Richmond upon Thames

From the records: “Julius Caesar may have forded the Thames at Kew in 54 BC during the Gallic Wars.”

From the records: “The first early Saxon settlement found in the Greater London area was a pit-house, or Grubenhaus, excavated at Ham in the early 1950s.”

From the records: “The area was known in the medieval period as Shene, a name first recorded (as Sceon) in the 10th century, and which survives in the neighbouring districts of East Sheen (also known as Sheen) and North Sheen.”

From the records: “Barnes appears in Domesday Book (which was completed in 1086) as "Berne".”

From the records: “The earliest known written record of Ham as a separate village dates from the 12th century when Hamma was included in the royal demesne as a member of Kingston, contributing 43s. 4d. in 1168 towards the marriage of Matilda, the eldest daughter of Henry II.”

From the records: “In 1299 Edward I took his whole court to the manor-house at Sheen, close by the river side.”

From the records: “Edward II, following his defeat by the Scots at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, founded a monastery for Carmelites at Sheen.”

From the records: “When the boy-king Edward III came to the throne in 1327, he gave the manor to his mother Isabella.”

From the records: “Richard II was the first English king to make Sheen his main residence, which he did in 1383.”

From the records: “Twelve years later Richard was so distraught at the death of Anne at the age of 28, that he, according to Holinshed, "caused it [the manor] to be thrown down and defaced; whereas the former kings of this land, being wearied of the citie, used customarily thither to resort as to a place of pleasure, and serving highly to their recreation." For almost 20 years it lay in ruins until Henry V undertook rebuilding work in 1414.”

From the records: “At Christmastide in 1497, a great fire broke out in the king's private chambers, destroying a large portion of the palace.”

From the records: “Henry VII rebuilt it and in 1501 named it Richmond Palace, in allusion to his earldom of Richmond and his ancestral honour of Richmond in Yorkshire.”

From the records: “In August 1531, Richmond became the principal residence of Henry's daughter Mary after Henry separated her from her mother, Catherine.”

From the records: “In 1540, Henry gave the palace to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, as part of her annulment settlement.”

From the records: “Elizabeth I became queen in 1558 and spent much of her time at Richmond, as she enjoyed hunting stags in the "Newe Parke of Richmonde" (now the Old Deer Park).”

From the records: “Elizabeth Stuart (1596–1662), daughter of James I, later known as the "Winter Queen", was given a household at Kew in 1608.”

From the records: “The largest of London's Royal Parks, it was created by Charles I in 1634 as a deer park and now has over 600 red and fallow deer.”

From the records: “It remained a residence of the kings and queens of England until the death of Charles I of England in 1649.”

From the records: “From the mound there is a protected view, established in 1710, of St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London over 10 miles (16 km) to the east.”

From the records: “Queen Anne subscribed to the building of the parish church on Kew Green, which was dedicated to St Anne in 1714, three months before the queen's death.”

From the records: “One of the first recorded inter-county cricket matches was played on Richmond Green in 1730 between Surrey and Middlesex.”

From the records: “Built as a hunting lodge for George II by the architect Roger Morris, White Lodge was completed in 1730.”

From the records: “The Hanoverians maintained the strongest links with Kew, in particular Princess Augusta (1719–1772) who founded the botanic gardens and her husband Frederick, Prince of Wales (1707–1751) who lived at the White House in Kew.”

From the records: “This contains wide green lawns and sports facilities, and the Grade I listed former King's Observatory erected for George III in 1769.”

From the records: “In 1772 King George III and Queen Charlotte moved into the White House at Kew.”

From the records: “Richmond Bridge was completed in 1777 to replace a ferry crossing that connected Richmond town centre on the east bank with its neighbouring district of East Twickenham.”

From the records: “Franz (later Francis) Bauer (1758–1840) was an Austrian microscopist and botanical artist who became the first botanical illustrator at Kew Gardens.”

From the records: “In 1810, a "Free School" was opened in the church for 50 children, financed by subscribers who gave one guinea a year, in addition to a contribution by King George III.”

From the records: “Between 1838 and 1848, Ham Common was the site of a Utopian spiritual community and free school called Alcott House (or the "Ham Common Concordium"), founded by educational reformer and "sacred socialist" James Pierrepont Greaves and his followers.”

From the records: “In 1847 this house became the home of the then Prime Minister, Lord John Russell, who conducted much government business there and entertained Queen Victoria, foreign royalty, aristocrats, writers (Dickens, Thackeray, Longfellow, Tennyson) and other notable people of the time, including Giuseppe Garibaldi.”

From the records: “The Municipal Borough of Richmond was created in 1890.”

From the records: “French Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro (1830–1903) stayed in 1892 at 10 Kew Green, on the corner of Gloucester Road, now marked by a blue plaque.”

From the records: “The future king Edward VIII was born at White Lodge in 1894; his brother Prince Albert, Duke of York (the future George VI) and the Duchess of York (later Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother) lived there in the 1920s.”

From the records: “A commanding feature on the hill is the former Royal Star and Garter Home; in 2013 it was sold for development and converted into residential apartments.”

From the records: “National Aircraft Factory No. 2 was built in 26 weeks during the winter of 1917.”

From the records: “Kew Retail Park stands on the site of a former aircraft factory established in 1918 by Harry Whitworth, who owned Glendower Aircraft Ltd.”

From the records: “The Royal Ballet School (formerly Sadler's Wells Ballet) has been based since 1955 at the lodge, where younger ballet students continue to be trained.”

From the records: “The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames was established in 1965 as a result of the London Government Act 1963.”

From the records: “In 1967's Summer of Love, it was at Olympic in Barnes that the Beatles conceived the first parts and ideas of "All You Need Is Love", one of the most influential popular songs in modern history, which debuted a fortnight later in Our World, the first ever global satellite broadcast to millions worldwide.”

From the records: “In 2015, Barnes Pond became home to London's largest dedicated children's book event, the Barnes Children's Literature Festival, which is now the second largest in Europe.”