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Do the strand

strand-on-the-Green is an often overlooked part of West London but its riverside location and pretty houses make it one of Chiswick’s most charming areas. Many of the houses date from the 18th century but its history goes back much further. In the Museum of London you’ll find pottery dating back to the Bronze and Iron Ages, as well as Roman artefacts, collected by local antiquarian Thomas Layton. In the medieval period fishing was the main industry, with rights granted by Henry II to the Prior of Merton. Later the Dean and Chapter of st Paul’s allowed locals to fish there for an annual rent. It was the arrival, however, of Frederick Prince of...

Join the Kew: a short history of Kew Green

Kew Green is one of the delights of west London. Around its picturesque cricket field lie a number of very attractive 18th- and 19th-century houses, where a number of famous people made their homes. Its history goes back to the medieval period, not least because there was a ferry crossing where the bridge now lies. Kew Pond, whose history may well date as far back as 996, was used as a fish pond for centuries. We know Kew was a hamlet in the 1300s, then called ‘Cayho’, which was derived from the Old English word ‘hoh’, meaning spur. In the 16th century Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk and brother-in-law of Henry VIII held estates here but it...