Richmond Today

Richmond-upon-Thames is famous for Hampton Court Palace and Kew Gardens. This London borough, whose name graces over 30 cities worldwide, has more historical delights than any other except Westminster and the square mile. In this portrait, the author examines how Richmond developed from Tudor times to the present. It includes a look at Edward VII, George VI, and the queens Alexandra, Mary and Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Three royal parks live within the borough - Richmond, Bushy and Hampton Court. From earliest times Richmond has attracted writers and artists - Francis Bacon, Alexander Pope, Horace Walpole, Henry Fielding, Charles Dickens and Virginia Woolf. Also included is a look at the Tudor barn now used as a church, the remains of a gunpowder mill and the tomb of the Victorian explorer Sir Richard Burton. The author goes on board Fred Karno's exotic houseboat and investigates the wartime interrogation camp where enemy agents were driven to suicide and beaten to death.