Discovering Fulham with Molly Derbyshire

In her early 20s, Molly Derbyshire started working at an agency in Fulham. Before coming to the neighbourhood, she had visited friends who grew up here. She had the impression of a family-oriented place, where locals never seem to leave. It was only when working in Fulham that she understood why: ‘The neighbourhood has everything you could need.’

Much of Fulham was constructed between 1870 and 1900, after the District line was extended from West Brompton to Putney Bridge. Its Victorian streets contain a mix of modest terraces, substantial villas, mansion blocks and apartment buildings.

As a result, the neighbourhood offers properties for every stage of life: flats and maisonettes for those stepping onto the housing ladder, to family homes with kitchen, loft and basement extensions. What’s more, the proximity of parks and schools, as well as the beloved Hurlingham Club, means residents rarely move away.

Fulham is one of the most settled housing markets in London, because the core market – long-term Londoners with families – remains the same. As a result, it does not have the influxes and exoduses other Prime London neighbourhoods can experience.

That is why Molly calls Fulham a ‘timeless neighbourhood’. Although new developments take place on its fringes – such as Imperial Wharf – the character of the core streets remains the same. She also anticipates that it will not change dramatically over the next few decades.

That said, she is keeping an eye on the new Hurlingham Waterfront development by Wandsworth Bridge Road. Built on a former industrial site, it will bring new shops and restaurants to SW6. ‘It will be interesting to see if it brings more people down to the waterfront,’ she comments.

Molly grew up between West Hampstead and Shrewsbury. She began her career at Portico Property in Islington in 2017, before moving to lead their Fulham Office. In 2022, she moved to head John D. Wood & Co’s Parson’s Green office. Over the next four years, it grew to become the second largest office in the company.

‘I was quite young when I became head of office, in what is a fairly male-dominated industry. So it took time for clients to trust me – trust I had the experience and knowledge, despite my age.’

Now she has a new challenge: establishing Russell Simpson in the neighbourhood. She explains that, given the agency’s reputation in Kensington and Chelsea, expanding to Fulham is a natural next step. At the same time, she will have to work hard to convince potential clients that this reputation is well-deserved.

‘One of the pleasures of working in Fulham is direct contact with clients – rather than selling on behalf of absent landlords.’ This means Molly has formed close connections with both buyers and sellers, and even had clients returning over the years.

Although the desk is just Molly at the moment, she is ambitious to build the agency’s reputation in Fulham over the coming years. She hopes to bring ‘thoroughness, care, loyalty, enthusiasm and attention to detail’ to the job – central values for everyone who works at Russell Simpson. Given her success so far, no doubt Molly will be expanding their local presence before long.

When Molly started working in Fulham, she was living south of the river. But she came to love the place so much that she’s since become a local.

'It has a lot of green space, a lot of parks, and I love spending time along the river,’ she says. But her favourite spot is probably Kebab Kid on the New King’s Road. ‘It’s been around for 50 years and all the staff are so friendly. It’s a bit of a guilty pleasure, but I get the chicken shawarma without any sauces, which is actually quite healthy!'