Things you didn't know about... Barnes

Barnes takes football in hand
In 1581, the then headmaster of St Paul's School (these days on Lonsdale Road), Richard Mulcaster, is believed to have turned the unruly game of mob football into something recognisable as today's organised team football by devising a set of rules (including the introduction of referees). Another Barnes man, Ebeneezer Cobb Morley, was one of the founding members of the Football Association in 1862, and became its first secretary.

Rugger and rowing types flock to Barnes
Barnes Rugby Football Club has a strong claim to be the world's oldest rugby club, having been founded either in 1839 or 1858 (no one is quite sure). And the stretch of the Thames that runs past Barnes in a huge loop takes centre stage each year in the Oxford & Cambridge Boat Race.

Barnes is known for Fielding literary talent
The classic comic novels Tom Jones, Joseph Andrews and Shamela were penned by Barnes resident Henry Fielding. Along with his literary talent, Fielding had a fine legal mind and was a highly regarded magistrate. He was also instrumental in establishing the Bow Street Runners, precursor of today's Metropolitan Police.

Barnes is a jazzy destination
Also known as the "suburban Ronnie Scott's", the Bull's Head on Barnes High St is regarded as one of the most important live jazz venues in the country, with acts performing nightly.

Rock dinosaurs love Barnes
Barnes will forever be remembered for its association with 1970s glam-rock outfit T Rex. In September 1977 lead singer Marc Bolan was a passenger in a purple Mini driven by his girlfriend Gloria Jones. The car left the road on Queen's Drive, Barnes, after failing to negotiate a hump-backed bridge, and hit a sycamore tree. Bolan was killed instantly and the site has become a shrine for his fans. In 2002 a bronze bust was unveiled to mark the 25th anniversary of his death.

Barnes is on song
The Bull's Head and T Rex are not Barnes's only associations with music. Other residents include Andrew Lloyd Webber's writing partner, lyricist Sir Tim Rice, Brian May of Queen and Duran Duran's Simon Le Bon. Former residents include Gustav Holst, composer of The Planets, and Dame Ninette De Valois, founder of the Royal Ballet, who died in 2001 at the ripe old age of 102.