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Preserving the View
As the Thames approaches London the high ground of Richmond Hill gives a fine westward view of the river.
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A view from Richmond Hill |
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This aspect is something local residents value highly, and have, on several occasions, had to fight to maintain. This is how the view from Richmond Hill looks today.
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Image of Glovers Island from Richmond Hill |
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In the middle of the Thames can be seen a small island. Called Glover's Island, it was the focus for a heated dispute of the 1890s. The island was then owned by a Thames waterman called Joseph Glover.
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In 1898, he mischievously put the island up for auction suggesting it could be sold to an advertising firm to erect a large advertising hording. He also offered it to Richmond Corporation for the sum of £4,000. A public subscription was started to raise the money and protect the view, but when it was revealed that Glover had himself bought the island for a mere £70 in 1872, there was little chance of reaching his asking price.
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The Twickenham Times printed this little poem about him in October 1898.
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In the end, a local resident, Max Waechter, bought the island from Glover for an undisclosed sum and gave it to the council. The island reverted to its former name of Petersham Ait and no longer threatened to be a blot on this magnificent landscape.
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View from Richmond Hill |
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Introduction
Richmond
