The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () is an Outer London borough formed in 1965 from the merger of three older boroughs. These were the Municipal Borough of Richmond and the Municipal Borough of Barnes, situated south of the Thames which was, until 1965, part of Surrey, and the Municipal Borough of Twickenham on the northern, Middlesex bank of the Thames. In this way it is the only London borough to straddle the River Thames.
The population is 198,019 and the major communities are Barnes, East Sheen, Mortlake, Kew, Richmond, Twickenham, Teddington and Hampton.
The borough includes Richmond Park, the largest park in London, along with the National Physical Laboratory and The National Archives. Kew Gardens, Hampton Court Palace, Twickenham Stadium and the WWT London Wetlands Centre are within its boundaries and draw domestic and international tourism. In 2023, the borough was ranked first in Rightmove's Happy at Home index, making it the "happiest place to live in Great Britain"; the first time a London borough has taken the top spot.
History The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames was established in 1965 as a result of the London Government Act 1963. The new borough was created by the merger of three boroughs. These were the Municipal Borough of Richmond and the Municipal Borough of Barnes, situated south of the Thames which was, until 1965, part of Surrey; and the Municipal Borough of Twickenham on the northern, Middlesex bank of the Thames. In this way it is the only London borough to straddle the River Thames.
The Municipal Borough of Richmond was created in 1890. It was enlarged in 1892 to include Kew, Petersham and North Sheen, and again in 1933 to include Ham. The Municipal Borough of Barnes was established in 1894 and the Municipal Borough of Twickenham in 1926.
The area of these three boroughs was transferred to the new Greater London, to become one of its 32 London boroughs. The larger new borough was named "Richmond upon Thames" rather than just Richmond as the old borough had been. Minor boundary changes have occurred since its creation. The most significant amendments were made in 1994 and 1995, when areas of Richmond Park were transferred from the London Borough of Wandsworth and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames.
Geography
The borough is approximately half parkland, with notable parks including Richmond Park, Bushy Park, Kew Gardens, Old Deer Park and Hampton Court Park. There are over 100 parks and open spaces in the borough and of river frontage. 140 hectares within the borough are designated as part of the Metropolitan Green Belt.
The predominant other land use is residential, with most businesses within the borough consisting of retail, property improvement/development and professional services. Parts of the borough, including Barnes, Richmond, St Margarets, Cambridge Park and Marble Hill, some areas of Twickenham and much of East Sheen, rival Stanmore Hill and Kenley as the highest house-price districts and neighbourhoods in Outer London.
The borough is home to the National Physical Laboratory and the attractions of Hampton Court Palace, Twickenham Stadium and the WWT London Wetlands Centre that draw domestic and international tourism.
The River Thames becomes narrower than at any part of Inner London towards its flow into the borough and becomes tidal at Teddington Lock in the borough; it flows generally south to north, rather than west to east through more than half of the borough. Ordnance survey website
London's German business and expatriate community is centred on this borough, which houses the German School London (DSL) and most of the capital's German expatriates.Moore, Fiona. "The German School in London, UK: Fostering the Next Generation of National Cosmopolitans?" (Chapter 4). In: Coles, Anne and Anne-Meike Fechter. Gender and Family Among Transnational Professionals (Routledge International Studies of Women and Place). Routledge, 6 August 2012. ; .
Climate
List of neighbourhoods
The local authority divides the borough into fourteen loosely bounded neighbourhoods, or "villages". Some neighbourhoods have the same name as their associated borough council ward, but the boundaries are not officially aligned. There is also no direct alignment between these areas and postcode districts, which tend to cover much broader areas, crossing the borough boundaries. There are four post towns based in the borough: Hampton, Richmond, Teddington and Twickenham. Parts of the borough come under the London post town, including Barnes and Mortlake, and there are several other peripheral parts of post towns based in neighbouring boroughs which straddle the administrative boundary. Although most addresses in the borough have TW postcodes, some have SW and KT postcodes.
Neighbourhood or "village"Associated postal districtsAssociated council wardsSub-areasBarnesLondon SW13Barnes; Mortlake and Barnes CommonCastelnau, Barnes Common, Barnes Bridge, Barnes VillageEast SheenLondon SW14, London SW15, Richmond TW10East SheenRichmond ParkHam and PetershamKingston KT2, Richmond TW10Ham, Petersham and Richmond RiversideHam, PetershamHamptonHampton TW12, East Molesey KT8Hampton; Hampton NorthHampton HillTeddington TW11, Hampton TW12Fulwell and Hampton HillFulwellHampton WickKingston KT1, Teddington TW11Hampton WickKewRichmond TW9, Richmond TW10, London SW14KewKew Green, Kew BridgeMortlakeLondon SW15, London SW14Mortlake and Barnes CommonChiswick BridgeNorth Twickenham and East WhittonTwickenham TW1, Twickenham TW2, Hounslow TW3St Margarets and North Twickenham; WhittonCole Park, Stadium VillageRichmond and Richmond HillRichmond TW9, Richmond TW10South Richmond; North RichmondStrawberry HillTwickenham TW1South Twickenham; TeddingtonSt Margarets and East TwickenhamTwickenham TW1, Twickenham TW2, Isleworth TW7St Margarets St MargaretsTeddingtonTeddington, TW11TeddingtonFulwellTwickenhamTwickenham TW1, Twickenham TW2Twickenham Riverside; South Twickenham; West TwickenhamTwickenham Green, FulwellWhitton and Heathfield Twickenham TW2, Whitton, Hounslow TW3 & TW4, Isleworth TW7Whitton; HeathfieldWhitton, Heathfield
Governance
The council meets at York House in Twickenham and has its main offices at the adjoining Civic Centre at 44 York Street.
Greater London representation Since 2000, for elections to the London Assembly, the borough forms part of the South West constituency, represented since 2024 by the AM Gareth Roberts.
Parliamentary representation The borough is split between three constituencies. The entire portion of the borough south of the River Thames is included in the Richmond Park constituency, which also contains some of the northern wards of the borough of Kingston.
Most of the portion of the borough north of the river forms the constituency of Twickenham, which does not contain wards from any other borough. However, since the 2024 general election, the borough's northernmost ward on this side of the Thames, Whitton, has instead been included in the constituency of Brentford and Isleworth, the remainder of which consists of wards from the London Borough of Hounslow.
Prior to the 2024 election, the entirety of the borough north of the Thames had formed the entirety of the Twickenham constituency since 1997.
Constituency Member of Parliament Political affiliationElected Richmond Park Sarah Olney Liberal Democrats 2019 Twickenham Munira Wilson Liberal Democrats 2019 Brentford and Isleworth Ruth Cadbury Labour Party 2015
Demography
In 2006, research commissioned by a major mortgage lender found that, on the quantitative statistical indices used, the borough had the best quality of life in London and was in the top quarter of local authorities nationwide. A neighbouring authority in Surrey achieved the best quality of life in that report.
Richmond is one of London's wealthiest boroughs on many measures. It has the lowest rates of poverty, child poverty, low pay, child obesity and adults without level 3 qualifications of any London borough, according to a 2017 research project by Trust for London and the New Policy Institute.
Demography is a diverse picture as in all of London: each district should be looked at separately and even those do not reflect all neighbourhoods. Whatever generalisations are used, "the fine-grained texture of London poverty" by its minutely localised geography must always be taken into account according to an influential poverty report of 2010.London's Poverty Profile Trust for London and New Policy Institute, 2010 Richmond upon Thames has the lowest child poverty rates in London at 20% and contains at least one ward with an above-average level (for London) of working-age adults receiving out-of-work benefits but even this borough – reflecting the best result – has two standard poverty indices of sixteen in which it is placed in the worst quarter of boroughs.
Ethnicity Ethnic groupYear1971 estimations1981 estimations1991 census2001 census2011 census2021 censusNumber%Number%Number%Number%Number%Number% White: Total –97.8%148,13595.5%151,91994.5% 156,785 91% 160,725 85.5%157,11180.4% White: British–––––– 135,665 78.8% 133,582 71.4%123,09363.0% White: Irish–––––– 4,805 % 4,766 2.5%4,8662.5% White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller–––––– – – 95 0.05%850.0%White: Roma––––––––––4000.2% White: Other–––––– 16,325 9.5% 22,282 11.9%28,66714.7% Black or Black British: Total ––––1,2210.75% 1,614 0.93% 2,816 1.3%3,6872% Black or Black British: African––––355 829 % 1,643 0.8%2,2601.2% Black or Black British: Caribbean––––553 643 % 840 0.4%9360.5% Black or Black British: Other Black––––313 124 % 333 0.1%4910.3% Asian or Asian British: Total ––––5,7113.5% 7,968 4.6% 13,607 7.0%17,4679% Asian or Asian British: Indian––––26221.63% 4,232 % 5,202 2.7%72363.7% Asian or Asian British: Pakistani––––353 664 % 1,163 0.6%17490.9% Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi––––322 662 % 867 0.4%9160.5% Asian or Asian British: Chinese––––866 1,299 % 1,753 0.9%27771.4% Asian or Asian British: Other Asian ––––15480.96% 1,151 % 4,622 2.4%47892.5% Mixed or British Mixed: Total –––––– 3,797 2.2% 6,780 3.4%10,6625.4% Mixed: White and Black Caribbean –––––– 670 % 1,250 0.6%16540.8% Mixed: White and Black African –––––– 443 % 731 0.3%12050.6% Mixed: White and Asian –––––– 1,530 % 2,857 1.5%42382.2% Mixed: Other Mixed –––––– 1,154 % 1,942 1.0%35651.8% Other: Total ––––18811.17% 2,171 1.25% 3,062 1.6%6,3503.3% Other: Arab –––––– – – 1,172 0.6%1,7210.9% Other: Any other ethnic group ––––18811.17% 2,171 1.25% 1,890 1.0%4,6292.4% Ethnic minority: Total –2.2%7,0264.5%8,8135.42% 15,550 9% 26,265 14.2%38,16619.6% Total –100%155,161100%160,732100% 172,335 100.00% 186,990 100.00%195,277100%
Immigration This list includes top-15 sources of immigration to Borough of Richmond upon Thames for 2021 census: #CountryNumber1 3,2922 2,8413 2,8324 2,6185 2,4856 2,1067 2,0428 1,8929 1,83110 1,44011 1,38912 1,29213 1,18014 1,02515 985
Coat of arms The borough's history is reflected in the coat of arms, which was officially granted on 7 May 1966. It is: Ermine a portcullis or within a bordure gules charged with eight fleurs-de-lis or. The crest is: On a wreath argent and gules out of a mural crown gules a swan rousant argent in beak a branch of climbing red roses leaved and entwined about the neck proper. The supporters are: On either side a griffin gules, armed and beaked azure, each supporting an oar proper, the blade of the dexter dark blue and that of the sinister light blue.