walk/tour
Roger Morris, 1729
Marble Hill House, Twickenham, TW1 2NL
Join us on a walking tour that takes you through the developments on both sides of the Richmond Bridge. We will explore how Richmond has evolved over time, visiting a grand villa, residential areas, and former and current workplaces. Together, we will uncover how design trends, architectural styles, and the involvement of local residents have shaped the buildings we see today.
Richmond
Richmond
The tour will finish at Richmond Terrace on Richmond Hill.
Walking tour
11:00–13:00
How to book
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This insightful walking tour tells the story of how Richmond and East Twickenham riverside developed from a place where the Georgian royalties and upperclass gathered, to a suburb where the middle class now work and live.
This tour will start from the Grade I-listed Georgian-style Marble Hill house built by and for an influential woman in the 1720s, and finish at Richmond Terrace built in the 18th century with the English landscape view protected by an Act of the Parliament in 1902 and painted by Turner and Reynolds.
We will examine the development of three distinct residential areas on the side of East Twickenham by speculative developers. Victorian style houses and Mansion blocks developed in 1899 south of Richmond road, mid century style two story semi detached houses developed in the 1930s (now a conservation area) north of Richmond road. We will look at the Richmond Riverside development by Quinlan Terry architects in 1980s, and examine how historical buildings were preserved in the development in creating harmony.
We will look at the impact of the development of transportation link on the suburban development, from the building of Richmond Bridge in 1777 to the building of Richmond Station in 1864 and tube link in 1877.
Along the way, we will stop at the Poppy Factory which still makes poppies at this factory in Richmond until this day. We will look at the 1930 Art Deco-style factory and a 1970s Brutalist-style brick block which have been sympathetically retrofitted by Henly Halebrown in 2019.
This tour is led by a participant of Open City’s Golden Key Academy – a course training up insightful and engaging guides dedicated to explaining London and bringing its many stories to life. It is part of a wider collection of tours created by Golden Key Academy guides for the Open House Festival celebrating their conclusion of the eight month course. Further information on the Golden Key Academy can be found here https://open-city.org.uk/golden-key-academy
