Richmond Green is a recreation area near the centre of Richmond, a town of about 20,000 inhabitants situated in south-west

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 ...

. Owned by the

Crown Estate The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priv ...

, it is leased to the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The Green, which has been described as "one of the most beautiful urban greens surviving anywhere in England", is roughly square in shape and its open grassland, framed with broadleaf trees, extends to roughly twelve

acres The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

(5 hectares). On the north-east side there is also a smaller open space called Little Green. Richmond Green and Little Green are overlooked by a mixture of period townhouses, historic buildings and municipal and commercial establishments including the Richmond Lending Library and

Richmond Theatre The present Richmond Theatre, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is a British Victorian theatre located on Little Green, adjacent to Richmond Green. It opened on 18 September 1899 with a performance of ''As You Like It''. One of ...

. On summer weekends and public holidays the Green attracts many residents and visitors. It has a long history of hosting sporting events: from the 16th century onwards tournaments and archery contests have taken place on the Green, while

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

matches have been played since the mid-18th century, continuing to the present day.

History and description

Fragment of the Old Palace, Richmond - geograph

Jousting Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two horse riders wielding lances with blunted tips, often as part of a tournament. The primary aim was to replicate a clash of heavy cavalry, with each participant trying to strike the opponen ...

tournaments took place on Richmond Green in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, when English monarchs were living in or visiting what is now called Richmond. For over 400 years, Richmond Green has been edged by houses and commercial premises – built to provide accommodation for people serving or visiting

Richmond Palace Richmond Palace was a royal residence on the River Thames in England which stood in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Situated in what was then rural Surrey, it lay upstream and on the opposite bank from the Palace of Westminster, which ...

. In 1625

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 ...

brought his court here to escape the plague in London and by the early 18th century these had become the homes of "minor nobility, diplomats, and court hangers-on". The construction of the railway in the mid-19th century cut the Green off from Old Deer Park, and led to the building of Victorian

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...

s for the more prosperous commuters to London. The

A316 road The A316, known in parts as the Great Chertsey Road, is a major road in England, which runs from the A315 Chiswick High Road, Turnham Green, Chiswick to join head-on the M3 motorway at Sunbury-on-Thames. Its initial London section Chiswick L ...

, built in the early 20th century, worsened this separation. Today the northern, western and southern sides of the Green are residential while the eastern side, linking with Richmond's

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 ...

, George Street, is largely retail and commercial. Public buildings line the eastern side of Little Green and pubs and cafés cluster in the corner by Paved Court and Golden Court – two of a number of alleys that lead from the Green to George Street. These alleys are lined with mostly privately owned boutiques. To the west of the Green is Old Palace Lane, running gently down to the river. Adjoining to the left is the renowned terrace of well-preserved three-storey houses known as Maids of Honour Row. These were built in 1724 for the

maids of honour A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts. Role Traditionally, a queen ...

(trusted royal wardrobe servants) of Queen Caroline, the queen consort of

George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089) ...

. As a child,

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...

, the Victorian explorer, lived at number 2.

Buildings

Richmond Green, usually "The Green", is also a street address. Numbers 1–6, 11–12 and 32, Richmond Green are all Grade II* listed. Numbers 7–10 Richmond Green are all Grade II listed, as are nos 14–18, 21–25 and 29–31. The ornamental iron railings at no 11 are Grade II* listed. 8, Richmond Green, is the location of the

Richmond Charities The Richmond Charities is an almshouse charity based in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames with its origins dating back to 1600. The charity provides affordable housing for people in housing need. It also administers two relief-in-need ...

, which manages Richmond's almshouses. The Cricketers

public house 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 wa ...

is between 24, Richmond Green and 25, Richmond Green. Another public house, The Prince's Head, is at 28, Richmond Green. Next to No. 33 is a row of six terraced houses, known as Old Palace Terrace. All seven houses are Grade II* listed. The late 19th-century

drinking fountain A drinking fountain, also called a water fountain or water bubbler, is a fountain designed to provide drinking water. It consists of a basin with either continuously running water or a tap. The drinker bends down to the stream of water and s ...

at the south corner of Richmond Green is Grade II listed. It was restored in 2021. A pair of K6 red telephone boxes at the south corner are also Grade II listed, as is a

lamp standard A street light, light pole, lamp pole, lamppost, street lamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of light on the edge of a road or path. Similar lights may be found on a railway platform. When urban electric power distribution ...

outside 1, Richmond Green. The houses on the south-western side of the Green include Maids of Honour Row. The houses, and their gates and railings, at nos 1–4 Maids of Honour Row are Grade I listed. The Wardrobe and the Gate House, both Grade I listed, are surviving structures from Henry VII's

. The Gate House was built in 1501, and was let on a 65-year lease by the

Commissioners in 1986. The Trumpeters' House, which is also Grade I listed, is an early 18th-century house built on the site of Richmond Palace's Middle Gate.

Pembroke Villas and Portland Terrace

The street bounding Richmond Green on the north-west is called Pembroke Villas, comprising five pairs of large semi-detached Victorian villas, formerly the site of the house of the Dutchman Sir Matthew Decker, 1st Baronet (1679–1749). It descended to his grandson

Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Viscount FitzWilliam Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Viscount FitzWilliam (1 August 1745 – 4 February 1816) of Mount Merrion, Dublin, Ireland, and of FitzWilliam House in the parish of Richmond in Surrey, England, was an Anglo-Irish nobleman in the Peerage of Ireland ...

(1745–1816) of

Mount Merrion Mount Merrion () is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is roughly 7 kilometres (5 mi) south of Dublin city centre and is situated on and around the hill of the same name. Location and access Mount Merrion is 3 kilometres (2 mi) south ...

, Dublin, Ireland, who named it "FitzWilliam House" and there formed his famous art collection and by his will founded the

Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Vis ...

in Cambridge. The monument to Sir Matthew Decker and Richard FitzWilliam survives against the external wall of St Mary Magdalene's Church, Richmond. FitzWilliam's heir was his cousin

George Herbert, 11th Earl of Pembroke General George Augustus Herbert, 11th Earl of Pembroke and 8th Earl of Montgomery (10 September 1759 – 26 October 1827) was an English peer, army officer, and politician. Early life He was born Lord Herbert at the family home, Wilton House ...

(1759–1827), of

Wilton House Wilton House is an English country house at Wilton near Salisbury in Wiltshire, which has been the country seat of the Earls of Pembroke for over 400 years. It was built on the site of the medieval Wilton Abbey. Following the dissolution ...

in Wiltshire, who renamed the house "Pembroke House". It was demolished in 1840. Numbers 1 to 10, Pembroke Villas are Grade II listed. The street running along the north east of the Green, where it joins Pembroke Villas, is called Portland Terrace. Numbers 1 to 4, Portland Terrace are Grade II listed. Between Pembroke Villas and Portland Terrace is a gate that used to be the entrance to Old Deer Park and is now open only to pedestrians. Just a few yards beyond the gate, a footbridge crosses the railway to lead to Old Deer Park Car Park. Portland Terrace runs past Little Green to become Duke Street, where Duke Street Church is located.

Cricket on the Green

The Cricketers, The Green, Richmond, Surrey

The Green was a popular venue for

matches by the 18th century. The earliest reference to cricket on Richmond Green is from a letter in May 1666 by Sir Robert Paston to his wife mentioning that their son played in "a game of criquett (''sic'') on Richmond Green". A photo of the letter is in the source. The Green is presently home to two

village cricket Village cricket is a term, sometimes pejorative, given to the playing of cricket in rural villages in England and Wales. Many villages have their own teams that play at varying levels in local or regional club cricket leagues. When organised cric ...

teams each affiliated to a Richmond

pubs 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 ...

, ''The Prince's Head'' and ''The Cricketers''. Midweek matches are contested in the modern limited overs format of

Twenty20 Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single inn ...

usually on a Tuesday or Thursdays, where surrounding village teams compete for the Len Smith Charity Shield.

Richmond Green in art

Two

watercolours Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to ...

by Edward Walker, made in 1942, showing nos 10, 11 and 12 Richmond Green and the south side of the Green, are in the Recording Britain collection at the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

Societies

The Friends of Richmond Green, an amenity action group, seek to "protect and enhance the Green for local residents, visitors and future generations".

Gallery

Image:Richmond Green 5260-6s.jpg, View of the northern half of Richmond Green, showing Pembroke Villas and Portland Terrace File:Splendid Victorian Houses on Richmond Green, London-5057587834.jpg, Houses on Portland Terrace File:Houses_At_Richmond_Green,_London-95369622.jpg, The south corner of Richmond Green File:Richmond Green, London-geograph-2621535-by-Philip-Halling.jpg, Footpaths crossing Richmond Green File:North side of Richmond Green-geograph-2498025-by-Marathon.jpg, Park Gates House, in Pembroke Villas, is next to the old entrance to Old Deer Park

References

External links

Friends of Richmond Green

Richmond Local History Society

The Richmond Society
{{coord, 51, 27, 42, N, 0, 18, 25, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Conservation areas in London Crown Estate Drinking fountains in the United Kingdom Grade I listed buildings in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Houses in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Jousting Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Richmond Green Streets in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames