Cottage housing on Medfield Street,
modernism on the Alton.
SW15 · Wandsworth · FENSA Reg 40373
Glazing for Roehampton properties
- Postcodes coveredSW15
- CouncilLondon Borough of Wandsworth
- Distance from base5.1 miles from Isleworth
- Conservation areas4 in and around Roehampton
- FENSA registeredReg 40373, self-certified installations
Conservation areas
The estate designation is simply "Alton" - Alton East and Alton West are construction phases inside it, not separate conservation areas, and there is no Roehampton Lane designation. The Medfield Street Article 4 was sealed on 6 August 2004.
Housing stock in Roehampton
Wandsworth's Roehampton Village appraisal describes "the working class, cottage style housing along Medfield Street" with "a remarkable degree of retention of original timber glazing bar sashes", alongside larger stock-brick villas on Ponsonby Road and Treville Street.
| Era | Where | Recommended products |
|---|---|---|
| Cottage style housing | Medfield Street - remarkable retention of original timber glazing bar sashes | uPVC Sash Window, uPVC Flush Casement |
| Stock brick villas | Ponsonby Road and Treville Street - larger detached and semi-detached | uPVC Sash Window, uPVC Bay & Bow |
| Garden suburb cottages | Dover House Estate, 1920-1927 - all original window types used glazing bars | uPVC Flush Casement, Aluminium Heritage Window |
| Postwar modernism | Alton East 1951-55 and Alton West 1955-59 - originally metal-framed | Aluminium Casement, Aluminium Flush Casement |
Frequently asked about Roehampton
Where does the Roehampton Article 4 direction apply?
Wandsworth's direction for Roehampton Village covers Medfield Street and was sealed on 6 August 2004. The borough has directions in only nine of its 46 conservation areas, and several - including this one - apply to part of the area rather than all of it.
Is the Alton Estate one conservation area or two?
One, called Alton. Alton East, built 1951-55, and Alton West, built 1955-59, are phases within it, not separate designations. Wandsworth records that the Alton conservation area covers 58.1 hectares and contains more Grade I and Grade II* listed buildings than any other conservation area in the borough.
What does that mean for windows on the Alton Estate?
Listed buildings need listed building consent for window work regardless of anything else, and on an estate of this significance the original metal-framed fenestration is a defining feature. Matching the original sightlines matters more here than on almost any other stock in SW15.
What does Wandsworth say about uPVC?
The recurring formula across its appraisals is "uPVC windows usually fail to replicate original detail sufficiently and are not recommended". The Dover House Estate appraisal goes further: "If you want to change your original timber or metal windows to Upvc you will need to apply for planning permission, because no Upvc windows contractor has so far been found who can exactly match original designs."
Is double glazing allowed on the Dover House Estate?
Yes. The appraisal says replacement windows can be single or double-glazed and that "double-glazed Fensa registered units are strongly encouraged where this can be achieved without spoiling the character". There are 39 different original window types on the estate, every one with glazing bars dividing the glass into small cottage-style panes.
Roehampton's four very different designations
Roehampton is in the London Borough of Wandsworth, and it packs an unusual range into one part of SW15: a Victorian village core, an interwar London County Council cottage estate, a postwar modernist estate of national significance, and the edge of Putney Heath.
Wandsworth's Article 4 directions cover only nine of the borough's 46 conservation areas, and the Roehampton Village direction applies to Medfield Street specifically, sealed on 6 August 2004. Where a direction applies, it removes permitted development for "alterations to the elevations of properties fronting on to a highway... including the replacement of windows, doors and stained glass".
The adopted policy is Policy LP3, Historic Environment, in the Local Plan adopted 19 July 2023, which resists non-original style windows and doors. The Historic Environment SPD of November 2016 remains the operative guidance.
Before you order in Roehampton
- Planning authorityLondon Borough of Wandsworth
- Adopted policyLocal Plan 2023, Policy LP3 Historic Environment
- Article 4Roehampton Village, Medfield Street, sealed 6 August 2004
- Dover House EstateArticle 4 applies; double glazing explicitly encouraged
- Alton EstateMore Grade I and II* listed buildings than any other Wandsworth CA
Wandsworth's SPD prefers slim-fit timber double glazed windows matching the original design over PVC-U replacements. On Dover House, double-glazed FENSA-registered units are actively encouraged.
