Petersham, London
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Petersham is a village in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the east of the bend in the River Thames south of Richmond, which it shares with neighbouring Ham. It provides the foreground of the scenic view from Richmond Hill across Petersham Meadows, with Ham House further along the river. Other nearby places include Twickenham, Isleworth, Teddington, Mortlake, and Roehampton.
History
[edit]Petersham appears in Domesday Book (1086) as Patricesham. It was held by Chertsey Abbey.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Its assets were: 4 hides; 1 church, 5 ploughs, 1 fishery worth 1,000 eels and 1000 lampreys, Template:Convert of meadow. It rendered £6 10s 0d.<ref name="Domesday">Template:OpenDomesday</ref>
Archibald Campbell, later 3rd Duke of Argyll and Earl of Islay, was born at Ham House in 1682.<ref name="Campbell">Template:Cite web</ref> He went on to found the Royal Bank of Scotland in Edinburgh in 1727.
The explorer George Vancouver retired to Petersham, where he wrote A Voyage Of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, and Round the World.<ref name = "Targett">Targett, Simon (2024). "A house, a tomb, a monkey puzzle tree, a fight and a book of discovery" in Smith, Robert (ed.) Richmond History: Journal of the Richmond Local History Society, 44: 46-56, Template:ISSN</ref> He lived in a house in River Lane that is now two separate dwellings – Navigator's House (formerly known as Craigmyle Cottage) and Glen Cottage.<ref name = "Targett"/> He died in 1798 and is buried in the churchyard of Petersham Parish Church. The Portland stone monument over his grave, renovated in the 1960s, is now Grade II listed in view of its historical associations.<ref name="Vancouver listing">Template:National Heritage List for England</ref>
In 1839 Charles Dickens rented Elm Cottage, renamed Elm Lodge,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> where he wrote Nicholas Nickleby.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1847 Queen Victoria granted Pembroke Lodge in the Petersham part of Richmond Park to John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, and it became the Russell family home.<ref name="Fletcher Jones">Template:Cite book</ref> Lord Russell's grandson, Bertrand Russell, spent some of his childhood there.<ref name="Russell">Russell, Bertrand (1967). The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell 1872–1914. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd. p. 19.</ref><ref name="Hearsum">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Turcon2012">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Hirschler">Template:Cite journal</ref> During World War II the GHQ Liaison Regiment (also known as Phantom) established its regimental headquarters nearby at the Richmond Hill Hotel,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> with its base (including the officers' mess and billet) at Pembroke Lodge.<ref name="FRP Guide91">Template:Cite book</ref>
In the early 19th century, Charles Stanhope, styled Lord Petersham, later Earl of Harrington, gave the Petersham name to a type of greatcoat.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1955 Petersham also gave its name to Template:HMS,<ref name="Janes">Template:Cite book</ref> which was a Template:Sclass2.
Landmarks
[edit]Notable buildings
[edit]Listed buildings include a watchman's box, that also served as a village lock-up<ref name="Watchman listing">Template:National Heritage List for England</ref> and dates from 1787.<ref name="Village Lock-Up">Template:Cite web</ref>
Petersham Road (part of the A307) includes an extremely sharp right-angled bend edged by a pair of handsome wrought iron gates. This is the entrance to Montrose House, one of the most notable houses in Petersham. After a spate of serious accidents on the bend in the road, the neighbours formed a group in the 1850s called Trustees of the Road. The Hon. Algernon Tollemache of Ham House was their leader and they managed to persuade the owner of Montrose House to part with some land to reduce the sharpness of the bend. But various dents in the brick wall today reveal that motorists are still taken unawares by it.<ref>Weinreb and Hibbert, p. 610</ref>
Adjacent to Montrose House and equally as impressive is Rutland Lodge, built in 1666 for a Lord Mayor of London;<ref name="RIBApix - Rutland">Template:Cite web</ref> it is Grade II* listed.<ref name="Rutland isting">Template:National Heritage List for England</ref>
Another historic house in Petersham is Douglas House, just off the west drive to Ham House. One of its notable inhabitants was Catherine, Duchess of Queensberry. In 1969 it was bought by the Federal Republic of Germany for use as a German school. New buildings have been erected in the grounds, but the original house and stables have been preserved.<ref>Weinreb and Hibbert, p. 241</ref>
Transport
[edit]Petersham is served by only two bus routes: the 65 and 371, both linking the village with Richmond and Kingston upon Thames. It has only a few bus stops such as Sandy Lane, Sudbrook Lane (The Russell School) and Ham Street and The Dysart.
Education
[edit]- Deutsche Schule (DSL), London (the German School London), is based at Douglas House.
- The Russell School, now on Petersham Road, was founded in 1851 by Lord John Russell, who served twice as Britain's Prime Minister. It was originally located in Richmond Park, near Petersham Gate, but the building was irreparably damaged by a bomb in 1943 and demolished.<ref name="Russell School">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
- Sudbrook School is a nursery school housed in Petersham's village hall on Bute Avenue.
Religious sites
[edit]St Peter's Church
[edit]Template:Main Petersham Parish Church is believed to pre-date the Norman conquest of England, as a church at Petersham is mentioned in Domesday Book (1086).<ref name="Domesday"/>
All Saints' Church
[edit]Template:Main All Saints', on Bute Avenue, was built as a church but was never consecrated.<ref name="HistoryWorld">Template:Cite web</ref> It was built between 1899 and 1909 by Leeds architect John Kelly for Mrs Rachael Warde (née Walker) (1841–1906)<ref name="Rachel">Template:Cite web</ref> as a memorial to her father Samuel Walker and her aunt Ellen Walker.<ref name = "Lee">Template:Cite journal</ref> During World War II it was used as an Anti-Aircraft Command post<ref name="Radar">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="War">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="RLHS 2007">Template:Cite journal</ref> and it has also been used as a recording studio<ref name="Grant">Template:Cite news</ref> and as a filming location.<ref name="Borough">Template:Cite book</ref> It is now a private residence.<ref name="Borough"/>
Sport
[edit]Richmond Golf Club, a private golf club, is situated in the historic Sudbrook Park,<ref name="Richmond Golf Club">Template:Cite web</ref> adjacent to Richmond Park. The Grade I listed building Sudbrook House, in the park, has been its clubhouse since 1898.<ref name="Brennand">Template:Cite book</ref>
Ham and Petersham Cricket Club, whose home matches are played in Ham, was established in 1815.<ref name="Ham and Petersham Cricket Club">Template:Cite web</ref>
Ranelagh Harriers running club is based behind The Dysart restaurant.<ref name="Harriers">Template:Cite web</ref>
Notable people
[edit]Living people
[edit]- Shirley Bloomer (born 1934), who won three Grand Slam tennis titles during her tennis-playing career, is the widow of Chris Brasher (see Historical figures below); they brought up their family in Petersham.<ref name="Brasher"/>
- Fearne Cotton (b. 1981), TV presenter, lived at Chestnut Cottage, Petersham from 2004 to 2008.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Michael Frayn (born 1933), playwright and novelist, and his wife Claire Tomalin (born 1933), journalist and biographer, live in Petersham.<ref name="Adams">Template:Cite news</ref>
- The entertainer Tommy Steele (born 1936) bought Montrose House in 1969.<ref name="Cloake">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="London Encyclopaedia">Template:Cite book</ref> He sold it in about 2004.<ref name="Douglas">Template:Cite news</ref>
- Lynne Truss (born 1955), author, journalist, novelist, and radio broadcaster and dramatist, grew up in Petersham.<ref name="Sholto">Template:Cite news</ref>
- Peter Voser (b. 1958), the former CEO of Royal Dutch Shell, lived in Petersham. He has since moved back to his native Switzerland.<ref name="Voser">Template:Cite web</ref>
Historical figures
[edit]- Daisy Ashford (1881–1972), who is most famous for writing The Young Visiters, was born at Elm Lodge, Petersham.<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref><ref name="NPG Ashford">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Chris Brasher (1928–2003), an athlete and sports journalist who co-founded the London Marathon, lived in River Lane, Petersham.<ref name="Brasher">Template:Cite web</ref>
- The author and illustrator Charles George Harper (1863–1943) lived in Petersham in later life, and died there in 1943.<ref name="Harper">Template:Cite journal</ref>
- Lodowick Carlell (1602–1675), courtier and playwright, and his wife Joan Carlile (c.1606–1679), portrait painter, lived at Petersham Lodge in Richmond Park. They are buried together in St Peter's churchyard, but the location of their grave is not known.<ref name="Oxford DNB Carlile">Template:Cite ODNB</ref>
- Major Herbert Byng Hall (1805–1883) was an officer in the British Army and later a Queen's Messenger who wrote several books on travel, sport and food, as well as two novels. He lived at Rose Cottage, River Lane, from about 1859 to 1878. His wife is buried at St Peter's church.
- Prince Rupert Loewenstein (1933–2014), aristocrat, merchant banker and longtime financial manager of The Rolling Stones, lived at Petersham Lodge in River Lane, a former grace-and-favour mansion, purchased for about £2 million in 1987.<ref name=Telegraph>Prince Rupert zu Loewenstein – obituary, The Daily Telegraph, 21 May 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2014.</ref> It is an early 18th-century house, built for Catherine Douglas, Duchess of Queensberry, and Grade II listed by Historic England.<ref name="EH">Template:National Heritage List for England</ref>
- The businessman Tony Rampton (1915–1993), who was chairman of the clothing retailer Freemans, lived at Gort Lodge, an early 18th-century Grade II listed house in Petersham, where he and his wife Joan, who were both philanthropists, brought up their family, including their son Richard Rampton KC (1941–2023),<ref name="Tessler">Template:Cite news</ref> who became a libel lawyer. Tony and Joan Rampton are buried in St Peter's churchyard.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref><ref>Weleminsky, Judy (2021/22) "Tony Rampton, Petersham's pioneering philanthropist" in Smith, Robert (ed.) Richmond History: Journal of the Richmond Local History Society 42: 50–59 Template:ISSN</ref>
- George Vancouver (1757–1798), Captain in the Royal Navy and one of Britain's greatest explorers and navigators, retired to Petersham and lived on River Lane;<ref name = "Targett"/> he is buried in St Peter's churchyard.<ref name="Vancouver listing" />
- Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton (1784–1841), politician, sociopolitical theorist and colonial administrator, who was Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies between 1821 and 1828, and Governor of Ceylon from 1831 to 1837, lived and died at Sudbrook Park, Petersham.<ref name="ADB">"Horton, Sir Robert Wilmot (1784–1841)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1966. Retrieved 11 June 2024.</ref>