West Brompton based Accountants

The most notable landowners in 'West Brompton' at the start of the 19th century were James Gunter, Sir John Scott Lillie and the Edwardes. The first non-agrarian activity in the area was to the West of Counter's Creek, which between 1828 and 1859 became the short-lived, six-mile long Kensington Canal. This area of farm land, bounded by North End Lane to the West, was known then as North End in the Parish of Fulham and was dotted with a few grand houses, such as the Hermitage and the less grand Grange, home of artist, Edward Burne-Jones. A new road was laid out to join North End and Kensington parish with access to the new Hammersmith Bridge by Sir John Scott Lillie, Peninsular War veteran, road builder and investor in the canal company. Lillie is buried in Brompton Cemetery. After Gunter's Bridge was built over the canal in 1826, the road on either side was called the Richmond Road. The remnants of the canal bridge can be seen from platform 4 at the West Brompton station. The early Fulham buildings were associated with freight transport such as the wharves in today's Rickett Street and Roxby Place, south of Lillie Road, and a brewery to offer refreshment to the canal, barge and later railway workers as well as the builders of the nearby Westminster and Brompton Company's new 40 acre cemetery opened in 1840. The oldest extant building is the Lily Langtry public house, formerly the Lillie Arms 1833, part of the old brewery in Lillie Road.