London Borough of Richmond upon Thames

The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is a London borough in South West London, UK, which forms part of Outer London. It is unique in being the only London borough situated both north and south of the River Thames.

Settlement
It can been seen from a map that the borough is not entirely urbanised – there are some large areas of open space within the borough boundaries, including the large urban park Richmond Park. The borough is residential and home to some of the most affluent districts of London such as Barnes, Richmond and East Sheen. The main suburban developments are Hampton and Teddington in the south, Twickenham, St Margarets and Whitton in the central area west of the River Thames, with the more central districts of Richmond, Kew, Mortlake and Barnes following the loop of the river.

List of districts

 * Barnes
 * Cole Park
 * East Sheen
 * Fulwell
 * Ham
 * Hampton
 * Hampton Hill
 * Hampton Wick
 * Kew
 * Mortlake
 * North Sheen
 * Petersham
 * Richmond
 * St Margarets
 * Strawberry Hill
 * Teddington
 * Twickenham
 * Whitton

Attractions, parks and open spaces
Parks take up a great deal of the borough and include Richmond Park, Bushy Park, Kew Gardens, and Hampton Court Park. There are over 100 parks and open spaces within its boundary and 21 mi of river frontage. 140 hectares within the borough are designated as part of the Metropolitan Green Belt.

The borough is also home to the National Physical Laboratory and the attractions of Hampton Court Palace, Twickenham Stadium and the WWT London Wetlands Centre draw both domestic and international tourism.

In December 2006, Sport England published a survey which revealed that residents of Richmond upon Thames were the 2nd most active in England in sports and other fitness activities. 29.8% of the population participate at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes.

History
The borough was formed in 1965 by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Twickenham from Middlesex with the Municipal Borough of Richmond and the Municipal Borough of Barnes from Surrey; council offices were centred at York House in Twickenham. The name 'Richmond upon Thames' was coined at that time; it is now commonly but inaccurately used to refer to Richmond only.

The borough is twinned with Konstanz in Germany, Fontainebleau in France and Richmond, Virginia in the United States.

Transport
The borough is connected to central London by the National Rail services of South West Trains. The London Underground, District Line, serves Richmond and Kew Gardens stations: both are also served by London Overground trains on the North London Line.

List of stations
The other stations are:
 * Barnes
 * Barnes Bridge
 * Fulwell
 * Hampton
 * Hampton Wick
 * Mortlake
 * North Sheen
 * St Margarets
 * Strawberry Hill
 * Teddington
 * Twickenham
 * Whitton

Buses
London bus routes 33, 65, 72, 110, 111, 190, 209, 216, 265, 267, 281, 283, 285, 290, 337, 371, 391, 411, 419, 430, 465, 481, 485, 490, 493, H22, H37, R68, R70, X26 and night routes N9 and N22.

Education
Richmond upon Thames is the local education authority for the borough, and has responsibility for 52 schools.

Sister cities
Richmond has three sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc.:


 * 🇺🇸   Richmond, Virginia USA
 * 🇫🇷 Fontainebleau, France
 * 🇩🇪 Konstanz, Germany