Inventory Site Record

Sycamore House is managed by Hammersmith United Charities, who acquired the land for the almshouses in the 1950s. The original almshouse buildings were replaced in 2012 by a new 3-storey building, enclosing communal gardens. The gardens focus on plants known to encourage wildlife, and include a pond, a pergola and a large community greenhouse. In October 2024 the gardens were awarded the winner's cup in the 'Large Community Garden’ category in the London Almshouses Garden Competition run by London Gardens Society.

Site location:

Sycamore Gardens, Hammersmith

Postcode:

W6 0AS

What 3 Words:

fall.care.loops

Type of site:

Community Garden, Private Garden

Borough:

Hammersmith & Fulham

Open to public?

Occasionally

Opening times:

Has taken part in Open Garden Squares Weekend 11 times, most recently in 2025.

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Events:

https://hamunitedcharities.org.uk/housing-for-older-people/secret-gardens/; https://hamunitedcharities.org.uk/about-us/huc-history/  

Public transport:

Tube: Goldhawk Road (Hammersmith & City)

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

30/04/2025

Last minor changes:

31/03/2026

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. https://hamunitedcharities.org.uk

Described on the Hammersmith United Charities website as “the jewels in the crown, a little hidden paradise with a ‘wow’ factor”, the gardens of the sheltered housing provision at Sycamore House provide a peaceful green space for its 60+ residents. Together with John Betts House (q.v.), Sycamore House is owned and managed by the Hammersmith United Charities, which was set up in 1923 when a number of charities in the Hammersmith area merged. One of the key charities involved in the merger was the Dr Edwards' and Bishop King’s Fulham Charity, which had been established in 1618-20 after Chancellor to the Bishop of London, Dr Thomas Edwards, donated £100 (about £10,000 in today’s money) in a codicil to his will of 9 January 1618 'to the poor of Fulham, to buy them lands', followed 2 years later when Bishop John King, Bishop of London, donated £20 'to the poor of Fulham parish' in his will dated 4th March 1620, 'to be bestowed upon them in bread, beef, and money, at the discretion of his executors'. King Street in Hammersmith is named after the Bishop. These two sums were added together and Dr Edwards and Bishop King’s Fulham Charity was established. A Court Roll of the Manor on 13 May 1623 records that 'two acres of customary arable land, lying at the Perry, otherwise Parr Bridge, Fulham-fields' was surrendered by Peter Cripps and his wife Ann; and also 'two closes of pasture land, lying near Counter's bridge, containing three acres, to the use of Sir Edward Powell and others, [...] and it was declared that they were admitted on trust, to permit the Churchwardens and Overseers of Fulham to dispose of the rents of the lands to the use of the poor, according to the intent of the wills of the late Bishop King, and of Dr Thomas Edwards.' The details of the occupancy and use of these parcels of land are given in detail in Thomas Faulkner's 'The History and Antiquities of Hammersmith' of 1839. 

In 1834, the hamlet of Hammersmith became a separate parish to Fulham. The Charity Commissioners ordered that the income and assets from the combined charities of Dr Edwards and Bishop King should be divided equally between a Fulham and a Hammersmith branch. The Hammersmith branch formed the ‘root’ of Hammersmith United Charities that manages Sycamore House today. 

The original Sycamore House was built in the 1950s to provide 40 flats on land bought on favourable terms from Hammersmith Borough Council. The open plot of land is shown on the OS map of 1951, while the later OS 1:2500 map (TQ2279 & TQ2379), published in 1970 shows the almshouses as built, a three-sided range facing onto a rectangular open space divided into 3 rectangles by paths, with central path from the entrance on Sycamore Gardens, planted with a few trees. The building was officially opened on 9th June 1955 by HRH The Duchess of Gloucester. Since then there were a number of alterations to adapt spaces within the sheltered housing to provide additional accommodation. In March 2012 a new 3-storey building was constructed and opened with 20 flats with another 4 flats created from former offices and the original residents' lounge. The building surrounds an enclosed garden, and Sycamore House now provides 52 flats, including 2-bedroom flats and a guest flat that can be booked for visitors, as well as communal areas and other amenities.

Over the years the gardens at Sycamore House have been developed based on organic principles that help the environment by growing plants that attract butterflies, bees and birds; as well as plants that are stimulating in their colour, aroma and texture.

Sycamore House residents opt to tend their own hanging baskets, plant pots and an allotment area surrounding the courtyard gardens as well as some raised flowerbeds. Residents are encouraged to actively engage with the gardens by participating in various gardening projects and workshops that the gardeners run. The greenhouse is described as 'a hive of activity with fledgling plants being grown from seeds, vulnerable plants being nursed and residents just sitting there with a cup of coffee admiring the environment'.

The community value of Sycamore House gardens is well illustrated by a poem written by one of Sycamore House’s residents, Catherine Barry:

There’s a little piece of heaven just off the Goldhawk Road.

A place full of beauty, many flowers to behold.

As I sit in my little heaven: lost in thought of old and new.

The peace and calm around me, to touch it would be gold.

And then I hear the ripple of the water in the fish pond not far away, Saying Troubles? Just wash them all away.

Then a voice from the distance says “Hi – How are you?” Lonely?

How can I be “in my home in my heaven”

Just by the Sycamore tree.

Sources consulted:

Research undertaken by Philippa Drew
Thomas Faulkner, 'The History and Antiquities of Hammersmith', (Nichols & Son, London 1839);  https://hamunitedcharities.org.uk/housing-for-older-people/secret-gardens/; https://hamunitedcharities.org.uk/about-us/huc-history/ 
See materials in Hammersmith & Fulham Local Studies: album of photographs of visit by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother to gardens at Sycamore House and other venues in Hammersmith arranged by London Garden Society, 3 July 1963 (Ref DD/1052/2/5/1; DD/1052/26/1-5); A Lingen Watson, 'Hammersmith United Charities: Sycamore House: the Story of its inception, June 1955 (H362.624 HAM).

Grid ref:

TQ229794 (522995,179466)

Size in hectares:

Site ownership:

Hammersmith United Charities

Site management:

Hammersmith United Charities

Date(s):

1955

Designer(s):

Listed structures:

None

On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens:

No

Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965:

No

Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931:

No

Local Authority Data

The information below is taken from the relevant Local Authority's planning legislation, which was correct at the time of research but may have been amended in the interim. Please check with the Local Authority for latest planning information.

On Local List:

No

In Conservation Area:

No

Tree Preservation Order:

No

Nature Conservation Area:

No

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

No

Other LA designation:

None

Photo: Victoria Cripps

Click a photo to enlarge.