This article continues our series about the boroughs which Thamesbank serves. Hopefully, the facts below will increase your knowledge of Richmond.
• Richmond was founded in the 16th Century by Henry VII and is actually named after the town of Richmond in Yorkshire. However, Twickenham is much older and is mentioned as “Tuiccanham” in a charter from 704 AD, over one thousand three years ago
• Richmond is the only London council that crosses the River Thames and so it really is a “Thamesbank” borough
• The River Thames is still tidal up to Teddington and so you can sometimes see seals or even a whale in the river
• Richmond Park is the largest park in Greater London and contains a herd of over 600 wild deer; its walls are eight miles long
• The poppies and wreaths for Remembrance Sunday are produced each year in the Poppy Factory on Richmond Hill
• Many famous bands such as The Beatles, Queen, the Rolling Stones to Madonna & Oasis have recorded at the old Olympic Studios in Barnes and the latest James Bond film, No Time To Die, was partly made at the Twickenham Film Studios in St Margarets
• As well as the site of Kew Gardens with its amazing glasshouses, pagoda and exotic plants, Kew hosts the National Archives which hold many historically important documents including the Doomsday Book, for example
• Quite a few famous people were brought up or live in Richmond Borough – Katherine Jenkins, Gary Lineker and Keira Knightley. Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the internet, went to Sheen Mount Primary school in East Sheen
• Twickenham Rugby Stadium is the world’s largest rugby union stadium and can seat 82,000 people. The land the stadium was built on was previously used to grow cabbages, hence the nickname for the ground – “The Cabbage Patch”
• They used to make gunpowder in Whitton right up until 1927 and suffered quite a few explosions over the years. Some of these were so big they could even be heard in Reading!
Sources: Wikipedia, Twickenham Studios, Royal Parks, Twickenham Museum
Image: Google Maps