Marble Hill House, Twickenham – [Local History Notes: 10]
Henrietta Howard (), for whom Marble Hill House was built, was described by her friend Horace Walpole as: "of a just hight, well made, extremely fair, with the finest light…
Asgill House, Richmond – [Local History Notes: 9]
Of the several notable houses in Richmond which were built on the site of Henry VIII’s royal palace in Richmond, Asgill House is perhaps the most original in design. It…
MozFest 2019
This year was the 10th anniversary of MozFest, a conference run by the Mozilla Foundation to work towards an internet that best serves the public good. Focussed on a weekend,…
The Szlumper Cuttings
Sir James Szlumper Sir James Szlumper, 3 times mayor of Richmond (1893/1900/1904) and president of the Victoria Working Men’s Club collected 11 volumes of cuttings from local and national newspapers…
The Original Star and Garter, Richmond Hill – [Local History Notes: 8]
Many hotels and inn throughout the country bear the name Star and Garter: the name stems from the royal insignia of the Garter and establishments adopting it were frequently found…
Summer IT Sessions
Summer is drawing to a close, and that also means the end of our Summer IT Sessions. Each summer, members of staff travel around the borough to offer drop-in sessions…
Richmond Bridge – [Local History Notes: 7]
Long before Richmond Bridge was built, a ferry was operating at the site, that is from Ferry Hill (now Bridge Street) across to Twickenham Meadows. There were 2 boats: one…
The Shell Guides: a short history
Introduction In 1933 John Betjeman, who was then working for Architectural Review magazine, came up with the idea for a series of county guides. He conceived the guides as an…
Merlin’s Cave and The Hermitage – [Local History Notes: 6]
These were built in the gardens of Richmond Lodge by Queen Caroline (wife of George II) while she was resident there. The Queen took great interest in the gardens and…
The Observatory and Obelisks, Kew – [Local History Notes: 5]
The Observatory was built for George III, a keen amateur astronomer. The architect was Sir William Chambers (1726-1796) who also designed the Pagoda in Kew Gardens. Observatory, Kew (Old Deer…