Several of the contributors to our journal in 2011 explored the history of a number of local buildings about which very little had been written in the past. Maids of Honour Row has graced Richmond Green for almost 300 years, but only now did we have from Sally Jeffery the full story of how it was built, and how it came to be occupied by Queen Caroline’s maids of honour.
Maids of Honour Row
The Terrace on Richmond Hill has even older roots, and John Cloake had tales to tell of equally influential residents, though more Richmond than royal in their interests – William Hickey, who endowed the almshouses, the wealthy merchant Sir William Richardson, and the even wealthier Doughty family. Some of them collected pictures; many commissioned pictures of the terrace which happily survive to illustrate John’s article.
The Terrace in 1749, with Sir William Richardson stepping out of no 4 – now owned by John Cloake
Unusually two contributors were inspired by the same estate, that of Buccleuch House, which once stood on the riverside just upstream of the Petersham meadows. Ron Berryman traced the family’s colourful history back to the Duke of Monmouth, while Ron McEwen explored the development of the Buccleuch gardens on the hill behind the house and explains how they came into public use and are still enjoyed today.
Queen Victoria visits Buccleuch House in 1842
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