The Velma Boathouse near Broom Water at Teddington is thought to have an uncertain future following proposals to move the two-storey building and redevelop the site.
The boathouse was built in 1884 by physician John Langdon Down who lived in nearby Broom Close and gave his name to Down’s syndrome.
Broom Water is a natural creek which was extended three times its length twenty years before the boathouse was erected on the Thames bank.
The boathouse is just upstream of Broom Water and opposite Stevens Eyot. Here the Thames Path is on the opposite bank where Kingston’s Boaters Inn is found.
Press reports highlight a move by English Heritage to list the charming building.