Save the (revised) dates

The dates of our talks in September and October have changed. The Richmond Theatre event is now one week earlier, on Sunday 15 September, and Dr Simon Targett’s talk on the founding of America is one week later than previously advertised, on Monday 21 October.

NEW Our new book on Richmond and Kew’s street names is now available from our online bookshop

Our new publication, a fully revised edition of The Streets of Richmond and Kew, is available at £10 in local bookshops – The Open Book in King Street, Richmond, the Museum of Richmond, The National Archives’ bookshop, Kew Bookshop  and Lloyds of Kew Bookshop  It can now also be bought from our online bookshop.

We are delighted to be able to reintroduce the book to our publications list after a very long gap: the first edition was published in 1989 and the second in 1990. Many Society members, including the late David Blomfield, contributed to this new, third edition, which has 140 pages and includes a full colour map. Comprehensive and up to date, it describes how each of Richmond and Kew’s streets was named and their wider significance for our local area’s history.

Our talk on Monday 20 May is about Ham in the early 20th century

Sir David Williams represented Ham and Petersham on Richmond upon Thames Council from 1974 to 2014, and was Leader of the Council from 1983 to 2001.

David will talk about Ham in the early 20th century. While his talk is mainly about Ham Urban District Council, Ham’s own local council which existed from 1894 to 1933, David will also talk about some of the history, people and issues in Ham, and the campaign to stop Ham being taken over by Kingston and Richmond.

Our other talks coming up

See our calendar of forthcoming events and our list of forthcoming talks

Coming up, we have:

• in September, a special Sunday evening event at Richmond Theatre, celebrating its 120th anniversary (this will be a partnership event with The Richmond Society and Richmond Theatre). Please note that this event will now be on Sunday 15 September
  
• in October, Dr Simon Targett on Richmond and Mortlake’s part in the founding of America and the launching of the British Empire (this will be our first ever joint event with the Barnes and Mortlake History Society) Please note that this event will now be on Monday 21 October
• in November, Dr Caroline Withall on The forgotten boys of the sea: Marine Society merchant sea apprentices, 1772-1873
• in December, Susanne Groom on The Lost Buildings of Kew
  

  Our President, Paul Velluet

  Looking further ahead, we have:

• in January 2020, Paul Velluet on The 800th anniversary of St Mary Magdalene’s: aspects of the history and development of Richmond’s historic parish church
• in February 2020, Martin Stilwell on The industrialisation of Kew and North Richmond in the First World War

 Reports of previous talks

Our website now includes reports of some of our previous talks, including John and Eunice Drewry’s presentation in November 2018 on the Voluntary Aid Detachment.

The Victorian burial plot – from graveyard to garden

On our Resources pages, Peter Flower, archivist at the Vineyard Church in Richmond, tells us of recent discoveries in the Victorian burial plot, which is now a garden. One of the graves discovered is that of the Revd Henry Martin, the church’s remarkable first pastor, who died in 1844 aged only 36. Find out more

Our Resources pages also include a piece by John Govett on Richmond’s Old Burial Ground and Stephen Orr’s timeline on Vineyard Passage Burial Ground.

You can also read about the Selwyn family and the development of Richmond.

Our new-look journal, and an updated free index

Richmond History 39, the 2018 issue of our annual journal, has a new design and features a painting by Ron Berryman, a Society member, on the front cover. Copies are available from The Open Book in King Street, Richmond, the Museum of Richmond, The National Archives’ bookshop, Kew Bookshop,  Lloyds of Kew Bookshop and our online bookshop.

Richmond History 40, our 2019 issue, is in preparation and will be launched at the Richmond May Fair.

Our free index to our annual journal Richmond History includes all issues up to and including no. 39 (2018). You can view the index or download it as a PDF.

Oh deer, another Richmond Park myth…

It is sometimes suggested that the “deer leap” or “freebord“, the strip of land immediately outside Richmond Park’s wall, was designed so that if a deer managed to escape its hunters and get beyond the deer leap, it was then free from capture. That’s unlikely, says Richmond Park historian Robert Wood, in an article about the freebord’s history. Find out more and see a timeline on Richmond Park