Fulham is a district within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in southwest London. It is 3.7 miles south-west from Charing Cross, which makes it an Inner London district. It is on the north bank of the River Thames, between Hammersmith and Kensington and Chelsea, facing Putney and Barnes. Formerly, it had been a parish in the county of Middlesex. It is identified in the London Plan as one of the 35 major centres in Greater London.
Fulham's history of industrial enterprise extends back to the 15th century, with its Mill at Millshot on the south side of what is now Fulham Palace Road. There was also a pottery, tapestry-weaving, paper-making and brewing industry in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in the location of what is now referred to as Fulham High Street. The next two centuries were recognized for power production, transportation, the automotive industry, food production and laundries.
For the first part of the 20th century, Fulham remained largely working class with pockets of wealth in the North End, along the top of Lillie Road and New King's Road. Particularly rich regions were Parsons Green, Eel Brook Common, South Park along with the area surrounding the Hurlingham Club. The location attracted waves of immigration, and quick changes meant that there was poverty - Charles Dickens and Charles Booth noted this, and there were poorhouses that attracted benefactors.
Currently, Fulham is rated as one of the most costly parts of London and the United Kingdom overall. The typical sale price of all property in 2007 was £639,973 - and is likely to be a great deal more now.