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Queen's Road is a street inRichmond in theLondon Borough of Richmond upon Thames, running southwestwards from Sheen Road upRichmond Hill until it meets the street of that name by the formerStar and Garter Home.[1] It forms a section of the B353 road and runs roughly parallel to the edge ofRichmond Park.Pesthouse Common, now an area of open space but previously the site of aplague house,[2] is located near the northern end of the street.
The street includes three schools –Christ's School which is a secondary school, and two primary schools, Marshgate Primary School and St Elizabeth's RC Primary School.[3] The formerRichmond Theological College was the site of theRichmond American University from 1972 to 2022 until it relocated toChiswick Park.
The street dates back until at least the eighteenth century, when it was a carriageway acrosscommon land in what was then largely ruralSurrey. Historically named Black Horse Lane after apublic house at the junction with Sheen Road (which is still there but no longer in use), it gained its current name in the 1840s when, according to theRichmond Local History Society, it was "almost certainly" renamed in honour ofQueen Victoria.[4] The street was improved from 1825 at the behest of Joseph Ellis, the owner of theStar and Garter Hotel, despite concerns fromRichmond tradesman that his might mean that visitors would bypass the town when travelling to Richmond Hill.[5] Some of the street's older buildings, including theGrade II-listed Richmond Gate Hotel, are at its southern end.[6]
The more modernsocial housing of the Queen's Road Estate was developed between 1971 and 1983 by the Richmond Parish Lands Charity and designed by the architectsDarbourne & Darke. The first phase of the estate was Grade II listed byHistoric England in 2012.[7]
The history of the street was the subject of aMuseum of Richmond exhibition in 2020/21. A digital version of the exhibition is still available to view online.[8]
