Peace garden of Charlton House
It may be hard to imagine it now, but Charlton was once a little village, and not really a part of London at all. Indeed, it still retains some of its village charm, especially around Charlton House. The name, Charlton, is Anglo-Saxon for 'farmstead of the freemen or peasants'.
The earliest traces of a community at Charlton were found in what is now Maryon Park where an Iron Age hillfort was excavated in the 1920s. Within the hill fort was found evidence of earlier stone age people.
Charlton is perched on high ground overlooking the Thames. At the heart of the community is Charlton House, its former manor house. Built in 1607 - 1612 by Adam Newton (died 1630) this Jacobean mansion is unique in London.
Adjacent to the house are the near contemporary parish church, the original stables, the very fine summer house, and Charlton Park, the surviving part of the original grounds.
In Charlton Road a weather boarded seventeenth century cottage (Poplar Cottage) remains as a reminder of Charlton’s rural past.