A haven for grazing cattle by the Thames

The meadows were formerly part of the lands of Ham House and became protected from development by the 1902 Richmond Petersham and Ham Open Spaces Act of Parliament. A dairy herd supplied the Hornby and Clarke Dairy from 1880 till the 1960s and then Express Dairies until changes in farming practice and regulations made dairy farming impractical. The Petersham Trust was formed in 1998 to protect grazing and they acquired the lease and management in 2001 and look after a small herd of beef cattle.