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Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the , now a World Heritage Site, which includes . Kew is also the home of important historical documents such as , which is held at The National Archives.

may have forded the at Kew in 54 BC during the .Blomfield 1994, p.3 Successive , Stuart and monarchs maintained links with Kew. During the French Revolution, many refugees established themselves there and it was the home of several artists in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Since 1965 Kew has incorporated the former area of Blomfield 1994, p.131 which includes St Philip and All Saints, the first in England.. The Story of Kew, second edition, p.36, Leyborne Publications, 1996, It is now in a combined Church of England parish with St Luke's Church, Kew.

Today, Kew is an expensive residential area because of its prosperous suburban attributes. Among these are sports-and-leisure open spaces, schools, transport links, architecture, restaurants, no buildings, modest road sizes, trees and gardens. Most of Kew developed in the late 19th century, following the arrival of the of the London Underground. Further development took place in the 1920s and 1930s when new houses were built on the of North Sheen and in the first decade of the 21st century when considerably more river-fronting and houses were constructed by the on land formerly owned by .


Etymology
The name Kew, recorded in 1327 as Cayho, is a combination of two words: the kai (landing place; "" derives from this) and Old English hoh (spur of land). The land spur is formed by the bend in the Thames.. Dictionary of Place-Names in the British Isles, Bloomsbury, 1988,


Governance
Kew is one of 18 wards in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It forms part of the Richmond Park constituency in the ; the Member of Parliament is of the Liberal Democrats. For elections to the it is part of the South West London Assembly constituency, which is represented by Gareth Roberts of the Liberal Democrats.

Kew was added in 1892 to the Municipal Borough of Richmond which had been formed two years earlier and was in the county of . In 1965, under the London Government Act 1963, the Municipal Borough of Richmond was abolished. Kew, along with Richmond, was transferred from Surrey to the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, one of 32 boroughs in the newly created .


Economy
The fashion clothing retailer Jigsaw's headquarters, now at Water Lane, Richmond, were previously in Mortlake Road, Kew.
(2025). 9782390091301, La Boite a Pandore.

A former industry in Kew was that of manufacturing, by the Caxton Name Plate Manufacturing Company, based on . The company was founded in 1964 and folded in 1997.

It was in Kew that viscose was first developed into , in a laboratory near Kew Gardens station run by Cowey Engineering. Rayon was produced in a factory on South Avenue, off Sandycombe Road, before acquired the for rayon in 1904.

Also on a site near Kew Gardens station, the engineering company F C Blake, now commemorated in the Kew street name Blake Mews,

(2025). 9781912314034, Richmond Local History Society.
produced -powered in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.


Chrysler and Dodge
Kew Retail Park stands on the site of a former aircraft factory established in 1918 by Harry Whitworth, who owned Glendower Aircraft Ltd. The factory built Airco DH.4s and Sopwith Salamanders for the British government in the First World War.

In 1923, the now-redundant aircraft factory was sold and it became a factory for road vehicles. From the 1920s until 1967, made at this factory, with the model name Kew. Cars were also manufactured there. Dodge Brothers became a subsidiary in 1928 and lorry production moved to Chrysler's car plant at Kew. In 1933 it began to manufacture a British , at its works in Kew, using American engines and .

(1983). 9780711013001, Littlehampton Book Services Ltd.
After bought the Maxwell Motor Company and their Kew works, the cars of the lighter Chrysler range – , De Sotos and Plymouths – were assembled at this Kew site until the Second World War. The various models of De Sotos were named Richmond, Mortlake and Croydon; Plymouths were Kew Six and Wimbledon.
(1996). 9780873414784, Krause Publications.

During the Second World War this Chrysler factory was part of the London Aircraft Production Group and built Handley Page Halifax aircraft assemblies. When wartime aircraft production ceased, the plant did not resume assembly of North American cars.


People

Royal associations with Kew

The Tudors and Stuarts
Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester ( 1460–1526) was granted lands at Kew in 1517. When he died in 1526 he left his Kew estates to his third wife, Eleanor, with the remainder to his son George. In 1538, Sir George Somerset sold the house for £200 to ( 1485–1540), who resold it for the same amount to Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk ( 1484–1545). Brandon had probably already inhabited Kew during the life of his wife Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VII and widow of the French king . According to John Leland's Cygnea Cantio ("Swan Song"), she stayed in Kew (which he refers to as "Cheva") for a time after her return to England.

One of Henry VIII's closest friends, Henry Norris ( 1482–1536), lived at Kew Farm,Blomfield 1994, p.5 which was later owned by Elizabeth I's , Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester (1532–1588).Blomfield 1994, p.12 This large on the Thames riverbank predated the royal palaces of Kew Palace and the White House. Excavations at Kew Gardens in 2009 revealed a wall that may have belonged to the property.

In Elizabeth's reign, and under the Stuarts, houses were developed along Kew Green.Blomfield 1994, p.16 West Hall, which survives in West Hall Road, dates from at least the 14th century and the present house was built at the end of the 17th century.Blomfield 1994, p.18

Elizabeth Stuart (1596–1662), daughter of James I, later known as the "Winter Queen", was given a household at Kew in 1608.

Queen Anne subscribed to the building of the parish church on Kew Green, which was dedicated to in 1714, three months before the queen's death.Blomfield 1994, p.23


The Hanoverians
The maintained the strongest links with Kew, in particular Princess Augusta who founded the botanic gardens and her husband Frederick, Prince of Wales (1707–1751) who lived at the White House in Kew. Augusta, as Princess of Wales, continued to live there until her death in 1772. Frederick commissioned the building of the first substantial at Kew Gardens.Blomfield 1994, p.32

In 1772 King George III and moved into the White House at Kew. Charlotte died at the (now Kew Palace) in 1818.

King William IV spent most of his early life at Richmond and at Kew Palace, where he was educated by private tutors.

(1971). 9780002119344, Collins.


Georgian expansion
During the French Revolution, many refugees established themselves in Kew, having built many of the houses of this period. In the 1760s and 1770s the presence of royalty attracted artists such as Thomas Gainsborough and .Blomfield 1994, pp.43–45


Artists associated with Kew
  • (born 1920) lives in Kew. She is known for landscapes, and has also painted portraits, literary subjects and still lifes. She has a particular interest in flower paintings, and is considered to owe much to the tradition of .
    (2025). 095326095X, Art Dictionaries Ltd.. 095326095X
  • Margaret Backhouse (1818–1896) was a successful British portrait and during the 19th century who lived at Lichfield Villas.
  • (1758–1840) was an Austrian and who became the first botanical illustrator at Kew Gardens. By 1790 he had settled at Kew, where as well as making detailed paintings and drawings of flower dissections, often at microscopic level, he tutored , her daughter Princess Elizabeth and William Hooker in the art of illustration, and often entertained friends and botanists at his home. He is buried at St Anne's, next to Thomas Gainsborough.
  • The American-born English artist (1827–1854), who was associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, lived at 352 Kew Road, then called Heathfield House. He had a at the end of the garden where there are now garages. In this setting he painted A Pet (1853)Blomfield 1994, p.95[1].
  • (1920–2017) lived in Kew. He was an artist, teacher and author, best known for his studies of figures in interiors and landscapes. At the time of his death, he was the longest serving Royal Academician.
  • George Engleheart (1750–1829), one of the greatest English painters of portrait miniatures, was born in Kew.
  • Walter Hood Fitch (1817–1892), botanical illustrator, lived on Kew Green.1881 England Census. Class: RG11; Piece: 845; Folio: 111; Page: 3; GSU roll: 1341200
  • Thomas Gainsborough (1727–1788), who is considered one of the most important British artists of the second half of the 18th century,
    (1999). 9781555951825, Hudson Hills. .
    visited Kew many times, staying with his friend Joshua Kirby and, after Kirby's death, in a house probably rented by his daughter close to St Anne's Church, where he is buried.
  • Arthur Hughes (1832–1915), painter, lived and died at Eastside House, 22 Kew Green. The site is marked by a .
  • (1917–1984), artist, and , lived in Kew from 1961 to 1967. He was best known for his highly-publicised crusade against the , his trial for art fraud at the , and his critically acclaimed Channel 4 television series Tom Keating On Painters.
  • Joshua Kirby (1716–1774) was a landscape painter, engraver, and writer, whose main artistic focus was "linear perspective", based on the ideas of English mathematician .See a short literary biography of Joshua Kirby in The Gentleman's Magazine (ed. John Nichols) Vol. 78, January 1808, pp. 4–5. He was the son of topographer John Kirby, and the father of the writer and the William Kirby. In 1760 he moved to Kew, where he taught linear perspective to George III. John Joshua Kirby in the (Netherlands Institute for Art History). Retrieved 24 December 2018. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society.
  • Sir (1618–1680), , had a house on the north side of Kew Green. On almost exactly the same site, (1735–1789), miniaturist to Queen Charlotte and George III, built a house a century later. Meyer is buried at St Anne's.
  • (1914–1991), artist and art teacher, lived and died at 358 Kew Road, Kew.
  • Victorian artist (1830–1890) did not live in Kew, but she left to Kew Gardens her collection of botanic art, painted on her extensive overseas travels, and funded a gallery – the Marianne North Gallery – to house them.Blomfield 1994, p.96
  • French painter (1830–1903) stayed in 1892 at 10 Kew Green, on the corner of Gloucester Road, now marked by a blue plaque. During his stay he painted Kew Gardens – Path to the Great Glasshouse (1892)[4], Kew Greens (1892)[5] and Church at Kew (1892)[6]. His third son, Félix Pissarro (1874–1897), painter, and , died in a at 262 Kew Road in 1897.
    (1997). 9781901167023, Lilburne Press.
  • Charles Shannon (1863–1937), artist best known for his portraits, died in Kew at 21 Kew Gardens Road.
  • (1854–1926), the first official of the , lived at Gloucester Road, Kew.Probate 1927
  • The painter (1725–1810), who lived at Strand-on-the-Green, is buried in St Anne's churchyard.Blomfield 1994, p.45


Botanists who have lived in Kew
Unsurprisingly, many have lived in Kew, near the botanic gardens:
  • (1731–1793), botanist, was appointed director in 1759 of the newly established botanical garden at Kew, where he remained until his death. He effected many improvements at the gardens, and in 1789 he published , a catalogue of the plants cultivated there. When he died, he was succeeded as director at Kew Gardens by his son William Townsend Aiton (1766–1849), who was also a botanist, and was born in Kew. William Townsend Aiton was one of the founders of the Royal Horticultural Society. He retired in 1841 but remained living at Kew, although passing much of his time with his brother at where he died in 1849. Both father and son lived at Descanso House on Kew Green and are buried in St Anne's churchyard where the substantial family tomb is a prominent feature. Inside the church there is also a memorial to them.
    (2025). 9780955071751, Richmond Local History Society. .
  • John Patrick Micklethwait Brenan (1917–1985), director of the botanic gardens, lived in Kew and died there on 26 September 1985. He is buried at St. Anne's.
  • Sir William Hooker (1785–1865) and his son Sir Joseph Hooker (1817–1911), botanists and directors of Kew Gardens, lived at 49 Kew Green, Kew. The site is marked by a blue plaque.
  • John Hutchinson (1884–1972), botanist, lived on Kew Green, near Kew Gardens' Herbarium, during the Second World War.The National Archives (UK). 1939 Register; Reference: RG 101/1377A. Ancestry.com.
  • Daniel Oliver (1830–1916), of Botany at University College London 1861–88 and Keeper of Kew Gardens' 1864–90, lived on Kew Green.
  • Henry Nicholas Ridley (1855–1956), botanist, geologist and , died at his home in Kew.
  • John Smith (1798–1888), botanist, the first curator at Kew Gardens, lived on Kew Green.1861 England Census. Class: RG 9; Piece: 460; Folio: 42; Page: 7; GSU roll: 542642. Ancestry.com He died at Park House, Kew Road, and is buried in St Anne's churchyard.
  • William T Stearn (1911–2001), botanist, who was president of the , lived in Kew.
  • John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (1713–1792), botanist and honorary director of Kew Gardens 1754–72, adviser to Princess Augusta and tutor to George III and, later, Prime Minister of Great Britain 1762–63, lived at King's Cottage, 33 Kew Green.


Other notable inhabitants

Historical figures
  • Francis Claude Blake (1867–1954), engineer, lived at 13 Kew Gardens Road.
  • (1934–2016), leader of the Liberal Party group on Richmond upon Thames Council, writer, book editor and , lived in Kew. He is buried in Richmond Cemetery.
  • Ferruccio Bonavia (1877–1950), violinist, composer and music critic, lived at 352 Kew Road, Kew from 1914 until 1919.
    (1990). 9781854210821, The Self Publishing Association Ltd.
  • (1926–2008), evolutionary ecologist, was born in Kew
  • Sir Arthur Herbert Church (1834–1915), chemist, who was an expert on pottery, stones and the chemistry of paintings, lived and died at Shelsley, a detached house at 21 Ennerdale Road, Kew which has since been demolished; the site is now occupied by Voltaire, a Modernist block of flats designed by Vivien Pilley (A V Pilichowski).
  • Richard Cook (1957–2007), writer, magazine editor and former executive, was born in Kew.
  • ( 1705–1756), poet, lived in Kew.
  • Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau (1968–2013), brother of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, lived in Kew with his wife Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassau (born 1968).
  • Liberal Party leader (1913–1993) lived on Kew Green.
  • (1945–2023), historian, author and at Historic Royal Palaces, lived in Kew.
  • John Haverfield Sr (1694–1784), surveyor, and landscape architect,
    (1994). 9780850668438, Taylor & Francis and Natural History Museum, London. .
    lived on Kew Green where he had a house built , which was known as Haverfield House.
  • John Huntley (1921–2003), film historian, educator and archivist, was born in Kew.
  • (1893–1920), , and her brother Arthur Lewis Jenkins (1892–1917), soldier, pilot and war poet, who are buried next to each other in Richmond Cemetery, lived at the family home at Sussex House, 220 Kew Road. The house has been demolished and its name has been given to a block of flats that has been built on the site.
    (1978). 9780860431060, New York: St. Martin's Press.
    (2025). 9781843238904, .
  • (1946–2024), former Leader of Richmond upon Thames Council, and councillor for Kew for 28 years, lived in Kew.
  • (1846–1933), , who made three first-class appearances for Surrey in 1867, was born in Kew.
  • (1949–1986), Irish rock guitarist, songwriter, vocalist and leader of , lived in Kew.
  • (1705–1768), Scottish bookseller and publisher, owned a country home on Kew Green and died there in 1768.
  • (1689–1728), Member of Parliament and an amateur astronomer, who was married to Lady Elizabeth Diana Capel, the eldest daughter of Algernon Capell, 2nd Earl of Essex, inherited Kew House on the death of Lady Capel of . Molyneux set up an observatory at the house and collaborated there with in innovative designs for reflecting telescopes. Kew House which later, as the White House, became the home of Prince Frederick and Princess Augusta, was pulled down in 1802 when George II's short-lived gothic "castellated palace" was built.
  • Desmond Morton (1891–1971), soldier, intelligence officer and personal assistant to Winston Churchill 1940–45, lived at 22 Kew Green 1952–71.
    (2025). 9780415394307, .
  • (1869–1942), Church of England priest and prominent Christian socialist, was born in Royal Cottage, Kew Green.
  • (1930–2008), playwright, dramatist, actor, director and Nobel Prize laureate, lived from 1960 to 1963 at Fairmead Court, Taylor Avenue, Kew
    (2013). 9781137384324, Palgrave Macmillan. .
    where he wrote his 1961 play The Collection.
  • (1899–1966), professional footballer, was born in Kew.
  • (died 1632), MP for Taunton, lived in a house opposite .
  • Admiral Sir (1783– 1874), officer who served during the French Revolutionary and , and was later (1834–1841) the Governor of the Newfoundland Colony, was born in Kew.
  • Sir John Puckering (1544–1596), lawyer, politician, Speaker of the English House of Commons, and from 1592 until his death, lived in Kew.
  • (1934–2015), advertising executive and , lived at 3 Mortlake Road in Kew, and was a churchwarden of St Anne's Church, Kew.
  • (1892–1977), credited with seven aerial victories during the First World War, was born in Kew.
  • Clementina Jacobina Sobieski Schnell (1760–1842), lived for 53 years at the Little Red House on Kew Green. She was related to . Her husband, Francis Schnell, was tutor to Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland. She died in 1842 when her caught fire.
  • (née Kirby; 1741–1810), writer and critic of 18th-century British children's literature, lived in Kew before her marriage.
  • Patrick Troughton (1921–1987), actor, most famous for playing the in the TV series , lived in Kew.
  • Robert Tunstall (c 1759–1833) from , who built the second stone , died at a house on Kew Green.
  • (1857–1915), cricketer, was born in Kew.
  • Andrew Watson (1856–1921), the world's first to play association football at international level, retired to London in around 1910 and died of at 88 Forest Road, Kew in 1921. He is buried in Richmond Cemetery.


Living people
  • Geoffrey Archer, fiction writer and former Defence Correspondent of , lives on Kew Green.
  • , musician and former drummer with , lives in Kew.
  • , group corporate affairs director of energy firm , lives in Kew.
  • , writer, Anglican priest and therapist, lived in Kew as a young child.
  • Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg, broadcaster and author, lived in Kew when he was married to his first wife, Marie-Elisabeth Roche.
  • Ray Brooks, television and film actor, lives in Kew.
  • (born 1943), psychiatrist and academic, born in Jamaica, who spent the majority of his medical career at St George's Hospital in London, specialising in transcultural psychiatry and writing literature on changing attitudes towards black people and mental health. In 1959, while still a teenager, he moved to Britain with his parents. The family settled in Kew, where Burke was schooled and was the only black child in his class.
  • Justin Lee Collins, comedian and television presenter, lives in Kew.
  • , former civil servant and Governor of Gibraltar, lives in Kew.
  • Simon Fowler, social historian and author, lives in Kew.
  • , vicar of St Anne's Church, Kew, bought a house in Kew in 2023.
  • Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Channel 4 journalist, lives in Kew.
  • , architect, conservationist and author, lives in Kew.
  • , comedian, was brought up in Kew.
  • , TV presenter, and her husband , player, live in Kew.
  • , with the , lives in Kew.
  • , economist, has lived in Kew.
  • , the first British woman in space, lives in Kew.
  • A. C. H. Smith, novelist and playwright, was born in Kew.
  • Jenny Tonge, Baroness Tonge, former MP for Richmond Park, and a councillor for Kew for nine years, lives in Kew.


Demography
In the ten years from the time of the 2001 census, the population rose from 9,445 to 11,436, the sharpest ten-year increase in Kew since the early 20th century. This was partly accounted for by the conversion of former land to residential use, and increases in property sizes. The figures are based on those for Kew ward, the boundaries of the enlarged parish having been adjusted to allow for all wards in the borough to be equally sized.


Homes and households
+ 2011 Census homes
25
+ 2011 Census households !Ward !!Population !!Households !!% Owned outright !!% Owned with a loan!!Hectares
330


Ethnicity
In the 2011 census, 66.2% of Kew's population were . Other White was the second largest category at 16%, with 8.1% being Asian.


Transport
In the past, a main mode of transport between Kew and London, for rich and poor alike, was by water along the , which separated (on the north bank) from : Kew was also connected to , Middlesex by ferry, first replaced by a bridge in 1759. The current , which carries the South Circular Road (the A205), was opened by King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra in 1903.

Kew Road (A307) passes through Kew as a single carriageway, and provides the main road link to Richmond. The M4 motorway starts a short distance north of Kew, providing access to Heathrow Airport and the west. The A316 road starts in Chiswick and continues over and a complex junction with the South Circular Road at at the south-eastern end of the district.

Since 1869 rail services have been available from Kew Gardens station. London Underground (District line) services run to Richmond and to central London. London Overground () trains run to Richmond and (via Willesden Junction) to Stratford.

The 65, 110 and R68 bus routes serve Kew.

River bus services run from to Westminster Millennium Pier, Richmond and .

Nearest places
Nearest railway stations
  • Kew Bridge station (South Western Railway)
  • Kew Gardens station (London Overground Mildmay line; London Underground District line)
  • North Sheen station (South Western Railway)
Bridges
  • , which carries the A205 South Circular Road. Beside the bridge is , which serves tourist ferries operating under licence from London River Services.
  • Kew Railway Bridge


Parks and open spaces
  • is used by Kew Cricket Club for matches in the summer.
  • Kew Pond, near the northeast corner of Kew Green, believed to date from the tenth century, is originally thought to have been a natural pond fed from a creek of the tidal . During , sluice gates are opened to allow river water to fill the pond via an underground channel. The pond is concreted, rectangular in shape and contains an important habitat which is vital for conservation and resident water birds.
  • North Sheen Recreation Ground in Dancer Road, known locally as "The Rec", was originally part of an belonging to the Popham Estate, owned by the Leyborne Pophams whose family seat was at , Wiltshire. Opened in June 1909 and extended in 1923, it now contains football pitches, a running track, a children's paddling pool and two extensive playgrounds. It is also the home of a local football club, Kew Park Rangers. A sports pavilion was opened in September 2011.
  • Pensford Field, previously playing fields of the former Gainsborough School, is now a nature reserve managed by Pensford Field Environmental Trust and is also the home of Pensford Tennis Club and of Dose of Nature, a mental health and well-being charity.
  • St Luke's Open Space, a quiet sitting area and ' play area, was previously a playground for a former Victorian primary school.The former building of St Luke's School is now an art studio.
  • is at the foot of Kew Bridge. It was created as a memorial garden to those who died in the First World War, and also has a grass area, three hard tennis courts and a children's playground. Its name refers to the practice of netting .


Sport and leisure
Kew's several other sports clubs include:
  • North Sheen Bowling Club on Marksbury Avenue
  • Priory Park Club on Forest Road – tennis and (until 2017)
  • Putney Town Rowing Club on Townmead Road
  • Richmond Gymnastics Association on Townmead Road

The nearest football club is ; its stadium, opened in 2021, is on the other side of Kew Bridge, near Kew Bridge station.


Societies
The Kew Horticultural Society, founded in 1938, organises an annual show in late August/early September as well as talks, events and outings throughout the year.

The Kew Society, founded in 1901 as the Kew Union, is a that seeks to enhance the beauty of Kew and preserve its heritage. It reviews all planning applications in Kew with special regard to the architectural integrity and heritage of the neighbourhood, and plays an active role in the improvement of local amenities. The Society, which is a member of , organises community events including lectures and outings and produces a quarterly newsletter.

The Richmond Local History Society is concerned with the history of Kew, as well as that of Richmond, Petersham and Ham.


Education

Primary schools
  • Darell Primary and Nursery School is on Darell Road and Niton Road. It opened in 1906, as the Darell Road Schools, at the southern end of what had been the Leyborne-Popham estate.Blomfield 1994, pp.114–115 It was Richmond Borough Council's first primary school and was built in the Queen Anne Revival style, in brick with white stone facings. Although it has been extended several times, it is now the only Richmond borough primary school still in its historic original pre-1914 building.
  • Kew Riverside Primary School, on Courtlands Avenue, opened in 2002.
  • The King’s Church of England Primary School is in Cumberland Road, where it moved in 1969. In her will of 1719, Dorothy, Lady Capel of Kew House left to four trustees Perry Court Farm in Kent, which she had inherited from her father. One twelfth of the rent from the farm was to be given to St Anne's Church to establish a school in Kew. In 1810, a "Free School" was opened in the church for 50 children, financed by subscribers who gave one guinea a year, in addition to a contribution by King George III. In 1824 the school moved to a site near the pond on Kew Green. The foundation stone was laid on 12 August, the birthday of King , who gave £300 on condition that it be called "The King's Free School". Queen Victoria gave permission for it to be called "The Queen's School" and decreed that its title should change with that of the monarch. In 2016, the building that had been created after the move to the Cumberland Road site in 1970 was demolished and a new structure installed in its place.


Independent preparatory schools
  • Broomfield House School, on Broomfield Road, was founded in 1876.
  • Kew College Prep, a co-educational school for 3- to 11-year-olds, was founded in 1927 by Mrs Ellen Upton in rooms over a shop in Kew. Mrs Upton's young daughter was one of the first pupils. The school later moved to Cumberland Road. In 1953, Mrs Upton retired and sold the school to Mrs Hamilton-Spry who, in 1985, handed over the buildings to a charitable trust to ensure the school's long term continuity.
  • Kew Green Preparatory School, at Layton House, Ferry Lane, near Kew Green, opened in 2004.
  • Unicorn School, established in 1970, is a co-educational, parent-owned independent preparatory school on Kew Road, opposite Kew Gardens.


Former schools
In the 19th century, Leopold Neumegen operated a at Gloucester House in Kew after his earlier school in Highgate closed and when, for financial reasons, he needed to commence work again.


Places of worship
Four churches in Kew are currently in use:

Former churches include:

  • Kew Baptist Church, a Grace Baptist church, was founded in 1861 in Richmond as Salem Baptist Church. It moved in 1973 to a new building on Windsor Road in Kew, adopting the name Kew Baptist Church in 1990, and closed in 2020. The building is now used as a pool for children's swimming lessons.
  • the late 19th-century Cambridge Road Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, previously known as the Gloucester Road Wesleyan Methodist Chapel and also known as Cambridge Road Methodist Church, which was in use from 1891 to 1969. It is now a private residence.
A late Victorian hall at 6 North Road, built in the style of a chapel, was converted into flats (1–5 Quiet Way) in 2006.
(2025). 9781912314034, Richmond Local History Society.


Cemeteries and crematorium
Mortlake Crematorium and two cemeteries – North Sheen Cemetery and Mortlake Cemetery – are located in Kew. The crematorium serves the of Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hounslow and Richmond upon Thames and the two cemeteries are managed by Hammersmith and Fulham Council.


Literary references to Kew
I am His Highness' dog at Kew;
Pray tell me, sir, whose dog are you?
: , engraved on the Collar of a Dog which I gave to his Royal Highness (Frederick, Prince of Wales), 1736 (, 1688–1744)

And the wildest dreams of Kew are the facts of .

: In The Neolithic Age, 1892 (, 1865–1936)

Go down to Kew in -time, in lilac-time, in lilac-time;
Go down to Kew in lilac-time (it isn't far from London!)
And you shall wander hand in hand with love in summer's wonderland;
Go down to Kew in lilac-time (it isn't far from London!)

: The Barrel-Organ, 1920 (, 1880–1958)

Trams and dusty trees.
bore me. Richmond and Kew
Undid me.

: The Waste Land, 1922 (T. S. Eliot, 1888–1965)

Lady Croom: My hyacinth dell is become a haunt for
, my Chinese bridge, which I am assured is
superior to the one at Kew, and for all I know at , is
usurped by a fallen overgrown with .

: Arcadia, 1993 (, b. 1937)


See also


Notes

Sources
  • (1994). Kew Past. Chichester, Sussex: Phillimore & Co Ltd.


Further reading
  • (2025). 9780952051534, Leyborne Publications.
  • (2025). 9781912314058, Richmond Local History Society.
  • (1995). 9780850339765, Phillimore & Co Ltd.
  • Cloake, John (1996). Palaces and Parks of Richmond and Kew vol. II: Richmond Lodge and the Kew Palaces. Chichester: Phillimore & Co Ltd. . . OL 8627654M.
  • Cloake, John (2001). Cottages and Common Fields of Richmond and Kew. Chichester: Phillimore & Co Ltd. . .
  • (2025). 9781912314034, Richmond Local History Society.


External links

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