Petersham Meadows

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 […]
Ham Pond

A peaceful sanctuary for wildfowl on Ham Common. The Pond is on the western point of the Common where for hundreds of years it was a watering place for cattle and other animals. At times, such as in the nineteenth century, maps show more than one Pond and at times the Pond might not have […]
Kingston Bridge

The renovated bridge linking the Surrey and Middlesex banks. Until Westminster Bridge was built in the mid eighteenth centiury, Kingston Bridge was the first major crossing point over the Thames after London Bridge. The bridge has been renovated in recent years and makes an attractive spectacle with its hanging baskets and super views both upstream […]
The Village Lock-Up

The original Petersham village watchman’s hut built in 1787 This little building with its white clapperboarding and slate roof once sheltered the local watchman, probably armed with musket or pistols to guard against highwaymen and deal with vagrancy and drunkenness. In 1787, the Petersham watchman was paid 11 shillings a week to guard the village […]
Ham House

An authentically preserved Stuart mansion by the Thames, – reputedly one of the most haunted houses in England. Originally built in 1610 for Sir Thomas Vavasour, Knight Marshall to James 1st but soon after acquired by the Earl of Dysart. In 1672 Ham House was enlarged and remodeled and during the Restoration of Charles 11, […]
North Kingston Riverside

A beautiful stretch of accessible riverside at Lower Ham Road. Lower Ham Road sweeps down to the riverside in North Kingston. Now protected as a conservation area, it is home to rowing and sailing clubs. The riverside walk continues towards Kingston through Canbury Park Gardens past The Boaters pub.
St Peters Church

Recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 & containing elements from across the ensuing centuries, including authentic Georgian box pews. The church was probably originally dedicated to St Peter because the lands were originally endowed in the year AD666 from the Benedictine Abbey of St Peter in Chertsey. A Norman style church was built in […]
Ham Common

A classic village common with pond, cricket pitch and avenue of lime trees leading towards Ham House. Ham Common technically straddles both sides of the main road but it is the larger triangular area which most people think of as the common. Fringed by mature trees and with its cricket pitch and pond, it looks […]
The Coronation Stone

An ancient stone upon which it is believed seven successive Saxon kings were crowned at Kingston. The name Kingston may have derived from its location of the “Kings Stone”, – the coronation stone on which it is thought seven successive Saxon kings were crowned in Kingston beginning with Edward, the son of Alfred the Great […]