The Museum of Richmond’s 30th anniversary: a new exhibition, and two talks

On Monday 10 December, curator Rebecca Arnott will be talking to our Society about the history of the Museum of Richmond, which first opened 30 years ago.

And on Tuesday 27 November, former Museum of Richmond chair and a member of the original Museum steering group, Valerie Boyes, will speak at an event, organised by the Museum, on how the idea for a museum for Richmond first surfaced in 1843 and become a reality 145 years later. She will tell the fascinating story of how the Museum was founded.

The Museum’s 30th anniversary exhibition opened on 20 October and continues until February. Taking the theme 30 years, 30 people, 30 objects and memories, it illustrates the history of the Museum through 30 people who have contributed to its development and who have selected objects from the Museum’s collection to help tell its story. Our society is well represented, with contributions from our President, Paul Velluet, and three committee members –  Robert Smith, Simon Fowler and Alyson Barr.

Richmond’s Christmas history will be on the radio

Our Vice-Chair, Simon Fowler, will be talking about “Christmas in Richmond” on Nicky Patrick’s Up Close show on BBC Radio Surrey between 8 pm and 8:30 pm on Thursday 13 December. Simon will be discussing life over the festive season during Victorian times. We see Christmas through the eyes of Charles Dickens, but how did families celebrate locally? He will be looking at what was in the shops and on the dining table, and how people enjoyed themselves, as well as the experiences of the less prosperous residents.

 In 2019 we have three joint talks with other societies, including an event at Richmond Theatre

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

Next year’s talks include:

• in January 2019, Stephen Bartlett on Royston House and the building of Victorian Kew (this will be a joint event with The Kew Society)
• in February, Dr Steven Woodbridge from Kingston University on the League of Nations Union in Richmond
• in March, Jill Lamb on the oral history project Ham is Where the Heart is

• in May, Sir David Williams on Ham in the early 20th century
• in September, a special Sunday evening event at Richmond Theatre, celebrating its 120th anniversary (this will be our first ever joint event with The Richmond Society)
• 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)
• in December, Susanne Groom on The Lost Buildings of Kew

 UPDATED Reports of previous talks

Our website now includes reports of some of our previous talks. The most recent additions, by RLHS member John Foley, are on this year’s talks by Val Bott, Bob Shoemaker and Jack Andrews  Find out more 

NEW The Victorian burial plot – from graveyard to garden

In a new posting 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. 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.

Our free index to our annual journal Richmond History now 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