About Drive Mansions

The Company Secretary is Andrew Cordell who is also the managing agent.

     Drive Mansions is an imposing four storey mansion block in red brick with semi­-basement, set back from Fulham Road behind a carriage drive.

     Designed by William Hunt, who was elected to Fulham Vestry in 1890, the development was completed in 1897. It consists of a steel frame infilled with brick and concrete. The building retains much of its original detailing, including round headed entrance porches, pediments above the raised ground floor bay windows, together with columns, cornicing and a decorative frieze surrounding each first floor window in the recessed links which contain the staircases. The bays to the outer two blocks at each end of the development retain their original Napoleon hats, although the pediments at roof level above each of the bays in the three central blocks have been removed. Simple sash windows in each of the bays contrast with the fine detail of the small panes in the casement windows to the staircase landings.

 Drive Mansions consists of 105 flats divided between 7 Blocks of 15 flats each. The flats vary between 1,2 and 3 bedrooms. Each block has two flats situated in the front overlooking Fulham Road and one at the back overlooking the now diminished Garden. The Council flats (Romily Court) on the other side of the garden fence were built on land with tennis courts once belonging to Drive Mansions

Drive Mansions Ltd

“The Drive Mansions Ltd.” was formed in 2001 to purchase the freehold from Freshwaters (a large property company) under a compulsory buy-out scheme. Drive Mansions Ltd owns the freehold of the estate and is the landlord. Individual flats are held on long leases (999 years from 2000)  and most of the flats also carry a share in Drive Mansions Ltd. The Company is run by a board of directors, who are unpaid. This structure allows us to run the estate in the interest of its lessees, rather than those of a private landlord.  

The current Board members are;-

Anthony Downes (chairman)

John Wilkinson

Tracey Henderson

Bob Kingdom

Distribution

Of the 105 flats, 12 still belong to Freshwater Property Management. A further 4 leaseholders did not participate in the buy-out. Of the remaining flats,  65 are owned by absentee shareholders including the 12 Freshwater flats, but this distribution does vary from year to year.

Hari Voyantzis