Petersham
Village
Cattle grazing inPetersham Meadows
Petersham Location withinGreater London
Population	10,317 (2011 Census. Ham, Petersham and Richmond Riverside Ward)[1]
OS grid reference	TQ179733
London borough	Richmond
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	RICHMOND
Postcode district	TW10
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
UK Parliament	Richmond Park
London Assembly	South West
List of places UK England London 51°26′42″N0°18′11″W / 51.445°N 0.303°W /51.445; -0.303

Petersham is a village in theLondon Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the east of the bend in theRiver Thames south ofRichmond, which it shares with neighbouringHam. It provides the foreground of the scenic view fromRichmond Hill acrossPetersham Meadows, withHam House further along the river. Other nearby places includeTwickenham,Isleworth,Teddington,Mortlake, andRoehampton.

Petersham appears inDomesday Book (1086) asPatricesham. It was held byChertsey Abbey.^[2] Its assets were: 4hides; 1 church, 5ploughs, 1fishery worth 1,000eels and 1000lampreys, 3 acres (1.2 ha) ofmeadow. It rendered £6 10s 0d.^[3]

Archibald Campbell, later 3rd Duke of Argyll and Earl of Islay, was born atHam House in 1682.^[4] He went on to found theRoyal Bank of Scotland in Edinburgh in 1727.

The explorerGeorge Vancouver retired to Petersham, where he wroteA Voyage Of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, and Round the World.^[5] He lived in a house in River Lane that is now two separate dwellings – Navigator's House (formerly known as Craigmyle Cottage) and Glen Cottage.^[5] He died in 1798 and is buried in the churchyard ofPetersham Parish Church. ThePortland stone monument over his grave, renovated in the 1960s, is nowGrade II listed in view of its historical associations.^[6]

In 1839Charles Dickens rented Elm Cottage, renamed Elm Lodge,^[7] where he wroteNicholas Nickleby.^[8]

In 1847Queen Victoria grantedPembroke Lodge in the Petersham part ofRichmond Park toJohn Russell, 1st Earl Russell, and it became the Russell family home.^[9] Lord Russell's grandson,Bertrand Russell, spent some of his childhood there.^{[10][11][12][13]} DuringWorld War II theGHQ Liaison Regiment (also known as Phantom) established its regimental headquarters nearby at the Richmond Hill Hotel,^[14] with its base (including theofficers' mess andbillet) at Pembroke Lodge.^[15]

In the early 19th century,Charles Stanhope, styled Lord Petersham, later Earl of Harrington, gave the Petersham name to a type ofgreatcoat.^[16] In 1955 Petersham also gave its name toHMS Petersham,^[17] which was aHam-class minesweeper.

Petersham is part of theRichmond Park constituency for elections to theHouse of Commons of the United Kingdom.^[18]

Petersham is part of theHam, Petersham and Richmond Riverside ward for elections toRichmond upon Thames London Borough Council.^[19]

Listed buildings include awatchman's box that also served as avillage lock-up^[20] and dates from 1787.^[21]

Petersham Road (part of theA307) includes an extremely sharp right-angled bend edged by a pair of handsomewrought iron gates. This is the entrance toMontrose House, one of the most notable houses in Petersham. After a spate of serious accidents on the bend in the road, the neighbours formed a group in the 1850s called Trustees of the Road. The Hon.Algernon Tollemache of Ham House was their leader and they managed to persuade the owner of Montrose House to part with some land to reduce the sharpness of the bend. But various dents in the brick wall today reveal that motorists are still taken unawares by it.^[22]

Adjacent to Montrose House and equally as impressive isRutland Lodge, built in 1666 for aLord Mayor of London;^[23] it is Grade II* listed.^[24]

Another historic house in Petersham isDouglas House, just off the west drive toHam House. One of its notable inhabitants wasCatherine, Duchess of Queensberry. In 1969 it was bought by theFederal Republic of Germany for use as aGerman school. New buildings have been erected in the grounds, but the original house and stables have been preserved.^[25]

Petersham is served by only two bus routes: the65 and371, both linking the village withRichmond andKingston upon Thames. It has only a few bus stops such as Sandy Lane, Sudbrook Lane (The Russell School) and Ham Street and The Dysart.

• Deutsche Schule (DSL), London (theGerman School London), is based at Douglas House.
• The Russell School, now on Petersham Road, was founded in 1851 byLord John Russell, who served twice as Britain's Prime Minister. It was originally located in Richmond Park, near Petersham Gate, but the building was irreparably damaged by a bomb in 1943 and demolished.^[26][27]
• Sudbrook School is anursery school housed in Petersham's village hall on Bute Avenue.

Petersham Parish Church is believed to pre-date theNorman conquest of England, as a church at Petersham is mentioned inDomesday Book (1086).^[3]

All Saints', on Bute Avenue, was built as a church but was never consecrated.^[28] It was built between 1899 and 1909 byLeeds architectJohn Kelly for Mrs Rachael Warde (née Walker) (1841–1906)^[29] as a memorial to her father Samuel Walker and her aunt Ellen Walker.^[30] During World War II it was used as anAnti-Aircraft Command post^[31][32][33] and it has also been used as a recording studio^[34] and as a filming location.^[35] It is now a private residence.^[35]

Richmond Golf Club, a private golf club, is situated in the historicSudbrook Park,^[36] adjacent to Richmond Park. The Grade I listed building Sudbrook House, in the park, has been its clubhouse since 1898.^[37]

Ham and Petersham Cricket Club, whose home matches are played inHam, was established in 1815.^[38]

Ranelagh Harriers running club is based behindThe Dysart restaurant.^[39]

• Shirley Bloomer (born 1934), who won threeGrand Slam tennis titles during her tennis-playing career, is the widow of Chris Brasher (seeHistorical figures below); they brought up their family in Petersham.^[40]
• Fearne Cotton (b. 1981), TV presenter, lived at Chestnut Cottage, Petersham from 2004 to 2008.^[41]
• Michael Frayn (born 1933), playwright and novelist, and his wifeClaire Tomalin (born 1933), journalist and biographer, live in Petersham.^[42]
• The entertainerTommy Steele (born 1936) boughtMontrose House in 1969.^[43][44] He sold it in about 2004.^[45]
• Lynne Truss (born 1955), author, journalist, novelist, and radio broadcaster and dramatist, grew up in Petersham.^[46]
• Peter Voser (b. 1958), the former CEO ofRoyal Dutch Shell, lived in Petersham. He has since moved back to his native Switzerland.^[47]

• Daisy Ashford (1881–1972), who is most famous for writingThe Young Visiters, was born at Elm Lodge, Petersham.^[48][49]
• Chris Brasher (1928–2003), an athlete and sports journalist who co-founded theLondon Marathon, lived in River Lane, Petersham.^[40]
• The author and illustratorCharles George Harper (1863–1943) lived in Petersham in later life, and died there in 1943.^[50]
• Lodowick Carlell (1602–1675), courtier andplaywright, and his wifeJoan Carlile (c.1606–1679), portrait painter, lived atPetersham Lodge in Richmond Park. They are buried together in St Peter's churchyard, but the location of their grave is not known.^[51]
• MajorHerbert Byng Hall (1805–1883) was an officer in theBritish Army and later aQueen's Messenger who wrote several books on travel, sport and food, as well as two novels. He lived at Rose Cottage, River Lane, from about 1859 to 1878. His wife is buried at St Peter's church.
• Prince Rupert Loewenstein (1933–2014), aristocrat, merchant banker and longtime financial manager ofThe Rolling Stones, lived atPetersham Lodge in River Lane, a formergrace-and-favour mansion, purchased for about £2 million in 1987.^[52] It is an early 18th-century house, built forCatherine Douglas, Duchess of Queensberry, and Grade II listed byHistoric England.^[53]
• The businessmanTony Rampton (1915–1993), who was chairman of the clothing retailerFreemans, lived at Gort Lodge, an early 18th-centuryGrade II listed house in Petersham, where he and his wife Joan, who were both philanthropists, brought up their family, including their sonRichard Rampton KC (1941–2023),^[54] who became a libel lawyer. Tony and Joan Rampton are buried in St Peter's churchyard.^[55][56][57]
• George Vancouver (1757–1798), Captain in theRoyal Navy and one of Britain's greatest explorers and navigators, retired to Petersham and lived on River Lane;^[5] he is buried in St Peter's churchyard.^[6]
• SirRobert Wilmot-Horton (1784–1841), politician, sociopolitical theorist and colonial administrator, who wasUnder-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies between 1821 and 1828, andGovernor of Ceylon from 1831 to 1837, lived and died atSudbrook Park, Petersham.^[58]

• German School London

• Hibbert, Christopher;Keay, John; Keay, Julia (2010).The London Encyclopaedia.Pan Macmillan.ISBN 9781405049252.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toPetersham, London.

• Description and map of Petersham Conservation Area
• A community site run by residents of Petersham
• Ham Photos blog – hundreds of photos of Petersham with brief descriptions
• Photo of Petersham Lock-up
• Richmond Local History Society, which covers Richmond, Kew, Ham and Petersham

• Petersham, London
• Areas of London
• Districts of London on the River Thames
• Districts of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames

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• OpenDomesday
• Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the ODNB
• Use British English from March 2015
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• Use dmy dates from March 2015
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