Richmond upon Thames
From Freepedia
| Ordnance Survey | |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference: | Maps for TQ185745 |
| Administration | |
| London borough: | Richmond |
| Area: | Greater London |
| Region: | London |
| Nation: | England |
| Other | |
| Ceremonial county: | Greater London |
| Traditional county: | Surrey |
| Police force: | Metropolitan Police |
| Post office and telephone | |
| Post town: | RICHMOND |
| Postcode: | TW9 |
| Dialling code: | 020 |
| Politics | |
| UK Parliament: | Richmond Park |
| London Assembly: | South West London |
| European Parliament: | London |
| Image:Glc.gif | |
Richmond is a suburb in southwest London, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.
It is on the south side of the River Thames but because of the way the river twists around it, the town of Richmond is actually north-east of Richmond Bridge. It is very popular in summer with university rowing teams and tourists strolling along the bankside.
Famous living residents include the brothers Richard Attenborough and David Attenborough. In 1855 George Eliot rented a house in Parkshot, and during the next three years she wrote there the greater part of her first novel, Adam Bede. The painter JMW Turner, who painted Richmond Hill and the bridge more than once, designed a house for himself (Sandycombe Lodge) that still survives unchanged on the other side of the river, in St. Margarets. In the early part of the 20th century, Virginia Woolf lived in Richmond with her husband Leonard and founded the Hogarth Press. From the twelfth century until 1649 there was a royal residence in Richmond. Its greatest fame was in the 16th century when Henry VIII and Elizabeth I spent many a Christmas within the palace.
Henry VII was fond of Richmond Castle in Yorkshire. When a fire accidentally destroyed his manor in Sheen in 1497 he built a palace there and re-named it Richmond in 1501. The name Sheen is now used for the eastern end of Richmond town. Many people assume that the folk song "Lass of Richmond Hill" refers to Richmond Upon Thames, but it originated in the Yorkshire Richmond. In William Shakespeare's "Richard III", and in "Henry VI part 3", Henry VII is referred to as Richmond. This is because he was Earl of Richmond.
Richmond station is one of the western termini of the District Line on the London Underground system. It is also the western terminus of the North London Line and served by trains from Waterloo station on the National Rail service.
Contents |
Royal connections
- See main article: Richmond Palace.
Image:A View of Richmond Palace published in 1765.jpg Henry I lived briefly in the King's house in Sheanes (or Shene or Sheen). In 1299 Edward I "Hammer of the Scots", took his whole court to the manor-house at Sheen, a little east of the bridge, and close by the river side, which thus became a royal palace. William Wallace ("Braveheart") was executed in London in 1305, and it was in Sheen that the Commissioners from Scotland went down on their knees before Edward. The Percy family from Northumberland were rewarded for their loyalty by receiving a barony at Sheen in 1310. To this day the Dukes of Northumberland divide their time between Alnwick Castle in Northumberland, and Syon House, just north of Richmond. Edward II did not fare as well as his father. Following his defeat at the hands of the Scots at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, he founded a monastery for Carmelites at Sheen. When the boy-king Edward III came to the throne in 1327 he gave the manor to his mother Isabella. Almost 50 years later his wife, also called Isabella died. Edward then spent over 2,000 pounds on improvements. In the middle of the work Edward III himself died at the manor in 1377. In 1368 Geoffrey Chaucer served as a yeoman at Sheen.
Richard II was the first English king to make Sheen his main residence in 1383. Twelve years later Richard was so distraught at the death of his wife Anne of Bohemia at the age of 28, that he, according to Holinshed, "caused it [the manor] to be thrown down and defaced; whereas the former kings of this land, being wearie of the citie, used customarily thither to resort as to a place of pleasure, and serving highly to their recreation." It rebuilt 1414-1422, but destroyed by fire 1497. The palace was rebuilt again and renamed Richmond Palace by King Henry VII, who renamed it Richmond Palace. It was not used after 1649, and the bulk had decayed by 1779.
Surviving structures include the Wardrobe, and the Gate House. The latter was built 1501, and was made available on a 65 year lease by the Crown Estate Commissioners in 1986. It has 5 bedrooms.
Open spaces
Richmond is a green and leafy town and it is surrounded by accessible open spaces. To the east and south lies Richmond Park a large area of wild heath and woodland that was first enclosed by Charles I as a hunting park. To the north lie the wide green lawns and playing fields of the Old Deer Park which run down to the River Thames, and beyond it Kew Gardens. On the west, rising above the river are the Terrace Gardens: these gardens were laid out in the 1880s and extended down to the River Thames some 40 years later; the broad gravel walk along the top is earlier and the view west towards Windsor has long been famous. A grand description of the view can be found in Sir Walter Scott’s novel The Heart of Midlothian (1818):
- "A huge sea of verdure with crossing and interesting promontories of massive and tufted groves, … tenanted by numberless flocks and herds, which seem to wander unrestrained, and unbounded, through rich pastures. The Thames, here turreted with villas and there garlanded with forests, moved on slowly and placidly, like the mighty monarch of the scene, to whom all its other beauties were accessories, and bore on his bosom a hundred barks and skiffs, whose white sails and gaily fluttering pennons gave life to the whole."
Apart from the great rugby stadium at Twickenham and the aircraft landing and taking off from London Heathrow Airport the scene has changed little in 200 years.
Historic buildings around Richmond Green
In 1688 James II ordered partial reconstruction of the palace, this time as a royal nursery. The trumpeter's house, built around 1700 still exists. Close by is a well preserved terrace of three-story houses, called Maids of Honours Row. It was built in 1724 for the maids of honour (trusted royal wardrobe servants) of the wife of George II. Richard Burton, the Victorian explorer, lived at number 2. In Dickens' "Great Expectations" Estella comes to London to meet Mrs Brandley who lives here. From the sixteenth century, tournaments and archery contests have taken place on Richmond Green. As you look across the Green from the old Palace you can see a pub called "The Cricketers". Cricket matches have taken place here since about 1650. There was a pub of this name in 1770, but it burned down in 1844. It was soon replaced by the present building, a grade II listed building. Samuel Whitbread, founder of the Whitbread brewery owned it and had a brewery in Water Lane, close to the old Palace.
The first inter-county cricket match which is recorded was played on the Green in 1730 between Surrey and Middlesex. The old palace overlooks the river on the other side. One of the earliest detailed paintings of a morris dance was painted here. It dates from about 1620 and shows a fool, a hobby-horse, a piper, and Maid-Marian and three dancers on the bank of the Thames.
The beautiful Victorian theatre Richmond Theatre has been used as a movie set in many recent films (e.g. Finding Neverland). The theatre is now part of the Ambassadors Theatre Group and has a weekly schedule of plays and musicals, usually given by professional touring companies. Pre West End shows can sometimes be seen. There is a Christmas and New Year Pantomime tradition and many of Britain's greatest Music Hall and Pantomime performers have appeared.
The Rolling Stones
Opposite the Railway Station is a pub. In 1963 it was a rock venue called the Crawdaddy Club. On April 18 the Rolling Stones performed one of many gigs here. Paul Lukas, a bass player with the Tridents (including Jeff Beck) made a tape recording of it. Decades later, the same tape was auctioned at Christie's for hundreds of pounds. On one occasion The Beatles visited the Crawdaddy Club in order to hear the Stones. In the 1960s and early 1970s Eel Pie Island in Twickenham was another rock venue. The Stones, Traffic and other bands played here. In the 1990s Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall bought a house on Richmond Hill. Ron Wood once owned the same house on the Hill that actor John Mills previously lived in. Pete Townshend of The Who lives at the top of the hill - like the Jaggers he can occasionally be seen in The Roebuck pub close to his home.
Local geography
Nearest places
Nearest tube stations
Nearest railway stations
This Richmond was the source of the name chosen for Richmond, Virginia.
See Also
- Savoy Palace, for an earlier erected palace by the holder of Richmondshire.
| Section 6: | Capital Ring Walking Route | Section 7: |
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| Wimbledon Park | Richmond upon Thames | Osterley |
| London Borough of Richmond upon Thames | Image:Arms-richmond-lb.jpg |
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Districts: Barnes | Ham | Hampton | Kew | Mortlake | Richmond upon Thames | Teddington | Twickenham | Whitton Attractions: Bushy Park | Hampton Court Palace | London Wetlands Centre | Kew Gardens | Richmond Park | Twickenham Stadium Constituencies: Richmond Park | Twickenham |
