Teddington, From The Bridge 1899

Photo ref: 43048

More about this scene

FOR MUCH of its existence Teddington has been regarded as a quiet town between the busier Richmond, Twickenham and Kingston centres on the River Thames. Nationally it may be best remembered as the home of Teddington Studios, the location for films and TV productions. However, Teddington's proximity to London and its pleasant surroundings has attracted some significant residents. Also, Teddington is where one king learnt of his accession to the throne; it is the home of the National Physical Laboratory; it is where D-Day was planned; and the game of hockey started here. The name Teddington is Saxon in origin, and referred to the small village in the area close to the river covering what is now Teddington Lock, the nearby church buildings of St Mary and St Alban, and the river end of Teddington High Street. The wider area now regarded as Teddington, stretching from the river through Bushy Park, Fulwell and Waldegrave Road, was countryside - a mix of heathland and forest. Hampton Wick was a separate village connected by road. This basically rural environment remained until well into the 19th century. While continuous settlement in Teddington started in Saxon times, there had been significant human activity in the Stone Age: flints have been discovered in the dredging of the Thames. A major Bronze Age barrow was excavated in 1854 where Sandy Lane comes close to the railway. It stood twelve feet high, and there were a few remains; a dagger had survived, and fragments of a large half-baked urn and some calcified bones were also found. The mound disappeared with the construction of the railway in the 1860s.