Barn Elms is an open space in Barnes in the

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in south-west Greater London, London, England, forms part of Outer London and is the only London boroughs, London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller ...

, located on the northerly loop of 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, s ...

between Barnes and

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

. The WWT London Wetland Centre (105 acres of what were once reservoirs) lies to the north of the open space, now largely given over to sporting venues. The site is split in two: the Barn Elms Sports Trust (BEST) fields, formerly managed as the Barn Elms Sports Centre by the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, and the Barn Elms Sports Centre.

Barn Elms Sports Trust

There are facilities for much amateur sport, such as

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, rugby,

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

and

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

, and an athletics track (home to

London Athletic Club London Athletic Club (LAC) is a track and field club based in London, England. It is the oldest independent track and field club in the world and celebrated its first 150 years in 2013.Barker, Philip (2013)"London Athletic club still going stro ...

). It is also the home ground for Barnes RFC, Barnes FC, Barnes Eagles FC, Stonewall FC, London French RFC. and London Exiles RFC. The facilities were under threat of commercial development until the local community petitioned Richmond Council. To ensure the future of Barn Elms as playing fields the community has created the Barn Elms Sports Trust.

Barn Elms Sports Centre

Barn Elms Sports Centre is a 52 acre, multi-sports facility, with a multi-station gym, 4 beach volleyball courts, 16 tennis courts, artificial hockey playing surfaces and a range of grass sports pitches. It is also the home ground for the semi-professional Barnes RFC.

History

Its name is derived from the Georgian house and parkland, the original

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

of Barnes, which stood on the site, until it was burnt out and demolished in 1954. In earlier times the manor house of Barnes was in the ownership of the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

and then of the Dean and Chapter of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

. The Georgian house replaced the earlier one occupied by Sir Francis Walsingham, "Elizabeth's Spymaster".

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

would visit Barn Elms to see her Spymaster. Barn Elms features in English literary history from the time the royalist poet

Abraham Cowley Abraham Cowley (; 161828 July 1667) was an English poet and essayist born in the City of London late in 1618. He was one of the leading English poets of the 17th century, with 14 printings of his ''Works'' published between 1668 and 1721. Early ...

moved to the house belonging to John Cartwright in 1663. In the 1660s Barn Elms became a fashionable destination for boating

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors (Al fresco dining, ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event su ...

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...

, who arranged many a Sunday afternoon or moonlit evening boating party to Barn Elms himself, recorded that on 26 May 1667:

I walked the length of the Elmes, and with great pleasure saw some gallant ladies and people come with their bottles, and basket, and chairs, and form, to sup under the trees, by the water-side, which was mighty pleasant.

The oldest, and one of the largest

London plane The London plane, or sometimes hybrid plane, ''Platanus'' × ''hispanica'', is a tree in the genus ''Platanus''. It is often known by the Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Platanus'' × ''acerifolia'', a later name. It is a Hybrid (biology ...

trees is in Barn Elms. When Barn Elms was in the possession of the bookseller Jacob Tonson, the

Kit-Cat Club The Kit-Cat Club (sometimes Kit Kat Club) was an early 18th-century English club in London with strong political and literary associations. Members of the club were committed Whigs (British political party), Whigs. They met at the Trumpet Tavern ...

met at Barn Elms for many years. Here the "Kit-Kat portraits" hung; Tonson's extensions to the house, ''c''1703, seem to have been made under the general advice of

John Vanbrugh Sir John Vanbrugh (; 24 January 1664 (baptised) – 26 March 1726) was an English architect, dramatist and herald, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restor ...

, a Kit-Kat member. John James Heidegger, the opera impresario, resided at Barn Elms, where he entertained George II, and as Heidegger's guest Georg Friederich Handel stayed here at his first arrival in England, in 1711. The house was later remodelled or rebuilt for Sir Richard Hoare, who died at Barn Elms, and enlarged in the early 19th century by his son, Richard Colt Hoare. When

Hammersmith Bridge Hammersmith Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the River Thames in west London. It links the southern part of Hammersmith in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, on the north side of the river, with Barnes in the London Boroug ...

was erected in 1824–27, the company that undertook the work bought Barn Elms and drove the access road, Upper Bridge Road, now Castelnau, across the park. The house was also the home of Sir Lancelot Shadwell, who was Vice Chancellor of England in the 19th century: on one occasion he delivered an

injunction An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable rem ...

while up to his neck in the cool lake. From 1883 to 1939 Barn Elms was used as the club-house of the

Ranelagh Club The Ranelagh Club was a polo club located at Barn Elms in south west London, England. It was founded in 1878 as a split-off from the Hurlingham Club and by 1894 was the largest polo club in the world. The club had approximately 3000 members ...

. In 1891 Barn Elms for a short time played host to

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

. The club was forced to move there after it became impossible to play soccer at their home ground in Brondesbury which was shared with London Scottish rugby club. The house became derelict and was demolished following a fire in 1954.C. J. Barrett, ''The History of Barn Elms and the Kit Cat club: now the Ranelagh Club'', 1889.

Notes and references

External links

Barn Elms Sports TrustBarnes Eagles FCBarn Elms Athletics TrackWetlands Centre
{{LB Richmond Barnes, London Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Fulham F.C. home grounds Sport in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Queens Park Rangers F.C.