Take a seat – a literary legacy in Twickenham
Have you noticed some new additions to Garfield Road Park? Five brand new benches perhaps? Have you seen what's written on them? Yes? No? Let us tell you more. Twickenham…
Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1835-1915) – [Local History Notes: 21]
One of the most popular and prolific novelists of her day and the virtual founder of a new school of ‘sensational’ fiction, Miss Mary Elizabeth Braddon was born at Frith…
Charles Dickens and Richmond – [Local History Notes: 20]
Estella in Great Expectations (1861) states: ‘Our lesson is that there are two Richmonds, one in Surrey and one in Yorkshire, and that mine is the Surrey Richmond.' As early…
Horace Walpole (1717-1797) and Strawberry Hill – [Local History Notes: 18]
Some talk of Gunnersbury, For Sion some declare; And some say, that with Chiswick House No villa can compare; But all the beaux of Middlesex, Who know the country well,…
Alexander Pope (1688-1744) – [Local History Notes: 16]
Samuel Johnson’s Lives of the English Poets records a statement, attributed to Lady Bolingbroke, to the effect that Pope could 'hardly drink tea without a stratagem'. Pope’s career was, indeed,…
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…
York House, Twickenham – [Local History Notes: 3]
York House (river frontage) York House, Twickenham was built in the 17th century (but added to in subsequent centuries), this fine house stands at the eastern end of a drive…
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…
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…
Bookstart – never too young to enjoy books
No one is ever too young to be introduced to a book! Librarians are passionate about the value of reading and enjoying stories. They know that from a very early…