| Old Deer Park | |
|---|---|
 One of the twoobelisks facing theRiver Thames in Old Deer Park, used to align Kew Observatory telescopes | |
  | |
| Type | public |
| Location | Richmond, London |
| Coordinates | 51°27′51.79″N0°18′21.67″W / 51.4643861°N 0.3060194°W /51.4643861; -0.3060194 |
| Area | 147 hectares (360 acres) |
Old Deer Park is an area of open space withinRichmond, owned by theCrown Estate, in theLondon Borough of Richmond upon Thames,England. It covers 147 hectares (360 acres) of which 90.4 hectares (220 acres) are leased as sports grounds for sports, particularly rugby and golf.[1][2] Despite the name, there are now no deer in the park.
The park is bounded generally by theRiver Thames to the west,Kew Gardens to the north and, acrossa trunk road, urban areas of Richmond town to the east and south. Owned by the Crown Estate, the park forms part of a larger retained historic and biodiverse landscape incorporating part of Richmond,Kew andIsleworth.[3] The lowest, western parts of the park constituteflood storage areas, which provide emergency flood relief aroundRichmond semi-tidally submerged Lock.
Old Deer Park's heritage as a historic royal landscape in a favoured riverside location has become compromised over recent decades by instances of inappropriate recreational and parking development, general neglect, and insufficient control of tree planting. A long-term strategy is now being implemented to arrest and reverse this decline.[1]
In the mid-16th century,Richmond Palace was a favourite residence of QueenElizabeth I and in 1574 she granted "Our park of Isleworth otherwise called the Newe Parke of Richmonde" toEdward Bacon. This statement was made even though Isleworth parish and manor lay on theMiddlesex bank opposite theSurrey bank of Richmond — theAbbey of Syon in Isleworth was tied to thatof Sheen on the other respective bank, which had jointly for centuries owned the estate.
Queen Elizabeth died at Richmond in 1603. Later that year her successor, KingJames I of England, established a hunting park by adding monastic land to the existing park and creating an enlarged area of 370 acres (1.5 km2). This then became known as The New Park of Richmond. The present name "Old Deer Park" was adopted after 1637 when James's son KingCharles I established the much largerRichmond Park on the other side of the town. During the eighteenth centuryRichmond Lodge was located in the Park, which served as the summer home ofGeorge, Prince of Wales (the future George II) and his wifePrincess Caroline following their dispute with his fatherGeorge I.
The majority of park is now occupied by theRoyal Mid-Surrey Golf Club, and this has been so since 1892.[4] Within the club's boundaries are two 18-hole courses, plus a separate area within which lies the Grade IlistedKing's Observatory,[5] established by KingGeorge III in 1769. To the south-west of the Observatory, under the fairway of the 14th hole of the outer golf course, lie the foundations of the former CarthusianSheen Priory, founded byHenry V in 1414.[6]
Construction of the railway line westwards fromRichmond Station in 1847/8 restricted the access fromRichmond Green to Old Deer Park, except for one narrow bridge. Eighty-five years later a new arterial road (the"Great Chertsey Road"), complete with a high ramped approach to a new bridge over the Thames (Twickenham Bridge – built in 1933), was also constructed across the southern end of the park, close to and roughly parallel with the railway. This heightened the sense of separation between town and park – alleviating this problem is also part of the new strategy.[1]
Beside the River Thames in the park are a pair of stoneobelisks. They were built in 1769, and were originally installed to align telescopes used by the King's Observatory to observe thetransit of Venus across the Sun that year.[7]
The park was used to accommodate 5,000 of the 8,000Scouts attending the1st World Scout Jamboree in 1920.[8][9] The public open spaces are occasionally used forcircuses,funfairs and other events.
| Location | Richmond, London (inSurrey until 1965) |
|---|---|
| Home club | Richmond Cricket Club |
| Establishment | by 1867 season |
| Capacity | 3,000[10] |
Old Deer Park has been used a venue forcricket since at least 1867, when Richmond played aUnited South of England Eleven.[11] During its history, the ground has played host to a number ofMiddlesex Second XI andSurrey Second XI matches.[12][13][14]
Despite historically being within Surrey, the ground has played host toList-A matches involvingMiddlesex, the first of which saw them playNottinghamshire in the 2000 Norwich Union National League. In 2001 theMiddlesex Cricket Board played their only List-A match at the ground in the2001 Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy againstBerkshire. From 2000 to 2004, the ground held 5 List-A matches, the last of which saw Middlesex playScotland in the 2004totesport League.[15]
Starting in the2003 Twenty20 Cup againstKent, Middlesex have used the ground for sixTwenty20 matches to date.[16]
In local domestic cricket, the ground is the home venue ofRichmond Cricket Club.[17]
Accessed from theA316:
Accessed from theA307:
51°28′09″N0°18′38″W / 51.4692°N 0.31068°W /51.4692; -0.31068
Cricket inRichmond upon Thames | ||
|---|---|---|
| Current clubs and grounds |  | |
| Former clubs and grounds |
| |
