Time Walk
A Mansion's Ghost Beneath the Terraces
A baron's mansion once stood here; now terraced houses run along its vanished grounds. Walking it today, the houses read as one unified Victorian scheme, with matching trim and ironwork repeating house after house. At the southern end a former Victorian hotel building still faces the road.
Beneath the brick and railings lies the older layer: the grounds of that 17th-century house, and a street once known by a different name altogether. That change of name is where the story of Evandale Road begins.
Name Origin
From Cromwell Road to Evandale Road
The 1870 Ordnance Survey map records this street as Cromwell Road. The sources used here do not explain when or why it took its present name, nor what "Evandale" itself refers to. The road forms part of the Lambeth Wick Estate, the earliest phase of development within the wider Minet Estate area.
History
Loughborough House and the Making of a Street
A triangular piece of ground, now covered by Evandale Road and neighbouring streets, was once the site of Loughborough House and its grounds, standing on what is now the street's south-east corner. Henry Hastings, 1st Baron Loughborough, was living there in the 1660s; the house was rebuilt before 1700, later became a boys' boarding school, and was demolished around 1854.
Terraced building followed soon after, in gault brick toward the south and stock brick elsewhere. Nos. 18 and 20 form a matching semi-detached pair. At the southern end, a hotel building dating from the late 19th century replaced an earlier pub on the same site.
The south-east corner of Evandale Road sits on the exact spot once occupied by Loughborough House, home to a 17th-century baron and later a boys' boarding school.
People
Dancers, Painters and a Modeller
Comedy dancers James Allison (born James Beddoe, 1858–1921) and Lucy Allison (born Matilda Lucy Morrow, 1865–1948) lived at 4 Evandale Road in 1897–98. James was recuperating from injury after a year touring Australia with the Harry Rickards company in 1896–97.
The watercolour painter John Crowther (1837–c.1902), who exhibited at the Royal Academy, was recorded living in Evandale Road at the 1901 census. A modeller named James Mabey, son of the founder of an ornamental plastering and stone carving company, also lived on the street.
Recent Times
Restoration and Residents
A Council-led scheme in the 1970s and 1980s restored the terraces to their original appearance and brought them up to modern standards. Evandale Road now falls within the area covered by a local tenants' and residents' association.
Today
A Unified Victorian Street
Evandale Road still shows the unity its builders intended, its ironwork, including decorative handrails and window cill-guards, carrying that 1850s character along its length. Little on the surface recalls the baron's mansion that once stood here, but the street's very shape still traces its vanished grounds.
On the Map
Evandale Road Then & Now
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it called Evandale Road?
The street was recorded as Cromwell Road on the 1870 Ordnance Survey map. The sources used here do not explain why it was renamed Evandale Road or what the name itself refers to.
What is Evandale Road known for?
It stands on the former grounds of Loughborough House, a 17th-century mansion, and holds a well-preserved run of 1850s terraces. Comedy dancers James and Lucy Allison lived here in 1897–98, as did painter John Crowther.
What stood here before the street was built?
Loughborough House and its grounds, home to Henry Hastings, 1st Baron Loughborough, in the 1660s, later a boys' boarding school, demolished around 1854 to make way for new streets including Evandale Road.