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Dukes Meadows is a riverside park in
Chiswick
Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. The land was bought by the council in 1923, and the park was opened in 1926. It is cared for by the Dukes Meadows Trust. The area is home to the Chiswick Farmers' Market, which helps to pay for the park's maintenance. From 2022 the
Dukes Meadows Footbridge
Dukes Meadows Footbridge is a pedestrian bridge under construction in Chiswick, London that will allow the Thames Path on the north bank at Dukes Meadows to follow the river without diversion.
Requirement
Before the bridge was constructed, ...
will form part of the
Thames Path
The Thames Path is a National Trail following the River Thames from its source near Kemble, Gloucestershire, Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Woolwich foot tunnel, south east London. It is about long. A path was first proposed in 1948 but it onl ...
.
History
Threats
In 1902, the land to the south of Chiswick's
Grove Park district consisted of orchards and meadows with a farmhouse. A plan was made that year to build homes for 40,000 people (more than the population of Chiswick at that time) on the site, in a new town to be called Burlingwick, but they were never built.
A second threat arose in 1914, when the
Brentford Gas Company introduced a bill in Parliament to build a
gasworks
A gasworks or gas house is an industrial plant for the production of flammable gas. Many of these have been made redundant in the developed world by the use of natural gas, though they are still used for storage space.
Early gasworks
Coal ...
over of the meadows. Chiswick residents objected to the plan.
On 6 February 1914, ''The Times'' printed an editorial opposing the scheme, stating that "The scheme offends against the modern axiom of town-planning which insists that all amenities of living for workers should be safeguarded in densely populated areas, the new industries should be established as far afield as possible, and that land ripe for building – such as the Chiswick orchard farm – near the heart of the metropolis should be utilized for parks and garden settlement. It is to be hoped that no more will be heard of so unwelcome and unnecessary a proposal". The bill was not passed.
In 1926, a third threat emerged, a plan by the London and Home Counties Electricity Authority to build an electricity generating station on the scale of
Battersea Power Station, over an area of . The authority had bought
Chiswick House and its grounds from the
Duke of Devonshire
Duke of Devonshire is a title in the Peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This (now the senior) branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the wealthiest British aristocratic families since the 16th century and has be ...
, and offered to swap these for the Dukes Meadows land. The local Council was keen to get Chiswick House, but the deal was opposed by residents and
rowers alike. A private member's bill was brought to Parliament but it was rejected in 1927. In 1928, the new
Central Electricity Board
The United Kingdom Central Electricity Board (CEB) was established by the Electricity (Supply) Act 1926. It had the duty to supply electricity to authorised electricity undertakers, to determine which power stations would be 'selected' stations ...
dropped the plan, as other stations including
Fulham Power Station would have sufficient capacity.
Creation
In 1923,
Chiswick Urban District
Chiswick was a local government district in the county of Middlesex, England from 1858 to 1927. It was part of the London postal district and the Metropolitan Police District.
The Chiswick Improvement Act 1858 created a board of 19 commissioners, ...
purchased over of land from the Duke of Devonshire to create a park. To finance the purchase,
gravel extraction
A gravel pit is an open-pit mine for the extraction of gravel. Gravel pits often lie in river valleys where the water table is high, so they may naturally fill with water to form ponds or lakes. Old, abandoned gravel pits are normally used eith ...
took place from 1924 to 1937, at a rate of five acres per year, earning £1500 per acre; the gravel pits were restored and filled in with rubbish from central London after 1948.
Paddling pools were constructed on the eastern side of the meadows.
A seaside-type promenade and a bandstand were built alongside the
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
riverfront and opened by Prince Albert,
Duke of York
Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Du ...
(later King
George VI
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...
) in 1926.
Reputation
The murder of Elizabeth Figg, whose body was found on 17 June 1959 in the Meadows, is one of the six unsolved killings of the
Hammersmith nude murders. At that time, the park had a reputation as a
lovers' lane, and prostitutes were known to take their clients there.
Park
Farmers market, allotments, and sports
The Chiswick farmers market opened in 2001, and was visited by the
11th Duke of Devonshire that year. The market is held every Sunday in the courtyard that once belonged to Grove Park Farmhouse. The stalls sell meat, cheese, vegetables, fruit, juices, and prepared dishes.
Next to the farmers market is an area of
allotments run by the
London Borough of Hounslow. Much of the rest of the Dukes Meadows area, outside the public park, is covered with sports fields, used for golf, tennis, football, rugby, and other sports. A house on the golf course is the main filming location for the pre-recorded tasks in the gameshow ''
Taskmaster''.
File:Leicestershire Meat stall Chiswick Farmers' Market.jpg, Meat from a farm in Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
at Chiswick Farmers' market
File:Dukes Meadows Allotments.jpg, Allotments run by the London Borough of Hounslow
Dukes Meadows Trust
In 1998, a group of local people formed the Friends of Dukes Meadows to protect the interests of the park; this was registered as a charity in 2001, and in 2006, it became the Dukes Meadows Trust.
The old
paddling pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built above ground (as ...
s, which had fallen into disuse, were replaced with a new water play area and fountain (just to the north), a refreshments kiosk, and a sandpit. Volunteers working for the Trust tidied the whole area, created a community garden, planted hedges and fruit trees, and painted the bandstand. Construction work was paid for with rent from Chiswick Farmers' Market and from the converted farm buildings.
The approach was cited in CABE Space's "guide for community groups working to improve public space".
File:Dukes Meadows water play area and kiosk.jpg, Water play area and kiosk
File:Dukes Meadows landscaped play area.jpg, Landscaped play area
File:Dukes Meadows apple trees.jpg, Apple trees in the orchard
Thames Path
The
Thames Path
The Thames Path is a National Trail following the River Thames from its source near Kemble, Gloucestershire, Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Woolwich foot tunnel, south east London. It is about long. A path was first proposed in 1948 but it onl ...
runs beside the river, along the southern edge of Dukes Meadows. At the upstream side, the path was diverted by the railway leading to
Barnes Railway Bridge
Barnes Railway Bridge is a Grade II listed railway bridge in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and the London Borough of Hounslow. It crosses the River Thames in London in a northwest to southeast direction at Barnes. It carries the S ...
. The
Dukes Meadows Footbridge
Dukes Meadows Footbridge is a pedestrian bridge under construction in Chiswick, London that will allow the Thames Path on the north bank at Dukes Meadows to follow the river without diversion.
Requirement
Before the bridge was constructed, ...
will connect the Thames Path on either side of the railway, allowing the path to follow the river without diversion, and in the words of the
London Borough of Hounslow's report ''Duke's Meadows Regeneration'', "removing a frustrating dog-leg along the scenic walking and cycling route."
File:Duke's Meadows way marker with stars and map, 2002.jpg, Ceramic way marker with map on the Thames Path
The Thames Path is a National Trail following the River Thames from its source near Kemble, Gloucestershire, Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Woolwich foot tunnel, south east London. It is about long. A path was first proposed in 1948 but it onl ...
. Installed 2002
File:Dukes Meadows Footbridge - ramp span in place.jpg, Dukes Meadows Footbridge
Dukes Meadows Footbridge is a pedestrian bridge under construction in Chiswick, London that will allow the Thames Path on the north bank at Dukes Meadows to follow the river without diversion.
Requirement
Before the bridge was constructed, ...
under construction, 2022. The railway is on the left, Dukes Meadows to the right.
References
{{Coord, 51.4752, -0.2617, type:landmark_region:GB-HNS, display=title
Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Hounslow
Chiswick
Meadows in Greater London
Parks and open spaces on the River Thames