Some are in Conservation Areas, some are not, but they are all special in some way. The Teddington Society’s planning group is compiling a register of these buildings (BTMs) with the aim of making them better known both to their owners and to the wider public. The Society believes that a more general awareness of these buildings of distinctive character can only increase interest in them and in their value.

If you own or think you may own a BTM (and have not already made contact) and are interested in having your home included in this project, send a brief email or letter to Michael Foss of the Teddington Society, giving your address, name or that of the owner and contact details including email address.

As well as participating in this project you may also be interested in joining the Teddington Society – you can do this for a small annual subscription. If you would like to do so please Michael Foss know and the membership secretary will send you an application form.

The Teddington Society are always keen to hear from fellow residents about ways in which we can further improve the townscape of the locality in which we are so fortunate to live and work, and look forward to hearing from you.

Michael Foss
20 Teddington Park
Teddington
TW11 8DA
Tel: 020 89774809
mhfoss@btinternet.com

The Grade II Listed hospital buildings, built from 1866 to care for mentally handicapped children have been in a state of disrepair for many years now and have suffered from vandalism and general theft and damage from people living on site.

The roof in particular has suffered from the removal of lead and roof tiles – enabling severe water damage, damp and rot in many areas. Other items removed include fireplaces, switches and mouldings.

Click on images to see more photos

The buildings are also on the English Heritage’s “At Risk” register (as Strawberry Hill House was previously) which has led to a request for an “Urgent Works Notice” and grant application to save the site.

By the early 1990′s, the hospital became part of the Richmond Twickenham and Roehampton Healthcare NHS Trust but it closed in 2000 and the site was sold to developers with hopes of turning the existing buildings into further residences for guests with learning disabilities, hotel, restaurant and bar – all in addition to the new flats created on the site that now form Langdon Park.

However a hotel operator to take the project on wasn’t found and revised plans in 2007 that factor in recent damage now only include residential use.

[Update] As mentioned in comments below, English Heritage (current owners) have agreed a deal with developers to convert the building into flats – work has already started on this huge project starting with securing the building to prevent further damage.

Locally-based Teddington House Doctors can do exactly that – they can unlock the true value of your home by simply taking your existing space and making it feel better.

This can include home-staging (preparing your house for that sale, or simply adding a few key accessories to add depth and character to your living space), property renovation, bite-size refurbishment or more substantial building work – either way they have the right kind of treatment for your property.

Some examples of how they have helped customers better present their homes to help secure the all-important sale.

The company was formed by two local residents Gianna and Roger who share a common love for property – having renovated many of their own homes in the past, they realised that sometimes just a few minor improvements in your home can not only increase its value, but also make it a more enjoyable place to live in.

Sunshine Soon

One of Teddington’s more spectacular riverside properties (on Broom Water) enjoying the unusually hot sun we experienced in May that is forecast to return by this weekend.

Peter Denton

In this photo series, Peter heaps praise on his local all-purpose convenience shop (Gunters on Stanley Road) – “open from 5.45am to 9pm every day of the week. As you’d expect, here you can buy everything from cereals to cigarettes, water to wine. You want a newspaper, stamps, a sandwich, a bottle of wine, a top-up on your Oyster card? Here’s the place. It’s cheerful, friendly, and always there when you need it. Shops like this, where they know you by name, are worth their weight in gold – and are a thousand times more welcoming, human, interesting and full of character than any supermarket on the planet.

Stephen Darlington

Taken near the Half-Moon plantation (near the model boating lake – Heron Pond), a route taken regularly by this photographer on the pleasant commute to work. On this particular morning fog was forecast so Stephen set off extra early to catch a glimpse of deer combined with the weather and managed to catch this stag backlit by the morning sun as the fog slowly lifted.

Ashill Developments are proposing to redevelop the commercial buildings and replace them with 62 new homes – a mixture of houses and apartments.

Previous recessions seemed to hit shops hardest with many empty units blighting most high-streets. This recession seems to have hit offices harder with more To Let signs popping up every month. Severe cost-cutting has led to many businesses to merge different office locations or simply to downsize their office space after redundancies and take advantage of the current ‘buyers market’ in office space.

High profile office spaces in Teddington that fall into this category are Informer House (now merged elsewhere), Park House (pictured below) which will see all current residents merge with other locations later in the year and Somerset House which is in the pre-planning stage to be torn down and replaced with a smaller office and 51 dwellings.

Claire Richards formerly of Steps explains in this article how her family are aiming to move up the property ladder and back to her husbands former haunt of Teddington partly because “we want to live in a place with a better village atmosphere.”.

The new owners of a prominent £1.9 million house backing on to the Thames by Teddington Lock is suing the former owners because of confusion over whether the garden flooding at high-tide was understood and declared at the time of sale. The hearing continues.

The Rotunda tucked away inside Bushy Park is still for sale for £4 million – you can check the interior out this very unique property here and marvel at how the former giant Admiralty torpedo tank was converted into an incredible award winning home. You can now get a glimpse of the structure from the gate seperating its grounds and the newly opened Water Gardens. Also some of the internal workings of the tank are on display just around the corner next to Upper Lodge.

Historical Research – research projects and booklet publishing (on sale at local events and in local bookshops)

Planning – monitoring planning applications and make representations where necessary or arrange public meetings concerning important proposals

Riverside and Open Spaces – taking an active interest in all matters relating to the local riverside, surrounding areas and parks (collaborating with Environmental Agency, Richmond Council and the Thames Landscape Strategy)

Roads and Transport – issues concerning roads and transport in Teddington and protection of the interests of rail and bus passengers as well as cyclists and pedestrians

Environment – issues such as litter, waste bins, graffiti, composting, fly-tipping, fly-posting and re-cycling

If you are particularly interested in any of the groups then you can register your interest on the application form and then be sent more information and updates on what the Society is doing to help in those areas.

You can help as little or as much as you like – volunteers at events, litterpicks etc are always welcome but even by simply joining the Society you are helping to keep Teddington at its best.

Also included in the membership is the popular quarterly newsletter Tidings which contains reports from the above groups, details of local news & events and articles about the local history, residents, businesses and more.

As well as leading the charge against some high-profile objections to planning proposals the Society also have a lively and regular social and outing calendar.

Annual membership fees are £5 for individuals, family £7, senior £3, joint senior £4.
For any enquiries contact secretary@teddingtonsociety.org.uk

Peg Woffington was a popular actress who was romantically linked with another local famous actor David Garrick who lived in Hampton Hill. Their plans to marry never materialised and in 1744 she moved to Teddington.

The cottages were almshouses built in the 1750′s and it is thought that Peg gave these to the poor of the parish. She is buried in nearby St Mary’s Parish Church.

Photos courtesy of Duncan Shuttleworth (Teddington Society).

Applications received:

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Applications decided:

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See Planning page for more detail on planning applications.