The Almshouses of Richmond – [Local History Notes: 2]
Queen Elizabeth’s Almshouses Queen Elizabeth's Almshouses Founded by Sir George Wright in 1600, these were to house eight poor aged women. They were built in Petersham Road, a few hundred…
Orleans House and The Octagon – [Local History Notes: 1]
The riverside residence at Twickenham which was to become known as Orleans House was built in 1710 for James Johnston (1643?-1737) by John James, one of Wren’s chief assistants. (James…
Follow the Drum: a reflection [Part 2] – The Home Front Response
‘Let us remember Spring will come again…’ (May 1915, Charlotte Mew) The Armistice Agreement had been reached, signed and implemented at am on the 11 November 1918. Permanent security was not…
A letter to Albert Barkas, Chief Librarian
I found a letter, sent to Albert Barkas, glued into our copy of the book The Private Palaces of London. The letter was sufficiently intriguing to prompt some detective work into…
Discovering Richmond upon Thames Libraries
Did you know that here in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames we have thirteen libraries? They range from the small and cosy Kew Library to the grand Teddington…
Follow the Drum: a reflection [Part 1] – Post-hostilities
Guerre Finie! Boche Napoo! A grainy image of a German car emerging from the mirk of a battlefield caught my imagination as I was researching this last piece for the…
The Leslie Freeman Slide Collection
Photographs are a hugely important resource for local archives and here in Richmond we have a collection of over 20,000 images lovingly cared for by staff at our Local Studies…
Follow the Drum: Families at War
Archive material in the Local Studies collections provides an authentic glimpse into the experiences of families in the borough who had loved ones that were away from home, involved in…
Know Your Place – A year in the making
September 2018 will see the fifth Know Your Place heritage festival, and whilst the festival is on for one month, it takes all-year-round planning to get it…
Follow the Drum: Christmas 1917
Springbok Blue December 1917 To celebrate Christmas one hundred years ago in 1917, it was necessary for people to dig deep within their own personal reserves of strength as the…