A Riverside Walk: A Richmond Tour from the Green to the Thames

Richmond is one of the very few towns in England to have changed its name in the last 1,000 years. It was originally called Sheen. Then, in 1501, Henry VII built his great palace here and decided to rename it after his estates in Richmond, Yorkshire. On this walking tour around the town, I’ll share its history with you and introduce you to some of the famous folk that have lived here.

Our tour starts outside the Richmond Theatre where you’ll hear how the area has been a place of entertainment from the time of Shakespeare and Elizabeth I. As you make your way along the green towards the Thames River, I’ll point out some of the town’s interesting architecture. You’ll see the over 500-year-old palace gateway that led to the Tudor palace, and Virginia Woolf’s house where she wrote her first novel, ’A Voyage Out’. You’ll reach the banks of the Thames where I’ll show you the uninhabited Corporation Island and point out the flood warning sign by the White Cross Hotel. The walk ends beside the eighteenth century Richmond Bridge, the oldest existing bridge in the London area.

Along the way, you’ll have a chance to:

• Admire the charming town that’s attracted famous artists and writers for centuries
• See Trumpeter House, which replaced the Tudor palace and where Metternich, the famous Austrian Chancellor, stayed in 1848
• Discover where the famous film director and actor, Sir Richard Attenborough, lived in the town
• Learn about Georgian architecture as you view two beautiful terraces – Old Palace Terrace, and Maids of Honour Row
• Take in Richmond Hill, from where J.M.W. Turner painted the famous painting that now hangs in Tate Britain Art Gallery
• Pop by the White Swan Inn, where you’ll find high-end local fare and quality ale

By the end of this 30-minute tour, you’ll understand why so many famous writers, actors and artists were – and still are – attracted to Richmond on Thames.