Category Archives: Conservation

Richmond’s Trees – celebrating Richmond’s unsung green heroes

Trees on Richmond Green, Riverside Path and Terrace Gardens – the town’s unsung green heroes – are celebrated in our new handbook and trail guide.

Cover of Richmond's Trees bookRichmond’s Trees: A fascinating trail of discovery gives details of 34 specimens on Richmond Green, along the Thames Path and in the hillside Terrace Gardens. It is beautifully illustrated and includes many practical, literary and scientific references. Each tree is labelled for easy identification by walkers who follow a leisurely two-mile trail.

The book was inspired by our Patron Lord Lee of Trafford. When he came to live in Richmond a few years ago he noticed that whilst the trees of Kew Gardens and Richmond Park were celebrated, those elsewhere in the town were relatively unsung.

“When I moved to Richmond from the North I was immediately struck by the magnificence and diversity of so many of our trees – what a story many of them could tell of life in Richmond over the ages and what they would have witnessed,” Lord Lee said. “However, I was surprised that there was no publication which covered these trees – yes, coverage of those in Richmond Park and in Kew Gardens, but not in Richmond itself.”

A small team of Richmond Society members was assembled – Linda Christmas, journalist and author; Patrick Eagar, professional photographer; and Nicky Wood, Chair of the Society’s Landscape and Riverside Committee. Others who contributed advice and expertise were Livi Gosling, map and trail illustrator; Tony Kirkham, former Head of the Arboretum, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Craig Ruddick, Arboricultural Manager, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames; and Patrick’s daughter Kate Wakeham, book designer. We are hugely indebted to them all.

Lord Lee and Craig Ruddick spoke about the project when the book was launched on Thursday 10 November in the presence of The Mayor of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Cllr Julia Cambridge.

The 88-page book will make a wonderful gift for anyone who loves Richmond and admires its trees. It costs £10 and is on sale at, or can be ordered from:

The Open Book, 10 King Street, Richmond TW9 1ND.
Contact: 020 8940 1802 or theopenbook@btconnect.com.

It is also available at:

Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
Parade’s End Bookshop, Ham Parade
Kew Books, by Kew Station
Sheen Books, East Sheen
Daisy Home, East Twickenham
Orleans House Gallery, Twickenham
Strawberry Hill House, Twickenham
Barnes Bookshop, Barnes

Proceeds come to The Richmond Society.

Richmond Society Forum: Richmond’s recovery

Anita Anand chaired the forum meeting to discuss Richmond’s recovery, on Thursday 11th November 2021.

Anita Anand, Richmond Society Patron and author, broadcaster and host of the BBC’s Any Answers, moderated the discussion with:

  • Ann Chapman-Daniel, Chair of Be Richmond, which represents three hundred and fifty businesses in the town
  • Pamela Fleming, South Richmond Councillor
  • Sarah Olney, Richmond Park MP
  • Gareth Roberts, Leader, Richmond upon Thames Council

Richard Deverell – the Kew Gardens Strategy published in March 2021

Richard Deverell, Director of Kew Gardens, spoke to The Richmond Society on Thursday 17th June 2021 about the Kew Gardens Strategy that was published earlier this year.

Richard is the fifteenth Director of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. He has devoted his career to leading innovative and ambitious improvements to public engagement and education. For example, at the BBC he revamped the Children’s BBC channel with a mission to raise the quality of programming for children, introducing new content that would educate and engage them.

Since joining Kew, he has led the refresh of Kew’s strategy, bringing expertise from Kew’s global science into sharper focus and more actively engaging the public with contemporary science and conservation in Kew’s beautiful historic gardens.

He is a passionate advocate for the power of plants and fungi to help solve the critical challenges facing humanity in the 21st Century. He is also an official Champion for Food Forever, a global initiative that aims to secure biodiversity for the benefit of food security around the world.

You can read about the March 2021 Kew Gardens Strategy at this link.

Mayor unveils Richmond Society information board

Richmond’s Mayor, Councillor Geoff Acton, in his first engagement since his re‑election to a second year in office, on Thursday unveiled an information board marking 800 years of St Mary Magdalene Church at the heart of the town.

The board, provided by The Richmond Society as a gift to the town, includes descriptions of the church’s architectural development and prominent members of its past congregations.

Photo of Richmond Society Chairman and Mayor Geoff Acton at the unveiling

It is based on research by Peter Bowyer, Parish Architect; Paul Velluet, President, Richmond Local History Society; the Museum of Richmond; and members of the Rector Canon Wilma Roest’s congregation. Illustrations were created on scratch board by Caroline Church, whose work also adorns other boards placed in other parts of the town by the Society. Caroline’s late father David Church was a Chairman of the Society.

In the photo, the Mayor is seen with Society’s current Chairman Barry May.

Jason Debney: Rewilding Arcadia

Jason Debney, Co-ordinator, Thames Landscape Strategy returned to The Richmond Society on Thursday 12 November 2020 to speak about how a multi-year project is setting out to help the river reclaim its floodplain in a managed and sustainable way, restoring the natural processes and habitats that once governed life along the Thames.

Annual Awards 2018

Annual Awards 2018 logo. The Richmond Society’s Annual Awards for 2018 were presented on Thursday 20th September by the Mayor of the London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames, Councillor Ben Khosa.

Paul Velluet, who founded the awards programme forty years ago, introduced the evening with a review of the more significant winners over the four decades in which they have been presented.

This year’s brass plaques were given for the renovation of the Temperate House in Kew Gardens, and the renovation of the Great Pagoda, also in Kew Gardens.

Brass Plaque Award – The Temperate House, Kew Gardens:
Renovation

Annual Awards 2018: Temperate House, Kew Gardens.

Client
Royal Botanic Gardens
Andrew Williams		 Architect
Donald Insall Associates
John Dangerfield		 Contractors
ISG
Ramboll
Hoare Lea
Land Use Consultants
Butler and Young

Brass Plaque Award – The Great Pagoda, Kew Gardens:
Renovation

Annual Awards 2018: Great Pagoda, Kew Gardens. Client
Historic Royal Palaces
Rob Umney
Lee Prosser
Craig Hatto

Architect & Landscaping
Austin Smith Lord
David Millar
Catherine Cosgrove

Contractors
3D Systems – Nick Lewis
Hockley & Dawson
Blue Sky Building
PMJ Woodcarving Ltd

Commendation – Ancaster House, Richmond Hill:
Conversion and restoration, and development of new houses

Annual Awards 2018: Ancaster House.

Client
London Square
Mark Smith		 Architect
PDP
Simon Gazzard		 Contractor
London Square
John Fitzhenry

Commendation – Hogarth House, Richmond:
Conversion and restoration from offices to residential use

Annual Awards 2018: Hogarth House.

Client
Berwick Hill Properties		 Architect/Designer
Donald Insall Associates
Jonathan Carey		 Contractor
Birkby Construction

Commendation – Gothic Cottage, Richmond Circus:
New side extension

Annual Awards 2018: Gothic Cottage.

Client
Mr Damon Crane		 Designer
Just Extend Your House Ltd
Malgorzata Kurzownik

 

With many thanks to Michael Izett for the photos.

 

The future of Richmond’s surviving red telephone kiosks

K6 telephone box at St MatthiasMany months down the line and after repeated requests, details are still awaited from the Council of its scheme for the adoption of redundant, former BT, K.6-type telephone kiosks in the Town and potential funding for their repair and restoration.

Some thirty years ago, at the time that BT was proposing the removal of the long-familiar red kiosks from cities, towns and villages across the country and their replacement with inferior models, the Richmond Society was directly involved in securing the listing of four of the then almost forty Giles Gilbert-Scott designed kiosks in the Town and their restoration – such as the two outside The Prince’s Head on The Green.

Years later, the few surviving kiosks are once again threatened – this time with redundancy and disuse.

Whilst the recent successful restoration of the two kiosks on The Green is to be welcomed, the future of others, such as the listed kiosks in The Vineyard and on Richmond Bridge and the unlisted kiosk at the head of Albany Passage near the top of King’s Road, for which the Council rightly but unsuccessfully sought listing remains unclear. The Council’s acquisition of these kiosks from BT is a welcome first step. However, adoption by one of more groups in the local community and their potential conversion for other appropriate purposes, together with their restoration and future maintenance have yet to be pursued.

The Society’s Executive Committee has agreed to support the Council in seeking to persuade Historic England to review its decision to reject the listing of the kiosk outside St Matthias’ Church and looks forward to hearing from members interested in the potential adoption and re-use of this and the listed kiosk in the Vineyard.

Old Deer Park Consultation January 2018

The Richmond Society has participated in the Old Deer Park Working Group for more than five years. 

In December 2017 Richmond Council issued its Draft Supplementary Planning Document for the Old Deer Park.   The consultation on this ended on Monday 22nd January 2018. Response thumbnail

The Old Deer Park Working Group’s response can be found here, or by clocking the image to the left.

The original proposals for the Old Deer Park were published by Kim Wilkie on behalf of the Crown Estates in 1999. You can read a copy of this on our website here.

Annual Awards 2017

Annual Awards 2017 logo. The Richmond Society’s Annual Awards for 2017 were presented on Thursday 21st September by our patron, Baroness van Dedem.  This was the 40th anniversary of the first Richmond Society awards in 1977.

Paul Martin, Chief Executive London Boroughs of Richmond and Wandsworth was the guest of honour.

This year’s brass plaque was given for the renovation and conversion to apartments of the Star and Garter.

Brass Plaque Award – Star & Garter:
Renovation and conversion to apartments

Annual Awards 2017: Star and Garter, Richmond.

Client/Owner
London Square
Mark Lopeman
Mark Smith		 Architect
PDP London
Simon Gazzard		 Contractor
London Square

Commendation – The Tap Tavern:
Transformation of the street façades

Annual Awards 2017: The Tap Tavern, Richmond.

Owner
Mr Sat Ghuman		 Designer
Rosendale Design
Dale Atkinson		 Contractor
Thompsons Ltd
Joseph Thompson

Commendation – The Ivy Café:
Transformation of restaurant premises

Annual Awards 2017: The Ivy Café, Richmond.

Client
Pegasus Group
Michael Spurgeon		 Architect/Designer
Pump House Designs
Steve Fasey		 Contractor
We Make It Happen Design & Build
Lucy Potter
Laura Sadler
Alyssa Kirton

Commendation – Richmond War Memorial:
Cleaning and restoration

Annual Awards 2017: Richmond War Memorial.

Client
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
Michael Pike		 Contractor
Stonewest Ltd
Carl Nicholas
Toby Moore
Terry Watts

Commendation – Holbrook House:
Renovation of Garden

Annual Awards 2017: Holbrook House, Richmond.

Client
Holbrook House Ltd
Robert Leigh		 Designer
Robin Hart Design
Robin Hart

 

With many thanks to Helen Taylor for the photos.

 

Wendy Macaulay 1924-2017

Members of the Society and many others who have lived in and around Richmond since the 1950s and 1960s or longer were much saddened by news of the death of Wendy Macaulay at the end of June.

Wendy made a significant contribution to the Richmond Society across the years – as a founder member of the Society and as member of its Executive Committee from 1957 until 1964, when she stood down to have her fourth child – her place being taken by her friend Sheila Attenborough – and as a valued member and supporter through the years since, including serving as area-representative for Richmond Hill from 1970.

As a resident of Rosemont Road on Richmond Hill for some sixty years, Wendy was a well-known and highly regarded figure in Richmond and an effective campaigner for securing the best for the Town, its community and its amenity. Members of the Society who attended the celebration of the first sixty years of the Society in April will remember with pleasure Wendy’s fascinating recollections of the Town and the Society in its early days.

Perhaps Wendy’s greatest achievement locally was her co-founding The Friends of Richmond Park in 1961 and her active involvement and continuing support for the protection and conservation of the Park ‘for the benefit of public and future generations’. Right up to her recently leaving Rosemont Road and moving to a care-home overlooking her beloved Park, Wendy remained active in local affairs, supporting Liberal causes and the Richmond Good Neighbours scheme, as well as fulfilling her important role as mother of three daughters and one son and grandmother to nine grandchildren.

The Society and the wider Richmond community have much to thank Wendy for in her public service across the years.

Paul Velluet
Chairman, 1984-1988
27th July, 2017