eclectic Raspberry Beret (No 151; 020 7738 0977), which sells top-notch secondhand and vintage clothes.

Northcote Road is a gastronome’s delight, boasting a superb butcher, Dove (No 71; 020 7223 5191), the excellent Philglas & Swiggot wine merchant (No 21; 020 7924 4494), Hamish Johnson’s cheese shop (No 48; 020 7738 0741), Kelly’s Organic Foods (No 46; 020 7207 3967), Northcote Fisheries (No 14; 020 7978 4428) and the Lighthouse Bakery (No 64; 020 7228 4537). Of the numerous bars and restaurants, the Holy Drinker (No 59; 020 7801 0544) is a firm favourite with locals, as is family-friendly Boiled Egg & Soldiers (No 63; 020 7223 4894). Tony’s Northcote Café (No 74) is a genuine greasy spoon that’s graced the road for 18 years. Battersea Rise is also filled with shops, bars and restaurants, and leads to the grand houses on Clapham Common North Side – where Times founder John Walker lived from 1773 to 1783 – which have highly desirable views over the common.

Housing on Northcote Road and surrounding streets is predominantly Victorian terraces, roughly a 50-50 mix of houses and flat conversions. The houses are generally three-bedroom and occupied by families who tend to extend to create a fourth bedroom if needed so they can remain in the area. In other words, if you’re looking to buy in the area, you’ll have to be quick off the mark.

Due to the abundance of amenities and the easy commute into town, this is an excellent area for renting and there are plenty of flats available. Although most of the flats are Victorian conversions, there are purpose-built blocks springing up, and some mansion blocks along Nightingale Lane towards Clapham South. For something cheaper, look in the shabbier area to the north of the station where you’ll find a mix of Victorian housing and high-rise blocks.

Estate agents
Andrew Kent
99 Northcote Rd, SW11 (020 7223 0947).
Cluttons
125 Northcote Rd, SW11 (020 7223 7574/www.cluttons.com).
Green Locations
129 Northcote Rd, SW11 (020 7738 1538/www.greenlocations.com).
Haart
125 Northcote Rd, SW11 (020 7228 6588/www.haart.co.uk).

Transport
Overground trains run from Clapham Junction to Victoria and Waterloo, as well as to the West Country and the south coast. Silverlink serves West Brompton, Kensington Olympia and Willesden Junction. Bus routes include the 35 and 37 to Brixton, the 337 to Richmond and the 319 to Chelsea.