Bondway is named after the late 18th century developers of the street, John and Sarah Bond.
Bondway was formerly called Bond Street and runs parallel to the railway viaduct from South Lambeth Place south to Miles Street.
Thomas Hill drew up a map of Vauxhall Manor in 1681 and, on it, most of the property was owned by both John Plumer and William Freeman. Plumer sold some 20 acres to Elias Ashmole in 1686. and Thomas Cooper purchased Freeman’s lands in 1683.
Both estates descended to Cooper’s great grand-daughter Emma Miles. In 1766 she sold them to John Bond, a merchant of Crutched Friars in London and his wife Sarah. They were responsible for the development.
In 1778 they obtained a building Act and let the ground in small plots. The present Bondway, Miles Street, Parry Street and Wyvil Road were laid out to form a residential area. The subsequent arrival of the London and South Western Railway Company have completely altered the character of the neighbourhood.
The buildings here represent one of the last coherent group of Vauxhall’s commercial character. Of particular note are the former bank, Rowton House and a narrow Dutch style block dating from the 1880s.
