Dukes Meadows is a riverside park in

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district in West London, split between the London Borough of Hounslow, London Boroughs of Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing, Ealing. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist Wi ...

, London. The land was bought by the council in 1923, and the park was opened in 1926. It is cared for by the Dukes Meadows Trust. The area is home to the Chiswick Farmers' Market, which helps to pay for the park's maintenance. From 2023 the

Dukes Meadows Footbridge Dukes Meadows Footbridge is a footbridge, pedestrian bridge beside the River Thames in Chiswick in West London. Opened in 2023, it allows the Thames Path on the north bank at Dukes Meadows to follow the river without diversion. The bridge was ...

forms part of the

Thames Path The Thames Path is a National Trail following the River Thames from one of its sources near Kemble, Gloucestershire, Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Woolwich foot tunnel, south east London. It is about long. A path was first proposed in 1948 ...

History

Threats

In 1902, the land to the south of Chiswick's Grove Park district consisted of orchards and meadows with a farmhouse. A plan was made that year to build homes for 40,000 people (more than the population of Chiswick at that time) on the site, in a new town to be called Burlingwick, but they were never built. A second threat arose in 1914, when the Brentford Gas Company introduced a bill in Parliament to build a

gasworks A gasworks or gas house is an industrial plant for the production of flammable gas. Many of these have been made redundant in the developed world by the use of natural gas, though they are still used for storage space. Early gasworks Coal ...

over of the meadows. Chiswick residents objected to the plan. On 6 February 1914, ''The Times'' printed an editorial opposing the scheme, stating that "The scheme offends against the modern axiom of town-planning which insists that all amenities of living for workers should be safeguarded in densely populated areas, the new industries should be established as far afield as possible, and that land ripe for building – such as the Chiswick orchard farm – near the heart of the metropolis should be utilized for parks and garden settlement. It is to be hoped that no more will be heard of so unwelcome and unnecessary a proposal". The bill was not passed. In 1926, a third threat emerged, a plan by the London and Home Counties Electricity Authority to build an electricity generating station on the scale of

Battersea Power Station Battersea Power Station is a decommissioned coal-fired power station located on the south bank of the River Thames in Nine Elms, Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It was built by the London Power Company (LPC) to the design of ...

, over an area of . The authority had bought Chiswick House and its grounds from the

Duke of Devonshire Duke of Devonshire is a title in the Peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This (now the senior) branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the wealthiest British aristocratic families since the 16th century and has b ...

, and offered to swap these for the Dukes Meadows land. The local Council was keen to get Chiswick House, but the deal was opposed by residents and rowers alike. A private member's bill was brought to Parliament but it was rejected in 1927. In 1928, the new

Central Electricity Board The United Kingdom Central Electricity Board (CEB) was established by the Electricity (Supply) Act 1926. It had the duty to supply electricity to authorised electricity undertakers, to determine which power stations would be 'selected' stations ...

dropped the plan, as other stations including

Fulham Power Station Fulham Power Station was a coal-fired power station on the north bank of the River Thames at Battersea Reach in Fulham, London Station A ran from 1901, with station B opening in 1936, until their decommissioning in 1978. History Fulham A The ...

would have sufficient capacity.

Creation

In 1923, Chiswick Urban District purchased over of land from the Duke of Devonshire to create a park. To finance the purchase,

gravel extraction A gravel pit is an open-pit mine for the extraction of gravel. Gravel pits often lie in river valleys where the water table is high, so they may naturally fill with water to form ponds or Excavation lake, lakes. Gravel pit lakes are typically n ...

took place from 1924 to 1937, at a rate of five acres per year, earning £1500 per acre; the gravel pits were restored and filled in with rubbish from central London after 1948. Paddling pools were constructed on the eastern side of the meadows. A seaside-type promenade and a bandstand were built alongside the

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 th ...

riverfront and opened by Prince Albert,

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...

(later King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

) in 1926.

Reputation

The murder of Elizabeth Figg, whose body was found on 17 June 1959 in the Meadows, is one of the six unsolved killings of the

Hammersmith nude murders The Hammersmith nude murders were a series of six murders in West London, England, in 1964 and 1965. The victims, all prostitutes, were found undressed in or near the River Thames, leading the press to nickname the killer Jack the Stripper (a re ...

. At that time, the park had a reputation as a

lovers' lane A lovers' lane is a secluded area where people kiss, Making out, make out, or engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity. These areas range from parking lots in secluded rural areas to places with extraordinary views of a cityscape or othe ...

, and prostitutes were known to take their clients there.

Park

Farmers market, allotments, and sports

The Chiswick farmers market opened in 2001, and was visited by the 11th Duke of Devonshire that year. The market is held every Sunday in the courtyard that once belonged to Grove Park Farmhouse. The stalls sell meat, cheese, vegetables, fruit, juices, and prepared dishes. Next to the farmers market is an area of allotments run by the

London Borough of Hounslow The London Borough of Hounslow ( ) is a London borough in west London, England, forming part of Outer London. It is governed by Hounslow London Borough Council. The borough stretches from near Central London in the east (Chiswick) to the b ...

. Much of the rest of the Dukes Meadows area, outside the public park, is covered with sports fields, used for golf, tennis, football, rugby, and other sports. A house on the golf course is the main filming location for the pre-recorded tasks in the gameshow '' Taskmaster''. File:Leicestershire Meat stall Chiswick Farmers' Market.jpg, Meat from a farm in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

at Chiswick

Farmers' market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or ...

File:Dukes Meadows Allotments.jpg, Allotments run by the

Dukes Meadows Trust

In 1998, a group of local people formed the Friends of Dukes Meadows to protect the interests of the park; this was registered as a charity in 2001, and in 2006, it became the Dukes Meadows Trust. The old

paddling pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built above ground (as a ...

s, which had fallen into disuse, were replaced with a new water play area and fountain (just to the north), a refreshments kiosk, and a sandpit. Volunteers working for the Trust tidied the whole area, created a community garden, planted hedges and fruit trees, and painted the bandstand. Construction work was paid for with rent from Chiswick Farmers' Market and from the converted farm buildings. The approach was cited in CABE Space's "guide for community groups working to improve public space". File:Dukes Meadows water play area and kiosk.jpg, Water play area and kiosk File:Dukes Meadows landscaped play area.jpg, Landscaped play area File:Dukes Meadows apple trees.jpg, Apple trees in the orchard

Thames Path

The

runs beside the river, along the southern edge of Dukes Meadows. At the upstream side, the path was diverted by the railway leading to

Barnes Railway Bridge Barnes Railway Bridge is a Grade II listed railway bridge in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and the London Borough of Hounslow. It crosses the River Thames in London in a northwest to southeast direction at Barnes. It carries the S ...

. The

connects the Thames Path on either side of the railway, allowing the path to follow the river without diversion, in the words of the

's report ''Duke's Meadows Regeneration'', "removing a frustrating dog-leg along the scenic walking and cycling route." File:Duke's Meadows way marker with stars and map, 2002.jpg, Ceramic way marker with map on the

. Installed 2002 File:Dukes Meadows Footbridge - ramp span in place.jpg,

under construction, 2022. The railway is on the left, Dukes Meadows to the right.

References

{{Coord, 51.4752, -0.2617, type:landmark_region:GB-HNS, display=title Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Hounslow Chiswick Meadows in Greater London Parks and open spaces on the River Thames