Crane Park - Mill Road: HISTORY
Address:
Mill Road
Twickenham
TW2 5HA
 

 

Fulwell Mill 

Known in 1753 as New Mill, this mill stood where Mill Road crosses the south stream of the River Crane. In the early years its owners lived in the adjacent Fulwell Lodge. It may originally have been used as a cooper mill, but by 1767 the mill was being used to crush linseed to be made into linseed oil cake for cattle. In 1845 the mill was converted to make paper and did so until it burnt down in 1878. The site is now part of Crane Park in Twickenham. 

Fulwell Lodge, later Fulwell Park 

The original house, as shown on Moses Glover’s map of 1635, was linked to the adjoining Fulwell Mill (subsequently, New Mill). The house was originally known as Fulwell Lodge. Later it was home to ex-King Manoel II of Portugal who lived here from 1913-1932 with his wife the German Princess Victoria Augusta of Hohenzolern. After his death in 1932 the estate was purchased by Wates who developed the estate with housing. The royal association was commemorated in the naming of many of the street names. Twickenham Museum have more information about King Manoel.  A local resident has produced a video titled The Last King of Portugal, a short documentary about King Manoel II of Portugal who was exiled in Twickenham. With thanks to Tim Harness for sharing this.

The River Crane flowed through the gardens of Fulwell Park. This is a description as remembered in 1992 by Mrs Doris Baker nee Thatcher a pupil at Archdeacon Cambridge’s School 1921-1929 quoted from Archdeacon Cambridge’s School 1842-1992: a record of living memories, 1992 “This was King Manoel’s estate. All you saw up there was a donkey in the corner of the field. We used to walk down what they called Mill Road over the style and through the farm [Warren Farm], over the gate and you were in the cemetery. There was no Chertsey Road. It used to be all a part of the farm.”

A recent project has undertaken an archaeological survey of part of this site.  Along with historical images researched by Trustees these have formed the basis of the interpretation put in place in February 2016.