Pouparts Place – Twickenham, TW2
The Development
Pouparts Place offers a stunning selection of nine luxury apartments just minutes walk from Twickenham Green and Town centre. Situated within a highly sought after location just West of Twickenham Green and only a few minutes from Twickenham town centre, this highly anticipated development by Finesse Property Developments & Grafton Flats is comprised of 1 x split level three bedroom apartment, 5 x two bedroom apartments, 2 x one bedroom apartments and a studio apartment with private garden.
Twickenham – the area
- Location:
An attractive location and vibrant community in the heart of West London that has all the essentials on your doorstep, Pouparts Place is situated within a highly sought after location West of Twickenham Green, just minutes from Twickenham town centre and Strawberry Hill village. There are many idyllic open spaces nearby such as Twickenham Green, Bushy Park & Marble Hill Park along with idyllic riverside walks along the river Thames. Twickenham is the historic home of rugby and the famous Twickenham Stadium is located less than a mile away. This 82,000 stadium was the host for the final of the Rugby World Cup 2015 and is the venue for many major concerts such as the Rolling Stones, U2 & Elton John.
- Local Amenities:
With it’s excellent array of shops, bars and restaurants Twickenham caters for everybody’s needs. Also only a few miles away are Richmond & Kingston town centres. Twickenham has a strong family community and has an excellent reputation for having some of the very best schools and universities in the London Borough of Richmond such as Waldegrave School, St Richard Reynolds, St Mary’s University, The Mall School, Hampton Boys & many more. There is also an abundant selection of sports facilities and attractions in the area with golf courses, swimming pools, tennis clubs and much more.
- Evolving:
A major regeneration project is currently under way to transform the whole area surrounding Twickenham Station, enhancing transport links, business opportunities and the community itself. At the centre of this project is the station plaza, which will include a modern new station built upon an impressive podium above the train lines. New homes, shops and restaurants will be integrated within the revitalised centre of Twickenham. Hundreds of secure bicycle spaces will encourage greener travel while a new riverside walk will link the station with Moormead gardens & recreational facilities. Another exciting development project that is currently going through the planning process is the Twickenham Rediscovered Riverside Redevelopment which also promises to transform the riverside in Twickenham for the better.
- History:
Twickenham boasts an impressive array of historic buildings including Horace Walpole’s gothic castle, beautiful parks & gardens including Marble Hill, Radnor Gardens, Strawberry Hill House and Ham House as well as riverside walks to explore.For culture fans there are local theatres and galleries both sides of the river to enjoy at your own pace.
- Transport links:
Located only a short journey from Heathrow and Gatwick airports by car, train or bus as well as being close to Central London. Located approximately a mile from the M3 motorway and only 10 minutes from the M25 and M4 motorways, it serves as an ideal transport link.
POUPARTS PLACE HISTORY
Poupart’s Jam Factory – Third Cross Rd, Twickenham.
The Pouparts were a well known family of market gardeners who moved into the Twickenham area in 1874. William Snr. and his family settled at Marsh Farm in 1879 and he was soon cultivating over 160 acres of land to the north of the L&SW railway, including the area now occupied by Twickenham Rugby Stadium. William grew vegetables, cut flowers and hardy fruits – especially plums (including Poupart Purple) and apples – mostly for Covent Garden and Brentford market.
Whilst the best quality produce went to market, William Snr. knew that damaged fruit could still be preserved (bottled) or used for jam manufacture. As well as the fruit from Marsh Farm, William Snr had direct access to damaged fruit from the London markets through his son John, who was an established and well respected trader and importer based in Covent Garden. He enlisted the help of another son, William Jnr. to set up jam production. They began in the kitchen of William Jnr’s home – “Fernleigh” – in Belmont Road, where William Jnr already grew a range of fruits for show.
In 1911, with the business well established, father and son opened a factory in Third Cross Road, Twickenham, along with land to the rear for additional orchards.
William Jnr took more responsibility for production as his father settled into semi-retirement, and expanded the business. He won many prizes at Horticultural shows and was complimented in the Daily Telegraph in December 1912 when he won a Gold Medal in the fruit bottling section in the Royal Horticultural Society exhibition, “Mr Poupart’s collection of 400 bottles of home-grown fruit was the best exhibit of its kind yet seen.”
By 1926 the orchard area had been covered by a new production area and the workforce numbered in excess of 300 – many females who worked part time or seasonally. The height of the chimney was increased to reduce the annoyance from smoke suffered by neighbouring properties, including Trafalgar Junior School.
The compliments slip below dated 1937 (from the Poupart family archive) shows the business trading as “Fernleigh Orchards” and proclaiming an “orchard to table” range of “high class jam, marmalade, bottled fruits, jellies and mincemeat etc “.
By this time Pouparts preserves could be found in Harrods, Selfridges and other grocery stores, as well as being exported around the world.
This newspaper advertisement below is from a local publication, The Kingston Gleaner, in Jamaica!
5 lb catering jar below – from the collection of the Poupart family.
The factory continued production during WW2, although the employees were sometimes co-opted to war work – including gas mask production at what was then Normansfield Hospital.
The jam factory finally closed around 1960.
The site was sub-let to a range of companies including a steel stock holder, “Pines the Printers”, a cardboard carton supplier, a clothes wholesaler and a shipping company which specialised in exporting fine art and antiques from the London auction houses.
David Lawrie, Exhibition Officer for “Feeding London – the forgotten Market Gardens of SW London”
Oral Historian and Researcher at the Environment Trust
Sources: David Rose; Twickenham Local History Society publication; Jan Morris: nee Poupart; Martin Poupart
