[1] Roehampton emerged as a favoured residential suburb of the 18th and 19th centuries following the opening of Putney Bridge in 1729 and the development of a number of large private estates from which several of the original houses survive.

Parkstead House (grade I) built in 1750 for William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough, now forms part of the University of Roehampton.

Mount Clare (grade I) built in 1772 for George Clive, cousin of Lord Clive, which forms part of the University of Roehampton, along with Grove House (grade II*), built originally for Sir Joshua Vanneck in 1777 (also now owned by the university).

Council contractors would cut the front hedges each summer to maintain a uniform height and appearance.

[3] Private ownership has damaged the integrity of the overall design, with hard standings replacing some gardens and renovations to the cladding and the windows breaking up the previous unity of the design, the area was made into a Conservation Area in 1978,[5] to protect it by removing PD rights, and a management strategy put in place to encourage owners to reinstate original features.

In 1991 Wandsworth Council was granted special powers by the then Department of the Environment to control virtually all alterations to the external appearance of houses on the Estate under an Article 4 Direction.

[3] The common characteristic of the LCC cottage estates is picturesque housing influenced by the Arts and Crafts style.

Each house was lit by gas, and the hotwater was provided by a boiler in the kitchen, a hand pump was used to raise the hot water to the bath room.

The privet hedges were uprooted and replaced with a mish-mash of wooden, brick and metal fences and gates.

Windows have been replaced in an unsympathetic way – the resulting UPVC not following the original small pane pattern, and even in some cases the opening was enlarged or the shape was changed.

In 1991 the council was granted special powers by the then Department of the Environment to control virtually all alterations to the external appearance of houses on the Estate.