FROM RICHMOND TO HAMPTON COURT.
(a) By STEAMER (see Walk 51) inhour 20 minutes.
(b) By RAILWAY (electric trains every minutes) via St. Margaret's, and Strawberry Hill to Teddington thence on foot across Bushy Park (1+ miles).
(c) By OMNIBUS No. 127, which runs through Bus Park.
(d) MOTORISTS follow the Petersham Road through Peteram and Ham to Kingston, where they cross the river and turn to the left.
(e) PEDESTRIANS have a choice of two pleasant and interesting route I. VIA PETERSHAM AND TEDDINGTON.
We follow the Petersham Road from Richmond Bridge as far as (1 mile) Petersham (Dysart Arms; motor-omnibus No. 65), a charming old-world village adjoining Richmond Park. The quaint red-brick parish church of St. Peter dates for the most part from 1790; Captain Vancouver (died 1798) is buried in the pretty churchyardied Sudbrook Lane, farther on, leads to the left, past the handsome new memorial church of All Saints, to Sudbrook Park, once occupied by the Duke of Argyll (died 1743; comp. Scott's 'Heart of Midlothian') and now by the Richmond Golf Club. The Reform Bill of 1832 was drafted here during the tenancy of Lord Durham. We return along Sudbrook Lane and follow River Lane straight ahead, taking a footpath on the left which leads us past the river-front of Ham House (+ mile from Petersham), the beautiful seat of the Earl of Dysart, built in 1610. The Cabal ministry used to meet here during the occupation of the Duke of Lauderdale. The house contains a fine art-collection (not shown). Hence we may cross the river by ferry to Twickenham. Or we may follow the river-bank as far as (1+ miles) Teddington Lock, turning immediately to the left after crossing the railway and following Park Road to (1+ miles) the entrance to Bushy Park. Thence it is a pleasant walk of 1 mile across the park to the Lion Gates of Hampton Court Palace.
II. VIA TWICKENHAM AND TEDDINGTON. We cross Richmond Bridge and turn to the left, following the footpath alone the river-bank as far as Marble Hill, in a park (rfmts.) of 66 acres which was purchased for the public in 1903 to preserve the view from Richmond Hill from being spoilt by buildings. The house was built by George II. for the Countess of Surfolk and occupied later by Mrs. Fitzherbert. [At the end of Sandycoombe Road (which lies on the other side of Richmond Road, to the north of the park), on the right, is Sandycoombe Lodge, built by Turner, the artist, in 1813 and occupied by him for twelve years.] Keeping close tot the river we follow the road called Riverside, leaving on our right the site of Orleans House (pulled down in 1926), which was occupied in 1800-7 and in 1814-17 by the exiled Louis Philippe of France, and again in 1852-71 by his son the Duc d'Aumale. We soon arrive at the old village of Twickenham, a borough since 1926, 1+ miles from Richmond. Alexander Pope (1688-1744) is buried in the church. In the north gallery is a monument to him erected by Bishop Warburton; that erected by Pope to his parents 'et sibi' is now hidden by the organ. On the outer east wall is a tablet set up by Pope to his old nurse; another commemorates Kitty Clive, the actress (died 1785). A little to the east of the church lies York House, occupied by James II. as Duke of York and the birthplace in 1664 of his daughter, Queen Anne. It was bought for the Comte de Paris in 1864, and was later occupied by the Due d'Orleans until 1900. Since 1925 it has been the town-hall. Chapel House, at the corner of Richmond Road and Montpelier Road, was the home of Tennyson after his marriage (1850-53). We continue near the river by the road called Cross Deep to (+ mile) a fantastic building with a tower, which replaces (and preserves the name of) Pope's Villa, where the poet lived from 1717 till his death in 1744 and laid out his famous grotto and gardens. It now belongs to a community of Irish sisters of mercy. About + m. farther on, in Waldegrave Road, is Strawberry Hill, Horace Walpole's famous villa, which he built in 1747 in a fantastic stucco-Gothic style and occupied till his death in 1797. Later it was occupied by the late Countess of Waldegrave, who recovered a part of Walpole's collection of curios. In 1923 it was bought by a convent of Vincentian Fathers, and a special order is required to view the garden. Strawberry Vale continues near the river to (+ mile) Teddington (Anglers' Hotel; Clarence, L. 2/6, D. 4/), where good fishing is obtainable. The picturesque old ivy-clad parish church, 200 yards from the lock, contains memorials to Peg Woffington, the actress (died 1760), and John Walter, the founder of 'The Times' (died 1812). Opposite is a very large new church. Thence to Hampton Court as in Route I.
