Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The only king to live here was
George III
, confined to the palace from 1801 onwards
and subjected to the dubious attentions of doctors who attempted to find a cure for his
“madness” by straitjacketing him and applying poultices of mustard and Spanish fly -
only his strong constitution helped him to pull through.
Inside the palace, there are one or two bits and bobs belonging to the royals, like
the much-loved doll's house, on the ground floor, which belonged to George III's
daughters. Upstairs, you can view the chair in which Queen Charlotte passed away in
1818, while the top floor has been left pretty much untouched since those days. You
also get to visit the
Royal Kitchens
for a glimpse into Georgian life below stairs. Take
time, too, to explore the secluded
Queen's Garden
, behind the palace, set out in a
formal late seventeenth-century style, with a pleached hornbeam avenue and a lovely
sunken nosegay garden.
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Kew Green
Kew's majestic
Main Gates
, designed by Decimus Burton, fulfilled their stated function
until the arrival of the railway at Kew. Nowadays, you only get to see them if you're
walking from Kew Bridge or exploring
Kew Green
, one of London's prettiest village
greens. Lined with Georgian houses, the green is centred on the delightful church of
St Anne
(for opening times, visit
W
saintanne-kew.org.uk), an unusual building sporting
a Victorian polygonal clock turret at one end and a peculiar Georgian octagonal cupola
at the other; the painters Gainsborough and Zoffany lie in the churchyard. Inside,
there's a royal Georgian gallery, held up by Tuscan columns, while at the east end is a
rather fine late-Victorian chancel with scagliola columns and a top-lit dome. There are
music recitals, tea and cakes on summer Sunday afternoons.
National Archives
Off Mortlake Rd, down Ruskin Ave • Tues & Thurs 9am-7pm, Wed, Fri & Sat 9am-5pm • Free •
T
020 8876 3444,
W
nationalarchives.gov
.uk •
!
Kew Gardens
Hidden in the residential backstreets of Kew is
the Public Records O
ce, a rather
nasty-looking beige and green premises housing the
National Archives
.
Its research
library is full of historians consulting primary source materials, while its exhibition
gallery
displays a changing rota of fascinating artefacts ranging from the likes of the
Domesday Book and the trial record of Charles I, to Queen Victoria's 1851 census
return and Elton John's Deed Poll certificate changing his name (wisely) from
Reginald Kenneth Dwight.
Richmond
Richmond
, upstream from Kew,
basked for centuries in the glow of royal patronage,
with Plantagenet kings and Tudor monarchs frequenting the riverside Palace of Shene,
as Richmond Palace was then called. In the eighteenth century Richmond enjoyed a
brief life as a spa, and its agreeable locale began to attract City merchants, as well as
successful artists, actors and writers: Pope, Gainsborough, Garrick and Reynolds are
just some of the plaque-worthy names associated with the place. Although most of the
courtiers and aristocrats have gone, as has the Tudor palace on the green, Richmond
is
still a wealthy district, with two theatres and highbrow pretensions. To appreciate its
attractions fully, you need to visit the old village green, take in the glorious view from
Richmond Hill
and pay a visit to the vast acreage of
Richmond Park
, the old royal
hunting grounds, still wild and replete with deer, and walk along the riverside to the
nearby Jacobean mansion of
Ham House
.
Richmond Green
George Street, Richmond's main street, is tra
c-clogged and dominated by chain
stores, but take one of the narrow pedestrianized alleyways, lined with arty shops and
