Petersham Meadows are a 24-acre water-meadow that lie alongside the River Thames in Petersham, London, bounded by Buccleuch Gardens, Manor Farm Livery Stables, the main Petersham Road (A307) and River Lane. The Capital Ring footpath crosses the meadow to reach Petersham and the Thames Path follows the towpath.
Petersham Meadows were originally part of the Ham House estate. [1] Since 1902 the view from Richmond Hill has been protected by an Act of Parliament. There have been cows on the meadow since at least the 19th century. In 1880 the tenancy was taken by Mr Hornby, who used the milk to supply the Hornby and Clarke dairy. Their shop is still on Richmond Hill, although no longer a dairy. The lease passed to Express Dairies but in 1982 a private investor took the lease but was unable to maintain a dairy herd. In 1998 the Petersham Trust was set up to protect the Meadows and preserve it for grazing. [2] Richmond Council took over management of the Meadows in 2001. [3] [4] The National Trust have been caretaker since 2010 and pay an annual rent on St Peter's Day of a posy of wildflowers for the Mayor of Richmond. [5] Originally they had cows on the field, but after incidents with dogs these were replaced. [6] Every summer they move a small herd of Belted Galloway cattle on to the meadow to help maintain the biodiversity. [7]
The view over the meadows has been painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds, J. M. W. Turner and many others.
Petersham is a village in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the east of the bend in the River Thames south of Richmond, which it shares with neighbouring Ham. It provides the foreground of the scenic view from Richmond Hill across Petersham Meadows, with Ham House further along the river. Other nearby places include Twickenham, Isleworth, Teddington, Mortlake, and Roehampton.
Richmond is a town in south-west London, 8.2 miles (13.2 km) west-southwest of Charing Cross. It stands on the River Thames, and features many parks and open spaces, including Richmond Park, and many protected conservation areas, which include much of Richmond Hill. A specific Act of Parliament protects the scenic view of the River Thames from Richmond.
The Jersey is a British breed of small dairy cattle from Jersey, in the British Channel Islands. It is one of three Channel Island cattle breeds, the others being the Alderney – now extinct – and the Guernsey. The milk is high in butterfat and has a characteristic yellowish tinge.
The Aberdeen Angus, sometimes simply Angus, is a Scottish breed of small beef cattle. It derives from cattle native to the counties of Aberdeen, Banff, Kincardine and Angus in north-eastern Scotland. In 2018 the breed accounted for over 17% of the beef production in the United Kingdom.
The Holstein Friesian is an international breed or group of breeds of dairy cattle. It originated in the Dutch provinces of North Holland and Friesland and in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany. It is the dominant breed in industrial dairy farming worldwide, and is found in more than 160 countries. It is known by many names, among them Holstein, Friesian and Black and White.
Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history that goes back to the early Neolithic era, around the seventh millennium BC, in many regions of Europe and Africa. Before the 20th century, milking was done by hand on small farms. Beginning in the early 20th century, milking was done in large scale dairy farms with innovations including rotary parlors, the milking pipeline, and automatic milking systems that were commercially developed in the early 1990s.
Dairy cattle are cattle bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cattle generally are of the species Bos taurus.
The Dairy Shorthorn is a British breed of dairy cattle. It derives from the Shorthorn cattle of Teesside, in the North Riding of Yorkshire and in Northumbria in north-eastern England. The Shorthorn was for this reason at first known as the Durham or Teeswater.
Ham is a suburban district in Richmond, south-west London. It has meadows adjoining the River Thames where the Thames Path National Trail also runs. Most of Ham is in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and, chiefly, within the ward of Ham, Petersham and Richmond Riverside; the rest is in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. The district has modest convenience shops and amenities, including a petrol station and several pubs, but its commerce is subsidiary to the nearby regional-level economic centre of Kingston upon Thames.
The A307 road runs 13.2 miles (21.2 km) through SW London and NW Surrey. It is primary at the north-east end; the remainder is non-primary, generally superseded in the mid-twentieth century in two stages by newer alignments of the Portsmouth Road, the Kingston bypass and Esher bypass of the A3, which runs along a slightly oblique axis.
Richmond Hill in Richmond, London, is a hill that begins gently in its townside through the former fields, orchards and vineyard to a point just within Richmond Park, the deer park emparked and enclosed by Charles I.
Glover's Island is in a tree-lined section of river, formerly known as Horse Reach on the tidal Thames, between Richmond Lock and Teddington Lock in the Borough of Richmond upon Thames, London, England.
The Star and Garter Hotel in Richmond was a hotel located in the London countryside on Richmond Hill overlooking the Thames Valley, on the site later occupied by the Royal Star and Garter Home, Richmond. The first establishment on the site, an inn built in 1738, was relatively small. This was followed by several other buildings of increasing size and varied design as the site changed from family ownership to being run by a limited company. Some of the rebuilding or extension work took place following fires that by 1888 had destroyed most of the original buildings. At various times architects were commissioned to build grand new buildings or extensions to take advantage of the famed view over the river and valley below, with the largest being the 1860s chateau block by E. M. Barry.
Wick House is a Grade II listed house in Richmond, Greater London, located near the corner of Nightingale Lane and Richmond Hill in Surrey. The painter Sir Joshua Reynolds commissioned the house from Sir William Chambers and it was completed in 1772.
The Museum of Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is located in Richmond's Old Town Hall, close to Richmond Bridge. It was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 28 October 1988.
Ham Lands is a 72-hectare Local Nature Reserve and Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation in Ham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. The area is very popular with walkers, nature lovers, and horse-riders. There is an unofficial off-road BMX track near Teddington Lock.
The Vaynol is one of the United Kingdom's rarest breeds of cattle with less than 150 breeding animals registered. The breed is currently listed as “critical” on the Rare Breed Survival Trust list. There are currently three officially registered herds of Vaynol cattle existing in the United Kingdom. Together with the Chillingham and White Park cattle, the Vaynol is one of three horned breeds derived from ancient white parkland herds from Britain and Ireland. These park cattle were also the basis of a similar fourth breed, the polled British White.
Petersham Lodge is a Grade II listed house on River Lane, Petersham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Rebuilt in the early 18th century for Catherine Douglas, Duchess of Queensberry, it is a former grace-and-favour mansion.
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