Richmond Park History
Richmond park has a fascinating history spanning almost four centuries since its enclosure by Charles I in 1637 as a Royal hunting ground. Whilst unpopular at the time, the physical enclosure of the park in Royal ownership has protected it from the creeping encroachment of an ever-growing urban London, thus creating one of the finest urban parks in the world.
Since 1997 Daniel Hearsum has collected historic material relating to the park including:
- 500 postcards
- 3000 photographs
- 400 maps and prints
- 500 books
- 1500 booklets and reports
- 4000 press articles
- 200 entrance tokens, badges and medals
- endless epherema from a police uniform to a fine painting
In 2009 The Friends of Richmond Park and The Hearsum Collection entered into a partnership to catalogue, digitise and publicise the collection for all to enjoy.
Initially the material will be displayed on this website, with leaflets, "apps", and physical displays to follow. In the longterm the collection will be put into a trust and hopefully housed in a permanent building within the park for public display.