Time Walk
The Road That Outlasted a Village
This lane once led into Clapham's original village, long before the common and the grand terraces came. Today it is a quiet residential street just off Wandsworth Road, still modest and domestic in scale.
Underneath the pavement lies a settlement of only a handful of households, taxed here in the fourteenth century. The street's own name, though, points to something much later standing at its corner — a pub, not a church or a manor.
Name Origin
A Horse's Head on the Corner
North Street was formerly called Nag's Head Lane, after the Nag's Head Public House that stood at the corner of North Street and Wandsworth Road. A pub on that site is recorded from at least the early 19th century, appearing on a map of 1828. The sources used here do not explain when the lane's name changed to North Street.
History
Village, Lane, Brewery
The old village of Clapham was centred around North Street, Rectory Grove and Turret Grove, running down to the common. It was a small, rural settlement through the medieval period: only 18 tax-paying inhabitants were registered here in 1332.
The Plough brewery buildings once stood to the north of North Street, at its junction with Wandsworth Road. The Nag's Head pub there was rebuilt in 1876 by J Parsons.
In 1332 the entire village that included North Street had only 18 taxpaying residents.
People
The Builder of the Corner Pub
J Parsons rebuilt the Nag's Head in 1876, replacing an older pub that had stood on the same corner since at least the early 19th century.
Today
Early Brick Still Standing
Two early listed houses still mark the west side of the street. Numbers 43 and 45 North Street are Grade II listed, built in stock brick in the early to mid-19th century, with a shop front to the corner. At the Wandsworth Road end, the rebuilt Nag's Head remained in use as a pub as of 2003.
On the Map
North Street Then & Now
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it called North Street?
The street was formerly called Nag's Head Lane, after the Nag's Head Public House at its corner with Wandsworth Road. The sources used here do not explain when or why it became North Street.
What is North Street known for?
It was part of the old village of Clapham, centred around Rectory Grove and Old Town, and still has the rebuilt Nag's Head pub and two early 19th-century listed houses at Nos. 43 and 45.
How old is the Nag's Head pub on North Street?
A public house stood on the corner site from at least the early 19th century and appears on a map of 1828. It was rebuilt by J Parsons in 1876 and remained a pub as of 2003.