Windows for South London Homes: A Guide by House Type

The right windows for your home depend more on when and how it was built than on anything else. South London stretches from Georgian riverside terraces in Richmond and Twickenham, through the Victorian streets of Battersea and Wimbledon and the London County Council's Edwardian cottage estates in Tooting, to the interwar garden suburbs of Petts Wood and the post-war towers of Roehampton.

This guide sets out the main types of home in Wandsworth, Richmond, Merton, Kingston, Sutton, Croydon and Bromley, where each is most common, and the windows and doors that suit it best. It also covers the conservation area and Article 4 rules in each borough, which vary more here than anywhere else in London.

Aliluxe designs, supplies and installs aluminium, uPVC and timber windows and doors across London and Surrey. Every recommendation here comes from what we see on surveys.

Georgian homes and historic villages

South London has some of the capital's oldest houses, around the Thames at Richmond and Twickenham and in the old village centres of Wimbledon, Carshalton and Cheam.

Where you'll find them

• Richmond and Twickenham: Montpelier Row in Twickenham was built in 1720, and Richmond Green and Richmond Hill have terraces from the late 17th and 18th centuries, including Maids of Honour Row.

• Wimbledon Village: the historic core includes Eagle House of 1613 and late 18th-century houses around the Common.

• Carshalton and Cheam: timber-framed and weatherboarded cottages from the 16th to 19th centuries, and Sutton's first conservation area at Carshalton Village.

What the windows are usually like

• Painted timber sliding sashes, the most common window on Richmond Hill.

• Sashes set in nearly flush frames on early Georgian houses.

• Small sashes, sometimes with shutters, on village cottages.

What we recommend

• Listed buildings need listed building consent for any window change. Timber is expected, and slim heritage double glazing or secondary glazing is often the practical upgrade.

• In conservation areas, timber or REHAU uPVC sliding sash windows with correctly proportioned glazing bars, where the council accepts them. Richmond says timber 'is always preferable because uPVC can never fully replicate the original appearance'.

• For weatherboarded cottages, flush sash windows or timber casements in a slim profile.

Victorian and Edwardian terraces and villas

Most of inner South London was built between the 1850s and 1914, as the railways reached Clapham Junction, Wimbledon, Surbiton and Beckenham.

Where you'll find them

• Battersea: the Shaftesbury Park Estate was built in 1873–77 as an artisans' estate, opening in 1874.

• Wandsworth Common: the 'Toast Rack' streets, including Baskerville, Dorlcote and Nicosia Roads, were laid out in the 1890s with red-brick semis and bays.

• Wimbledon: Arthur Road, Leopold Road and Home Park Road were laid out in 1870–72, with Edwardian building after 1900.

• Richmond and Teddington: the St Matthias streets of the 1860s–80s, 1890s terraces on Pagoda Avenue, and Edwardian roads in Teddington finished by 1915.

• Beckenham: large villas from 1857, when the railway arrived, and Park Langley from 1908.

• Surbiton and Addiscombe: Surbiton expanded following the opening of its railway station in 1838. In Addiscombe, residential development accelerated after the former military seminary site was sold in 1863, when five new roads were laid out for housing.

What the windows are usually like

• Timber sliding sashes, usually painted white, sometimes in pairs with stone lintels.

• Canted or square bay windows. Richmond says Victorian and Edwardian bays 'should be retained or replaced in their original form'.

• Stained, leaded and coloured glass in doors and top-lights.

What we recommend

• Sliding sash windows keep the original look. REHAU uPVC sliding sash windows give the traditional proportions with modern insulation, and timber sash is the choice where the council requires it.

• For bays, match the sash style across all faces, or use REHAU bay windows.

• At the back, aluminium bi-fold or sliding doors for a kitchen extension.

• Front doors: a panelled REHAU front door with a period-style glazing pattern.

Garden suburbs and cottage estates

South London has several of England's pioneering planned estates. Most are conservation areas, and nearly all have Article 4 directions covering windows.

Where you'll find them

• Totterdown Fields, Tooting: a London County Council cottage estate of 1,261 houses built in 1901–11.

• John Innes Merton Park: a garden suburb begun in 1870, with Arts and Crafts houses added up to the 1920s.

• Sutton Garden Suburb: begun by Thomas Wall around 1912, with building stopped in 1915.

• Dover House Estate, Putney: one of the LCC's first cottage estates after the First World War, built in 1920–27.

• St Helier, Morden and Carshalton: The St Helier Estate is a large London County Council housing estate built between 1929 and 1936, spanning Morden and Carshalton, in the boroughs of Merton and Sutton. Its layout was inspired by the Garden City movement, with landscaped verges, open spaces and facilities designed to create a self-contained community.

What the windows are usually like

• Timber sashes or casements with Georgian glazing bars, originally painted white, at Totterdown Fields.

• Metal Crittall casements as well as timber windows at Dover House, with 39 original window types, all with small cottage-style panes.

• Painted timber casements, top-hung above and side-hung below, at Sutton Garden Suburb.

What we recommend

• Expect to need permission. Totterdown Fields, Shaftesbury Park, Dover House, John Innes Merton Park and Sutton Garden Suburb all have Article 4 directions covering windows.

• Copy the original exactly. Wandsworth says permission 'will only be granted if the replacements faithfully replicate what would have been there originally', and that no uPVC supplier has yet matched the original designs on its estates.

• Sutton Garden Suburb is more flexible: the council will consider uPVC if it copies the original pattern, with integral glazing bars and the same opening style.

• Where the originals were metal, heritage steel-look windows give slim Crittall-style sightlines.

1920s and 1930s semis

The outer boroughs, Bromley, Sutton, Kingston and Croydon, are full of interwar suburbs built along the new roads and electric railways.

Where you'll find them

• Petts Wood: a garden suburb planned in 1928 by Basil Scruby and the architect Leonard Culliford, with neo-Tudor houses built by Noel Rees, largely complete by 1938.

• Mottingham: an LCC estate of about 2,000 homes, first occupied in 1935.

• South Cheam, Carshalton Beeches and South Sutton: low-density interwar housing, parts of which Sutton protects as Areas of Special Local Character, such as the Burton Estates in South Cheam.

• Tolworth and New Malden: The opening of the Kingston Bypass in 1927 accelerated suburban expansion, leading to new residential roads and extensive development of semi-detached houses during the late 1920s and 1930s.

• Richmond and East Sheen: interwar semis and the Courtlands Estate of 1937–38.

What the windows are usually like

• Casements with square or diamond leaded lights, often metal casements in a timber frame painted black, in Petts Wood.

• Two-storey bay windows at the front.

• Solid oak or elm ledge-and-brace front doors on the Petts Wood houses.

What we recommend

• Casement windows suit these houses best. REHAU uPVC casement windows are good value, and Origin OW-80 aluminium gives a slimmer, flush finish.

• For Tudor-style houses, keep a leaded pattern, fixed to the outside of the glass, and a dark frame colour where the originals were black.

• For the bay, REHAU bay and bow windows keep the original shape. Ask about a structural check, as many 1930s bays have no proper lintel.

• At the back, French doors or a wide sliding door to the garden.

Post-war, modernist and modern homes

South London also has some of the country's most admired post-war housing, alongside newer flats and estates.

Where you'll find them

• Roehampton: The London County Council's Alton Estate was built in two phases during the 1950s. Alton East was built in 1952–55 and Alton West in 1955–59. The five distinctive slab blocks at Alton West are listed Grade II*, reflecting their architectural and historic importance.

• Span estates: for example The Cedars in Teddington, built in 1958.

• Council housing estates: Roundshaw in Sutton, and New Addington and Fieldway in Croydon, are substantial residential estates developed primarily during the mid-20th century.

• Town-centre flats in Croydon, Kingston, Sutton, Wimbledon and Battersea.

What the windows are usually like

• Steel or aluminium windows on modernist blocks.

• Large picture windows with top-hung openers.

• First-generation uPVC from the 1980s and 1990s, now reaching the end of its life.

What we recommend

• Slimline aluminium for a modern look with more glass: Origin OW-70.

• Tilt and turn windows for flats and upper floors: REHAU tilt and turn.

• Listed and Span-style buildings often need the original frame pattern copied closely. We can match it.

• Flats need the freeholder's consent, and planning permission if the new windows look different.

Conservation areas, Article 4 and listed buildings in South London

Before you choose windows, check three things with your council: whether your home is listed, whether it is in a conservation area, and whether an Article 4 direction applies.

• Most houses, including houses in conservation areas without an Article 4 direction, can usually replace windows without planning permission, as long as the new ones are similar in appearance to the old (Planning Portal).

• Flats and maisonettes don't have the same permitted development rights as houses. Identical, like-for-like windows usually don't need permission, but windows that look different may, and if you're a leaseholder you may also need consent from your landlord, freeholder or management company (Planning Portal).

• Listed buildings need listed building consent for any significant works, inside or out, including windows (Planning Portal).

• An Article 4 direction removes permitted development rights, so even a like-for-like replacement can need an application. Many London councils use them in conservation areas, and the ones that cover windows are listed below.

• Bromley: has 47 conservation areas (Bromley Council). The Chancery Lane direction in Beckenham covers windows, and the Petts Wood directions cover roofs. Other area directions exist, for example at Alexandra Cottages in Penge.

• Croydon: has 20 conservation areas. The Chatsworth Road direction covers replacing windows and doors, and the council's guidance says 'uPVC windows are inappropriate for use in conservation areas' (Croydon Council).

• Kingston upon Thames: Has 26 conservation areas. The council's published list of Article 4 Directions does not identify any specifically covering window replacement. However, planning permission may still be required for window alterations in conservation areas, and listed buildings may require listed building consent (Kingston Council).

• Merton: Has a network of conservation areas, including John Innes Merton Park and Wilton Crescent. Article 4 Directions in both areas restrict certain alterations to specified properties, including replacing windows and doors with ones of a different style. In Merton Park, the restrictions explicitly cover specified addresses on Melrose Road, Church Lane and Watery Lane; Wilton Crescent has separate directions whose scope should be checked against the property and proposed work (Merton Council).

• Richmond upon Thames: has 85 conservation areas, and Article 4 directions in more than 40 of them, which can include 'new doors and windows' among the works needing permission (Richmond Council).

• Sutton: has 15 conservation areas. The Sutton Garden Suburb direction covers replacing any external door or window visible from the street (Sutton Council).

• Wandsworth: Has 46 conservation areas. Article 4 Directions apply in eight of them: Totterdown Fields, Shaftesbury Park, Dover House, Heaver Estate, Latchmere Estate, Putney Lower Common, Roehampton Village and parts of Wandsworth Common. Several directions restrict replacement windows and doors visible from the street, but the precise requirements depend on the property and the applicable direction (Wandsworth Council).

Work done without the right consent can lead to enforcement and the windows being replaced at your cost. We check these rules for every survey, and can help with the application if one is needed.

South London boroughs at a glance

Borough	Typical housing	Conservation areas	Windows that often suit
Bromley	Victorian Beckenham, Edwardian Park Langley, interwar Petts Wood and Mottingham	47	Casements with leaded lights, sash in Victorian streets
Croydon	Victorian Addiscombe and The Waldrons, interwar semis, post-war New Addington	20	Sash and casements; timber in conservation areas
Kingston upon Thames	Victorian Surbiton and New Malden, interwar Tolworth	26	Sash, casements
Merton	Wimbledon Village and Victorian Wimbledon, John Innes Merton Park, St Helier	29	Sash, casements, timber in Merton Park
Richmond upon Thames	Georgian Richmond and Twickenham, Victorian and Edwardian Teddington, interwar East Sheen	85	Timber or uPVC sash, check Article 4
Sutton	Carshalton and Cheam villages, Sutton Garden Suburb, interwar South Cheam, St Helier	15	Sash in villages, casements in suburbs
Wandsworth	Victorian Battersea and Wandsworth Common, Totterdown Fields, Dover House, Alton Estate	46	Sash, timber on Article 4 estates

Frequently asked questions

Can I fit uPVC windows in a South London conservation area?

It depends on the borough. Croydon says uPVC is inappropriate in conservation areas, and Wandsworth says no uPVC supplier has matched the originals on its Article 4 estates. Sutton Garden Suburb will consider uPVC that copies the original pattern, and Kingston has no Article 4 directions on windows as far as we can find. We check your street at survey.

Do I need permission for new windows on the Totterdown Fields estate?

Yes. An Article 4 direction means planning permission is needed to replace windows and doors visible from the street, and the replacements must faithfully copy the originals.

What windows suit a 1930s house in Petts Wood?

Casements with a leaded pattern, in a dark frame where the originals were black metal in timber. Keep the bay and the original opening pattern.

Do I need permission to replace windows in a flat?

Often. Identical, like-for-like replacements usually don't need planning permission, but windows that look different may, and rules vary by council. If you're a leaseholder, check your lease, as you may also need the freeholder's or management company's consent.

Do you cover my part of South London?

Yes. We work across Wandsworth, Richmond, Merton, Kingston, Sutton, Croydon and Bromley, including Battersea, Putney, Wimbledon, Twickenham, Surbiton, Beckenham and Chislehurst.

More window guides

We have guides like this for Surrey, Kent, Hertfordshire, Hampshire, Sussex, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire, and for Central, North, East and West London.

Get a free survey

Tell us about your home and we'll recommend the windows that suit it, check whether it is listed, in a conservation area or covered by an Article 4 direction, and give you a fixed quote. Call 020 4581 8351, email sales@aliluxe.co.uk or request a quote online. You can also browse our uPVC windows and doors and aluminium windows.

Please note: This guide is for general information only and is not planning, legal or professional advice. Planning rules, Article 4 directions and council guidance change over time, and how they apply depends on your property, so always check with your local planning authority before you start work (and with your landlord, freeholder or management company if you're a leaseholder). Replacement windows and doors must also meet Building Regulations. Historical and local details come from council, Historic England and other published sources and were believed to be correct when this guide was written in October 2026. Aliluxe cannot accept responsibility for decisions made solely on the basis of this guide, and we'll confirm the rules that apply to your home at survey.