Difference between revisions of "Petersham, Surrey"

Latest revision as of 16:38, 18 July 2023

Petersham
Surrey
St Peter's parish church
Location
Location:	51°26’42"N, 0°18’11"W
Data
Population:	10,317  (2011[1])
Post town:	Richmond
Postcode:	TW10
Local Government
Council:	Richmond
Parliamentary constituency:	Richmond Park

The former All Saints' Church, now a private house

Sudbrook House, now the home of Richmond Golf Club

Montrose House was for many years the home of Tommy Steele.

Petersham war memorial, in the churchyard of St Peter's

Petersham is a village in the Kingston Hundred of Surrey, within the metropolitan conurbation, on the east of the bend in the River Thames south of Richmond. It provides the foreground of the scenic view from Richmond Hill across Petersham Meadows, with Ham House further along the river. Other nearby places include Twickenham, Isleworth, Teddington, Mortlake, and Roehampton.

History

Petersham appears in Domesday Book (1086) as Patricesham. It was held by Chertsey Abbey.^[2] Its assets were: 4 hides; 1 church, 5 ploughs, 1 fishery worth 1,000 eels and 1000 lampreys, 3 acres of meadow. It rendered £6 10s 0d.^[3]

The village was the birthplace in 1682 of Archibald Campbell, later 3rd Duke of Argyll and Earl of Islay. He went on to found the Royal Bank of Scotland in Edinburgh in 1727, and his face is on the obverse of all of the Royal Bank's current paper banknotes.^[4]

The explorer George Vancouver retired to Petersham, where he wrote A Voyage Of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, and Round the World. It is thought that he lived in what is now called Glen Cottage in River Lane. He died in 1798 and is buried in the churchyard of Petersham Parish Church. The Portland stone monument over his grave, renovated in the 1960s, is now Grade-II listed in view of its historical associations.^[5]

In 1839 Charles Dickens rented Elm Cottage, renamed Elm Lodge,^[6] where he wrote Nicholas Nickleby.^[7]

In 1847 Queen Victoria granted Pembroke Lodge in the Petersham part of Richmond Park to John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, and it became the Russell family home.^[8] Lord Russell's grandson, Bertrand Russell, spent some of his childhood there.^[9][10] During World War II the GHQ Liaison Regiment (also known as Phantom) established its regimental headquarters nearby at The Richmond Hill Hotel,^[11] with its base (including the officers' mess and billet) at Pembroke Lodge.^[12]

In the early 19th century, Charles Stanhope, styled Lord Petersham, later Earl of Harrington, gave the Petersham name to a type of greatcoat.^[13] In 1955 Petersham also gave its name to HMS Petersham,^[14] which was a Ham-class minesweeper.

Landmarks

Notable buildings

Listed buildings include a watchman's box, that also served as a village lock-up^[15] and dates from 1787.^[16]

Petersham Road (part of the A307) includes an extremely sharp right-angled bend edged by a pair of handsome wrought iron gates. This is the entrance to Montrose House, one of the most notable houses in Petersham. After a spate of serious accidents on the bend in the road, the neighbours formed a group in the 1850s called Trustees of the Road. The Hon. Algernon Tollemache of Ham House was their leader and they managed to persuade the owner of Montrose House to part with some land to reduce the sharpness of the bend. But various dents in the brick wall today reveal that motorists are still taken unawares by it.^[17]

Adjacent to Montrose House and equally as impressive is Rutland Lodge, built in 1666 for a Lord Mayor of London;^[18] it is Grade II* listed.^[19]

Another historic house in Petersham is Douglas House, just off the west drive to Ham House. One of its notable inhabitants was Catherine, Duchess of Queensberry. In 1969 it was bought by the Federal Republic of Germany for use as a German school. New buildings have been erected in the grounds, but the original house and stables have been preserved.^[20]

Religious sites

St Peter's Church

Petersham Parish Church is believed to pre-date the Norman conquest, as a church at Petersham is mentioned in Domesday Book (1086).^[3]

All Saints' Church

All Saints', on Bute Avenue, was built as a church but was never consecrated.^[21] It was built between 1899 and 1909 by Leeds architect John Kelly for Mrs Rachael Warde (née Walker) (1841–1906)^[22] as a memorial to her parents^[23] who had lived at Petersham House. During World War II it was used as an Anti-Aircraft Command post^[24][25][26] and it has also been used as a recording studio^[27] and as a filming location.^[28] It is now a private residence.^[28]

Sport

Richmond Golf Club, a private golf club, is situated in the historic Sudbrook Park,^[29] adjacent to Richmond Park. The Grade I listed building Sudbrook House, in the park, has been its clubhouse since 1898.^[30]

Ham and Petersham Cricket Club, whose home matches are played in Ham, was established in 1815.^[31]

Ranelagh Harriers running club is based behind The Dysart restaurant.^[32]

Notable people

• Shirley Bloomer (born 1934), who won three Grand Slam tennis titles during her tennis-playing career, is the widow of Chris Brasher (see Historical figures below); they brought up their family in Petersham.^[33]
• Michael Frayn (born 1933), playwright and novelist, and his wife Claire Tomalin (born 1933), journalist and biographer, live in Petersham.^[34]
• The entertainer Tommy Steele (born 1936) bought Montrose House in 1969.^[35][36] He sold it in about 2004.^[37]
• Lynne Truss (born 1955), author, journalist, novelist, and radio broadcaster and dramatist, grew up in Petersham.^[38]
• Peter Voser (b. 1958), the former CEO of Royal Dutch Shell, lived in Petersham. He has since moved back to his native Switzerland.^[39]

Historical figures

• Daisy Ashford (1881–1972), who is most famous for writing The Young Visiters, was born at Elm Lodge, Petersham.^[40][41]
• Chris Brasher (1928–2003), an athlete and sports journalist who co-founded the London Marathon, lived in River Lane, Petersham.^[33]
• The author and illustrator Charles George Harper (1863–1943) lived in Petersham in later life, and died there in 1943.^[42]
• Lodowick Carlell (1602–1675), courtier and playwright, and his wife Joan Carlile (c.1606–1679), portrait painter, lived at Petersham Lodge in Richmond Park. They are buried together in St Peter's churchyard, but the location of their grave is not known.^[43]
• Prince Rupert Loewenstein (1933–2014), aristocrat, merchant banker and longtime financial manager of The Rolling Stones, lived at Petersham Lodge in River Lane, a former grace-and-favour mansion, purchased for about £2 million in 1987.^[44] It is an early 18th-century house, built for Catherine Douglas, Duchess of Queensberry, and Grade II listed.^[45]
• The businessman Tony Rampton (1915–1993), who was chairman of the clothing retailer Freemans, lived at Gort Lodge, an early 18th-century Grade-II listed house in Petersham, where he and his wife Joan, who were both philanthropists, brought up their family, including their son Richard Rampton QC (born 1941), a libel lawyer. Tony and Joan Rampton are buried in St Peter's churchyard.^[46][47]
• George Vancouver (1757–1798), Captain in the Royal Navy and one of Britain's greatest explorers and navigators, is thought to have lived in Glen Cottage on River Lane in Petersham; he is buried in St Peter's churchyard.^[5]

References

Sources

• Hibbert, Christopher; Keay, John; Keay, Julia (2010). The London Encyclopaedia. Pan Macmillan. ISBN 9781405049252. https://books.google.com/books?id=sAA9olZqPSMC&q=montrose+house+steele+tommy&pg=PA559. 

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Petersham, Surrey)

• Description and map of Petersham Conservation Area
• A community site run by residents of Petersham
• Ham Photos blog – hundreds of photos of Petersham with brief descriptions
• Photo of Petersham Lock-up
• Richmond Local History Society, which covers Richmond, Kew, Ham and Petersham