Riverside south of the river and west of the Tower. Ham Lands

Riverside south of the river and west of the Tower. Ham Lands

This post shows sites south of the river only. North of the river is Twickenham Crossdeep

Post to the north. Ham Street riverside and Twickenham
Post to the south, Ham Lands and Teddington Lock and Teddington

Ashburnham Road
Part of housing development on land given by Wates building company.
St Richards Church of England Primary School. This was originally opened in 1890, to replace Ham Village School.  It was then called St Andrew’s School at Ham Common.  In 1966 the school re-opened on the Wates Estate as St Richard's with St Andrew's Primary School.  The school developed a successful School Choir which sang on television and radio many times.  The school swimming pool opened in 1972 paid for by local fund raising. It was opened by Hugh Wheldon, Managing Director of BBC Television.
St Richard's Church. This church was built on Wates land and the foundation stone was laid in 1964 by Norman Wates. It was designed by Architect Ralph Covell based on the Star of David to make a hexagonal space. There are fourteen stained glass windows by Henry Haig to shown the life of St. Richard. There is an organ by Bevington and Sons dating to 1900 and rebuilt here in 1965. Outside the church is a wooden cross on a mound made by local young people in 2006.

Ham Lands
Coldharbour Farm. Farm buildings present before 1930 and sited in the area of later gravel working
Ham River Grit Co. In 1904 the Earl of Dysart leased part of the farmland for sand and ballast construction. The company was owned by George and William Brice, clay and barge operators from Rochester. A dock was constructed in 1913 and a lock in 1921 allowing barges into the flooded pit. The remains of this system are now used by the Thames Young Mariners. There was also a narrow gauge railway. Later a depot was built on the road to Kingston and the railway extended to it.  During the Second World War the pits ace said to have been used to store parts of the Mulberry Harbour. Later they were filled with rubble from the bombing. After 1952, when extraction ceased, housing was planned for the area. The area was however designated as Metropolitan Open Land.
Light railway – owned by the Ham River Grit Co. This ran along the tow path. One locomotive, Odin, was running on a preserve railway until 2012.
Ham Lands Nature Reserve. This is next to the river and has a mixture of habitats that range including woodland and wetland and contains many plants and animals. Wildflowers attract bees and butterflies and there are many different birds. It has unusual vegetation due to the underlying alkaline rubble instead of the more acidic fluvial deposits. At the southern end of the site is a stretch of natural river bank with shingle.  As the gravel pits were closed the concrete barges used there were abandoned. They gave formed solid lumps of concrete which impact on water movement here.
Kew and Ham Sports Association. The association runs a number of sports facilities here and since 2007 have used the pavilion here.  This has 6 large changing rooms and a large meeting room. Facilities include the Ham Hawks football school run by Kew Association Football Club
The Ranges. This site is entered from Ham Street. Ham Rifle Range operated by Ham and Petersham Rifle and Pistol Club Ltd, which is a private shooting club. The club was founded in 1906 although it is thought it began in 1903.  Charles Hanbury-Tracy, the 4th Lord Sudeley was President of the Ham & Petersham Rifle & Pistol Club from 1906. It has six outdoor ranges for archery, air guns, rifles and Black Powder pistols. There is also a clubhouse and bar.
King George Field. This is entered from Ham Street. The field takes its name from King George V who originally gave the land to the borough. The Foundation was set up as a memorial following the King's death in 1936. It was previously called Walnut Tree Meadow
Thames Young Mariners. This was established in the 1960s on a 25 acre site including the lake. It offers water-based activities in a controlled environment and is recognised as a teaching centre. A rare opportunity to see a surviving area of flood meadow. Drawdock


Wates Estate.
Ham Riverside Village. This was developed by building company Wates in the mid 1960s as Ham Riverside Village. There are townhouses with integral garages and 2 storey houses in 3 different sizes. There are also maisonettes. Being built on recently reclaimed land the estate has continued to suffer from subsidence problems

Woodville Road
Woodville Day Care Centre


Sources
Arcadian Times. Web site
Greater London Council. Thames Guidelines
Ham and Petersham Rifle and Pistol Club. Web site
Kew and Ham Sports Association. Web site
Parker. North Surrey
Penguin. Surrey
St Richard’s Church. Web site
St. Richard's School. Web site
Walford.  Village London
Wikipedia. As appropriate

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