Richmond on Thames – Trouspinet travels

Richmond Park and its deer on a winter’s morning

This post in the series about life around Richmond on Thames is about Richmond Park. This was created by Charles I, who found the existing park next to Richmond Palace (now the Old Deer Park) too small for his fanatical interest in hunting. So he made a much bigger domain, closing it off with a wall (finished in 1637). Ordinary people were still allowed to visit to collect firewood or to travel through the park, entering and leaving via one of six gates. After Charles I’s death Richmond Park was briefly acquired by the state before being returned to the Crown under Charles II. It has remained crown property ever since. Richmond Park was popular with King George II, who built the White Lodge (completed 1730) as a hunting lodge, and his successor George III, whose daughter Princess Amelia caused outrage in 1751 by closing the park to the public – an action that was successfully challenged in court by the local brewer John Lewis.

Over the years Richmond Park transitioned from a Royal hunting park to a public amenity and wildlife reserve. The public’s right to visit was enshrined by an Act of Parliament in 1872 (Richmond people seem to be good at getting laws passed that benefit them). In the 20th century, the area previously used to raise deer for royal hunting was converted to become a public golf course. George II’s White Lodge became the Royal Ballet School, one of the leading places to learn ballet in the world. Pembroke Lodge, once a “grace and favour” house (offered to members of the Royal family or people who had served them), became a popular tearoom and venue for wedding receptions.

Today Richmond Park is a nature reserve, London’s biggest royal park and its second biggest park of any type (after the Lea Valley Park in north London). It retains Charles I’s perimeter and original six gates (with some new ones added later), and parts of it probably look much the same now as they did back in the 17th century. Wild deer still roam free, along with a host of other wildlife.

Stags hiding in the long bracken are a hazard for unwary walkers

In some places in the centre of the park, there is only an expanse of green grass and trees, with not a building in site – were it not for the jets flying into to Heathrow airport, you could imagine yourself to be somewhere deep in England’s countryside and not 10 miles from the centre of London.

In other parts of the park, there are some great views out to the city of London. One of the most famous is from King Henry’s mound – an ancient Bronze Age burial mound that Henry VIII is supposed to have enjoyed the view from even before the creation of the park. It offers an uninterrupted line of sight to St Paul’s cathedral, 10 miles away, thanks to a carefully maintained gap in the trees and then restrictions placed on the height of central London buildings along the way.

You should be able to make out St Paul’s Cathedral in the gap (honest!)

My personal experience of Richmond Park goes back over twenty years. First I explored the parts near Richmond Gate, discovering nearby places like Pembroke Lodge, with its wonderful views towards the Surrey Hills.

The view from Pembroke Lodge, Richmond Park

Then I started to walk a bit further to discover one of my favourite parts – the Isabella Plantation, a woodland garden created in the 1830s and opened to the public in 1953. It is most famous for its spring colours when hundreds of rhododendron bushes burst into flower.

Rhododendrons in the Isabella Plantation

The Still Pond at the Isabella Plantation

Although I have now been exploring Richmond Park for over twenty years, I still occasionally stumble across new places. Recently, I found this dilapidated old bench in a hidden niche, deep inside the park. It was dedicated to a man who died young – now it would appear his parents too have died and allowed his bench to return to nature. In a park established for nearly four hundred years, the sad sight caused me to reflect on how short life is compared to the grandeur of nature.

Well, that contemplative note wraps up this post. Next we will take a short walk to Twickenham!

Next Post: A short walk to Twickenham and Eel Pie Island via Ham House

Previous Post: Richmond on Thames

The bear is back! – not on the road this time, but at home. It has been a while since my last trip (Japan) and my next trip (New Zealand) is still over a month away, so instead I will do a few posts about my home – Richmond on Thames. Though technically part of Greater London, Richmond retains the feel of a separate country town, and it is often difficult to imagine you are in one of the world’s greatest cities.

Most foreigners probably won’t know Richmond unless they are fans of the Ted Lasso TV series – which is something of a blessing since it doesn’t get central London’s tourist crowds. Londoners know its riverside as a nightlife hub, its park, and that it often comes top in polls of the best or happiest place to live in London (or even the UK). Does it live up to this hype? Let’s see.

Richmond Riverside (courtesy Colette Hewitt Photography)

A visitor from London will arrive at the train station (first built in 1846). Initial impressions are disappointing – Richmond’s main street, the Quadrant, looks rather scruffy. It suffered badly during Covid and its retailers continue to struggle against Amazon. Surprisingly this unpromising area contains a piece of remarkable rock music history. Directly opposite the station is 1 Kew Road, which is now a modern bar but used to be the Crawdaddy club where a then-unknown group called the Rolling Stones played some of their first gigs. On one memorable evening The Beatles, who were already famous and had been shooting a film nearby, popped in to see their up-and-coming rivals.

Hard to imagine the Rolling Stones once played here….

From the station, people’s first stop is usually Richmond Green, a pleasant expanse of grass where people still play cricket on summer weekends. It is lined with stylish houses and some good pubs. Leading off from the Green are several small passages with many trendy shops – including the Ted Lasso shop.

Richmond Green (courtesy Colette Hewitt Photography)

Off Richmond Green (courtesy Colette Hewitt Photography)

Heading towards the river from the Green you find the place where the town of Richmond started. Here there was a royal residence called Sheen Manor where many medieval kings stayed, starting with Richard II in the 14th century. The name Richmond arose when the manor burnt down and over 1497 to 1501 King Henry VII built a palace over its ruins. He named it after his eponymous earldom in Yorkshire (where today there is also a town called Richmond). His son and successor Henry VIII spent less time there, preferring nearby Hampton Court, but a few years later, Richmond Palace became a favourite residence of the great queen Elisabeth, who died there in 1603. The next king to appreciate Richmond was Charles I, but after he lost the English Civil War and was executed, Oliver Cromwell had the palace destroyed and it was never rebuilt. Richmond never regained its royal connections and returned to being a sleepy agricultural village near London. Today all that remains of the palace are fragments incorporated into smart buildings of the 18th and 19th century, when Richmond again become a popular place for rich people to live.

The Gate House and (behind) Trumpeter’s House contain remnants of the Old Palace

Walking past the elegant buildings that have now replaced the old royal palace you reach the river, with its bars, pubs and boat hire places. On summer days the area is a magnet for people from all over London to visit on a day out.

Heading up from the river is one of Richmond’s fanciest roads – Richmond Hill, whose houses mostly date from Georgian times.

Gloucester House, one of the imposing houses on Richmond Hill

Just before the top of the hill are the pretty Terrace Gardens, that stretch down to the river Thames.

In the Terrace Gardens looking up to Richmond Hill, spring…

..and looking down to the River Thames, autumn…

Statue of Aphrodite, nick-named “Bulbous Betty” in the Terrace Gardens

At the top of the hill there is the Terrace, a path that offers a view over the River Thames, which has been painted by many artists – most famously by Turner. For some reason this view is protected by its own act of parliament. The forests continue as far as the eye can see, and were particularly stunning during the UK’s Covid lockdown, when the pure air made the different shades of green that much brighter. For me the view is endlessly photogenic, and I keep coming back to take more photos at all times of the year…

As would be expected, the top of the hill has some of Richmond’s most spectacular houses. Downe House dates from 1780 and has been occupied by playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan…and more recently Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall.
Further along the Terrace is The Wick, another magnificent Georgian house with rock-star connections. It was owned by Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones, has its own sound studio, and was where the hit single “It’s only Rock and Roll but I like it” was recorded with David Bowie singing backing vocals. It was bought from Wood by another rock star, Pete Townshend of the Who.

Finally, at the very end of the Terrace is the huge Star and Garter House, built in 1921 as a home for disabled war veterans but later sold and converted to luxury apartments. The Star and Garter sits at one of the six gates into Richmond Park, which will be the subject of a future post.

The Star and Garter Hotel, Richmond on Thames

So – is Richmond the happiest place to live in the UK? I don’t have so much experience of the rest of the UK but certainly I think it is the best place in London. It is really pretty, with a village-like atmosphere, but also remains close to central London on the train or tube. It has lots of pubs, restaurants, and even two cinemas and two theatres. The people you meet here seem more relaxed than in other parts of the capital, and smile and say hello to strangers. They are also look slimmer and fitter than most other places – probably because there is a limitless scope for exercise here (running or cycling around Richmond Park, paddle boarding or rowing on the Thames).

Many thanks to my friend Colette Hewitt for some of the photos in this blog – check out her site on this link to see more of her work.

Next Post: Richmond Park

Tag: Richmond on Thames

Glorious Richmond Park

Richmond on Thames – no place like home