The George, Twickenham by Evacustes A. Phipson . Watercolour, 1915

The Local Studies Library & Archive has a collection of around 3,500 prints, watercolours and pencil drawings that document the development of Richmond upon Thames from the eighteenth century onwards.  LBRuT Graduate Trainee, Rachel Kidd, has been working with a group of volunteers at Local Studies to undertake a project that will digitise the print collection and, in doing so, increase access to this valuable local resource.
The project includes the creation of an interactive web-based map. Powered by Google Maps, this will include images of a number of prints that were specially selected by the volunteers. Visitors can click on a certain location in the borough to reveal a print depicting the area, as well research conducted by the volunteers. This will allow residents to digitally explore the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames as it has been depicted over the centuries and, hopefully, encourage further use of the print collection as a local resource.
The Map is due to be completed by March 2015.

[ by Jane Baxter, Heritage Manager ]