More For Your Money: Walworth SE17

A long and rich history

Walworth begins at Elephant and Castle and extends south toward Camberwell, but, halfway there, it finds its effective southern boundary at Albany Road and Burgess Park.

The area has a long and rich history, and an important new chapter is currently being written. Prehistoric woolly mammoths have left traces in Walworth, which has also been home to Stone Age people and Romans. The 10th-century Anglo-Saxon King Edmund gave the area to his court jester, Hitard, who bequeathed it to the monks of Canterbury Cathedral. Parts of Walworth are still owned by the Church as a result.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Walworth was posh and crowded - 100 years ago, about four times as many people lived there compared with today.

Walworth boasted a popular zoo, and, in the 1850s, a famous preacher, the legendary Dr Spurgeon, attracted upwards of 10,000 people to his Sunday sermons at Surrey Gardens Music Hall, until the vast Metropolitan Tabernacle opened. The latter, along with Manor Place Baths and Sir John Soane's St Peter's Church, are still extant, despite heavy German bombing during the Second World War.

That bombing left many plots ripe for redevelopment as council estates, although a few roads with Georgian and Victorian homes remained intact. Elephant and Castle is now undergoing a £1.5bn regeneration that will see council blocks and the shopping centre replaced with 5,000 new homes, both private and social housing, along with new shopping precincts and a park.

Estate agents report that the area has already attracted property investors willing to take the long view - the regeneration will take some 10 years. Most investors buy flats, but others, such as Jean-Marc Olivier, a former chartered accountant, buy houses.

"I am buying a three-bedroom house on Henshaw Street, which I will make into a four-bedroom house with two bathrooms, and I'll let it," says Olivier, who owns 24 properties in Walworth. "I bought my first house in this area five years ago. I heard about the Elephant regeneration a long time ago, when yields were about 10 per cent. They are lower now, about 5 and a half." Olivier's confidence in the area is based on Walworth's location. "Properties are reasonably priced, and you save on transport because it is in Zone One. Several universities and hospitals are nearby, so it attracts medical professionals as well as students. Young professionals also like it because it is so central."

What is the property mix?

Studio flats start at just north of £100,000. Three-bedroom ex-council flats sell for about £180,000, and a three-bedroom ex-council semi recently sold for £270,000. Period flats start at about £175,000 and houses start at about £350,000, peaking at £500,000. Council properties are available in low- and high-rise blocks, some providing panoramic views. New live/work luxury units are also available.

What about period conversions?

A one-bedroom upper-ground-floor flat with a small (15 x 10ft) garden in a Victorian terrace is £179,000 at Alan Fraser. A two-double-bedroom, two-bathroom, split-level conversion flat on Charleston Street with private garden on a road with permit parking is £250,000 at ludlowthompson.com.

Are houses available?

Yes. A two-storey, three-bedroom Georgian terrace on Cadiz Street west of Walworth Road with patio garden is £300,000 at Winkworth. A plain-fronted, three-storey house with a double reception and small walled garden on Henshaw Street is £384,95. Similarly priced, at £385,000, is a recently renovated Grade -II-listed, two-storey Georgian house on Liverpool Grove with a 40ft south-facing garden; both at Barnard Marcus. A three-storey, corner-end-terrace Victorian house on Browning Street, with two receptions, five bedrooms, a 15ft garden and 1624 sq ft interior space is selling for £500,000 at Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward.

How about transport?

Elephant & Castle Tube station serves the Bakerloo Line, the City branch of the Northern Line and Thameslink. Waterloo and London Bridge stations are within walking distance. The regeneration programme includes plans for a tram.

Shopping and markets

At East Street Market, you can buy traditional London grub, along with Caribbean, Asian and other exotic fare. There are also clothing, flower and bric-a-brac stalls. Nearby is the popular Borough Market (Friday and Saturday).

Are there green spaces?

A new park will replace the Heygate Estate, bringing welcome greenery to the area. Burgess Park has tennis courts and a pond, and hosts concerts in the summer.

And one for the pub quiz.

Walworth figures prominently in a famous medieval incident and also in modern Labour Party history. Explain each.

Alan Fraser, 020-7587 1004; Barnard Marcus, 020-7735 0922; Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward, 020-7582 7773; www.ludlowthompson.com, 020-7820 4100; Winkworth, 020-7587 0600