Hampton Wick, formerly a village, is a

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 ...

-side area of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, and is contiguous with

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 me ...

and

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 ...

. It is buffered by

Bushy Park Bushy Park in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is the second largest of London's Royal Parks, at in area, after Richmond Park. The park, most of which is open to the public, is immediately north of Hampton Court Palace and Hampton ...

, one of the Royal Parks of London from

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria Canada * Hampton, New Brunswick *Ha ...

and Hampton Hill. Economically much involved in market gardens until well into the twentieth century, with its motor and rail connections to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, and such business areas as the

M4 corridor The M4 corridor is an area in the United Kingdom adjacent to the M4 motorway, which runs from London to South Wales. It is a major high-technology hub. Important cities and towns linked by the M4 include (from east to west) London, Slough, Brackne ...

, its population is a mixture of commuters well within the

London commuter belt The London metropolitan area is the metropolitan area of London, England. It has several definitions, including the London Travel to Work Area, and usually consists of the London urban area, settlements that share London's infrastructure, and ...

. Its developed area is confined by

and

Hampton Court Park Hampton Court Park, also known as Home Park, is a walled royal park managed by the Historic Royal Palaces.

to its west, and the

River 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 ...

to its east. Although north of the River Thames, part of the

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 ...

constituency and, historically, in

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

, the area forms part of the

and

East Molesey Molesey is a district of two twin towns, East Molesey and West Molesey, in the Borough of Elmbridge, Surrey, England, and is situated on the south bank of the River Thames. East and West Molesey share a high street, and there is a second retai ...

post town A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system.Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) Including the correct post town in the address increases ...

s based on the south side of the river.

History

There is evidence of Roman occupation. Kingston Bridge, the first bridge linking the village with

is dated from about 1219 and replaced the Roman

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

at this point. Cardinal Wolsey is believed to have lived in Hampton Wick (in Lower Teddington Road) while waiting for Hampton Court Palace to be built. The parish of Hampton was split in the century after this time to form Hampton Wick. Sir

Richard Steele Sir Richard Steele (bap. 12 March 1672 – 1 September 1729) was an Anglo-Irish writer, playwright, and politician, remembered as co-founder, with his friend Joseph Addison, of the magazine ''The Spectator''. Early life Steele was born in D ...

also lived in Hampton Wick, in a house he whimsically called "The Hovel". He dedicated the fourth volume of ''

Tatler ''Tatler'' is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications focusing on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper-middle class and upper class, and those interes ...

'' to Charles, Lord Halifax "from the Hovel at Hampton Wick, April 7, 1711", around the time he became Surveyor of the Royal Stables at Hampton Court Palace, Governor of the King's Comedians, a Justice of the Peace and a

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

. The architect Edward Lapidge both designed and donated the land for a church, St John's Hampton Wick, built in 1831. Lapidge had been born in the village. He also designed the present Kingston Bridge. In 2010, after five years of closure, the church re-opened its doors under the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

's church planting scheme. Services were resumed in December 2010.

Hampton Wick in popular culture

A tone poem ''Hampton Wick'' for orchestra was composed by

Harry Waldo Warner Harry Waldo Warner (4 January 1874 - 1 June 1945) was an English viola player and composer, one of the founding members of the London String Quartet and a several times Cobbett Award winner for his chamber music. Early life Born in Northampton ...

and won the Hollywood Bowl Competition in 1932, then was premiered by

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its primary concert venue is Music Hall. In addition to its symphony concerts, the orchestra gives pops concerts as the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. The Cinc ...

in 1934. The music was based on a poem by Onslow Frampton which was the pen name of Warner himself. In

Cockney rhyming slang Rhyming slang is a form of slang word construction in the English language. It is especially prevalent among Cockneys in England, and was first used in the early 19th century in the East End of London; hence its alternative name, Cockney rhymin ...

, "Hampton Wick" (often shortened to "Hampton") means Tom is a "dick" or "prick", both of which are British vulgar slang names for the

penis A penis (plural ''penises'' or ''penes'' () is the primary sexual organ that male animals use to inseminate females (or hermaphrodites) during copulation. Such organs occur in many animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, but males d ...

. Hence a character called Hugh Jampton in the 1950s BBC radio programme ''

The Goon Show ''The Goon Show'' is a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme. The first series, broadcast from 28 May to 20 September 19 ...

'' amongst many other similar examples. Another use of the term appeared in the 2000s BBC TV series ''

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original series o ...

'' when

Tim Canterbury Timothy Canterbury is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom ''The Office'', portrayed by Martin Freeman. He is a sales representative at the Slough branch of Wernham Hogg Paper Merchants. He has a self-deprecating and ironic sense of humour. ...

bemoans the quality of Slough's nightlife, recollecting a Tudor-themed club memorably displaying a

pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...

ning notice stating "Don't get your

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 chie ...

" in the men's toilets. The title of rocker

Sammy Hagar Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose and subsequently launched a successful solo car ...

's 1982 album '' Standing Hampton'' also relates to the same piece of rhyming slang. Hampton Wick was the setting for the 1970s

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

situation comedy ''

George and Mildred ''George and Mildred'' is a British sitcom produced by Thames Television and first aired between 1976 and 1979. It is a spin-off from '' Man About the House'', and starred Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce as constantly-sparring married couple ...

''. The area is near the former Thames studios at

and filming took place at Manor Road in Teddington. ''Hampton Wick'' was also the title of ''

The Two Ronnies ''The Two Ronnies'' is a British television comedy sketch show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. It was created by Bill Cotton and aired on BBC1 from April 1971 to December 1987. The usual format included sketches, solo sections, seria ...

first "classic serial" spoof drama in their first BBC series (1973). Hampton Wick is referenced by British singer-songwriter Jamie T in the title track of his 2009 EP '' Sticks 'n' Stones''. The Two Ronnies also use the word to comic effect in their 1971 sketch "The Ministry of Pollution" where the Minister of Pollution (Barker) says, "North and Southampton will be joined together into one enormous hampton". Hampton Wick (Station) also featured in the sitcom ''

The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin ''The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin'' is a British sitcom starring Leonard Rossiter in the title role. It is based on a series of novels written by David Nobbs and produced from 1976 to 1979. Nobbs adapted the screenplay for the first series ...

'' as the first of his train-based excuses for arriving late for work: "Eleven minutes late, staff difficulties, Hampton Wick."

Sport and leisure

Hampton Wick Royal Cricket Club, founded in 1863, is a cricket club at the Royal Cricket Grand Pavilion in Bushy Park. The team currently plays in division three of the Surrey Championship League. The club's first eleven finished the 2006 season as unbeaten champions of the Fullers League Division 2 1st-XI league and gained promotion to Division 1. The Royal Paddocks Allotments are adjacent to Bushy Park and Hampton Wick Royal Cricket Club. They were established following a lease made by

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

in 1921.

Demography and housing

Economy and transport

The main economic features here are transport.

Kingston University , mottoeng = "Through Learning We Progress" , established = – gained University Status – Kingston Technical Institute , type = Public , endowment = £2.3 m (2015) , ...

has a large

hall of residence A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

in the town. Some professional offices are by Kingston Bridge and these include a major office of HSBC bank. The A308 splits the Royal Parks, leading nearby to the A309 and A312 roads, north–south. Equally, the A311 passes through the heart of the district forming its short, convenience

High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

and provider further connections than another B road by the park to the larger commercial centre of

, centred less than from Hampton Wick's railway station which is another economic hub of the area. Hampton Wick railway station has connections to London Waterloo.

References

External links

Notes on Hampton WickHampton Wick AssociationRoyal Paddock Allotments
{{LB Richmond Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Districts of London on the River Thames History of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Places formerly in Middlesex Wards of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames