Misplaced Pages

Teddington

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Hoary (talk | contribs) at 12:41, 22 October 2006 (Reverted edits by 87.113.89.95 (talk) to last version by Waldopepper). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 12:41, 22 October 2006 by Hoary (talk | contribs) (Reverted edits by 87.113.89.95 (talk) to last version by Waldopepper)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
For the village in Gloucestershire, see Teddington, Gloucestershire

Template:Infobox London place Teddington is a suburb of south west London, England and part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.

It is notable for Teddington Lock, which is the longest lock on the River Thames and marks the upstream limit of tides. The name 'Teddington' derives not from 'Tide's End Town' (as claimed by Rudyard Kipling among others), but from an Old English tribal leader.

For many years a small village of farms and orchards, Teddington expanded greatly after the arrival of the railway service to Waterloo station in 1864. The centre is surrounded by a close-knit network of Victorian and Edwardian streets, and has a fine Carnegie library. The Victorian residents attempted to build a massive church, St Alban's, modelled on the Notre Dame in Paris; however, funds ran out and only the nave of what was to be the "Cathedral of the Thames Valley" was ever completed. Today it is the Landmark Centre, a popular venue for concerts and exhibitions.

Shopping on the High Street and Broad Street is a mix of independent and chain stores. Aside from two office developments close to the railway station, the centre of Teddington is largely untouched by large, modern buildings; however, larger houses and ample gardens are frequently giving way to denser developments of flats and townhouses.

Teddington is also home to Bushy Park (one of the Royal Parks), Teddington Studios (a digital widescreen television studio complex and one of the former homes of Thames Television), the National Physical Laboratory (the United Kingdom's national standards laboratory, where the first accurate atomic clock was built and bouncing bomb designs tested during WWII), the Teddington Rugby Football Club, and the Teddington Hockey Club (which claims to be the oldest hockey club in Britain).


Famous residents

  • The actor Noel Coward was born in Teddington in 1899
  • The comic actor Benny Hill lived in Teddington while working at the Teddington Studios. He died alone in his riverside apartment.
    • Two-Ton Ted, one of the characters in Benny Hill's number one hit "Ernie", also hailed from Teddington ("...called Two-Ton Ted from Teddington and he drove the baker's van...").
  • The mathematician Alan Turing worked at the National Physical Laboratory.
  • The popular Georgian actress Peg Woffington lived in Teddington after her retirement
  • The actress Keira Knightley was born in Teddington on 26 March 1985 and went to local comprehensive Teddington School
  • After he unexpectedly came into a considerable fortune in 1860, the novelist R. D. Blackmore settled in Teddington. His large house was demolished in the 1930s, and the streets Blackmore's Grove and Doone Close built on its plot. Blackmore owned a large orchard, many of whose fruit trees continue to flourish in the gardens of Blackmore's Grove and Bolton Gardens.
  • The camp comedian Julian Clary was born in Teddington in 1960.
  • The film actress June Duprez was born in Teddington on 14 May 1918.
  • Sir Orlando Bridgeman
  • Sir Charles Duncombe
  • The founder of the Times newspaper, John Walter, died in Teddington in 1812
  • The Russian liberal exile Alexander Herzen lived in Elmfield House in Teddington from 1863 to 1864, where he was visited by Giuseppe Garibaldi.
  • Alastair Yates, presenter of BBC News 24 and BBC World TV, lives in Teddington.
  • Oliver Reed used to live at No. 60 Hampton Road.
  • Former Blue Peter host Mark Curry lives in Teddington.

Local geography

Nearest places

Sluice gates at Teddington, on the River Thames

Local Royal Parks

Nearest railway stations

Churches in Teddington


External links

Literature

  • John Sheaf, Ken Howe: Hampton and Teddington Past, Historical Publications, October 1995
  • K. Howe, M. Cherry: Twickenham, Teddington and Hampton (Britain in Old Photographs), Sutton Publishing, October 29, 1998

Trivia

The Teddington Lock was the location of the filming of the Monty Python Fish-Slapping Dance sketch.

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
Districts Location of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in Greater London

Location of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in Greater London
Railway stations
Streets and roads
Thames bridges, islands
and river services
Other rivers and streams
Sports venues
Events
Breweries and pubs
Theatres, cinemas
and music venues
Film and recording studios
Media and publishing
Public art
Historical royal palaces
Historic houses
Other places
of interest
Tragedy and disaster
Other history topics
Parliamentary constituencies
Other topics
Parks, open spaces and nature reserves in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
Areas of London
Central activities zone
Town centre
network
International
Metropolitan
Major
Districts
(principal)
Neighbourhoods
(principal)
Fictional
Categories: