{"id":3227,"date":"2016-08-01T18:06:18","date_gmt":"2016-08-01T17:06:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.richmondhistory.org.uk\/wordpress\/?page_id=3227"},"modified":"2026-02-16T10:30:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T10:30:09","slug":"books-on-kew","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.richmondhistory.org.uk\/wordpress\/publications\/books-on-kew\/","title":{"rendered":"Books on Kew"},"content":{"rendered":"

To find out more about buying the Society’s books, visit our main Bookshop page<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The Aitons: Gardeners to Their Majesties<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n

\"Aitons<\/a>Frank Pagnamenta<\/strong>‘s book is the first biography of William Aiton<\/a> and his eldest son, Wiliam Townsend Aiton<\/a>, who between them oversaw the first eighty years of the development of Kew Gardens. The Aitons were prominent members of Kew Vestry, living in Descanso House at the junction of the Mortlake and Kew Roads. Their substantial family tomb is a feature of St Anne\u2019s graveyard, and they are honoured by a memorial within the church. Find out more<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

2009.\u00a0\u00a0 52 pages. \u00a0\u00a0 ISBN 978-0-9559717-5-1<\/p>\n

\u00a33.00 (\u00a32.00 for members<\/em>)\u00a0<\/strong>Our prices for buying online via PayPal include postage and packing.<\/em><\/p>\n

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At the Heart of the Community: Victoria House, Kew 1980-2020<\/em><\/span><\/h1>\n

\"\"<\/a>Between 1980 and 2023, Victoria House looked after many of Kew\u2019s elderly residents. It was part of the international network of Abbeyfield homes established to help lonely senior citizens and to involve the community in running homes as much as possible.<\/p>\n

Simon Fowler’s book traces the history of the Abbeyfield movement locally. It looks at why the House was built and how it has changed over the past forty years, including the turbulent last few years.<\/p>\n

It tells the stories of the volunteers who have helped make the House a home and describes the care offered to the residents by the dedicated staff.<\/p>\n

The result is an inspirational story about one of Kew\u2019s best loved institutions. It is also the first history of a modern care home in Britain.<\/p>\n

Published by the Friends of Victoria House, Kew, 2022. 56 pages, fully illustrated. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ISBN 978-1-3999-3512-8<\/p>\n

\u00a37.00 (\u00a35.00<\/strong> for members)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
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NEW IN 2024<\/span> Kew at War 1939-1945<\/em><\/span><\/h1>\n

\"\"<\/a>by David Blomfield, Christopher May <\/strong>and Simon Fowler<\/strong><\/p>\n

84 pages. Fourth edition, published 2024.<\/p>\n

ISBN\u00a0 978-1-912314-05-8<\/p>\n

Using eyewitness accounts, diaries and official records, this fully revised and expanded fourth edition tells the story of local people and those who were stationed in Kew in the Second World War.<\/p>\n

Despite its relatively small size, Kew played a significant part in the war effort. American soldiers, who made the maps that helped the Allies\u2019 D-Day landings, were based at a camp where The National Archives is now. After the Americans left, it housed Italian prisoners of war.<\/p>\n

\u00a310.00 (\u00a37.00 for members<\/em>)<\/strong> Our prices for buying online via PayPal include postage and packing.<\/em><\/p>\n\n
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The Story of Kew<\/em> by David Blomfield<\/span><\/h1>\n

\"\"<\/a>This enlarged, fifth, edition of David Blomfield’s book tells the story of the Royal Botanic Gardens, The National Archives and the ancient Surrey village of Kew that enjoyed an important and colourful history of its own long before either of them was created. Uniquely among Surrey villages, as this book shows, Kew has been more regal than rustic, and it retains remarkable buildings from every stage of its history.<\/p>\n

Published by Leyborne Publications, 2011.\u00a0 50 pages. ISBN 978-0-9520515-3-2<\/p>\n

\u00a35.00<\/strong> Our prices for buying online via PayPal include postage and packing.<\/em>
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To find out more about buying the Society’s books, visit our main Bookshop page The Aitons: Gardeners to Their Majesties Frank Pagnamenta‘s book is the first biography of William Aiton and his eldest son, Wiliam Townsend Aiton, who between them oversaw the first eighty years of the development of Kew Gardens. The Aitons were prominent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":75,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3227","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.richmondhistory.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.richmondhistory.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.richmondhistory.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.richmondhistory.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.richmondhistory.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3227"}],"version-history":[{"count":37,"href":"https:\/\/www.richmondhistory.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3227\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12604,"href":"https:\/\/www.richmondhistory.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3227\/revisions\/12604"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.richmondhistory.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/75"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.richmondhistory.org.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}