A rare surviving private air raid shelter location in the front garden of St Leonards Court, East Sheen. The shelter was designed to hold 48 people and, according to Habitats & Heritage, was built in 1938 and extended in 1941. It has four rooms, two for men and two for women and are separated by a central spine corridor. The shelter has a well preserved interior with some original fittings. In 2007 Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council rejected a planning application, which had been opposed by local residents and councillors, to convert the shelter into two self-contained apartments. The Council’s decision was upheld in 2008 on appeal. A plan of the shelter can be seen below:
In 2010 Historic England listed the shelter at Grade II and since then has identified it as a building at risk, in poor condition; work is being undertaken by Habitats & Heritage to stabilise and preserve the shelter.
