History of Petersham

Medieval Origins

In AD666 the Benedictine Abbey of St Peter, Chertsey endowed certain lands, one of which was Piterichesham. This name actually came from Patrick rather than Peter, but the Abbey connection has stuck. Domesday gave the area two fisheries full of lampreys and eels, but no farms. However, there are records of at least two farmhouses, so agriculture was a feature of the area in earlier times.

View from Richmond Hill towards Petersham 1899
Copyright Francis Frith Collection

In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Petersham:

"Petersham, a village and a parish in Richmond district, Surrey. The village stands near the river Thames, under Richmond hill, 1 mile S of Richmond station; takes its name from having belonged to St. Peter's abbey at Chertsey; gives the title of Viscount to the family of Stanhope, Earls of Harrington; and has a post-office under London S W. The parish comprises 660 acres. Pop., 637. Houses, 108. Ham House is the seat of the Earl of Dysart; Pembroke Lodge, the seat of Earl Russell. Petersham House, Petersham Lodge, Sudbrook Park, Montrose House, Bute House, Douglas House, Manor House, Gort House, and Reston Lodge are other residences; likewise the Star and Garter, the famous Richmond hotel. The church was built in 1505; has been mainly modernized; and contains the grave of the Duchess of Landerdale, some ancient monuments, and a tablet to the memory of the navigator Vancouver. There are a parochial and infant school, and charities about £50."

The Growth of Petersham

The Thames is the key to the growth of Petersham. With the Monarch at Hampton Court, Richmond Palace or the palace of Whitehall, the best way of travel was by river rather than the narrow and muddy highway that is now Petersham Road and the risk of attention by local highwayman. Noble families must have built houses during the Tudor and Stuart reigns, though nothing earlier than the 17^thCentury survives.

The earliest surviving work is at Rutland Lodge (left) as the road bends at River Lane, the main access point for waterborne traffic. Other 17^th century houses are Petersham House and Montrose House.

18^th century houses include Gort House, the Manor House, Elm Lodge and Harrrington Lodge. The 19^th century brought Petersham Lodge, Myrtle Cottage and Vine Cottage. Small cottages were built during all this time, though some were demolished or linked up to form larger properties. In 1649 there were only 21 houses; by 1801, 60 were listed. A number of titled families continued to live locally; it is reported that seven duchesses could be seen at a service in the Church. Yet the great houses do not tell the whole story; servants, gardeners and craftspeople would also have lived here. A casualty was the Sudbrook, once known as the ‘common sewer’, which ran close to the main road, and then parallel to River Lane. It was crossed by a ford at the junc- tion with Sudbrook Lane; it now runs underground, like the Fleet River in London.

20th Century

The 20^th century brought a handful of small housing estates, some houses built in the grounds of the larger properties, and development by Richmond Council of a few roads as part of their plan to reduce their housing list. All the remaining land and properties owned by the Dysart family, Lords of the Manor since 1637, were sold. The shops in Sudbrook Lane, River Lane, Sandpits and Petersham Road have long gone, as has garage and Post Office. But despite the horrific traffic, aircraft noise and lack of rail facilities, Petersham will continue to be a very desirable place to live, with Richmond Park and the Ham Lands close by.

Famous Inhabitants

Charles Dickens wrote Nicholas Nickleby while living at Elm Lodge and John Gay wrote the Beggar’s Opera at Douglas House. Captain George Vancouver, naval officer and explorer lived in River Lane and is buried St. Peter’s Churchyard.

More recently in the 20c Tommy Steele lived for many years in Montrose House.