Ham is a suburban
district in
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
, south-west
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 ...
. It has meadows adjoining the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
where the
Thames Path National Trail
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 ...
also runs. Most of Ham is in the
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in southwest London forms part of Outer London and is the only London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the London ...
and, chiefly, within the
ward
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
of Ham, Petersham and Richmond Riverside; the rest is in the
Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a borough in southwest London. The main town is Kingston upon Thames and it includes Surbiton, Chessington, Malden Rushett, New Malden and Tolworth. It is the oldest of the four royal boroughs in Eng ...
. The district has modest convenience shops and amenities, including a
petrol station
A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel.
Gasoline ...
and several
pub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
s, but its commerce is subsidiary to the nearby regional-level economic centre of
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...
.
Geography
Ham is centred south-west of the
centre of London
Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...
. Together with
Petersham, Ham lies east of the bend in the river almost surrounding it on three sides, south of
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
and north of
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...
. Its elevation mostly ranges between 6m and 12m
OD but reaches 20m in the foothill side-streets leading to
Richmond Park
Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks, and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, C ...
. It has the
Thames Path National Trail
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 ...
and is connected to
Teddington
Teddington is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2021, Teddington was named as the best place to live in London by ''The Sunday Times''. Historically in Middlesex, Teddington is situated on a long m ...
by
a large Lock Footbridge at
Teddington Lock
Teddington Lock is a complex of three lock (water transport), locks and a weir on the River Thames between Ham, London, Ham and Teddington in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. Historically in Middlesex, it was first buil ...
. During the summer months a pedestrian ferry,
Hammerton's Ferry
Hammerton's Ferry is a pedestrian and cycle ferry service across the River Thames in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, London, England. The ferry links the river's northern bank near Marble Hill House in Twickenham with its southern ...
, links it to
Marble Hill House
Marble Hill House is a Neo-Palladian villa, now Grade I listed, in Twickenham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It was built between 1724 and 1729 as the home of Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk, who lived there until her ...
,
Twickenham
Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
.
The neighbouring land is semi-rural Petersham, Richmond Park, and the town of Kingston. On the opposite side of the river is
Teddington
Teddington is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2021, Teddington was named as the best place to live in London by ''The Sunday Times''. Historically in Middlesex, Teddington is situated on a long m ...
and
Twickenham
Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
(including
Strawberry Hill).
[Grid square map]
Ordnance survey
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website
Ham is bounded on the west, along the bank of the River Thames, by ancient
communal river meadows forming a
Local Nature Reserve called
Ham Lands
Ham Lands is a 72-hectare Local Nature Reserve and Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation in Ham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. The area is very popular with walker ...
. Part of this former pasture land was used for
gravel
Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone.
Gravel is classifi ...
extraction. The last remnant of these gravel pits now forms an artificial lake, connected to the river by a
lock
Lock(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
*Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance
*Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal
Arts and entertainment
* ''Lock ...
. In this area is the
Thames Young Mariners
Thames Young Mariners is a 25-acre area of land situated in Ham, London, Ham. It includes the Thames Young Mariners Base Lagoon, which is a calm 10-acre lake connected to the River Thames by a Lock (water navigation), lock. The site was establis ...
site, operated as a water activity centre by
Surrey County Council
Surrey County Council is the county council administering certain services in the non-metropolitan county of Surrey in England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1965 the Conservative Party has ...
.
The area along the riverside is preserved as a public amenity and nature reserve.
Mostly on low-lying
river terrace
Fluvial terraces are elongated terraces that flank the sides of floodplains and fluvial valleys all over the world. They consist of a relatively level strip of land, called a "tread", separated from either an adjacent floodplain, other fluvial te ...
, Ham today is bounded to the east by
Richmond Park
Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks, and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, C ...
, where the land rises at the
escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations.
The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escar ...
of the Richmond and Kingston
hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct Summit (topography), summit.
Terminology
The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally con ...
s. Small streams that drain this higher ground flow into a watercourse that flows south–north along the foot of the hill, known as Latchmere Stream to the south and
Sudbrook to the north. Now subterranean for most of its course, it emerges in
Ham Common, near Ham Gate and flows briefly through Richmond Park and exits into
Sudbrook Park Golf Course, returning underground before discharging into the Thames at Petersham.
Geology
Ham lies within the
London Basin
The London Basin is an elongated, roughly triangular sedimentary basin approximately long which underlies London and a large area of south east England, south eastern East Anglia and the adjacent North Sea. The basin formed as a result of compre ...
and its
London clay
The London Clay Formation is a marine geological formation of Ypresian (early Eocene Epoch, c. 56–49 million years ago) age which crops out in the southeast of England. The London Clay is well known for its fossil content. The fossils from t ...
bedrock
In geology, bedrock is solid Rock (geology), rock that lies under loose material (regolith) within the crust (geology), crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet.
Definition
Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface mater ...
. The low-lying flood plains to the west consist of fluvial
gravel
Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone.
Gravel is classifi ...
s,
sand
Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...
s and
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
. To the east, within Richmond Park, a more erosion-resistant
fluvio-glacial
Fluvio refers to things related to rivers and glacial refers to something that is of ice. Fluvio-glacial refers to the meltwater created when a glacier melts. Fluvio-glacial processes can occur on the surface and within the glacier. The deposits t ...
deposit of gravels laid down in the
interglacial
An interglacial period (or alternatively interglacial, interglaciation) is a geological interval of warmer global average temperature lasting thousands of years that separates consecutive glacial periods within an ice age. The current Holocene in ...
period between 240,000 and 400,000 years ago forms the escarpment ridge that runs north–south between the Richmond and Kingston hills.
Toponymy
The name derives from the
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
word ''Hamme'' meaning "place in the bend of a river".
Archaeology
The Thames Valley has been inhabited since the
Palaeolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
period and finds of Palaeolithic flints near
White Lodge, Richmond Park
White Lodge is a Grade I listed Georgian house situated in Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Formerly a royal residence, it now houses the Royal Ballet Lower School, instructing students aged 11–16.
Early hist ...
show that Ham was part of early human territory. Later,
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymous ...
, flints found at Ham dip, Dann's Pond and Pen Ponds within the park are also evidence of early habitation as are
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
barrows on the ridge of the hill overlooking Petersham, Ham and Kingston. These have not been excavated, so it is impossible to date them precisely, but barrows are known to span the period from 3500BC to 900BC. Several surface finds of
flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...
tools, axes, adzes, scrapers, awls chisels and knives as well as arrowheads, hammer stones and flint shards were made during gravel workings in Ham Fields at Coldharbour, near the present day
Thames Young Mariners
Thames Young Mariners is a 25-acre area of land situated in Ham, London, Ham. It includes the Thames Young Mariners Base Lagoon, which is a calm 10-acre lake connected to the River Thames by a Lock (water navigation), lock. The site was establis ...
site () and further east in maize fields now covered by housing.
These finds are made from high quality flint from the
North Downs
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills and ...
rather than local river-borne flints from the Thames Valley, implying human transportation and a settled rather than nomadic lifestyle in the area. Many of these
artifacts are part of the Edwards Collection and housed in the
Museum of Richmond
The Museum of Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is located in Richmond's Old Town Hall, close to Richmond Bridge. It was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 28 October 1988.
An independent museum and a regis ...
. Other finds from Ham are held at the
Museum of London
The Museum of London is a museum in London, covering the history of the UK's capital city from prehistoric to modern times. It was formed in 1976 by amalgamating collections previously held by the City Corporation at the Guildhall, London, Gui ...
including an early
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
collared urn, also from the Edwards Collection.
A few finds of
Romano-British
The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, a ...
pottery from the late
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
, mid 1st and early 2nd centuries AD show that the area remained inhabited to some extent, though the closest indications of modest Roman settlements are further south in the
Canbury
Canbury is a district of the northern part of Kingston upon Thames that takes its name from the historic manor that covered the area. Modern Canbury comprises two electoral wards in the constituency of Richmond Park; Canbury Ward to the south ...
area of North Kingston.
The first early
Saxon
The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic
*
*
*
*
peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
settlement found in the Greater London area was a
pit-house
A pit-house (or ''pit house'', ''pithouse'') is a house built in the ground and used for shelter. Besides providing shelter from the most extreme of weather conditions, these structures may also be used to store food (just like a pantry, a larder ...
, or , excavated at Ham in the early 1950s. Along with pottery finds dated to the 5th century AD, this suggests the area was amongst the first colonised by Saxon settlers.
History
![Tollemache Almshouses](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Tollemache_Almshouses.JPG)
Ham does not appear in
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
of 1086, the nearest entries being
Petersham to the north and
Coombe to the south-east, all, including the area of Ham, within the
hundred of the town of Kingston to the south.
Historically, Ham covered a larger area. The boundaries shown in the
tithe map The term tithe map is usually applied to a map of an English or Welsh parish or township, prepared following the Tithe Commutation Act 1836. This act allowed tithes to be paid in cash rather than goods. The map and its accompanying schedule gave ...
of 1843 are believed to have changed little, if at all, for centuries. The southern boundary between Ham and Kingston spanned the width of the hundred, from near present-day
Canbury Gardens
Canbury Gardens is a public space in the Canbury district of Kingston upon Thames, along the Lower Ham Road, covering 14½ acres area between the road and the towpath along the River Thames, downstream from Kingston Railway Bridge.
History
In ...
on the Thames, about eastwards crossing Richmond Park to
Beverley Brook
Beverley Brook is a minor English river long in south-west London. It rises in Worcester Park and joins the River Thames to the north of Putney Embankment at Barn Elms.
Course
Beverley Brook rises at the top of a hill in a shady area at Cuddi ...
. The northern boundary returned through Richmond Park from Beverley Brook, south of
White Lodge
White Lodge is a Grade I listed Georgian house situated in Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Formerly a royal residence, it now houses the Royal Ballet Lower School, instructing students aged 11–16.
Early histo ...
through the northern Pen Pond, across
Sudbrook Park
Sudbrook Park is a historic neighborhood near Pikesville, Maryland located just northwest of the Baltimore City limits in Baltimore County.
The community dates to 1889 when it was designed by American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted ...
westwards towards Ham Street then veering north back to the Thames.
The earliest known written record of Ham as a separate village dates from the 12th century when ''Hamma'' was included in the royal
demesne
A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...
as a member of Kingston, contributing 43s. 4d. in 1168 towards the marriage of
Matilda
Matilda or Mathilda may refer to:
Animals
* Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder
* Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse
* Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...
, the eldest daughter of
Henry II.
Between the royal courts at
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
and
Hampton Court
Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chief ...
, Ham's predominantly agricultural area developed from the beginning of the 17th century, with the construction of
Ham House
Ham House is a 17th-century house set in formal gardens on the bank of the River Thames in Ham, south of Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The original house was completed in 1610 by Thomas Vavasour, an Elizabethan cou ...
in 1610, the best-preserved survivor of the period. The related history of the
Earls of Dysart
Earl of Dysart (pronounced ) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1643 and has been held continuously since then by descendants of the 1st Earl, William Murray.
Creation
The title was created in 1643 for William Murray, ...
dominated the development of Ham and
Petersham for the following four centuries.
When the park was enclosed by
Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
in 1637, Ham
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
lost the use of most of the affected land, over stretching towards Robin Hood Gate and Kingston Hill, almost half of which was
common land
Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect Wood fuel, wood, or to cut turf for fuel.
A person ...
. In return for this, a deed was struck which has effectively protected most of the remaining common land, Ham Common, to the present day. The enclosed land, whilst lost to agriculture, remained within Ham's administrative boundaries.
The whole area was referred to as Ham cum Hatch, or Ham with Hatch, until late Victorian times. The enclosure of Richmond Park disrupted the former common land link between the settlements near the present
Upper Ham Road and an ancient small settlement near the park's Robin Hood Gate and
A3, London road. Local historian, Evelyn Pritchard, assumed that the Robin Hood lands settlement was the location of Hatch, but more detailed examination of Petersham, Ham and
Canbury
Canbury is a district of the northern part of Kingston upon Thames that takes its name from the historic manor that covered the area. Modern Canbury comprises two electoral wards in the constituency of Richmond Park; Canbury Ward to the south ...
manorial land records by
John Cloake
John Cloake Hon. DLitt. (2 December 1924 – 9 July 2014) was a historian and author of several works mostly relating to the local history of Richmond upon Thames and surrounding areas. He was also a former United Kingdom diplomatic repr ...
provides evidence that Hatch was a hamlet centred around the north-east area of Ham Common, whilst Ham itself lay to the west and north-west of the present common, on the Ham Street approach to the Thames.
Between 1838 and 1848, Ham Common was the site of a
Utopian
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia'', describing a fictional island society ...
spiritual community and free school called
Alcott House
Alcott House in Ham, Surrey (now in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames), was the home of a utopian spiritual community and progressive school which lasted from 1838 to 1848. Supporters of Alcott House, or the Concordium, were a key gro ...
(or the "Ham Common Concordium"), founded by educational reformer and "sacred socialist"
James Pierrepont Greaves
James Pierrepont Greaves (1 February 1777 – 11 March 1842), was an English mystic, educational reformer, socialist and progressive thinker who founded Alcott House, a short-lived utopian community and free school in Surrey. He described h ...
and his followers.
Hesba Stretton
Hesba Stretton was the pseudonym of Sarah Smith (27 July 1832 – 8 October 1911), an evangelical English author of religious books for children. These were highly popular. By the late 19th century ''Jessica's First Prayer'' had sold a million a ...
(real name Sarah Smith), the evangelical children's writer, retired to Ivycroft, Ham Common in 1892 and died there in 1912.
There is a memorial bench outside the
Sainsbury's
J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales.
Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...
store (formerly
Barclays Bank
Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services.
Barclays traces ...
) at Ham Parade to commemorate
Angela Woolliscroft, who was murdered in 1976 during a bank robbery.
Government
![Ham Village Sign, Gate House Garden](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Ham_Village_Sign%2C_Gate_House_Garden.jpg)
Since 1965 Ham has been mostly in the
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in southwest London forms part of Outer London and is the only London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the London ...
. The rest is in
London Borough of Kingston upon Thames
The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a borough in southwest London. The main town is Kingston upon Thames and it includes Surbiton, Chessington, Malden Rushett, New Malden and Tolworth. It is the oldest of the four royal boroughs in Engl ...
. The boundaries between these two boroughs have changed slightly since they were first established.
As the system of hundreds and
manors declined, Ham from 1786 was administered by a local "
vestry
A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...
", but as Ham lacked a church of its own until 1832 (and a true vestry until it was enlarged in 1890), it met in the New Inn.
The
Poor Law Amendment Act 1834
The ''Poor Law Amendment Act 1834'' (PLAA) known widely as the New Poor Law, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the Whig government of Earl Grey. It completely replaced earlier legislation based on the ''Poor Relief ...
established a Board of Guardians, comprising 21 elected guardians for Kingston and its surrounding parishes. Ham always had one or two representatives, but sent very few of its poor to the workhouse, mainly assisting them locally in
almshouse
An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain ...
s.
Ham Common Local Government District was formed under the
Local Government Act 1858
Local boards or local boards of health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate environmenta ...
and was governed by a
local board
Local boards or local boards of health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate environmenta ...
of eight members. However, the vestry system continued in practice until the formation of a local government board in 1871. The
Local Government Act 1894
The Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level un ...
reconstituted the area as
Ham Urban District
Ham was a local government district in north east Surrey, England around the village of Ham from 1894 to 1933.
Ham Common Local Government District was formed under the Local Government Act 1858 and was governed by a local board of eight members ...
, with an elected urban district council of ten members replacing the local board. It consisted of the
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
of Ham with Hatch, which was renamed "Ham" in 1897.
The urban district was abolished in 1933, when a
county review order
The Local Government Act 1929 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made changes to the Poor Law and local government in England and Wales.
The Act abolished the system of poor law unions in England and Wales and their boar ...
included it in an enlarged
Municipal Borough of Richmond. The main impact on Ham was that the northern area was linked with Petersham to create a Sudbrook ward, whilst the boundary with Kingston was moved further north to more or less its present limit with Ham "losing" the factories and surrounding land and housing. This substantial boundary change makes meaningful demographic analysis very difficult. The ward itself is now Ham, Petersham and Richmond Riverside. This contains the largest proportion of
Richmond Park
Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks, and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, C ...
and of all six main wards which adjoin it.
Economy
Agriculture
Ham was an agricultural community for centuries, with meadow and pasture land mostly along the river, and common grazing. The tithe map of 1842 showed a total area of , but when adjusted for the land in Richmond Park, were
arable, meadow or pasture, was common land, and only woodland. The crops were mainly wheat, barley and oats. with some
flax
Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...
, potatoes, turnips and
mangel wurzels. Livestock included cows, sheep, pigs, goats, ducks and chickens as well as horses and donkeys – many of which grazed the common land. Ham had three farms at the time, all on land owned by the Earl of Dysart. Unusually, these remained very little
enclosed
Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...
and the
open field system
The open-field system was the prevalent agricultural system in much of Europe during the Middle Ages and lasted into the 20th century in Russia, Iran, and Turkey. Each manor or village had two or three large fields, usually several hundred acre ...
survived in use until the late 19th century. Improvement in transport and the growth of London led to a shift from general mixed agriculture to market gardening by the early 20th century. Ultimately, the same growth fuelled demand for housing land, and this factor along with the greater profitability of gravel extraction on land that could not be used for housing, meant that agriculture in Ham had ceased by the mid-1950s.
Gravel
![Ham Lands, off Riverside Drive, Richmond](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Ham_Lands%2C_off_Riverside_Drive%2C_Richmond.jpg)
In 1904
William Tollemache, 9th Earl of Dysart
William John Manners Tollemache, 9th Earl of Dysart DL (3 March 1859 – 22 November 1935) in the Peerage of Scotland, was also a Baronet (cr.1793) in the Baronetage of Great Britain, Lord Lieutenant of Rutland (1881–1906), and Justice of the ...
leased part of the farmland to the Ham River Grit Company Ltd to extract sand and
ballast
Ballast is material that is used to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within a boat, ship, ...
. A dock was constructed in 1913 and a lock in 1921, parts of which remain as the
Thames Young Mariners
Thames Young Mariners is a 25-acre area of land situated in Ham, London, Ham. It includes the Thames Young Mariners Base Lagoon, which is a calm 10-acre lake connected to the River Thames by a Lock (water navigation), lock. The site was establis ...
water activity centre. A
narrow-gauge railway
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard-gauge railway, standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum r ...
linked the site to the main road. During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
the flooded pits were reputed to have been used to store sections of the
Mulberry harbour. After the war, most of the pits were filled with bomb-damage rubble from London. The pits operated until 1952, after which some of the land was used for subsequent housing development. Local resistance to further development led to the area being designated
Metropolitan Open Land
"Metropolitan Open Land" or "MOL" is a term or designation used only within London. Land designated MOL is afforded the same level of protection as the Metropolitan Green Belt. Designation is intended to protect areas of landscape, recreation, natu ...
, preserving Ham Riverside Lands as a nature reserve. It has notably unusual vegetation due to the underlying alkaline rubble instead of the more acidic fluvial deposits.
Engineering
![Sopdol](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Sopdol.jpg)
Towards the end of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Lord Dysart sold some land south of Ham Common to the
Ministry of Munitions
The Minister of Munitions was a British government position created during the First World War to oversee and co-ordinate the production and distribution of munitions for the war effort. The position was created in response to the Shell Crisis of ...
for the construction of an aircraft factory on land adjoining what was then still called Upper Ham Road.
National Aircraft Factory No. 2 was built in 26 weeks during the winter of 1917. The factory was leased to the
Sopwith Aviation Company
The Sopwith Aviation Company was a British aircraft company that designed and manufactured aeroplanes mainly for the British Royal Naval Air Service, the Royal Flying Corps and later the Royal Air Force during the First World War, most famously ...
, based a mile to the south in Canbury Park Road, Kingston, and the company were able to increase greatly its production of
Snipe
A snipe is any of about 26 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill, eyes placed high on the head, and cryptic/camouflaging plumage. The ''Gallinago'' snipes have a near ...
,
Dolphin
A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...
and
Salamander
Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten ...
fighter planes as a result. At the end of the war, demand ceased. Sopwith tried to buy the factory outright but the government refused. Sopwith Aviation went into voluntary liquidation and reformed in 1920 as H. G. Hawker Engineering at their original Kingston base.
![Trojan Utility Car - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Trojan_Utility_Car_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1249826.jpg)
The remaining Ham Factory lease was sold to
Leyland Motors
Leyland Motors Limited (later known as the Leyland Motor Corporation) was a British vehicle manufacturer of lorries, buses and trolleybuses. The company diversified into car manufacturing with its acquisitions of Triumph and Rover in 1960 and 1 ...
, which initially used it to recondition ex-War Department lorries for civilian use. It was then used to produce under licence the
Trojan Utility Car between 1922 and 1928. During the 1930s, the factory produced
Leyland Cub
The Leyland Cub CU series was a midibus manufactured by Leyland between 1979 and 1987. There was a previous Leyland Cub, the K series built at Leyland's Ham factory between 1931 and 1939.
The Cub was derived from the Terrier truck chassis, a ...
trucks. World War II shifted production to military vehicles, fire engines, other equipment and munitions. After the war the site produced the chassis for Leyland's
trolleybus
A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...
.
![Hawker hunter t7 blue diamond in planform arp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Hawker_hunter_t7_blue_diamond_in_planform_arp.jpg)
In 1948 the site was sold back to
Hawker Aircraft Ltd
Hawker Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer that was responsible for some of the most famous products in British aviation history.
History
Hawker had its roots in the aftermath of the First World War, which resulted in the bank ...
and it became the main base for Kingston's aviation industry. The
Hawker Hunter
The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly developed Rolls-R ...
was produced there in large numbers, driven by
cold war
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
demand. The profits allowed the site to be redeveloped as Hawker's UK headquarters and the factory gained an imposing frontage by 1958 in a building that closely linked design and production.
The Ham factory played an integral part in the development of the
Hawker Kestrel and
Hawker Harrier
The Hawker Harrier was an experimental biplane torpedo bomber aircraft built by Hawker Aircraft to a specification issued in the 1920s for the RAF.
Development
In 1925, the British Air Ministry laid down specifications for a high altitude ...
planes. Following the nationalisation of the aircraft industry in 1977.
British Aerospace
British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. Formed in 1977, in 1999 it purchased Marconi ...
continued to build Harriers and missile kits at the site. Following privatisation in 1985, the site's closure was announced in 1991. It was demolished in 1993 and replaced by further housing development.
Paint and varnish
In 1929 the site on the opposite side of the road to the Leyland factory was developed for the Cellon Doping Company, originally producing
Cellon
In biochemistry, cellulose acetate refers to any acetate ester of cellulose, usually cellulose diacetate. It was first prepared in 1865. A bioplastic, cellulose acetate is used as a film base in photography, as a component in some coatings, and ...
aircraft dope
Aircraft dope is a plasticised lacquer that is applied to fabric-covered aircraft. It tightens and stiffens fabric stretched over airframes, which renders them airtight and weatherproof, increasing their durability and lifespan.Crane, Dale: '' ...
, a synthetic varnish used to waterproof aircraft fabric. The company became part of
Pinchin Johnson and was acquired by
Courtaulds
Courtaulds was a United Kingdom-based manufacturer of fabric, clothing, artificial fibres, and chemicals. It was established in 1794 and became the world's leading man-made fibre production company before being broken up in 1990 into Courtaulds ...
in 1960, continuing under the
International Paint
International Paint, abbreviated as International, is a brand of the Marine & Protective Coatings business unit of AkzoNobel.
History
In 1881, the German brothers Max and Albert Holzapfel, along with Charles Petrie, founded the Holzapfel Composit ...
group banner from 1968. The factory closed in the 1980s and the site was redeveloped as a small industrial estate.
Today
Apart from one
plant nursery
A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to a desired size. Mostly the plants concerned are for gardening, forestry or conservation biology, rather than agriculture. They include retail nurseries, which sell to the general p ...
, local community, retail and small scale offices, Ham today is predominately a commuter residential area dependent on employment outside the immediate area.
Landmarks
![Ham Pond](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Ham_Pond.jpg)
The main feature in Ham is
Ham Common which has a cricket pitch, a pond and a woodland.
A straight tree-lined path leads from Ham Common to
Ham House
Ham House is a 17th-century house set in formal gardens on the bank of the River Thames in Ham, south of Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The original house was completed in 1610 by Thomas Vavasour, an Elizabethan cou ...
, the most significant house in Ham. The section of the path from Ham Common to Sandy Lane is called Great South Avenue and the section from Sandy Lane to Ham House is called Melancholy Walk.
Several notable period houses in Ham cluster around the Common including the
Cassel Hospital
The Cassel Hospital is a psychiatric facility in a Grade II listed building at 1 Ham Common, Richmond, Ham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is run by the West London NHS Trust.
History
The hospital
The hospital was founded ...
,
Langham House Langham House may refer to:
;in the United Kingdom
* Higher Langham House, a grade II listed building in Gillingham, Dorset
* Langham House Close, a grade II* 1950's Brutalist architectural-style development in Ham, London
* Langham House, Ham, ...
and
Ormeley Lodge
Ormeley Lodge is a Grade II* listed early 18th-century Georgian house, set in on the edge of Ham Common, near to Richmond Park in Ham, London. It is owned by Lady Annabel Goldsmith.
Description
Bridget Cherry and Nikolaus Pevsner describe t ...
, which is currently owned by
Lady Annabel Goldsmith
Lady Annabel Goldsmith (' Vane-Tempest-Stewart, formerly Birley; born 11 June 1934) is an English socialite and the eponym for a London nightclub of the late 20th century, Annabel's. She was first married for two decades to entrepreneur Mark Bi ...
. Victorian buildings include
Latchmere House
Latchmere House is a building and grounds south-east of Ham Common in Ham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, in south west London, England. The southern part of the site lies in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames.
Original ...
.
Beaufort House
Beaufort House is an 18th-century grade II listed house in Ham, near Richmond, Surrey.
History
Beaufort House was built in about 1780. It was originally the dower house to Ham House.
In about 1855, a private Catholic girls school moved to Bea ...
in Ham Street, dating from 18C, is Grade II listed and was the home of
Lady Juliana Penn from 1795 to her death in 1801. In the grounds of
Grey Court School
Grey Court School is a mixed-sex high school academy in Ham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In September 2014, a new sixth form centre opened for Grey Court's founding sixth form students.
The school occupies a large acreage in ...
is the Georgian, grade II listed Grey Court House, now called Newman House after
Cardinal Newman
John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican priest and later as a Catholic priest and cardi ...
, who lived there as a child in the early 19th century.
In contrast,
Langham House Close
Langham House Close on Ham Common in Ham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is a development of three Grade II* listed buildings designed in 1955 by the British architects James Gowan and James Stirling. The Le Corbusier-influenced b ...
, to the west of Ham Common, completed in 1958, is an early example of
brutalist architecture
Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the ba ...
.
Parkleys, the first large-scale residential development by the pioneering
SPAN Developments Ltd of
Eric Lyons
Eric Alfred Lyons Order of the British Empire, CBE (1912–1980) was a British designer and architect. He achieved critical recognition in his development of family and technology-embracing housing communities in England in the latter part of t ...
and
Geoffrey Townsend, was begun in 1954 and completed in 1956: it lies just to the north of Ham Parade.
There are four churches:
Ham Christian Centre,
St Andrew's Church,
St Thomas Aquinas Church and
St Richard's Church.
Transport
Ham is served by three bus routes: the
65, 371 and
K5. All link the town with
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...
, with the first two serving
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
.
Sport
The
Ham and Petersham Cricket Club
Ham and Petersham Cricket Club was established in 1815. In 2015 the cricket club celebrated its bicentenary.
Foundation
Cricket was originally played on Ham Common by the Albion Club in 1815. During the 19th century the Albion Club became known ...
was established in 1815 and cricket is still played on Ham Common.
The
Ham Polo Club
Ham Polo Club is a Hurlingham Polo Association polo club situated in Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is one of the oldest polo clubs in the United Kingdom and the last surviving club in Lond ...
is at the end of a driveway off the Petersham Road. Though the club has been in existence since 1926 it was in 1954 that the old orchard of Ham House was converted into a
polo
Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...
ground for the club.
The Ham and Petersham Lawn Tennis Club has courts on the south avenue to Ham House in conjunction with
Grey Court School
Grey Court School is a mixed-sex high school academy in Ham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In September 2014, a new sixth form centre opened for Grey Court's founding sixth form students.
The school occupies a large acreage in ...
.
The former meadow land along the Thames near Ham House became the location of a
King George's Field in the 1930s. Covering , it provides cricket, football and tennis facilities. Several sports clubs and activities are based on and nearby.
The Ham and Petersham Rifle and Pistol Club, dating from 1907 or perhaps earlier, is near Ham House, with both indoor and outdoor ranges and caters for archery, pistol and rifle shooting.
The Kew and Ham Sports Association provides football and baseball facilities on the playing fields between Ham House and
Thames Young Mariners
Thames Young Mariners is a 25-acre area of land situated in Ham, London, Ham. It includes the Thames Young Mariners Base Lagoon, which is a calm 10-acre lake connected to the River Thames by a Lock (water navigation), lock. The site was establis ...
.
The
Richmond Baseball and Softball Club
Richmond Baseball & Softball Club is a baseball and softball club based in Ham, London, Ham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. It was founded in 1992 by Wayne Nash. The club had three registered teams in the British Baseball ...
plays its home games during the summer season at Connare Field and Flood Field in Ham.
The
Thames Young Mariners
Thames Young Mariners is a 25-acre area of land situated in Ham, London, Ham. It includes the Thames Young Mariners Base Lagoon, which is a calm 10-acre lake connected to the River Thames by a Lock (water navigation), lock. The site was establis ...
provides sailing, canoeing, open-water swimming and other sport and outdoor activity facilities.
Demography and housing
Notable people
Living people
*
Mitch Benn
Mitchell John Benn (born 20 January 1970) is an English comedian, author and musician known for his comedy rock songs performed on BBC radio. He was, until 2016, a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4's satirical programme ''The Now Show'', and ha ...
(born 1970), musician, comedian and author, lives in Ham.
*
Christian Furr
Christian Furr (born 1966, Heswall, Wirral, England) is an English painter. In 1995 he was commissioned to paint Queen Elizabeth II.
Education
Furr was educated at Ladymount Primary School, Heswall and St Anselm's College, Birkenhead. He lat ...
(born 1966), royal portrait painter and artist, lives in Ham.
*
Lady Annabel Goldsmith
Lady Annabel Goldsmith (' Vane-Tempest-Stewart, formerly Birley; born 11 June 1934) is an English socialite and the eponym for a London nightclub of the late 20th century, Annabel's. She was first married for two decades to entrepreneur Mark Bi ...
(born 1934) lives in
Ormeley Lodge
Ormeley Lodge is a Grade II* listed early 18th-century Georgian house, set in on the edge of Ham Common, near to Richmond Park in Ham, London. It is owned by Lady Annabel Goldsmith.
Description
Bridget Cherry and Nikolaus Pevsner describe t ...
, a Georgian mansion on the edge of
Richmond Park
Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks, and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, C ...
where she brought up the three children she had by Sir James Goldsmith:
Jemima Khan
Jemima Marcelle Goldsmith (born 30 January 1974; known as Jemima Khan for work) is an English screenwriter, television, film and documentary producer and the founder of Instinct Productions, a television production company. She was formerly a j ...
, writer and campaigner;
Zac Goldsmith
Frank Zacharias Robin Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith of Richmond Park, (born 20 January 1975) is a British politician, life peer and journalist serving as Minister of State for Overseas Territories, Commonwealth, Energy, Climate and Environment si ...
, Tory life peer and MP for
Richmond Park
Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks, and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, C ...
; and
Ben Goldsmith
Benjamin James Goldsmith (born 28 October 1980) is an English financier and environmentalist. The son of financier James Goldsmith and Lady Annabel Goldsmith he is founder and CEO of London-listed investment firm Menhaden, which focuses on the ...
, financier and environmentalist.
*
Stephen Jakobi, crime fiction writer and human rights lawyer who founded
Fair Trials Abroad
A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks.
Types
Variations of fairs incl ...
, lives in Ham.
*
Tony Lit, managing director of
Sunrise Radio
Sunrise Radio is a 24-hour commercial radio station, focusing on entertainment, music and news from the Indian subcontinent. It broadcasts to the Greater London area on 963/972 AM, on DAB (SDL National), and via the internet.
History
Sunrise ...
, lives in Ham.
Historical figures
*
Princess Marie of Orléans was born in Ham in 1865.
*
Claude Bowes-Lyon, Lord Glamis and
Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck
Cecilia Nina Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne (' Cavendish-Bentinck; 11 September 1862 – 23 June 1938) was the mother of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, maternal grandmother and godmother of Queen Elizabeth II, and great-gr ...
, lived at Forbes House on Ham Common.
Their daughter,
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of Ki ...
, married the
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 ...
in 1923 and became Queen Elizabeth in 1936 when the duke came to the throne as
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 his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...
. Her elder sister, Violet Hyachinth Bowes-Lyon (1882–1893), died of diphtheria at Forbes House and is buried at
St Andrew's Church, Ham
St Andrew's Church, Ham, is a Grade II listed Church of England church on Church Road, Ham Common in Ham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.
Architecture
The church was built in grey brick in 1830–31; the architect was Edward Lapi ...
.
*
George Gale George Gale may refer to:
Politicians
*George Gale (MP) (1490–1556), member of parliament for City of York
*George Gale (congressman) (1756–1815), American politician
Law
*George Alexander Gale (1906–1997), Canadian jurist
* George Gale (Wi ...
(1929–2003), cartoonist, lived in Ham and on Little Green, Richmond.
*
James Goldsmith
Sir James Michael Goldsmith (26 February 1933 – 18 July 1997) was a French-British financier, tycoon''Billionaire: The Life and Times of Sir James Goldsmith'' by Ivan Fallon and politician who was a member of the Goldsmith family.
His contr ...
(1933–1997), billionaire financier, and his family lived at Ormeley Lodge.
*
John Minter Morgan (1782–1854), writer and philanthropist, lived on Ham Common in what is now the
Cassel Hospital
The Cassel Hospital is a psychiatric facility in a Grade II listed building at 1 Ham Common, Richmond, Ham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is run by the West London NHS Trust.
History
The hospital
The hospital was founded ...
.
*
John Henry Newman
John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican ministry, Anglican priest and later as a Catholi ...
, later Cardinal Newman (1801–1890), spent some of his early years at Grey Court, Ham Street, Ham. The site is marked by a blue plaque.
*Sir
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...
(1811–1878), an English
Gothic revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
architect, lived at the Manor House in Ham Street.
*
Hesba Stretton
Hesba Stretton was the pseudonym of Sarah Smith (27 July 1832 – 8 October 1911), an evangelical English author of religious books for children. These were highly popular. By the late 19th century ''Jessica's First Prayer'' had sold a million a ...
(real name Sarah Smith; 1832–1911), the evangelical children's writer, retired to Ivycroft, Ham Common in 1892 and died there in 1911.
In popular culture
![Filming_on_Riverside_Drive,_Ham](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Filming_on_Riverside_Drive%2C_Ham.jpg)
The 2014 television film ''
The Boy in the Dress'', based on the novel by
David Walliams
David Edward Williams (born 20 August 1971), known professionally as David Walliams, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television personality. He is best known for his work with Matt Lucas on the BBC sketch comedy series '' Little B ...
, was largely filmed in Ham. For example, the local newspaper-shop used in the film is opposite
St Richard's Church, Ham, and other scenes were filmed at
Grey Court School
Grey Court School is a mixed-sex high school academy in Ham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In September 2014, a new sixth form centre opened for Grey Court's founding sixth form students.
The school occupies a large acreage in ...
.
Scenes from the 2016 film ''
Now You See Me 2
''Now You See Me 2'' (also known as ''Now You See Me: The Second Act'') is a 2016 American heist thriller film directed by Jon M. Chu from a screenplay by Ed Solomon and a story by Solomon and Peter Chiarelli. It serves as a sequel to 2013's '' ...
'' were also filmed in Ham.
See also
*
List of schools in Richmond upon Thames
This is a list of schools in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England.
State-funded schools
Primary schools
*Archdeacon Cambridge's CE Primary School
*Barnes Primary School
*Bishop Perrin CE Primary School
*Buckingham Primary Scho ...
Notes
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Hundreds of photos of Ham with brief descriptions at Ham Photos blogHam Amenities Group (HAG)Ham United Group (HUG)The Ham and Petersham AssociationHam Polo Club*
{{LB Richmond upon Thames
Areas of London
Districts of London on the River Thames
Districts of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames