Thames Landscape Strategy - Hampton to Kew -

Richmond Virginia

Between Hampton and Kew, the River Thames flows through one of the most glorious landscapes in the UK celebrated as the Arcadian Thames meaning ‘rural paradise’. Few visitors to the towpath whether they are in Molesey, Kingston, Ham or Kew can fail to be inspired by the pastoral character of the river – quite amazing when one considers just how close to central London we are. 4000 miles away from our stretch of the Thames however, is another very similar landscape which I have recently been lucky enough to visit. This splendid waterway is the James River in Virginia that flows through the very centre of the state’s capital Richmond.

Our trip to Virginia was organised by ‘Richmond Twinning’ and was sponsored by a number of UK and US organisations to mark the 400th anniversary of the first English exploration to the place that would later become known as Richmond. This was final part of a month long event to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of the first permanent English settlements in North America. This was the reason for HM The Queen’s visit to the US earlier in May.

The small delegation from Richmond upon Thames included The Lord Watson of Richmond, the Mayor of Richmond upon Thames Marc Cranfield – Adams and Richmond Council Leader Serge Lourie. It was the first official twinning visit since their Mayor joined us back in 2002 to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Act of Parliament that protects the View from Richmond Hill.
It was in May 1607 that the first permanent English settlement was established in North America at Jamestown, situated at the mouth of the mighty James River.

An expeditionary team led by Captain Christopher Newport was then sent up stream aboard the Godspeed (one of three small boats that made the crossing from England) to map the river and discover more about the thriving Native American culture of the area. Fifty miles upstream the Godspeed was stopped by a series of rapids known as ‘The Falls’, a seven mile stretch of un-navigable rapids at the site of present day Richmond. Meanwhile back in Jamestown malaria and famine killed all but 38 of the 140 settlers. One of the survivors was the infamous Captain Smith who having been captured by Indians was saved from execution by the daughter of Chief Powhatan – Pocahontas (of the Disney fame) who threw herself at his feet.

It wasn’t long before a successful trading post was established at ‘The Falls’ due to its strategic position at the head of navigation. This was inherited in 1670 by William Byrd of London who travelled to Virginia and quickly made his fortune growing the new cash crop of tobacco. It was his son ’, William Byrd II who had the honour of naming the settlement Richmond thus laying the foundations for the close relationship between Richmond, Surrey and Richmond, Virginia which has survived to this day. Having spent much of his childhood in England (and much of this at Petersham) the young William Byrd II returned to America and was struck by the similarity between the view of a bend in the James River as seen from a hill overlooking his family’s settlement with the view from our Richmond Hill – the same view he had become so familiar with as a child. There was no doubt in his mind that the town should now be called Richmond, and Richmond Virginia was born!

The town quickly became a thriving industrial city straddling both sides of the James River. Despite being burnt to the ground during the US Civil War (Richmond was the capital of the defeated Southern Confederacy) and being the centre of the American tobacco industry the comparison between the rivers in both Richmonds is quite astounding: Both rivers flow through the heart of their respective communities and are bordered by a wealth of wildlife, historic parks, gardens and houses. Both rivers contain the end of the tidal influence and have a fascinating history of navigation and recreation.

Today, the James River is regarded as one of the best urban waterways in the States and the only one with class five rapids. For much of the city the 100m wide river tumbles down huge rocks strewn across the riverbed. – Upstream the suburbs are surrounded by tree covered hills and at the bottom of ‘the Falls’there are factories, downtown skyscrapers and a huge 10m high flood wall!

The river is truly spectacular. Along its banks it contains some of the most important historic plantation houses in the US and many wonderful parks and gardens – many of which are very similar to our own, the Virginians favouring the English style of gardening. The wildlife, however is slightly different. Their herons for example are twice the size of ours (and that is big!) and it would be unusual to see racoons, possums and chipmunks playing along the Thames. It was also amazing to see every colour of bird imaginable – including humming birds. Also of great interest were the river snakes, a pair of breeding ospreys, turtles basking in the sun and a bald eagle perched on a lamppost. If I had ventured a little further into the swamps I would have been lucky enough to have spotted alligators that have recently moved as far north as Virginia.

Another similarity between the two communities is the constant pressure for inappropriate development along the river. An important part of the twinning visit was to lend support for a campaign to help save the view from Virginia’s Richmond Hill which is currently threatened by a number of planning applications. The city has recently woken up to the fact that the river is the best asset in the town (a fact we have known for a long time over here!). Although this means more interest in preserving the James River it has also opened the doors to some pretty large developments. The City Council has very limited powers in fighting off or even directing developments so the campaign to save the view in order to change public opinion is extremely urgent.

The campaigners are taking inspiration from the fight to save the view from our Richmond Hill over 100 years ago and all the accompanying benefits that the saved open spaces have brought to the area. This made our visit very special to them and the support we were able to give to their campaign was a huge boost. Last year the Mayor of Richmond upon Thames unveiled an interpretation plaque on top of their hill celebrating the links between the two Richmonds describing what we have done to protect our view. During our recent visit Mayor Cranfield-Adams reiterated the need to conserve their riverscape. This was extremely warmly received from all parties and during the trip Richmond Virginia’s Mayor Wilder pledged his support to do everything necessary to help protect their view. On the positive side, the City Council recently managed to scale down a large marina and housing development next to the river. However a new proposal would see a fourteen storey tower block in their equivalent of Petersham Meadows. So there is still a lot of work to be done.

The bonds that link the two historic communities go back centuries and today this has evolved into a much deeper relationship than simply sharing the same name. At the heart of Richmond Twinning is the joint goal to conserve and promote our respective environments, wildlife, parks, houses, towpaths and gardens stretching below two hills with remarkably similar views. It is hoped that a delegation from Virginia will visit us next year .

If you would like to find out more about the historic links between Richmond Surrey and Richmond Virginia a fascinating exhibition is currently running at the Museum of Richmond entitled – ‘The Two Richmonds, A Celebration of Their Twinning’ until November 2007.

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