Mortlake

For other places with the same name, see Mortlake (disambiguation).

Mortlake is a part of south west London between Sheen and Barnes and bounded by the river Thames to the north. It is part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.

Its most famous former resident is Elizabeth I's advisor, John Dee.

The cemetery of St Mary Magdalene's Church in Mortlake contains the tomb of Sir Richard Burton.

Since 1845, the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race has had its finish point at Mortlake.

The village of Mortlake appears in the Domesday book, and the manor belonged to the Archbishops of Canterbury until the time of Henry VIII, when it passed by exchange to the Crown.

From the early part of the 17th century until after the civil wars, Mortlake was celebrated for the manufacture of tapestry.

The origin of the name is obscured by time but it is not, contrary to popular belief, from being a plague burial site. A "mortlake" is another name for an oxbow but there is no lake now, and the village was already established hundreds of years before the plague. The name is almost certainly derived from the name of an early saxon chief "MORTA" and his part of the Thames, his "LAKE", which word meant a stretch of running water then rather than its modern meaning. The excellent fishing of salmon from the Thames here was the main reason for the settlement of the village.

Little is left today of Mortlake highstreet. The Stag Brewery, which now produces the American lager Budweiser and was formerly owned by Watney's, often sends the smell of hops over a wide area given changes in wind direction.

External links

Nearest places:

Nearest railway stations:

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames

Constituencies: Richmond Park | Twickenham

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