Teddington is an affluent suburb of London in the
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Historically an
ancient parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in the county of
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
and situated close to the border with
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
, the district became part of
Greater London
Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...
in 1965. In 2021, ''
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'' named Teddington as the best place to live in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, and in 2023, the wider borough was ranked first in
Rightmove's ''Happy at Home'' index, making it the "happiest place to live in Great Britain"; the first time a London borough has taken the top spot.
Teddington is situated on a long
meander
A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the Channel (geography), channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erosion, erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank (cut bank, cut bank or river cl ...
ing of the Thames between
Hampton Wick and
Strawberry Hill, Twickenham. Mostly residential, it stretches from the river to
Bushy Park with the commercial focus on the A313 road. At Teddington's centre is the High Street and Broad Street, alongside
mid-rise urban developments, containing offices and apartments. There is a
suspension bridge over the lowest non-tidal lock on the Thames,
Teddington Lock.
Economy
The district's commercial focus – containing shops, offices and other facilities – is along the
A313, which is named (from west to east): ''Hampton Road'', ''Broad Street'' and ''High Street''. Broad Street contains a mixture of chain shops, cafes and supermarkets, alongside independent businesses, while the High Street is composed of nearly all local and independent businesses and restaurants from Teddington and South West London.
There are two clusters of offices on this route; on the edge of Bushy Park the
National Physical Laboratory,
National Measurement Office and
LGC form a scientific centre. Around
Teddington station and the town centre are a number of offices in industries such as
direct marketing
Direct marketing is a form of communicating an offer, where organizations communicate directly to a Target market, pre-selected customer and supply a method for a direct response. Among practitioners, it is also known as ''direct response ...
and
IT, which include
Tearfund and
BMT Limited. Several riverside businesses and houses were redeveloped in the last quarter of the 20th century as blocks of riverside flats. Starting in 2016 the riverside site of the former
Teddington Studios was redeveloped to provide modern apartment blocks and other smaller houses.
The lowermost lock on the Thames,
Teddington Lock, which is just within
Ham's boundary, is accessible via the
Teddington Lock Footbridges. In 2001 the
Royal National Lifeboat Institution opened the
Teddington Lifeboat Station, one of four Thames lifeboat stations, below the lock on the Teddington side. The station became operational in January 2002 and is the only volunteer station on the river.
History
Etymology
The place-name ‘Teddington’ is first attested in a Saxon charter of 969, where it appears as ‘Tudintún’ (’The Crawford Collection of Early Charters’, Oxford, 1895). It appears as ‘Tudincgatun’ in the ‘Cartularium Saxonicum’ edited by Birch, published in London from 1895-1893. It is listed as ‘Tudinton’ in the
Feet of Fines for 1197. The name means “the tūn
own or settlementof Tud(d)a’s people”.
Teddington is at the point of the River Thames where tidal flow ceases owing to it containing the 'final lock'. It has been postulated that the name thus derives from "Tide End Town." Such theory featured in
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...
’s poem, "The River's Tale", which has the line "At Tide-end-town, which is Teddington." The poem was written to serve as the introduction to a history of England for schoolchildren, written by
C. R. L. Fletcher, published by the
Clarendon Press in Oxford in July 1911, and by
Doubleday Page in New York in September 1911.
Teddington's beginnings
There have been isolated findings of flint and bone tools from the
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic i ...
and
Neolithic
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
periods in
Bushy Park, and some unauthenticated evidence of
Roman occupation. However, the first permanent settlement in Teddington was probably in
Saxon times. Teddington was not mentioned in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
of 1086 as it was included under the
Hampton entry.
Teddington Manor was first owned by
Benedictine monks in
Staines, and it is believed they built a chapel dedicated to St. Mary on the same site as today's St. Mary's Church. In 971, a charter gave the land in Teddington to the
Abbey of Westminster. By the 14th century Teddington had a population of 100–200; most of the land was owned by the
Abbot of Westminster and the remainder was rented by tenants who had to work the fields a certain number of days a year.
The Hampton Court gardens were laid out in 1500 in preparation for the planned rebuilding of a 14th-century manor to form
Hampton Court Palace in 1521. They were to serve as hunting grounds for
Cardinal Wolsey and later
Henry VIII and his family. In 1540 some common land of Teddington was enclosed to form Bushy Park, and also used as hunting grounds.
Bushy House was built in 1663. One notable resident was
British Prime Minister Lord North, who lived there for over twenty years.
A large minority of the parish lay in largely communal open fields, restricted in the Middle Ages to certain villagers. These were
inclosed (privatised) in two phases, in 1800 and 1818. Shortly afterwards, the
Duke of Clarence lived there with his mistress
Dorothy Jordan before he became King William IV, and later with his Queen Consort,
Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen. The buildings were later used for the
National Physical Laboratory.
Economic change
In subsequent centuries, Teddington enjoyed a prosperous life due to the proximity of royalty, and by 1800 had grown significantly. But the "
Little Ice Age" had made farming much less profitable and residents were forced to find other work. This change resulted in great economic change in the 19th century.
The first major event was the construction of Teddington Lock in 1811 with its
weir
A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
across the river. This was the first (and now the biggest) of five locks built at the time by the
City of London Corporation. In 1889
Teddington Lock Footbridge, consisting of a
suspension bridge section and a
girder bridge section, was completed, linking Teddington to
Ham (then in
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
, now in London). It was funded by local business and public subscription.
After the railway was built in 1863, easy travel to Twickenham,
Richmond,
Kingston and London was possible and Teddington experienced a population boom, rising from 1,183 in 1861 to 6,599 in 1881 and 14,037 in 1901.
Many roads and houses were built, continuing into the 20th century, forming the close-knit network of
Victorian and
Edwardian streets present today. In 1867, a local board was established and an
urban district council in 1895.
In 1864 a group of Christians left the Anglican Church of St. Mary's (upset at its
high church
A ''high church'' is a Christian Church whose beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, Christian liturgy, liturgy, and Christian theology, theology emphasize "ritual, priestly authority, ndsacraments," and a standard liturgy. Although ...
tendencies) and formed their own independent and Reformed, Protestant-style, congregation at
Christ Church. Their original church building stood on what is now Church Road.
The Victorians attempted to build a large church,
St. Alban's, based on the
Notre Dame de Paris; however, funds ran out and only the
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
of what was to be the "Cathedral of the Thames Valley" was completed.
In 1993 the temporary wall was replaced with a permanent one as part of a refurbishment that converted St Alban's Church into the
Landmark Arts Centre, a venue for concerts and exhibitions.
A new cemetery,
Teddington Cemetery, opened at Shacklegate Lane in 1879.
Several schools were built in Teddington in the late 19th century in response to the
1870 Education Act, putting over 2,000 children in schools by 1899, transforming the previously illiterate village.
20th century
On 26 April 1913 a train was almost destroyed in Teddington after an
arson attack by
suffragettes.
Great change took place around the turn of the 20th century in Teddington. Many new establishments were springing up, including Sims opticians. In 1902 the
National Physical Laboratory (NPL), the national measurement standards laboratory for the United Kingdom, and the largest applied physics organisation in the UK, started in Bushy House (primarily working in industry and metrology and where the first accurate
atomic clock
An atomic clock is a clock that measures time by monitoring the resonant frequency of atoms. It is based on atoms having different energy levels. Electron states in an atom are associated with different energy levels, and in transitions betwee ...
was built) and the Teddington
Carnegie Library was built in 1906.
Electricity
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
was also now supplied to Teddington, allowing for more development.
Until this point, the only hospital had been the very small
cottage hospital, but it could not accommodate the growing population, especially during the First World War. Money was raised over the next decade to build
Teddington Memorial Hospital in 1929.
By the beginning of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, by far the greatest source of employment in Teddington was in the NPL. Its main focus in the war was military research and its most famous invention, the "
bouncing bomb", was developed. During the war General
Dwight D. Eisenhower planned the
D-Day landings at his Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (
SHAEF) at
Camp Griffiss in
Bushy Park.
The "
towpath murders" took place across the river in 1953. On 1 June, Barbara Songhurst was discovered floating in the River Thames, having been stabbed four times. Her friend Christine Reed, then missing, was found dead on 6 June. On 28 June, Alfred Whiteway was arrested for their murder and the sexual assault of three other women that same year. Whiteway was hanged at
Wandsworth Prison on 22 November 1953. Whiteway and the girls were all from Teddington. The case was described as "one of
Scotland Yard's most notable triumphs in a century".
Teddington Studios, a digital
widescreen
Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratio (image), aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ...
television studio complex and one of the former homes of
Thames Television, opened in 1958 on the site of Weir House. The studios were redeveloped in 2016 into luxury housing, though the old lock keepers cottage that predated the studios, known as Weir Cottage, was preserved.
Most major rebuilding from bomb damage in World War II was completed by 1960. Chain stores began to open up, including
Tesco
Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...
and
Sweatshop in 1971.
The Teddington Society
The Teddington Society, formed in 1973 by local residents, seeks to preserve the character of Teddington and to support local community projects.
Education
The education authority for Teddington is
Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council.
Primary schools in Teddington include Collis Primary School (Fairfax Road), St Mary's & St Peter's Primary School (Church Road), Sacred Heart RC School (St Marks Road) and Stanley Juniors and Infants (Strathmore Road). Secondary schools include
Teddington School.
St Mary's & St Peter's Primary School was originally founded by Dorothy Bridgeman (d. 1697), widow of
Sir Orlando Bridgeman, who left £40 to buy land in trust for educating poor children. In 1832, the foundation opened a boys' school, Teddington Public School, under the patronage of
Queen Adelaide. Its buildings now house the primary school.
Leisure

The
Landmark Arts Centre, an independent charity housed in a
former church, delivers a wide-ranging arts and education programme for the local and wider community. Its activities include arts classes, concerts and exhibitions.
Sport

*Teddington Cricket Club, formed in the late 19th century, is based at Bushy Park.
*
Teddington Hockey Club was formed in 1871, and competes in the
Men's England Hockey League, the
Women's England Hockey League and the
London Hockey League. The club was involved in the development of modern day
hockey rules, including the introduction of the striking circle and the "sticks" rules.
*
Kingston Royals Dragon Boat Racing Club
*NPL Sports Club
*
Royal Canoe Club, the oldest canoe club in the world
*
The Skiff Club, the oldest skiff club in the world; it also competes at punting under
TPC rules.
*Teddington Athletic F.C.
*Hearts of Teddlothian F.C.
*Teddington Rugby Football Club
*Teddington Lawn Tennis Club
*
Walbrook Rowing Club, also known as Teddington Rowing Club
*Weirside Rangers AFC play at the Broom Road site; they have a clubhouse overlooking Teddington Lock.
*
Park Lane Stables, a Riding for the Disabled Association equine facility
Transport
Rail
Teddington station is at the centre of the town, and the closest railway station. Additionally,
Hampton Wick station is located to the south,
Strawberry Hill station to the north, and
Fulwell station to the west; all can be reached by London buses from Broad Street.
Teddington railway station, served by
South Western Railway trains, is on the electrified
Kingston Loop Line close to the junction of the
Shepperton Branch Line. Trains run to
London Waterloo in two directions around a circular loop: one way via
Kingston upon Thames and
Wimbledon every 15 minutes, the other via
Richmond and
Putney every 30 minutes. Trains also run to
Shepperton every 30 minutes.
Currently paused, the
Crossrail 2 project was planned to run through Teddington Station. Upgrading the existing lines on the Wimbledon section of the South West London network, TfL projected an increase in service up to 10-12 trains an hour to Central London, from a 2015 average of 6.
Buses
Teddington is served by
London Buses services to other London locations, including
Heathrow Airport,
Hounslow Central,
West Croydon and
Castelnau. Routes 33, 281, 285, 481, 681, R68 and
Superloop SL7 serve the town centre, and all seven connect the town with either
Twickenham or
Kingston upon Thames.
Geography
Demography and housing
Places of worship
*
St Mary with St Alban Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...
, built circa 1400. St Mary's is the original church;
St Alban's, across the road, is now the
Landmark Arts Centre
*
Teddington Baptist Church – evangelical Baptist church
*
Sacred Heart Church, Teddington –
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
church designed by
John Kelly, opened in 1893
*
St Mark's, Teddington – Church of England
*
Teddington Methodist Church
*
Christ Church, Teddington – an independent congregation worshipping in Church of England style
*
St Peter & St Paul, Teddington – Church of England
Notable residents
Only notable people with entries on Wikipedia have been included. Their birth or residence has been verified by citations.
Living people
*
Julian Clary, comedian, author, actor and LGBTQIA+ activist, grew up in Teddington.
*
Mo Farah, Olympian long-distance runner, has a home in Teddington, and the post box on Broad Street was
painted gold in 2012 to celebrate one of his two gold medals in the Olympic Games of that year.
*
Andrew Gilligan, journalist and policy adviser, was born in Teddington.
*
Viv Groskop, journalist, writer and comedian, lives in Teddington.
*
Keira Knightley
Keira Christina Knightley ( ; born 26 March 1985) is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films and Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters, particularly Historical drama, period dramas, she has received List of awards and no ...
, actress, grew up in Teddington.
*
Jed Mercurio, creator of ''
Line of Duty'', lives in Teddington.
Historical figures

* The Dowager
Queen Adelaide (1792–1849), widow of William IV, spent her last years (1837–1849) at
Bushy House, Teddington.
*
Luffman Atterbury (1740–1796), composer and builder, lived at a house now known as Clarence House, between Middle Lane and Park Lane facing Park Road, from 1780 until 1790.
*
Sir Noël Coward (1899–1973), actor, playwright and songwriter, was born at 131 Waldegrave Road, Teddington.
There is a bust of Coward, sculpted by Avril Vellacott,
in Teddington Library, which is only a short distance away.
*
Dorothy Edwards (1914–1982), children's author, was born in Teddington.
*
Stephen Hales (1677–1761), clergyman who made major contributions to a range of scientific fields.
*
Benny Hill (1924–1992), comedian, actor, singer and writer, lived and died at Flat 7, Fairwater House, 34 Twickenham Road, Teddington.
*
Prince Louis, Duke of Nemours (1814–1896), lived at Bushy House.
*
Eugène Marais (1871–1936), South African lawyer, naturalist, poet and writer, lived in Coleshill Road in Teddington from 1898 to 1902.
*
Frederick North, Lord North (1732–1792), British statesman, Prime Minister from 1770 to 1782, lived at Bushy House as his London suburban residence when Ranger of
Bushy Park, from 1771 to 1792.
*
Norman Selfe (1839–1911), engineer, naval architect, inventor, urban planner and advocate of technical education, was born in Teddington.
*
John Thaxter (1927–2012), theatre critic, lived in Teddington.
*
Thomas Traherne (1636 or 1637–1674), a
metaphysical poet, theologian, and writer, died here in 1674.
*
Frances, Countess Waldegrave (1821–1879), society heiress, after whom Waldegrave Road is named.
*
John Walter (1738–1812), who founded ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' newspaper, died at The Grove, Teddington.
*
George Mathews Whipple (1842–1893),
physicist
A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...
who was superintendent of the
Kew Observatory
The King's Observatory (called for many years the Kew Observatory) is a Grade I listed building in Richmond, London. Now a private dwelling, it formerly housed an astronomical observatory, astronomical and Terrestrial magnetism, terrestrial mag ...
, was born in Teddington.
*
Margaret "Peg" Woffington (1720–1760), stage actress, lived in Teddington.
*
Mary Woffington (1729–1811), socialite, lived in Teddington.
Notes and references
Further reading
* Sheaf, John; Howe, Ken. ''Hampton and Teddington Past'', Historical Publications, 1995.
* Howe, Ken; Cherry, Mike. ''Twickenham, Teddington and Hampton in Old Photographs: A Second Selection'' (Britain in Old Photographs),
Sutton Publishing, 1998.
External links
*
British History Online – TeddingtonThe Teddington Society
{{Authority control
District centres of London
Districts of London on the River Thames
Districts of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
Places formerly in Middlesex