Mesolithic Origins

The earliest evidence of human habitation in this area is from Mesolithic or hunter-gatherer finds in Ham and later Neolithic or early farmer finds on Ham Fields. The historic centres of Ham and Petersham villages, parkland and riverside lands are all recognised as priority one areas of archaeological potential.

Ham and Petersham began as ancient villages along the river Thames, between the larger settlements of Shene (now Richmond) and Kingston. The manor of Petersham was granted in the 7th century to the Abbey of St Peter in Chertsey and a church has stood here since Saxon times. Part of the 13th century chancel of St Peter’s Church 13th survive, now enlarged many times in the following centuries. The village was recorded as Piterichesham in the 1086 Domesday Book, which may mean homestead of Patricius or Patrick. Ham is not mentioned, but may derive its name from the literal meaning of a meadowland in a river bend or Hamms.

In 1637 King Charles I created a vast royal deer park called New Park (now Richmond Park). Much private and common land in the area was enclosed to form this park. At this time the leasehold of the royal manors of Ham and Petersham were granted to William Murray 1st Earl of Dysart. The Earl was a childhood friend and later adviser to the King and had resided at Ham House since 1626. Ham House was originally built in 1610 for Sir Thomas Vavasour, Knight Marshall to James I. Then a H-shaped mansion with a formally laid out garden. The Earl’s daughter, the beautiful and ambitious Elizabeth Countess of Dysart married Sir Lionel Tollemache in 1647 and it is from this union that the subsequent Earls of Dysart of Ham House are descended. Following her second marriage to the Earl of Lauderdale (later Duke) in 1672 the country house was enlarged and remodelled in the latest classical style by William Bruce and William Samwell. The exceptional interiors of the house are a remarkably rare surviving example from this period. During the Restoration period Ham House became a centre of political intrigue and the activities of the notorious CABAL or Committee of State to King Charles II. The date of the famed lime tree avenues of the estate is uncertain, however they do appear on a 1671 estate plan and the Great South Avenue was formed by at least 1679. They are an exceptional landscape survival from this period. During the 18th century the layout of the formal gardens finally were completed, however it was not long before the growing popularity of the Picturesque movement in garden design led to attempts to naturalise the appearance of the grounds. Ham House was presented by Earl Dysart to the National Trust in 1948 and much land subsequently sold off. The avenues came into the ownership of the London Borough of Richmond shortly in 1952; by this time many of the trees were in an advanced state of decay. In 1975 a large private donation enabled the restoration of the gardens back to the more formal 17th century style.

The 17th and 18th centuries were a golden age for Ham and Petersham, as they were elevated to the status of a fashionable rural retreat for the rich, aristocratic and influential. In the 18th century Horace Worpole was a frequent visit to the area, Catherine Hyde Duchess of Queensbury patronised the playwright John Gay who first rehearsed his Beggar’s Opera at Douglas House, and the maritime explorer Captain George Vancouver is said to have written his famous Voyage of Discovery at Glen Cottage on River Lane. Ham House and estate has strongly influenced the historic development and plan form of both Ham and Petersham. This prestigious location and idyllic riverside setting has resulted in the development of a remarkable number of urbane mansions within these once rural villages, in this period.

Large expanses of parkland and river meadows acted to constrain the growth of the settlements of Ham and Petersham, preserving their distinctive rural character well into the 20th century. Development occurred only gradually through the 19th century. Unlike Richmond, the railways never reached these villages and they did not experience a rapid expansion during the Victorian period. At this time the charms of the area continued to attract leading figures such as Charles Dickens, who wrote and set part of Nicholas Nickleby at Elm Lodge, and the architect George Gilbert Scott of Manor House in Ham, whose son is buried in a tomb designed by him in St Peter’s churchyard. In 1902 the Richmond Petersham and Ham Open Spaces Act was passed by Parliament to safeguard the open land and so preserve the famous view from Richmond Hill. The impressive All Saint’s Church was built in the early 20th century by architect John Kelly and son in readiness for an expected expansion of Petersham that never came.