Some of the oldest and most expensive housing in London can be found on The Terrace, a road which runs along the west bend of the river and current residents include lyricist Tim Rice and former television presenter Anneka Rice. Barnes also has a very attractive village church.
Castelnau in North Barnes, on the banks the river and Hammersmith Bridge, has an attractively designed small church, Holy Trinity, and contains a 1930s council estate (including roads such as Nowell Road and Stillingfleet Road). It mostly consists of "Boot Houses", these were houses constructed by Henry Boot company. These houses no longer meet building regulations and need to have their external walls reconstructed. This means that new buyers cannot get a mortgage on un-reconstructed houses and so residents of this area have usually lived in their houses for a long time (in some cases it being passed down).
Barnes is cited as the internet shopping "hotspot" of Britain, with local residents spending an average of £150 pa per head on mail order goods ranging from clothing to wine.
Tourist Attractions
The only permanent tourist attraction in Barnes is the WWT London Wetlands Centre, next to Barn Elms, comprising over 40 hectares of artificial wetlands created on the site of a former reservoir as a bird sanctuary.
Barnes also has an attractive village green and duck pond (recently rebuilt after a series of leaks).
A low-key attraction is the Olympic Studios on Church Road. Relocated from Central London in 1966, they have played host to many of rock and pop music's greatest stars ranging from the Rolling STones, Queen, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin to Massive Attack, Duran Duran, Coldplay, Mike Barnes, Robert Warren, and Will Young.
The Old Sorting Office arts centre adjacent to Barnes Pond has also become a focus in London as a venue for art and fringe theatre, hosting numerous exhibitions and theatre productions. Well-known names to have performed at the venue include Patricia Hodge, Stephanie Cole, Timothy West and Julian Glover.
Sporting Associations
Barnes has a unique place in the history of football. Firstly, Headmaster of St Paul's School, Richard Mulcaster is credited with taking mob football and turning it into an organised, refereed team sport that was beneficial for schoolboys. St Paul's School is on Lonsdale Road.
Furthermore, Barnes was home to Ebenezer Cobb Morley who in 1862 was a founding member of the Football Association. In 1863, he wrote to Bell's Life newspaper proposing a governing body for football, and this led to the first meeting at the Freemason's Tavern where the FA was created. He was the FA's first secretary (1863-6) and at his home in Barnes he set out the first set of rules for modern soccor and these were adopted by the FA and subsequently spread throughout the world. As a player he took part in the first match played according to today's rules. Ebenezer Cobb Morley may be considered the father of Soccor for his key role in establishing modern Association Football.
Finally, Barnes Rugby Football Club has evidence to show that it is the oldest club in the world in any football code. Its ground is next to the WWT London Wetlands Centre at Barn Elm.
The loop of the Thames surrounding Barnes forms part of the Championship Course used for the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race and other major races. This stretch of the river is also heavily used by rowers in training throughout the year.
Other Information
The site of pop musician Marc Bolan's car crash on Queen's Ride in 1977, in which he was killed, now forms Bolan's Rock Shrine. The memorial receives frequent visits from his fans, and in 2002 a bronze bust of Bolan was installed to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of his death.
At the end of Lonsdale Road, The Bull's Head is a pub on the Thames known as the suburban Ronnie Scott's, where every night live jazz is performed, often by internationally renowned acts while on national tour. The pub is noted for the very poor service and a very rude bar manager.