BARNES AND MORTLAKE

BARNES AND MORTLAKE VILLAGES The boundaries of Barnes have been undisputed for centuries and the village occupies 902 acres. This walk will take you to its western extremity where it borders Mortlake village. Both villages were listed in the Domesday Book (1087) under their Saxon names Berne (meaning barn) and Mortelage (possibly meaning a watercourse controlled by Morta, a Saxon leader). Although they didn't always see eye to eye, both villages benefited from being able to trade with the ever growing city of London down river. However, this part of the meander remained a bit of a rural backwater until the first Hammersmith Bridge was built in 1827. THE RED LION Records show that the Red Lyon was an established small thatched pub with a stable by 1718. It burnt down in 1836 and was replaced with this building. Lions are a theme of many Barnes houses too; legend has it that a builder ordered 100 lions to embellish his newly built houses and 1000 arrived.

2 Castelnau, Barnes, London, United Kingdom where it was