The economic and social development of Richmond and Twickenham in the nineteenth century

This thesis examines the main factors that affected the development, during the nineteenth century, of two neighbouring parishes, Richmond and Twickenham, situated on either side of the River Thames, some 12 to 15 miles from London. It questions the ways in which their location, near to but not part of the metropolis, their topography, local economy and transport connections, pattern of land ownership, and local governance influenced their development between 1800 and 1900. It also considers the extent to which there were factors that differentiated the two parishes from each other, and, for a few key aspects, from parishes that were nearby or a similar distance from London. The thesis considers the significance of the River Thames to both communities and the changes that were brought about by the railway after the first line to Richmond was built in 1846. It compares Richmond’s economy, which was based mainly on meeting the retail, entertainment, and service needs of its residents and visitors, with that of the Twickenham economy, where market gardening and other forms of agriculture were important for most of the century. The thesis also examines the effect on residential development of the different patterns of land ownership that existed in Richmond and Twickenham and the impact that the concentrated pattern in the former had on local governance. Richmond had a closed vestry. From 1890, a borough council established under a royal charter, assumed responsibility for the secular affairs of the town. Twickenham was administered by an open vestry until 1868, and thereafter a local board was responsible for secular matters. The ability of these different forms of authority to deal with poor relief up to 1836, population growth, the implementation of adequate sanitation, and water supply infrastructure is examined against the background of a wider electoral franchise.