Parishes: Richmond (anciently Sheen)

RICHMOND anciently SHEEN

Richemount, Rychemonde (xvi cent.). Syenes, Shenes, Scenes, Senes (xiii cent.); Shene, Shine, and West Shene, (fn. 1) later.

The parish of Richmond, with its church of St. Mary Magdalene, lies on the right bank of the River Thames, which forms its western boundary, 16 miles above London Bridge. The acreage of the civil parish of Richmond is 1256, of which 557 belong to the Crown and include 67 acres in Richmond Park, 353 in the Old Deer Park, and 137 in Kew Gardens. (fn. 2) The greater part of the parish lies low, being about 50 ft. above the ordnance datum, but the ground rises to 100 ft. on the summit of Richmond Hill, the upward slope being from north to south. The top of the hill, however, where the 'Star and Garter' stands, is in Petersham parish. The top soil is gravel, sand, or clay, on a subsoil of London Clay.

The original hamlet of Richmond, or Sheen as it was called before the reign of Henry VII, lay in a hollow on the north-east side of the royal palace which stood between the river and the green. There is nothing to show when a palace was erected here. In 1292 there was a capital messuage appurtenant to the manor. (fn. 3) Edward I was at Sheen on 5 August 1299, (fn. 4) and resided there during part of September and October 1305. (fn. 5) In the latter year he gave audience at this place to the commissioners sent from Scotland to arrange the Scottish civil government. (fn. 6) It is probable that Edward III, who frequently stayed at Sheen, (fn. 7) either built or enlarged an already existing manor-house, (fn. 8) where he ultimately died. Richard II was there immediately afterwards, if not at the time. (fn. 9) The palace was one of his favourite resorts, and his queen, Anne of Bohemia, dated several instruments here. She held the manor of Isleworth on the other side of the Thames. (fn. 10) The queen died here in 1394, and Richard's distress was so great that he ordered the royal house to be destroyed. (fn. 11) It remained in partial ruins until it was rebuilt, according to Stow, by Henry V about the same time as he founded the Carthusian monastery near it, soon after his accession. (fn. 12) The rebuilding, however, probably more truly belongs to Henry VI, (fn. 13) who carried it on in order that the palace might be worthy of the reception of his queen, Margaret of Anjou. (fn. 14) Edward IV granted it to his queen for life. (fn. 15) Henry VII frequently made it his residence, and in 1492 he held a grand tournament there which is described by Stow: 'In the moneth of May following, was holden a great and valiant justing within the kinges manor of Shine, nowe called Richmond, in Southerie, the which endured by the space of a moneth, sometime within the saide place, and sometime without, uppon the greene without the gate of the said mannor. In the which space a combate was holden and done betwixt Sir James Parkar, knight, and Hugh Vaughan, gentleman usher, uppon controversie for the armes that Gartar gave to the sayde Hugh Vaughan; but hee was there allowed by the king to beare them, and Sir James Parkar was slaine at the first course.' (fn. 16) In December 1497, (fn. 17) while the royal family were staying at Sheen, the palace was almost entirely destroyed by fire, but was rebuilt by Henry with great splendour and completed in 1501. It was at this time that the name of the manor was changed by command of the king from Sheen to Richmond, after his earldom of Richmond in Yorkshire. (fn. 18) A second fire broke out in 1507, but the palace was again repaired in the same year. (fn. 19) Henry VII was at Richmond when he died. (fn. 20) Henry VIII spent the Christmas after his accession at the palace with his queen, Katharine of Aragon. The king and queen resided constantly at Richmond, which was the scene of great festivities during such times. Their son, christened Henry, was born there on New Year's Day, 1511, but died on 22 February. (fn. 21) In 1515 peace between England and France was sworn at Richmond. (fn. 22) Some years after this the king received a present of Hampton Court (q.v.) from Wolsey, and as a return the cardinal received permission to reside at the royal manor of Richmond, (fn. 23) where he kept up so much state as to increase the growing ill-feeling against him. (fn. 24) Among other occasions Wolsey retired to Richmond in 1525 on account of the plague which was then raging in London. (fn. 25) When he fell into disfavour he took up his residence at the Lodge in the 'great' park, and subsequently moved to the Priory, (fn. 26) where, shortly before his death, he is known to have conferred with Thomas Cromwell in the gallery. (fn. 27) The palace was used as a residence by Anne of Cleves from 1540 until the accession of Edward VI, who seems to have been much attached to it, although it was not considered to suit his health. (fn. 28) Mary occasionally held her court at Richmond, (fn. 29) and spent part of her honeymoon here in 1554. (fn. 30) In that year her sister Elizabeth was taken to Richmond as a prisoner on her way to Woodstock, (fn. 31) but the memory of this did not diminish the attraction of the place for her. She was constantly here when she became queen, and it was during her reign that Richmond perhaps reached the height of its brilliance and gaiety. (fn. 32) The queen at length died at the palace, having contracted a cold and removed to Richmond, which she regarded as the 'warm winter-box to shelter her old age.' (fn. 33)

On the accession of the Stuarts Richmond became less frequently the abode of the sovereigns. James I used the palace very little, although the courts of Exchequer, Wards, Liveries and Duchy of Lancaster were temporarily moved to the manor of Richmond in October 1603 (fn. 34) in consequence of the plague. (fn. 35) The palace, however, still continued to have a royal resident in the person of the young Prince Henry, who spent a large sum of money on improvements and passed most of his time here from 1604 until his death in 1612. (fn. 36) His brother also lived here as Prince of Wales, (fn. 37) and a few months after his accession to the throne as Charles I the Exchequer and the records belonging to it were again moved to Richmond, owing to the plague, (fn. 38) which, however, attacked the village itself in the summer of 1625. (fn. 39) The king gave the palace with the manor (q.v.) to Queen Henrietta Maria, probably in 1626, and it became the home of the royal children. (fn. 40) Richmond was again visited by the plague in 1640, (fn. 41) and in 1641 a member of the prince's household died of it, the prince himself having joined the queen at Oatlands. (fn. 42) When, in 1647, the Parliament was anxious to take the king out of the hands of the army, they voted that he should be removed to Richmond, (fn. 43) but the impeachment of the eleven members by the army caused the idea to be abandoned. (fn. 44) After the execution of Charles a very interesting and detailed survey of the palace was taken. (fn. 45) It is stated in the course of it that the capital messuage, palace, or court-house consisted of 'one large and fair structure of free stone, of two stories high covered with lead'; and that the higher story contained 'one fayr and large room, 100 feet in length and 40 in breadth, called the great hall.' This, no doubt, was of the height of two stories; for the 'Privy lodgings' were three stories high, and the whole appears to have been of one height, except the towers. In the chapel building the 'third storie conteyns one fayr and large room 96 feet long and 30 feet broad, used for a chapel. This room is very well fitted with all things useful for a chapel; as fair lights, handsome cathedral seates and pewes, a removeable pulpit, and a fayr case of carved work for a payr of organs.' Richmond Green 'conteyns twenty acres, more or less, excellent land, to be depastured only with sheep; is well turfed, level, and a special ornament to the palace. One hundred and thirteen elm trees, forty-eight whereof stand all together on the west side, and include in them a very handsome walk.'

The palace was sold in 1650 to Thomas Rookesby, William Goodrick, and Adam Baynes, (fn. 46) on behalf of themselves and other creditors, and subsequently to Sir Gregory Norton, but it was restored with the manor (q.v.) to Queen Henrietta Maria in 1660, (fn. 47) although in a dismantled condition, having suffered much dilapidation during the interregnum. A certain Elizabeth wife of Andrew Mollett gave evidence that Henry Carter of Richmond was the first puller-down of the king's house there, sold stones to the value of £1,000, and raised forces within the previous three months to oppose the Restoration. (fn. 48) The ruined palace was never rebuilt. The 'capital messuage' was included in the grant of the manor (q.v.) to James, Duke of York, in 1664, but in 1703 the remains of it were broken up into several houses and tenements.

Now but little is left to confirm the fact that there was a palace upon the site built as late as the time of Henry VII and standing in the 17th century. The most conspicuous of the remains are those in the house occupied by Mr. John Lyell Middleton (facing Richmond Green) and the gateway to Wardrobe Court, with its upper chamber forming part of the house. The gateway is of red brick, and has a large four-centred archway of stone over which is a perished stone panel bearing the arms of Henry VII, on the east side towards the green. North of the large archway is a doorway with a Tudor head towards the green and a square-headed doorway towards the court. Over the panel of arms on the east side is an 18th-century oriel window, and on the other side three blocked windows above a stone string-course with a moulded top member and a bead at the bottom. The building is cut short north of the gateway, but evidence of its continuation in that direction is given by the arched recesses on the ground floor and the blocked doorway in the upper story, besides the marks showing the position of the first floor and the flat roof on that face which now overlooks the gardens of the Old Court House, an 18th-century building occupied by Mrs. B. Crowther. Some of the lower walls of Mr. Middleton's house no doubt retain the original brickwork, and the three projecting bays on the east front—a semi-octagonal one between two five-sided bays—are evidently on the old foundations, but there is little in the house to call attention to its age excepting a fireplace on the first floor with a Tudor arch and a 17th-century chimney-stack on the west side.

Running back from this house and forming the present south-east boundary of the Wardrobe Court is the house occupied by Mr. George Cave, K.C., M.P.; it seems very doubtful whether the walls of this house are on the Tudor foundations. Wynyardes' view of the east front, taken in 1562, shows the gateway to be almost in the middle of the courtyard instead of very much to the south of the centre line as now. A straight joint in the wall between the two houses in question appears to mark the original depth of the building east of the court; the other building running east and west has an 18th-century brick face on its south side, but the wall towards the court has bricks of the previous century at least; it is not improbable that when this house was erected the large number of old bricks about the site were utilized for the north wall, or it is possible that the court was reduced in size by James II when he repaired the palace, and this wall built then; the interior of the house has fittings of the 18th century and later.

The house to the west of the court, sometimes called the Trumpeting House, and occupied by the Rev. Arthur Welsh Owen, is also an 18th-century building, said to have been erected by Richard Hill, brother to Queen Anne's favourite, Mrs. Masham, who had it on lease in 1703. (fn. 49) It has a fine ceiling in the drawing-room. The 'Trumpeters' are two half-size stone figures of men or boys in the dress of the time of Henry VII—flat caps, long hair, long cloaks, and tight hosen—with their arms (formerly) in such a posture as to suggest they were blowing trumpets; their arms are now broken off. (fn. 50)

Asgill House occupies the site of the north-west corner of the palace; it is a stone building in the form of a Greek cross, built by Sir Robert Taylor for Sir Charles Asgill, Lord Mayor 1757–8, in the middle of the 18th century; the rooms in the west wing are octagonal, and there is very little doubt that this wing stands on one of the octagonal turrets in the north-west corner of the palace and that the plan was influenced somewhat by the pre-existing foundations. This has also occurred in the new house, called Garrick House, built on the site of the north-east corner of the palace, after the old theatre was demolished and the road widened. When the excavations were made for the foundations of the house the foundations of an octagonal turret were opened out, and these being very hard to destroy, the architect accepted the situation and used the old foundations for an octagonal chamber in his new structure. The 'Tea House' is a summer-house in the gardens of the Trumpeting House, and seems to be another small relic of the palace buildings; it possesses no very distinctive architectural features, but is evidently of some age, and the position it occupies seems to coincide almost exactly with the small square wing at the south-west corner, as shown by Hollar's view of the west side made in 1638. It is cemented externally, but it would be interesting to know if the cement conceals the round-arched doorway shown by Hollar.

Beyond the above-mentioned relics there is little else above ground to confirm the old views as to the size and character of the palace. Various garden walls with straight joints here and there, a small rectangular 'peep hole' or loop light, and other slight evidences, all point to their having had some connexion with the buildings; but without some further aid from other sources, such as excavations, &c., may afford, their exact relation to the whole can only remain a matter for surmise. (fn. 51)

Henry VII is said to have formed a library at Richmond Palace, (fn. 52) and to have appointed Quentin Paulet to the librarianship. (fn. 53) In 1516 Giles Duwes was granted the office of keeper of the king's library in the manor of Richmond or elsewhere with an annual rent of £10 out of the customs of the port of Bristol; the reversion of this office and rent were granted to William Tyldesley in 1534. (fn. 54) The library existed in 1607, (fn. 55) but no mention of it occurs in the survey of 1649, and it has been suggested that before this date it may have been incorporated with the library at Whitehall. (fn. 56) From the reign of Edward IV until that of Charles II there are successive grants of the keepership of the wardrobe to various persons, frequently the grantees of the custody of the manor. (fn. 57)

Philip I, King of Castile, was entertained at the palace by Henry VII in 1506, (fn. 58) and the Emperor Charles V by Henry VIII in 1522. (fn. 59) The story that Eric of Sweden visited Elizabeth at Richmond (fn. 60) is probably incorrect, for it was the prince's brother John who came over in 1559 to ask her hand for Eric, but another suitor, the Duke d'Alençon, (fn. 61) was one of the queen's guests there. (fn. 62)

The park which was attached to the palace is now known as the Old Deer Park. The palace stood south of it, facing the river. A warren is mentioned as appurtenant to the manor in 1292, (fn. 63) and in 1455 begins the mention of the 'New Park,' probably in contradistinction to an older or smaller park. There are said to have been two parks in the reign of Henry VIII called the 'Great Park' and the 'Little Park,' and it has been presumed that these two were laid together between 1617 and 1649. (fn. 64) At the latter date the entire park contained a little over 349 acres, and was then called Richmond Little Park (fn. 65) (as afterwards Old Park) to distinguish it, undoubtedly, from the much larger park, now called Richmond Park, which had been inclosed by Charles I. In 1455 the custody of the 'New Park' was in the hands of Thomas Barton, who had received a grant of it for life from Henry VI with wages of 2d. a day and 7 acres of meadow lying near Chertsey Bridge for the sustenance of the deer of the park in wintertime. (fn. 66) The same grant, together with a mansion standing between the house of the Clerk of the Works and the palace, was made to Edmund Glase for life in 1461, and again in 1463. (fn. 67) The park was granted with the manor (q.v.) to Queen Elizabeth Woodville for life in 1466, and she granted the custody of it, during her life, to Robert Ratcliffe in 1471. (fn. 68)

Subsequent grants of the custody of the manor (q.v.) included that of the park until the Commonwealth, when the latter was valued at £220 5s. and sold by order of the Parliament to William Brome of London. (fn. 69) Shortly afterwards it seems to have come into the hands of Sir John Trevor. (fn. 70) On the Restoration the custody of the park, here still called the New Park, was granted to Edward Villiers, and the park itself in 1664. to James, Duke of York. (fn. 71) In 1675 Edward Villiers, then custodian, obtained licence to keep a pack of beagles to hunt within the manor. (fn. 72) At this time the royal palace was fast falling into decay, and the lodge in the Little Park, situated to the east of the present Kew Observatory, (fn. 73) became the chief residence in Richmond. Originally the keeper's lodge, (fn. 74) it had been distinguished by the presence of Wolsey in the time of Henry VIII. It seems to have been occupied by a Mr. Webb before the Civil War and to have been then appropriated by Sir Thomas Jarvis. (fn. 75) In 1694 the lodge was leased for thirty-one years to John Latton, (fn. 76) who sold his interest, soon after the accession of Queen Anne, to the Duke of Ormonde. (fn. 77) The latter petitioned that the lease might be renewed to him for ninety-nine years or three lives, and this suit was granted in 1704. (fn. 78) The duke, who was also ranger or keeper of the park, rebuilt the lodge and lived there until his forfeiture in 1715. (fn. 79) It was granted by George I to George, Prince of Wales, for ninety-nine years, or for his life and those of his wife and his daughter Anne, in 1722. (fn. 80) In that year it was thus described by Macky: 'His (the Duke of Ormonde's)' lodge a perfect Trianon; but since his forfeiture it hath been sold (fn. 81) to the Prince of Wales, who makes his summer residence here. It does not appear with the grandeur of a Royal Palace, but is very neat and pretty. There is a fine avenue which runs from the front of the house to the town of Richmond, at half a mile's distance, one way, and from the other front to the river-side, both inclosed with balustrades of iron. The gardens are very spacious and well kept. There is a fine terrace towards the river. But, above all, the wood cut out into walks, with the plenty of birds singing in it, makes it a most delicious habitation.' (fn. 82) On his accession George II settled the lodge on his queen, Caroline, (fn. 83) and it continued to be one of their favourite resorts. The queen had a dairy and menagerie here, (fn. 84) and among the additions to the gardens made by her were a hermitage and a grotto called Merlin's Cave. (fn. 85) George III made the lodge a frequent place of residence during the first few years of his reign, and, as his grandfather had done, settled it on his wife in 1761. (fn. 86) Queen Charlotte pulled down the lodge about 1770, intending to build a new palace on its site, but although the foundations were laid the design was never completed. (fn. 87) In the course of these alterations in 1769 eighteen houses, the remains of the hamlet of West Sheen, were pulled down and the site added to the royal grounds. An Act of Parliament of 1785 enabled the king to unite Richmond Gardens with Kew Gardens by closing a footpath of over a mile in length called Love Lane. (fn. 88) The park is still Crown land, but ninety-seven acres are held on lease by the corporation and are open to the public; (fn. 89) part of this is used as a golf-course; another part, acquired on lease by some of the leading tradesmen, (fn. 90) is reserved as an athletic ground, and here also the far-famed Richmond Horse Show takes place every year.

Theotherpark,atfirstcalled the 'NewPark' andnow Richmond Park, was inclosed by Charles I from lands extending into the parishes of Richmond, Petersham, Ham, Kingston, Wimbledon, Mortlake, and Putney, partly owned by the Crown and partly by private persons. In 1634 the king declared his intention of making a new park for deer, and issued a special commission to Francis Lord Cottington and others to compound with owners in the parishes for the purchase of the necessary property. (fn. 91) An account is given by Lord Clarendon (fn. 92) of the refusal of some of the proprietors to meet the wishes of the king, who determined nevertheless to proceed with his resolution. He did in fact begin building the surrounding wall before he had obtained the consent of his subjects, and thereby caused a great deal of bitterness. The park, which was stocked with red and fallow deer, (fn. 93) was completed in 1637, and the first rangership granted for life in that year to Jerome Weston, Earl of Portland, with a fee of 12d. a day, pasture for four horses, and the use of the brushwood. (fn. 94) Owing to the many objections made against the formation of the park, gates were placed at intervals in the wall, and permission was given to the public to use the roads, the poor of the various parishes being also allowed to take away firewood as they had formerly been accustomed to do. (fn. 95) After the execution of Charles I the park was settled by the House of Commons on the mayor, commonalty, and citizens of London and their successors, with the expressed desire that it should be preserved as an ornament to the city. (fn. 96) On the Restoration it was returned by the corporation to Charles II, (fn. 97) who appointed Sir Lionel Tollemache, bart., and his wife Elizabeth, Countess of Dysart, to the rangership in 1660, (fn. 98) shortly afterwards granting the reversion of it to Sir Daniel Harvey. (fn. 99) In 1664 a warrant was issued forbidding any person to bring a dog within ten miles of Richmond during hay and corn harvest in order that the game might be preserved, (fn. 100) but two years later Lord Crofts was authorized to hunt round Richmond Palace, notwithstanding the king's prohibition. (fn. 101) The Duke of Lauderdale obtained the office of rangership of the park for life in 1673, (fn. 102) and Laurence Earl of Rochester in 1683, (fn. 103) but his son, afterwards Lord Clarendon, sold the remainder of the term to the Crown in 1727, and the rangership was given by George II to Robert Walpole, son of the celebrated prime minister Sir Robert Walpole. The latter was created Earl of Orford in 1742, (fn. 104) and spent much of his leisure at Richmond, frequently hunting in the park. (fn. 105) The prime minister, although he effected improvements and spent much money on the park, made several encroachments on the rights of the public by shutting up gates and taking away stepladders on the walls; and after his death in 1745, and that of his son, the ranger, in 1751, these encroachments were continued by the Princess Amelia, who was the next holder of the rangership. Several complaints were made by the neighbourhood, (fn. 106) and in 1754 a special jury gave a verdict for the princess, (fn. 107) but in 1758 a decision was given in favour of the public, and the step-ladders and gates were restored. The princess resigned her office of rangership in 1761, (fn. 108) and in the same year it was granted to the Earl of Bute, who held it until his death in 1792. (fn. 109) About 1814 the Prince Regent, afterwards George IV, appointed as ranger his sister Princess Elizabeth, (fn. 110) who held the office until 1825, when it passed to the Landgravine of Hesse. (fn. 111) She was succeeded in the office by Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, who held it from 1835 till his death in 1850, (fn. 112) after which the Duchess of Gloucester held it until her death in 1857. (fn. 113) George, Duke of Cambridge, was then made ranger, (fn. 114) and after his death in 1904 the preservation of game and the private shooting in the park were abolished.

As well as several picturesque keepers' lodges, Richmond Park contains some important houses which may be mentioned here, although situated outside the parish boundary.

Pembroke Lodge, formerly known as Hill Lodge and the Molecatcher's, stands a short distance from Richmond Gate, just beyond the Terrace Walk, (fn. 115) and commands a splendid view of the Thames valley. The Countess of Pembroke died here in 1831 at the age of ninety-three, (fn. 116) after which it was occupied by the Earl of Errol, subsequently by Earl Russell, and since the death of his widow by Georgina Countess of Dudley. (fn. 117) Within the grounds is a board on which is inscribed a poem on James Thomson, 'the poet of Nature,' alluding to the beautiful prospect which he loved. In the grounds also is a barrow, traditionally said to have been the spot where Henry VIII stood to see the rocket which gave him intimation of the execution of the sentence on Anne Boleyn.

White Lodge is situated between Sheen and Robin Hood Gates. The central part was built by George II, and originally called Stone Lodge, the two wings being added later by the Princess Amelia. In the reign of George III it was occupied by Lord Bute, and later by Lord Sidmouth, who was here visited by William Pitt and Lord Nelson. It was the home of the Duchess of Gloucester when ranger. Queen Victoria spent a short time here after her mother's death, and King Edward, when Prince of Wales, also lived here at one time. It afterwards became the home of the Duke and Duchess of Teck, whose grandson Edward the present Prince of Wales was born here in 1894. (fn. 118)

Sheen Lodge, near Sheen Gate, once a keeper's lodge called the Dog-Kennel, is distinguished as having been the home of the great physiologist Sir Richard Owen, K.C.B., who here entertained Dickens, Millais, Mr. Gladstone, and other noted guests. It is now occupied by Mrs. Owen.

Thatched Cottage, which stands near Ham Gate, was also a keeper's lodge in former days. It was occupied during part of the 19th century by Sir Edward Bowater, General Meadows, and Sir Charles Stuart; (fn. 119) and has recently been lent to Sir Frederick Treves, bart., G.C.V.O., C.B., LL.D., F.R.C.S.

Four religious bodies have had houses at Richmond. From 1315 to 1318 twenty-four Carmelite friars stayed by command of Edward II at the manor-house of Sheen and celebrated divine service there, but in the latter year they moved to a place which the king granted them outside the walls by the North Gate of Oxford. These friars were endowed with a grant of 120 marks out of the Exchequer. (fn. 120) A house of Friars Observant (fn. 121) was founded by Henry VII in 1499 and suppressed in 1534. The site was granted in 1572 to Percival Gunstan and his heirs, (fn. 122) and the survey of 1649 (fn. 123) represents the remaining rooms to have been then used as a chandler's shop. The approximate position of the convent is indicated by a lane called Friar's Lane which leads from the Green past Queensberry House to the river; and is described in the 1649 survey as having been on this side of the palace. Henry V established two religious houses in Sheen in 1414, one of which, a house of Celestines, (fn. 124) was, however, abolished shortly afterwards. (fn. 125) The Carthusian Priory of Jesus of Bethlehem founded by him, of which an account has already been given in this history, (fn. 126) was situated in the Old Deer Park where Kew Observatory now stands. This monastery is one of the two chantries referred to in Shakespeare's Henry V, where the king says on the eve of the battle of Agincourt— (fn. 127)

'I have built
Two chantries where the sad and solemn priests
Sing still for Richard's soul.'

The house was granted in 1540 to Edward Seymour, afterwards Duke of Somerset. He conveyed it back to the Crown in 1547. (fn. 128) Later it was granted to the Duke of Suffolk, but was again resumed by the Crown after his attainder in 1554. The monastery was refounded for the remnant of English Carthusians, to be finally dissolved by Elizabeth. It was thus the latest founded and the last dissolved of the greater English monasteries. The site was granted by the queen to Sir Thomas Gorges and his wife, the Marchioness of Northampton, in 1584. (fn. 129) James, Duke of Lennox, obtained a grant of it in 1638. (fn. 130) At the time of the Commonwealth a detailed survey was taken of the buildings, and the site, valued at £92, was sold as Crown land to Alexander Easton. (fn. 131) In 1660 Charles II granted a lease of it for sixty years to Viscount Lisle, (fn. 132) who made it his residence for a time and transferred it to Lord Belasise about two years later, the latter obtaining a new lease of it in 1662 for sixty years. (fn. 133) In 1675 a lease of the priory was granted to certain persons in trust for Henry (afterwards Viscount) Brouncker and Sir William Temple. (fn. 134) Sir William had made the house which occupied the site of the priory his home since 1663, (fn. 135) and constantly averred his delight in his sequestered abode, (fn. 136) which, however, he eventually gave to his son. (fn. 137) In 1696 another grant of the site of the monastery was made to Charles Bertie and others for thirty-one years, apparently in trust for the Duke of Leeds. (fn. 138) Two leases dated 1750 and 1760 conveyed separate parts of the estate to John Jefferys and Charles Buckworth for a term of years. (fn. 139) No remains of the priory are now in existence, the gateway which was the last survival having been taken down in 1769. (fn. 140)

The present town of Richmond has grown up for the most part on the other side of the site of the royal palace. During the 18th century the growth of the parish, judged by the number of its inhabitants, was considerable. (fn. 141) A place of entertainment called Richmond Wells, which had been opened in 1696 near a medicinal spring that once existed in the grounds of Cardigan House on the hill, attracted a great many people during the early part of the century, but it had lost its reputation when about 1755 the property was bought and the wells closed by the Misses Houblon, then living in a house nearly opposite, now Ellerker College. (fn. 142) In 1792 the number of houses, exclusive of the new workhouse built by George III about 1785, and the almshouses, was 815. (fn. 143) Apart from the few relics of the Tudor Palace, and one or two other structures, old Richmond is essentially a Queen Anne and Georgian town. Among these exceptions is a bicycle-maker's shop at the corner of Duke Street on the Green which contains some early 17th-century oak panelling, whilst it is said that a large Elizabethan fireplace was found when the present shop-front was put in. A shop next to the police station in the main road also has an old fireplace with moulded jambs and lintel of grey marble with a black marble keystone; it is not unlike the fireplaces in Ham House of the time of Charles II, and is probably contemporary. Of the later period many examples could be enumerated. A large house with two projecting wings in the Sheen Road, now divided into three houses, has an 18th-century brick front, but the side walls are evidently of an earlier date. Streatham Lodge, as the north wing is called, has mostly 18th-century or modern fittings, but the staircase is evidently the work of the beginning of the 17th century; the three upper flights are of exceptionally heavy woodwork, the moulded hand-rail being 7 in. wide by 6 in. deep, and the turned balusters 4 in. square; the newels are plain (7 in. square) with ball tops, and the stair carriage or sloping string is also plain; the lower flights are early 19th-century. The staircase is also the principal feature of Beverley Lodge, which occupies the south wing of the house; this is a very fine example of early 18th-century workmanship; the treads have moulded soffits and carved ends, the balusters are square with fluted sides, the newels are fluted Corinthian columns, and the hand-rail is moulded; it is in four flights, and may have replaced one like that in Streatham Lodge, than which it is much wider, lighter, and more elegant.

No. 5 Hill Street is a late 17th or early 18th-century house with a staircase and fittings of the period; the stair has twisted balusters. A carved over-door with fruit, flowers, &c, off the stair hall, is reminiscent of the work of Grinling Gibbons, as is also a carved picture-frame with a broken pediment fixed in the wall in the upper part of the stair hall.

'Queen Anne' House (or No 11 The Green) is a building, as its name implies, of the beginning of the 18th century, with some good ironwork in front. In the front hall or passage is an oak carved and pierced screen which appears to be earlier than the house and brought from elsewhere. In the basement is a good lead cistern dated 1715.

There are several other old lead cisterns remaining in the neighbourhood; at 'Abbotsdene' on the Green is one dated 1709 with ornamental work in relief and the initials A B M; in Palace Place adjacent another dated 1718, another at the back of Mr. Cockburn's shop inscribed 1735 G w I, and a fourth in Gloucester Road, Kew, dated 1768, with the letters T A A and with crests of stags in relief upon it.

Many of the doorways in Richmond are good examples of 18th-century workmanship and carving. Some in the Sheen Road are of similar character to the carved over-door in No. 5 Hill Street; in Church Terrace are others worthy of notice; and three in Michels Terrace are striking with their winged cherubs; these all appear to be work of the first half of the century. A very good example of the ironwork of the period remains in the gateway to Marshgate House, Sheen Road. On the other side of the same road are the almshouses founded by Rebecca and Susannah Houblon in 1757; the entrance to the front quadrangle has some fairly good iron gates bearing that date. Perhaps two other relics of older Richmond are a gabled cottage in the passage east of the church, of timber cemented over, and three cottages in Vine Row of timber construction filled in with some solid material, apparently flint, and all coated with cement. A later but very interesting house is that in which Mrs. Fitzherbert lived, No. 3 The Terrace, on the hill above the Terrace Gardens and commanding a beautiful view across the Surrey hills. It was built by one of the brothers Adam in the time of George III, and is one of the finest examples of their work. The staircase has wroughtiron balustrading and a black-wood hand-rail; the ceilings of the two rooms on the ground floor and the drawing-room and front bed-room on the first floor are all richly decorated; the fireplaces are of marble, that of the drawing-room being a fine one of white marble with some carved figures in low relief. The iron grill to the front doorway and the iron railing in front of the house are also of good design. The house is now occupied by Mrs. Aldin.

By the side of the Trumpeting House, referred to above, is Queensberry House, a modern mansion built in the grounds of an older one called Cholmondeley House, which was erected at the beginning of the 18th century by George, third Earl of Cholmondeley. It afterwards came into the possession of the Earl of Warwick and subsequently passed to Sir Richard Lyttelton, from whom John Earl Spencer purchased it for his mother the Countess Cowper. After her death in 1780 (fn. 144) it was bought by the Duke of Queensberry, during whose ownership it was the scene of great gaiety. At a later date it was occupied by the Marquess of Hertford; but in 1830, after some years of neglect, it was pulled down with the exception of a few arches which still remain. The present house, which was built in 1831, is the residence of Mr. Geoffrey de Trafford. The next two houses higher up the river are called Cholmondeley Lodge and Cholmondeley Cottage. These look down upon the picturesque embankment called Cholmondeley Walk. Above it another walk called Waterside is overlooked by the modern St. Helena Terrace, and higher up are the gardens of Heron, once Herring, Court, which now occupy the site of the old Royal Hotel. One of these houses is the residence of Gen. Sir Harry Prendergast, K.C.B., V.C., R.E. There are some interesting houses near and above the bridge. One of them, originally Camborne House, but now called Northumberland House after Eleanor Dowager Duchess of Northumberland, who lived here in recent years, is let to the Richmond Club. Bridge House was built by Sir Robert Taylor about the same time as Asgill House. Ivy Hall was a residence of William IV when Duke of Clarence, and Gothic House was occupied for a short time by Madame de Staël. Bingham Villa, named after Lady Anne Bingham, who lived there, stands on the site of a small inn called the 'Blue Anchor.' Higher up the river is the charmingly situated Buccleuch House, once called Montagu Villa, which was built for George Duke of Montagu, and passed on his death in 1790 to his son-in-law the Duke of Buccleuch. (fn. 145) A magnificent fete was given here by the fifth duke in 1842 in honour of Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort. A museum belonging to the house, which stands on the other side of Petersham Road, is connected with it by a subterranean passage. Buccleuch House and grounds and the grounds of Lansdowne House, (fn. 146) which stood on the hill above the river, were afterwards united and the estate sold to the Richmond Vestry in 1886. The greater part of the gardens are beautifully laid out as a pleasure ground called the Terrace Gardens, which were opened to the public by the late Duchess of Teck, representing Queen Victoria, the lady of the manor, in 1887. Buccleuch House itself and part of the grounds were sold by the vestry to Sir Whittaker Ellis, to whom they still belong. Beyond this house stands Devonshire Lodge, formerly the Wilderness Club, which was built after the demolition of Devonshire Cottage, so named after the celebrated beauty Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire who lived there. Above the river, on the slope which reaches to the Terrace, is the Mansion Hotel, which occupies the site of Nightingale Hall, formerly the abode of the Ladies Ashburnham. On the Terrace itself are two houses, one called The Wick, on the site of the old Bull's Head Tavern, and the other Wick House, built for Sir Joshua Reynolds, who here entertained many royal and aristocratic sitters as well as numerous literary friends. Among the houses opposite the Terrace are Downs House, once the residence of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, and later of the twenty-fifth Earl of Crawford, author of the Lives of the Lindsays. A large house which afterwards became the Queen's Hotel was at one time occupied by the Countess of Mansfield, who died in 1843. (fn. 147) Doughty House is the residence of Sir Frederick Cook, bart., and the one next to it was occupied by Rhoda Broughton. Terrace House is owned by Sir Max Waechter, D.L., J.P. Next to the park gates is Ancaster House, named after the Duke of Ancaster, who sold it to Sir Lionel Darell, a favourite of George III. Opposite to this, overlooking the river, is the famous Star and Garter Hotel, which will always be associated with Richmond, although nearly the whole of it is actually in the parish of Petersham. Originally built in 1738, it acquired its great reputation during the 19th century, when it was a favourite resort of the fashionable world. In the centre of the cross-roads at the top of the hill there is a drinking fountain that was erected a few years ago by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Many other noteworthy houses in different parts of the parish might be enumerated if space permitted. Among them are four of red brick facing the Green, known as Maids of Honour Row, which were built in the reign of George I. In one of these the late Sir Richard Burton lived when a boy. Lichfield House in Sheen Road, so called after the bishop who once resided there, is now occupied by Mrs. Maxwell (Miss Braddon) and her son Mr. W. B. Maxwell. Spring Grove in the lower part of Queen's Road is the residence of Sir Charles RuggePrice, bart., D.L., J.P. It was built by the Marquess of Lothian in the early part of the 18th century and was purchased by the grandfather of the present owner in 1797. At No. 8 Parkshot, near the station, now the offices of the Richmond Board of Guardians, 'George Eliot' lived from 1855 to 1859 in lodgings that have since been pulled down. Here she wrote Scenes of Clerical Life and part of Adam Bede, and here also she and George Lewes were visited by Herbert Spencer and other friends. Abercorn House is now used as a residence by H.M. the King of Portugal.

Of the few old shops that remain in the town the most noted is the Original Maid of Honour Shop which existed in the 18th century, where the cheese-cakes supposed to have been introduced by one of the maids of honour are still sold. In 1823 it was acquired by a Mr. Bilton, who sold the goodwill, lease, and famous recipe to Mr. J. T. Billett (grandfather of the present owner) for £1,000. Richmond was formerly celebrated for its inns, but the greater number of the original houses have disappeared. In 1634, out of twenty-five ale-houses licensed within the hundreds of Kingston and Emley Bridge, ten were allowed in Richmond alone 'by reason of the Prince's Court often residing there and being a place of much resort and recreation for divers gentlemen and citizens.' (fn. 148) Shops in George Street now occupy the sites of the 'Queen's Arms' and the 'Black Boy,' and also of the old Castle Inn, the licence of which was removed in 1761 to the later Castle Hotel in Hill Street, and of the original 'Red Lion,' whose licence is supposed to have been transferred to the present hotel about 1755. Of the oncefamous Feathers Inn at the junction of King Street (fn. 149) and Walter Lane, only the staircase and assembly room now remain; and there is no vestige of the 'Rose and Crown.' The 'King's Head' stands at the corner of Bridge Street on the site of the old Ferry Inn; opposite to it was another in Hill Street, which was superseded by the Talbot Hotel, now Talbot House. Tickets for the Old Theatre were sold at the 'Three Compasses.' The 'Greyhound,' still existing in George Street, although much altered, was the meeting-place appointed for the trustees for putting the first Act relating to the government of the parish (see below) into execution. (fn. 150) The present 'Lass of Richmond Hill' has been rebuilt more than once; it deserves notice on account of its name, which is sometimes thought to commemorate the heroine of a ballad and a tale about whom much controversy has arisen. It seems, however, that the true home of this young lady was Richmond in Yorkshire, although the tradition that she belonged to Richmond in Surrey still persists. (fn. 151)

The increase of the population at the end of the 18th century occasioned an application for the building of Richmond Bridge. Previous to this time communication with the opposite bank had been by a ferry, which was held on lease from the Crown. (fn. 152) An Act was passed in 1773 by which the commissioners were enabled to purchase the ferry from the then lessee, and after building the bridge to exact tolls until the money borrowed and the interest on it was repaid and £5,000 vested in the funds for the support of the bridge, after which the tolls were to cease. (fn. 153) The bridge, consisting of five stone arches, was begun in 1774 and finished in 1777, and in 1841 was said to be almost free, the only toll taken being a halfpenny on Sundays for foot passengers passing from the Surrey side, and a much reduced toll for carriages. (fn. 154) The money for building the bridge had been raised on the tontine system, and after the death of the last shareholder in 1859 the bridge became free. (fn. 155) The embankment was continued from Kew to Cholmondeley Walk also in 1774. (fn. 156)

In the middle of the 19th century Richmond was still called a village, although it was then said to resemble a town in all respects. The railway to London was opened in 1846, (fn. 157) and since that time the development of the town, possessing as it does the attractions of a beautiful situation combined with proximity to London and facility of conveyance by land and water, has been exceedingly rapid. The population has increased from 9,255 in 1851 (fn. 158) to 22,684 in 1891 and 25,577 in 1901. (fn. 159)

The government of the town was in the hands of a vestry, constituted under George III in 1785, (fn. 160) until 1890, when Richmond was incorporated by royal charter. (fn. 161) In 1892 the municipal borough was extended to include the civil parishes of Kew, Petersham, and that part of Mortlake which was created the civil parish of North Sheen in 1894. (fn. 162) It is divided into six wards, and is governed by a mayor, ten aldermen, and thirty councillors. It has a separate commission of the peace, but no separate court of quarter sessions. (fn. 163)

Richmond, from its entrance on the north, extends for about a mile to the crest of the hill. The road from Kew, leaving the Old Deer Park on the right, passes between shops and above the combined stations of the London and South-Western Railway (over which the North London Railway has running powers) and the Metropolitan and District Railways, to the beginning of George Street, (fn. 164) where it is joined by the road from Sheen, (fn. 165) which, running parallel with the railway, leads from the lower end of Queen's Road. The fire-engine station is situated at the angle formed by the junction of Kew and Sheen roads. George Street has its continuation in Hill Street, which bears round to the left and divides a short distance above the turning of the bridge, the lower road running parallel with the river towards Petersham, and Hill Street itself becoming Hill Rise and ascending towards Richmond Park, from the gates of which Queen's Road slopes downwards in a north-easterly direction to meet the road from Sheen. These roads outline the thickly populated part of the parish, a network of smaller roads covering the ground between.

To one approaching Richmond Park from the town, the Terrace Gardens are on the right, and on reaching them there first breaks upon the view, through a few openings in the intervening trees, the lovely scene that has been immortalized by painters and poets; (fn. 166) while from the Terrace itself, just beyond the gardens, there is an uninterrupted view of the landscape. Far below is the winding river with its willow-covered islets, forming with the surrounding woods and meadows a beautiful foreground which fades away into a blue or hazy distance. In clear weather, however, Windsor Castle is distinctly visible. This view was frequently threatened, until it was permanently secured to the town by an agreement between the corporation and the trustees of the Earl of Dysart in 1896, by the purchase of the Marble Hill Estate, Twickenham, by the London County Council in 1902, (fn. 167) and by Sir Max Waechter's recent gift of the Petersham Ait, or Glover's Islet, to the corporation.

A theatre is said to have existed in Richmond as early as 1715. (fn. 168) Another one called the Old Theatre was built on the slope of the hill in 1719 on the site of an old stable for donkeys; its licence was forfeited in 1756, and ten years later a new theatre was opened on the Green where Garrick House now stands, the prologue for the occasion being written by David Garrick. Edmund Kean acted here in 1817 and took a great fancy to Richmond; he became the lessee of the theatre in 1831, and took up his residence in the house connected with it. He died and was buried at Richmond in 1833. (fn. 169) This theatre was pulled down in 1886, and another one built in 1889, but it was not found to pay. A new theatre of varieties has been lately erected on the little green adjacent to the large Green. Other means of popular entertainment are found in the Terrace Field, (fn. 170) the athletic grounds, swimming baths, the free library, (fn. 171) and boating. The common called Pesthouse Common, owing to a pest-house existing here, once extended from the bottom of Queen's Road to the park gates; but it was granted to the vestry by the Act of 1785, and inclosed for a workhouse and burial ground, except for a small portion that adjoins the lower part of Queen's Road. The pest-house itself was pulled down in 1787. (fn. 172)

The Royal Hospital, on the outskirts of the Old Deer Park, was opened in 1868 and has been several times enlarged. Part of it was formerly the home of the poet Thomson. The town hall, built between Hill Street and the river on the site of the old Castle Hotel which was given by Sir Whittaker Ellis, bt., then M.P. for the division, was completed in 1893. A footbridge and lock were opened in 1894.

The ecclesiastical parish of St. John the Divine was constituted in 1838, the church having been built in 1826–9, and that of Holy Trinity in 1870 out of the parish of Richmond. The parish of St. Luke was formed in 1890, and that of Christ Church in 1894, out of Richmond and Mortlake. There is a Roman Catholic church dedicated in honour of St. Elizabeth in a branch road from Hill Rise called the Vineyard, first opened in 1824. At the lower end of Queen's Road is a Roman Catholic Marist convent. A Presbyterian church of England erected in 1885 is situated on the little green; there are also Congregational, Primitive Methodist, and Wesleyan places of worship (the first built in 1830), and a Free Church.

The Wesleyan Theological Institution was founded in 1844. It is a large and well-appointed building in Bath stone of 16th-century style.

In 1725 there was a charity school at Richmond for 50 boys and 50 girls, founded in 1713 by Margaret Lady Vandeput, wife of Sir Peter Vandeput, kt. (fn. 173) In 1786 the minister and churchwardens returned that Lady Capell had left in 1721 £11 a year charged on land for the charity school, where in 1786 24 boys and 34 girls were educated. Other benefactions and subscriptions brought the total income up to £218 6s. (fn. 174) This was the general school for Richmond, in which, when Brayley wrote, about 1844, 400 children were educated at fees of 1d. a week, and the charity children also clothed as well as educated free. It is now represented by the King's School in Kew (Public Elementary), entirely rebuilt in 1887.

St. Mary's (Parochial) School was built in 1853, the Vineyard (British) School in 1866, Holy Trinity (National) Infants' Schools in 1866, Kew Road (Wesleyan) School in 1867, Holy Trinity (National) Girls' School in 1867, St. Elizabeth's (Roman Catholic) School in 1870, St. John's (National) School in 1873, Holy Trinity, Prince's Road, (National) Girls' and Infants' School in 1875, rebuilt in 1898, Holy Trinity, Mortlake Road, (National) Boys' School in 1885, and Darrell Road (Council) School was opened in 1906.

Among the place-names that have been found in connexion with the parish are 'blacke Henry,' 'Kingslease,' 'the Pray,' 'Cranes Croft,' 'Barbadoes Close,' 'Rachells Peece,' 'Lyttle Praise,' 'Greate Prayse,' 'Robinhoodes Walke.'

MANOR

There is no mention of SHEEN, now known as RICHMOND, in the Domesday Survey, as it was at that time included in the neighbouring manor of Kingston (q.v.), which was held by the king. By the reign of Henry I, however, the manor had acquired a separate existence under the name of Sheen, and was granted by the king to the family of Belet, who held it by the serjeanty of butlery. (fn. 175) In 1206 Master Michael Belet paid the sum of £100 for the office of butlership. (fn. 176) He seems to have forfeited his lands, and those in Sheen were granted to Hugh de Nevill in 1215. (fn. 177) Michael was evidently restored shortly afterwards, as he granted a virgate and a half of land in the manor of Sheen to Walkelin de Canetone early in the reign of Henry III. (fn. 178) At his death the custody of his daughter and heir, with her inheritance in Sheen, was acquired by Wimund de Ralegh. (fn. 179) This daughter appears to have been the Maud Belet who died in or before 1229, when her lands devolved on her kinsman John Belet, who paid ten marks for relief in that year. (fn. 180) He died in 1231, (fn. 181) leaving two daughters, Emma Oliver, and Alice who married John de Vautort a tenant on the manor, (fn. 182) and thus the manor of Sheen became divided. In 1253–4 Emma Oliver, or Emma Belet as she is here called, was party to a fine with John de Vautort and Alice his wife as to lands in Sheen and other places which were said to have been the right of John Belet the father of Emma. (fn. 183) By 1258 Emma Oliver had become the wife of Robert de Meleburn, and in that year they confirmed a lease of the manor of Sheen (as Emma's moiety was always called) to John Maunsel, treasurer of York and reeve of Beverley, for fourteen years. (fn. 184) In 1264 Emma conveyed all her lands held in chief in Sheen to the king, for him to grant to Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester and Hertford, which was accordingly done. (fn. 185) A few years later the manor of Sheen came into the possession of Hugh de Windsor, who granted it in 1272 to Robert Burnell, Bishop of Bath and Wells, (fn. 186) the gift being confirmed by Henry III. The bishop then enfeoffed Otto de Grandison of the manor in tail-male, with reversion to himself in case of Otto's death without issue, but Edward I took it into his own hands because he was given to understand that Hugh de Windsor had enfeoffed the bishop while he was of unsound mind. Afterwards, however, the king inspected the confirmation of Henry III, and on reflection that no right in the manor could accrue to him he restored it to Otto de Grandison, (fn. 187) who was a specially trusted servant and friend of the king's, and granted him free warren in his demesne lands there in 1279. (fn. 188) On setting out for his second expedition to Palestine, before the fall of Acre (1291), Grandison appears to have delivered the manor to the custody of Burnell, who died holding it in 1292. (fn. 189) Otto de Grandison survived the bishop, and in 1299 the king gave a curious order that no person, with the sole exception of the king's son, should enter, stay, or lodge in Otto's manor of Sheen, or put his baggage or goods there, against his will or the will of the keeper of the manor, as it appeared that great damage had been done by people lodging in the houses there. (fn. 190) Otto seems to have conveyed the manor to the king, probably about 1305, for Letters Patent, &c., are dated there from that year onwards, and in 1316 Sheen is called the king's manor. (fn. 191)

The other property in Sheen, which descended to John Belet's daughter Alice, was held by her husband John de Vautort by the grand serjeanty of being one of the king's cup-bearers. He died seised of the vill of Sheen about 1301, and was succeeded by a son John, (fn. 192) who appears as John de Vautort of Sheen in 1313. (fn. 193) This John was deprived of his lands there by Hugh le Despenser the elder, who granted them to Edward II; and the petition to Edward III for their restoration by Richard de Vautort, brother and heir of John, in 1329, was apparently without avail. (fn. 194) They were evidently added to the Crown manor, which has remained in royal hands from about 1305 until the present day, although granted out at various times by successive kings. In 1315 it was described as the king's manor of Sheen, and Edward II made it an occasional place of residence, as his father had done towards the close of his reign. (fn. 195) Edward III granted the manor in 1331 to his mother, the dowager Queen Isabella, for her life. (fn. 196) She died in 1358, (fn. 197) and in 1359 William of Wykeham, at that time an influential favourite with the king, (fn. 198) was given the custody of the manor. (fn. 199) Two years later Ralph Thurbarn was made keeper. In 1377 John de Swanton, who had previously been granted the custody of the warren of Sheen, was appointed to the keepership of the manor for life. He held the office during the greater part of the reign of Richard II, but gave it up to his son Thomas in 1390. (fn. 200) Edward IV, soon after his accession, made William Norburgh custodian of the manor of Sheen for life. (fn. 201) In 1466 the king granted the manor for life to his queen Elizabeth Woodville, together with the park, warren, and all appurtenances, (fn. 202) and she conceded the office of custodian to William Norburgh in 1468, allowing him to hold it himself or by deputy. (fn. 203) A few months after the accession of Richard III, however, Henry Davy obtained from the king a grant of the keepership of the manor for life. This grant included the custody of the garden, warren, and park belonging to the palace, and it is interesting to notice that the several offices were worth 6d. a day for the manor, 4d. a day for the garden, 3d. a day for the warren, and 2d. a day for the park, with another 2d. for the maintenance of the palings of the park. (fn. 204) The custody of the manor was again transferred on the accession of Henry VII, who granted it for life to Robert Skerne in 1485. (fn. 205) The manor itself was still the right of Queen Elizabeth, the widow of Edward IV, but in 1487 Henry VII held a council at Sheen, and declared that she had forfeited her property by deserting his cause before he became king. After that time she retired into the abbey of Bermondsey, where she died in 1492. (fn. 206) Henry, having appropriated the manor of Sheen, held it throughout his reign, and changed its name to Richmond. (fn. 207) In 1522 Henry VIII granted a lease of the lordship of Richmond for thirty years to Massi Villiarde, serjeant of the king's pleasure-water, and Thomas Brampton, with the exception of the palace and the park, of which they were only granted the custody. (fn. 208) In 1540 the king bestowed the manor, palace, and park upon Anne of Cleves as part of the provision made for her after her divorce. (fn. 209) She granted a lease for eighty years to David Vincent, which was confirmed to him by Edward VI in 1547, a reservation being made of the palace and park, or one of the parks, belonging to it. (fn. 210) Later Vincent transferred his lease to Gregory Lovel. (fn. 211) Sir Thomas Gorges received a grant of the keepership of the house, park, and garden, with the wardrobe, vessels, and victuals, in 1597. (fn. 212) This grant was repeated to himself and his wife, the Marchioness of Northampton, for their lives, about 1603, (fn. 213) and in 1607 Sir Thomas Gorges obtained a grant of the manor for forty years, with the exception of the palace, park, and ferry. (fn. 214) Sir Thomas died in 1610, (fn. 215) and in the same year the king granted the manor, palace, and park to Henry Prince of Wales and his heirs. (fn. 216) In January 1617, a few years after the death of Prince Henry, they were assigned to Sir Francis Bacon and others in trust for Prince Charles, (fn. 217) who received a direct grant of the manor, palace, and park for himself and his heirs in February of the same year. (fn. 218) As Charles I he is said to have settled them on his queen, Henrietta Maria, in 1626. (fn. 219) A court leet, to be held twice a year, was appointed for the manor of Richmond in 1628, and the king ordered that the tenants of the manors of Richmond, Petersham, and Ham should attend it instead of the court leet at Kingston, as had been the custom. Sir Robert Douglas was made steward of the court for life. (fn. 220) In 1638 he, as Viscount Belhaven, was the keeper of the palace and park, as well as steward of the court leet and court baron; but he surrendered these offices in that year, (fn. 221) and the king granted the custody of the palace and park to James Stuart, Duke of Lennox. (fn. 222) In 1639 William Murray, afterwards Earl of Dysart, (fn. 223) was the lessee of Richmond Manor under the queen, and on her determination to surrender it to the king, Murray petitioned for a grant of the manor in fee-farm together with the court leet and view of frankpledge. An order to this effect was accordingly given, (fn. 224) but was evidently not carried out, as the manor remained part of the queen's jointure. It became the property of Sir Gregory Norton, bart., and later of his son Sir Henry Norton (fn. 225) during the Commonwealth, but was restored to Queen Henrietta Maria in 1660. (fn. 226) In July of that year the custody of the manor, palace, and park was consigned to Edward Villiers, who petitioned that the grant might extend during the lives of his two sons. (fn. 227) Queen Henrietta Maria did not die until 1669, (fn. 228) but perhaps exchanged the manor with the king, as in 1664 it was granted with the 'capital messuage' and the park to James, Duke of York, afterwards James II, and his heirs. (fn. 229) On his accession he settled the manor on his queen, Mary Beatrice, as part of her jointure. (fn. 230) It must have been appropriated with the rest of her jointure by William and Mary, as in 1690 her trustees desired that no grant of the manor might be made until they were first heard on her behalf. (fn. 231) The manor does not appear to have been granted out again until 1733, when it was conferred by George II upon George, Earl of Cholmondeley, to hold during the life of Queen Caroline, (fn. 232) who died in 1737. (fn. 233) In 1770 it was granted, exclusive of the site of the palace, to Queen Charlotte for her life, by George III. (fn. 234) This is the last grant of the manor that has been found, and it is now in the possession of His Majesty King George V.

One or more fisheries were appurtenant to the manor from very early times. The first mention of a free fishery occurs in an extent of the manor in 1292. (fn. 235)

Among the customs claimed by the tenants of Richmond Manor by grant of 1481 which still survive is that of Borough English, or the succession of the youngest son to all copyhold lands; if there are no sons the youngest daughter inherits. (fn. 236)

CHURCH

The church of ST. MARY MAGDALENE consists of a chancel, north organchamber and vestry, south chancel aisle, and to the south of that a chapel, nave, north and south aisles with west porches and a west tower.

A chapel at Richmond is mentioned in the reign of Henry I when Gilbert the Norman founded Merton Abbey, giving it the advowson of Kingston and the four chapels of Petersham, Sheen (now Richmond), East Molesey, and Thames Ditton. It is mentioned again in 1339, and several wills in Somerset House prove the use of the church in 1487. In a manuscript of the expenses of Henry VII is the entry: 'Item given to ye Parish Clerke of Richmond towards ye building of his new church £5.'

In 1614 the first vestry was held, and the minutes of the meetings are still extant. The steeple was found to be in a ruinous state in 1624, and it was rebuilt, the contract with the mason being:—'First, That he is to make the Tower tables a plaine plenth and to make the upper Table plaine with such stone as he shall find there in the churchyard and to make the rest of the battlement a plaine cooping answerable to the thickness of the wall. To make the windows according to the Plote with a champfare on the outside and a Rabbatt on the inside or near thereabouts and to bring up the Buttresses answerable to the work and to make a Table over the heads of the windows with such stone as shall be found there and to make it plaine and strong work. The masons work to be done according to this order—the church finding the materials and scaffolding stuff and tacklings for raysings and to make ready the scaffolds.' An estimate of £30 was accepted from a Henry Walden, the parish finding the materials, and £32 was paid to William Halsey for lead for the steeple. £40 4s. 10d. was the sum paid to one George Charley for a bell. The tower then erected is still standing, being the oldest part of the church, but it has been greatly restored. Six years later (in 1630) the churchwardens were requested to take a view of the steeple and report on the same at the next meeting, and also take a view for the hanging of five bells. In 1624 a gallery was made; in 1673 rose the question of repairing the south aisle; and in 1683 a south gallery was taken into consideration. In 1671 the communion table was ordered to be 'inclosed with rails and balusters 12 ft. in length by 7 ft. in width, with panels of wainscot and settles on both sides, and also a 'false flower (floor) under the said Table.'

In 1699, partly by the munificence of William III, who gave £200 towards the enlargement, the accommodation was improved and the pulpit ordered to be removed to the 'south-east pillar between the church and chancel.' In 1701 the roof of the tower and the steeple were defective and the bell frames rotten, and these parts were restored. The building suffered some damage from the Great Storm in 1703. The church was enlarged in 1750, and the nave and aisles then erected are those still standing; an organ was placed there by George III and Queen Charlotte in 1770. The church was thoroughly repaired in 1822, when a new burial-ground was also added to the churchyard; and it was again renovated in 1866 and newly reseated, whilst the organ was removed and a new one placed on the north side of the chancel. The chancel and its aisles were rebuilt and considerably enlarged in 1904.

In the Free Public Library is preserved the carved oak head of a monument or a doorhead which is said to have been on the north wall of the church in 1669 and was transferred to the west door in 1702 and removed from the church in 1864, being finally presented to the library in 1907; the carving is allegorical of Death and the Resurrection; on one side cherubim are represented as winds blowing upon human bones, and on the other a cherub with a trumpet, bones below, and a sun with rays; in the middle is a winged skull, cross-bones, &c. There is also a fragment of 17th-century panelling carved with a vertical wreath of foliage and fruit, and having enriched mouldings; this is probably a piece of the 1671 panels of wainscot set about the altar.

The chancel has an east window of seven lights and tracery and a three-light window in either side wall. In the north wall a doorway opens into the vestry and an archway west of it into the organ-chamber. An arcade of two bays divides the chancel from its south aisle and a similar arcade divides the aisle from the south chapel. The aisle is lighted by a traceried east window of five lights, and the chapel by one of four lights, and two south windows, each of three lights, whilst it has an outer doorway in its west wall. Moulded arches open into the chancel and its aisles from the nave and aisles.

The nave is divided from either aisle by an arcade of five bays with plain Doric columns and spanned by wood lintels with moulded cornices. Above is a clearstory lighted by wide segmental-headed windows with wood frames. The north aisle is lighted by five round-headed windows of red brick with keystones, and plain stone strings at the springing level. The wall is of stock brick and has a moulded brick cornice.

A doorway at the west end of the aisle opens into a semi-octagonal porch lighted by round-headed windows and with a round-headed doorway in its north-west wall. The south aisle is lighted by five similar windows, but the three middle lights are included in a slightly projecting portion above which is a pediment to the wall, and on either side of it a plain parapet with a stone coping. At the west end is a square porch with a round doorway in its south side.

The tower is of three stages; the archway opening into it, which is of three chamfered orders, is old, but the rest of its stonework as well as the outside facing of flint is all modern. A stair turret is carried up in its south-east corner, and its two western angles are strengthened by diagonal buttresses. The west doorway has a four-centred arch in a square head with shields in the spandrels and with a moulded label. The second stage is lighted by a plain rectangular window in its north, west, and south walls, and on the north is a clock. The bell-chamber has two similar lights in each of its north, east, and west sides, and one to the south; the parapet is embattled. The gabled roofs of the new work (chancel, &c.) are covered with tiles; the nave and aisle roofs are slated. An oak screen spans the chancel arch. The font is modern.

The church contains a large number of monuments mostly of the 18th and 19th centuries, but a few of Elizabethan date. One at the east end of the north aisle is a brass set in a grey marble panel; on it are the figures of a man and woman kneeling. Behind him are four sons, and behind her four daughters. Over the sons is a shield with the arms—A cheveron between three skeins of cotton. The inscription below is in Roman capitals, and reads:—'Here lyeth buried the bodie of Mr. Robert Cotton gentlemā sometime an officer of the remooving Wardroppe of Bedds of Queen Marie whoe by her Ma^ts speciall choise was taken from the Wardroppe to serve her Ma^tic as a Groome in her Privie Chamber al her lyfe time and after her decease againe he became an officer of the Wardroppe wher he served her Ma^tle that now is Quene Elizabeth many years and died Yeomā of the same office the (date omitted). He maryed one Grace Cawsen, of whom he had issue 4 sonnes and 4 daughters.'

On the north wall are two 17th-century monuments. One to Lady Margaret Chudleigh (daughter of Sir William Courtney), first the wife of Sir Warwick Hele, kt., and afterwards of Sir John Chudleigh, kt., who died in 1628, has two round-headed recesses in which are the kneeling effigies of a man and woman. The other has a round-headed recess flanked by Corinthian columns supporting an entablature with roses on the soffit. In the recess is the kneeling figure of Walter Hickman of Kew, who died in 1617.

On the south wall is a small brass inscription as follows:—' To the memory of Margarite y^e vertuous wife of Thomas Jay, late of Midds. Esq: in these unhappy warrs his Ma^ties Comissary Generall for Pvisions for all his Armye^s of Horse who had by her Thomas Jay Capt. of Horse whos^e short life was beautefyed with many Graces of nature and Rare Pieces of Arte and his end exprest his Loyalty and Courage; Dame Francis wife to Sir Thomas Jervoyse of ye coƄ. of South: and Elizã: Eƅp: ult Sept. 1646.' Over the inscription is a shield with the arms—On a bend engrailed three roses impaling quarterly (1 and 4) two bars between three towers, (2 and 3) in a border engrailed two cheverons. On the dexter side of the shield is a wolf statant and on the sinister a lion's paw holding a key.

Also on the wall is a mural monument with the kneeling figures of a man and woman, and underneath their three sons and four daughters. The inscription is to Lady Dorothie wife of Sir George Wright, kt., who died in 1631; in some lines which follow she is described as being by birth a Farnam. There is also a floor slab to Sir George, who died in 1623.

On the west wall above the gallery is a mural monument of black marble to Lady Sophia Chaworth, relict of Sir Richard Chaworth, kt., and daughter of Robert, Earl of Lindsay, Lord Great Chamberlain of England; she died in 1689. Another monument on the same wall is to Henry, Viscount Brouncker, Cofferer to Charles II, who died in 1687; and a third is to John Bentley, who died in 1660, Elenor his wife, who died in 1657, and Elenor their daughter, who died in 1656, with three portrait busts. Among the late monuments is one on the west wall to Edmund Kean the actor, who died in 1833; it was formerly outside the church.

There are eight bells; the first three by Robert Catlin are dated 1740, the fourth is inscribed 'Lambert made me weake not fit to ring, But Bartlett among the rest hath made me sing 1680'; the fifth by Catlin bears the date 1742; the sixth by James Bartlett 1680; the seventh by the same founder, 1681; and the tenor by Lester and Pack, 1760.

The communion plate comprises silver-gilt cups of 1630, 1663, 1825, and two of 1871; a silver-gilt paten of 1700 and two of 1871; a silver-gilt basin of 1660; a silver salver of 1711 and a plated copy of it; a silver salver of 1818 and three more of white metal; two silver-gilt flagons of 1660; and a silver spoon of 1805. The registers are contained in six books, and begin in 1583. They have been printed by Mr. Challoner-Smith for the Surrey Parish Register Society.

The church of ST. JOHN THE DIVINE, Kew Road, consists of a chancel, north organ-chamber and vestry, south chapel, and a wide nave with west porches. The nave, which is built of white bricks and stone, dates from 1829, and is in a mixed Gothic style; the chancel, &c. were rebuilt and enlarged in 1905 of stock brick and stone. An archway opens into an organ-chamber from the chancel, and an arcade of two bays divides the latter from the chapel, while both chapel and organ-chamber open into the nave. The high altar has a tall triptych of oak with beautifully painted panels, standing on a marble base; the walls and roof of the chancel are also being treated with a good scheme of colour decoration which is not yet finished. The ceiling of the chancel is a pointed barrel-vault of wood; a low stone screen crosses the chancel arch. The chapel altar is of oak with a marble top and marble reredos. The nave has a gallery across the west end and half-way along either side; the ceiling is a flat one of plaster between the cross ties. Below the window-ledge level on the side walls is an excellently painted set of panels of the stations of the Cross. The pulpit is of green oak with decorated panels. The churchyard surrounds the building and has an iron railing on the west side towards the road; it is planted with trees and shrubs.

The church of ST. MATTHIAS stands at the corner of Mount Ararat Road in the King's Road. It is a large building dating from 1858 in the style of the 13th century, and consists of an apsidal chancel, with organ-chamber, south chancel-aisle, nave of five bays with a clearstory, north and south aisles and porches, and a lofty north-west tower with a tall stone broach spire. The walls are of squared rubble with Bath stone dressings; the roofs are covered with slates. An oak rood-screen spans the chancel arch.

The church of HOLY TRINITY is a stone building of middle 13th-century style erected in 1870, and consisting of a chancel, transepts, north-east vestry, nave with a clearstory, low aisles, south porchtower, and west porch, the last approached by an asphalt walk from Sheen Park. The roofs are covered with slates. The walls are of square rubble with ashlar dressings.

CHRIST CHURCH, Kew Road, is a similar stone building dating from 1893 and also of the style of the 13th century. It has a chancel with vestries, &c., nave with a clearstory of lancets, low aisles, south-east and west porches, and the stump of a future northwest tower. The roofs are tiled. The churchyard is narrow, and paved with asphalt except where shrubs are planted; it has an iron fence with stone gate-posts on the west side towards the road.

ST. LUKE'S church, in The Avenue, was built in 1890 of stone in the style of the 13th century, and consists of a chancel, south chapel, nave of five bays, north and south aisles, and a west narthex; provision is made for a future south-west tower. It has good oak furniture and a rich marble font with a tall oak cover.

ADVOWSONS

A chapel at Sheen was one of four annexed to the church of Kingston when the latter was granted to the priory of Merton, (fn. 237) and continued to be dependent on Kingston (q.v.) until 1769, although in 1658 the commissioners appointed to inquire into the state of ecclesiastical benefices had recommended that it should be separated from the mother church. (fn. 238) By an Act passed in 1769, (fn. 239) Kingston parish was divided, and Kingston with Richmond and the hamlets of Ham and Hook were consolidated into one vicarage called 'The Vicarage of Kingston-upon-Thames with Shene, otherwise Richmond.' The patronage has from that time descended with that of Kingston. The Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge, acquired it in 1781, and their successors still hold it. Richmond was severed from Kingston and constituted a distinct vicarage in 1849. (fn. 240)

The living of St. John the Divine, now called a vicarage under the Act of 1868, (fn. 241) was in the gift of the vicar of Kingston until 1849, when it was transferred to the vicar of Richmond. (fn. 242)

The patronage of Holy Trinity and Christ Church is in the hands of trustees, and that of St. Luke belongs to the bishop. (fn. 243)

The incumbency of St. Matthias is held with that of the parish church, to which it serves as a chapel of ease. (fn. 244)

CHARITIES

There are six sets of almshouses in Richmond. Sir George Wright, who died in 1623, founded the almshouses commonly called Queen Elizabeth's Almshouses. The foundation was completed by his executors in 1636. (fn. 245) They were benefited by John Michel in 1739, by will of Charles Selwyn in 1747, and by Whichcote Turner in 1770. The last removed them in 1767 from the Lower Road, next Camborne House, to the present site in the Vineyard. They are for eight almswomen. Bishop Duppa's Almshouses were founded in 1661 for ten unmarried women, and endowed from an estate at Shepperton. The old red brick building, near the Terrace, is not unpicturesque. In 1695 Humphrey Michel founded almshouses for ten poor men. He died the next year, and his purpose was carried out by his nephew John Michel. In 1722 William Smith conveyed property for their further support. In 1810 they were rebuilt, and in 1858 six additional almshouses were built. Part of Michel's original foundation was a house which was taken into the old Adelphi Theatre. William Hickey in 1727 left property to provide pensions for the inmates of Duppa's Almshouses, and for other poor people, men and women, over fifty-five years of age. In 1834 the trustees built almshouses for the pensioners, six men and ten women. The houses form three sides of a square, with a chapel in the centre of the building. There is also a house for the chaplain. Houblon's Almshouses were founded in 1757 and 1758 by Rebecca and Susannah Houblon respectively, daughters of Sir John Houblon, first Governor of the Bank of England. They are for nine poor women. The Church Lands Almshouses were built in 1843. They are supported by part of the income of the Church or Parish Charity Lands. These lands are supposed to have been given by Thomas Denys in 1558 for the use of the poor and repairing and sustaining the church. The funds were misappropriated, and it was not till 1626 that they were delivered into the hands of the churchwardens. In 1650 the churchwardens conveyed them to trustees, apparently illegally, with new trusts substituted for the original. They were applied 'for the necessary use of the parish church, the maintenance of the minister, and no other purposes whatsoever.' (fn. 246) The cost of rebuilding the church in 1823 was defrayed from these funds. In 1828 the original trust was restored by a private Act of Parliament of 9 George IV. Part was allotted for the maintenance of two churches in Richmond, part for the almshouses, built in 1843 as above mentioned, the rest in pensions for the poor. The charity now provides an income of about £1,000 a year, which is applied in aid of the rates. (fn. 247) Smith's Charity is distributed as in other Surrey parishes, and there are other numerous small charities for bread, clothing, apprenticing, &c.