Local History
Situated in a conservation area, our neighbourhood is known for its beautiful garden square, historic church, and statues that tell the stories of our past. Before the 1800s the area was open fields and woodland.
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St Peter's Square was laid out during the economic boom of the 1820s, when the then owner, George Scott decided to build a speculative housing development on part of his Ravenscourt Park estate. Scott also provided the land for St Peter’s church, which was completed in 1829.
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The public garden at the centre of the Square is now Grade II listed by English Heritage and SPRA work closely with Hammersmith and Fulham council to make it the heart of the conservation area. The centre of the garden is occupied by a sculpture, The Greek Runner, by Sir William Blake Richmond, erected in 1926.
The construction of the Great West Road in the late 1950s severed links between the conservation area and both the River Thames and Mall conservation area. The post war modernist sculpture, The Leaning Woman, by the Czech artist Karel Vogel was erected in 1959. Some say this was as a thank you to local residents for the disruption, others believe it was a welcome to London.
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To learn more, we recommend checking out our fascinating local history book: St Peter's Estate: A History of St Peter's Square and its neighbourhood by Jilly Paver.
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The author has lived in the neighbourhood for over seventy years and this book outlines the original development, growth and change of the area over the last 200 years. It includes newly researched information, photographs, maps and anecdotal accounts from times past.
The book costs £12 to collect or £15 to include postage and packing, and can be ordered by emailing your details here.
Safer Neighbourhoods
Since COVID there have been considerable changes to the way the local police interact with the community. The police led facebook page and neighbour watch scheme have been discontinued. Nonetheless our local police team remain committed to our safety in the area. Each time we meet they reinforce how much value they find in crimes being reported. A report is compiled each morning and these allows them to identify local trends and helps determine their activity.
Report a Crime
Phone 999 for anything urgent.
For anything non urgent, call 101 or report online at met.police.uk
Or you can email our local Ravenscourt police team at ravenscourtpark.snt@met.police.uk
If you encounter antisocial behaviour you can also report it to the council's Law Enforcement Team (LET) on 020 8753 2693 or email asbu@lbhf.gov.uk
Police Ward Panel Meetings
SPRA is represented at the regular local Police Ward Panel Meetings where the local community meets with the local police to discuss current issues.
If you have anything specific which you’d like us to raise, please let us know
Neighbourhood Watch
Although the formal neighbour watch scheme has been discontinued, we have a number of previous coordinators in the area who are still active and communicate amongst themselves and with their immediate neighbours.
They cover St Peter’s Square and Villas, Black Lion Lane, St Peter’s Grove and Standish Road.
If you’d like to represent your road please contact us and we can introduce you.
London Borough of Hammersmith and
Fulham
'Doing things with, not to residents'
To get help or information, manage payments or report problems you can call them on 0208 748 3020. use the LBHF smartphone app or the LBHF website.
The Borough is divided into 21 Wards. We are part of Ravenscourt Ward. We have two councillors elected to represent us.
Our current councillors are:
Liz Collins (e: Liz.Collins@lbhf.gov.uk)
Patrick Walsh (e: Patrick.Walsh@lbhf.gov.uk)
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They offer a Drop-In-Surgery at
- The Grove Neighbourhood Centre, 7 Bradmore Park Road, W6 0DT on the 1st Sunday of the month 11:00 - 12:00 (except August)
- LBHF offices, 145 King St, W6 9JT on the last Sunday of the month 11:00 - 12:30
Planning
St Peter's Conservation Area
As a Conservation Area we are bound by extensive rules about what is and isn't permitted. You can check on and comment on any planning applications near you by using the council website here. SPRA also review any planning applications in the local area and comment as appropriate.
Flags
The flags flown on the flag pole in St Peter's Square have relevance or resonance for the community of which we are a part. They may be proactive or reactive; they can be celebratory or may mark an event or tragedy in our world.
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The flags are actively managed by a team volunteers. Whilst the flags and flagpole are not provided or owned by SPRA, we love to chat all things flag related. Flags will be non-party political.
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Where appropriate and possible we respond positively to requests from members of the community for flags to be flown (they frequently also provide the flag!)
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If there is a flag that you would have like to see, let us know. It may be that we simply don’t have the relevant flag!
Film and TV
The St Peter’s area has proved a popular spot for TV and film productions over the years and local Residents have watched with interest as for instance, a snow covered Edwardian London streetscape emerged or as the Square was transformed into a 70’s playground complete with a Rayleigh ‘Chopper’ bike.
In 2024 Malice was filmed on St Peter’s Villas, just outside the Carpenters Arms and Outrageous, a 1930’s drama was filmed at the Carpenters Arms and in the Square. The Cross Keys pub has played host to dramas such as the TV mini series Pistols, whilst St Peter’s Square remains the most popular backdrop in our local area as featured in The Pumpkin Eater (1963), The Sweeney (1970s), I Capture the Castle (2003), Miss Potter (2006), Silent Witness (2010) and Pennyworth (2021)
To film in the SPRA area, you need to register and apply to film in the London Borough Of Hammersmith and Fulham through the Film Office, who use an app based application process linked here.
In turn the LBHF Film Office will contact SPRA to provide a local perspective on the proposal and to gain local insight and help to coordinate with Residents.
To help compensate for some of the disruption during set up and filming, whether in the public realm or in a private home or business across the whole SPRA area, we welcome a donation to the Residents Association. This goes towards upkeep of the Square, community events and projects thus benefiting the wider community.
