Nick Manning – ‘Beautiful Buildings of Wimbledon, Putney, and Roehampton’

Nick Manning’s second book is not a conventional local history, but rather a complete and captivating journey explored through community and place. Beautiful Buildings of Wimbledon, Putney, and Roehampton (2025) captures the spirit of southwest London as told through its human structures – the homes, churches, pubs, monuments, and meeting places that define its visual and cultural landscape.

From elegant Victorian villas and sacred spaces to lively social hubs and quiet architectural gems, Manning’s new book uncovers how each building tells a story of the people who lived, worked, and dreamed there. The product is a rich and engaging portrait of a community shaped by its surroundings – and, in turn, shaping them – across generations.

A celebration of the local human environment not merely as bricks and mortar, but as memory and lived experience, Beautiful Buildings invites readers to see familiar streets with fresh eyes. Manning encourages us to recognise beauty in the ordinary, and to identify history in the everyday.

Beautiful Buildings of Wimbledon, Putney, and Roehampton is designed to be read together with The Commoners: Notable Neighbours of the Wimbledon and Putney Commons (2022), an insightful profile of the people who have populated the Wimbledon and Putney Commons in London. Together, the two books offer a richly woven portrait of place – one told through its people, and the next through its buildings. Readers will encounter a meticulous exploration of the living dialogue between people and place.

‘A wonderfully observed portrait of place – thoughtful, humane, and deeply rooted in the life of the community.’ – Sarah Holloway, London Heritage Review

‘Through Nick’s keen eye, architecture becomes storytelling – this is local history at its most alive.’ – Michael Hatherley, historian and author of The London Village.

Both publications are available for purchase here.

Nicholas Manning (1976, Modern Languages)

When he’s not writing fascinating volumes about the shifting history and culture of London, Nick Manning balances a rich career in advertising and media with an enduring love of languages, literature, and local history. As the founder of Encyclomedia International, he has spent much of his impressive career at household name companies, such as MediaLink and OMD.

Between consulting work, postgraduate study at Birkbeck College, and occasional pilgrimages to France to bask in local music, Nick continues to celebrate the people and places that give southwest London its characteristic charm.

A long-time Putney resident, he frequently collaborates with publisher and photographer Andrew Wilson (WILD London) to create beautifully designed books which celebrate local heritage and raise funds for community charities.

Image courtesy of Nick Manning Books

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