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 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…
St Anne’s Church, Kew Green – [Local History Notes: 4]
St Anne's Church, Kew Green The hamlet of Kew had a chapel in the 16th century, but this was the private chapel of Thomas Byrkis at Kew Farm and the…
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…
Leigh’s ‘Panorama of the Thames’
This magnificent panorama was published by Samuel Leigh in 1829, titled ‘The Panorama of the Thames from London to Richmond, Exhibiting every Object on both Banks of the River, with…