Fulham

Lore & Background

First recorded by name in 691, Fulham was an extensive Anglo-Saxon estate, the Manor of Fulham, and then a parish. Its domain stretched from modern-day Chiswick in the west to Chelsea in the southeast; and from Harlesden in the northwest to Kensal Green in the northeast. It originally included today's Hammersmith. Between 1900 and 1965, it was demarcated as the Metropolitan Borough of Fulham, before its merger with the Metropolitan Borough of Hammersmith to create the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The district is split between the western and south-western postal areas.

Reader's Guide

Two Premier League football clubs, Fulham and Chelsea, play in Fulham. Two other notable sporting clubs are the Hurlingham Club, known for polo, and the Queen's tennis club, known for its annual pre-Wimbledon tennis tournament. In the 1800s, Lillie Bridge Grounds hosted the first meetings of the Amateur Athletic Association of England, the second FA Cup Final, and the first amateur boxing matches. The Lillie Bridge area was the home ground of the Middlesex County Cricket Club, before it moved to Marylebone.

Did You Know?

• The word Fulham originates from Old English, with Fulla being a personal name, and hamm meaning land hemmed in by water or marsh.
• Fulham is spelt Fuleham in the 1066 Domesday Book.
• Approximately 5,000 years ago Neolithic people were living by the riverside and in other parts of the area.
• Excavations have revealed Roman settlements during the third and fourth centuries AD.
• The Manor of Fulham was granted to Bishop Erkenwald about the year 691 for himself and his successors as Bishop of London.