Between Richmond and Hampton Court is a storied stretch of the River Thames, whose banks are lined with grand houses, royal parks and Henry VIII’s favourite palace
Words by Edward Aves
The picturesque stretch of the Thames between Richmond and Hampton Court has provided refuge from the bustle of London life for centuries. After attracting the patronage of the Tudor royals – their legacy is preserved in the jaw-dropping magnificence of Hampton Court Palace – the area became a fashionable retreat for the city’s nobility, who built grand houses along its riverbanks.
By the mid-18th century, poets and artists were likening it to Arcadia, the pastoral Utopia of ancient Greece. In the 19th century, the riverside was opened up for all to enjoy, and today a stroll through this verdant slice of the city ranks high on any Londoner’s list of soul-quenching urban escapes.
Just 15 miles upstream from central London (15 minutes by train), well-to-do Richmond owes its name to Henry VII, who erected a sumptuous royal palace on the river and christened it after his Yorkshire earldom. Richmond Palace was a favourite winter residence of Elizabeth I, who died here in 1603 – her body was carried downriver to Westminster Abbey by barge – and though mostly demolished, its turreted gatehouse still survives, tucked into a corner of Richmond Green. This expansive open square, lined with Georgian terraces, was once a jousting ground, and the sporting tradition lives on today – cricket has been played on the green since at least 1730.
It’s a short stroll down pretty Old Palace Lane to Richmond’s bustling riverside, where all manner of boating expeditions – from paddle steamer cruises to rowing boat rental – are on offer. Yet, even on the busiest weekend, the scene doesn’t compare with the heyday of the late-Victorian boating craze, when up to 3000 river vessels crammed the stretch downstream to Teddington, catering to the crowds of boater-hatted young men and women who would rush down from the city to meet and mingle on the water.
It’s a gentle saunter from the riverside into Richmond Park, a vast expanse of undulating grasslands spotted with dense woods, where herds of fallow and red deer – at current count over 600 – have roamed freely since the time of Charles I. First-time visitors are often amazed to find such untamed wilderness so close to London.
The Arcadian riverscape of yesteryear is best preserved a mile and a half south of Richmond in a pair of fine mansions, set in verdant meadows, on opposite sides of the Thames. Grandest is the red-brick, Jacobean Ham House, famous for the extravagant interiors created by the resourceful Elizabeth Dysart, Duchess of Lauderdale – said to have been simultaneously Oliver Cromwell’s lover and a financial donor to King Charles II – and virtually unchanged in 350 years.
From Ham House, the quaint Hammerton’s Ferry will whisk you across the river to Marble Hill House, a graceful Palladian villa newly reopened after a stunning restoration. Marble Hill was designed for Henrietta Howard, a former mistress of the Prince of Wales (later George II), who captivated society with her intelligence and wit. Henrietta cultivated a circle that included Alexander Pope – who helped create the gardens – and Jonathan Swift; her parties were said to rival those at court for their lavishness.
Restoration has returned the house’s interior to its original lustre – a highlight is the sumptuously gilded Great Room – and reinstated the gardens to their 18th-century prime, complete with grotto and nine-pin bowling alley.
Beyond the bustle of central Twickenham lies the most idiosyncratic of the area’s mansions. A whitewashed fantasy of fairytale towers, pinnacles and battlements, Strawberry Hill was the summer residence of 18th-century man of letters Horace Walpole, youngest son of Sir Robert Walpole, Britain’s first prime minister. Walpole eschewed the Palladianism of the day in favour of a new “Gothick” style – in so doing pioneering Gothic Revival, a movement that would dominate architecture for the next 150 years.
Strawberry Hill was built to entertain, and even today a visit is a theatrical experience. The rooms feature elaborate tracery and colourful stained glass; as the sun moves around the house, each has its moment to shine – what Walpole called his “moving pictures”. After dinner in the Great Parlour, the host would lead his guests upstairs to the show-stopping Gallery – a visual feast of crimson damask wallpaper and gilded fan-vaulting – to gossip about court, as music drifted up from the cloister (now a delightful café) below.
The scene is easy to picture, never more so than during the house’s occasional candlelit evenings, when staff dress up as characters from The Castle of Otranto, Walpole’s Gothic romance that inspired a new literary genre.
A mile upriver, a series of locks at Teddington mark the end of the tidal Thames – said to be the point where the river changes colour (casting off its city brown for a country green). It’s also a place of pilgrimage for fans of Monty Python, who filmed their famous fish-slapping dance – a surreal spectacle of pilchards and pith helmets – by a lock-keeper’s cabin here.
Continuing onwards, Kingston upon Thames played a central role in England’s early history. In the 10th century, Cyningestun (as it was then) lay on the boundary of the kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia, prompting Æthelstan to choose it as a symbolic location for his coronation as King of the Anglo-Saxons in 925. Two years later, he went on to conquer Northumberland, uniting England for the first time.
Today, Kingston is an attractive market town, with a reminder of its Anglo-Saxon days – a short hop from the ancient Market Place, the Coronation Stone is a sarsen block supposedly used as a throne during the crowning ceremonies of Æthelstan and six more Saxon kings.
Back across the river, vast Bushy Park – second largest of the royal parks after Richmond – was created by Henry VIII as the hunting grounds for Hampton Court, and remains home to several hundred free-ranging red and fallow deer, including a few ghostly white specimens that seem to have stepped out of a fairy tale. Fittingly, perhaps, because the park is indeed a magical place, especially atmospheric on misty mornings.
Wartime history buffs may like to head to the northern Shaef Gate, where a memorial recalls the three months in 1944 when this corner of Bushy hosted the Supreme Headquarters of the Allied forces – it was from here that General Eisenhower masterminded plans for D-Day. But don’t delay, for to the south, beyond the park’s Lion Gate, Hampton Court awaits.
Originally built for Cardinal Wolsey, Hampton Court was a royal residence up to the reign of George II, although will of course forever be associated with Henry VIII, who prised it from Wolsey as he cast him from grace. The king spared no expense in transforming it into a lavish royal abode.
Each of Henry’s six wives lived for a time at Hampton Court, and the tumult and tragedy of his later years resonate through what remains of the Tudor apartments. Henry ordered the construction of the magnificent Great Hall, where banquets were put on for hundreds of courtiers. While smitten with Anne Boleyn, her emblems were integrated into its design, yet he expunged almost all trace of her after her demise. In the Great Watching Chamber, courtiers received the tragic news of Jane Seymour’s death days after she gave birth to a long hoped-for son in 1537. And, famously, the ghost of Catherine Howard is said to stalk the Processional Gallery, where the unfortunate queen – barely out of her teens – was dragged screaming by guards back into house arrest after a failed final entreaty to the cold-hearted king for her life. Spectre or not, the temperature does seem to drop a notch or two as you step down the corridor.
The chaos at court is brought vividly to life in the Council Chamber, where you can listen to an audio re-creation of Henry’s embattled councillors snarling at each other as they plot the succession. And don’t miss the exquisite Chapel Royal, where in happier times Henry and Catherine gave thanks for their marriage – the stunning blue and gold ceiling, unchanged since Tudor times, is one of the highlights of the entire palace.
Perhaps more than anywhere else, the gargantuan scale of the Tudor court is evident in Henry’s VIII’s Kitchens, where cooks would toil in ferocious heat to churn out up to one thousand meals a day. The king himself would usually dine privately, gorging on feasts of up to forty dishes – an appetite that sent his waistline soaring from a trim 32 inches in his twenties to a doublet-popping 54 inches at the end of his life.
That any of the Tudor palace survives is no thanks to William and Mary, who instructed Sir Christopher Wren to demolish it and rebuild it in Baroque style. The project ran out of steam after Mary’s death, but their grand state apartments brought the palace a new lease of life.
William was also responsible for the exquisite Privy Garden, which stretches from the South Front to the river. A manicured masterpiece of order and harmony, it’s just one of many highlights of the grounds – never lovelier than in early July, when the RHS’s Hampton Court Garden Festival takes root along the banks of the Long Water. This year promises a rose tea garden in commemoration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Finally, no visit to Hampton Court is complete without getting lost in the famous maze – if in doubt, adopt Paddington Bear’s cunning strategy and lay chunks of marmalade along your path to enable a speedy exit.
THE PLANNER
Getting there
There are regular trains from London Waterloo to Richmond (15min) and to Hampton Court (35min).
Where to stay
The Richmond Harbour Hotel & Spa is set in a stately Georgian mansion with tasteful contemporary interiors and a fabulous spa where you can unwind after a day spent strolling the riverside. The rooms are luxurious with a bohemian edge, enlivened with local art on the walls and vibrant textiles. There’s a buzzy restaurant and bar and a leafy courtyard terrace too.
Where to eat and drink
The Roebuck pub, dating back to the 1500s, enjoys one of the most unspoiled views in London from its lofty perch on Richmond Hill: the perfect place for a pint or a pub lunch.
Further Information
www.visitrichmond.co.uk; www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace
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