Teddington

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For the village in Gloucestershire, see Teddington, Gloucestershire

Teddington

Coordinates: 51.4242° N 0.3321° W
OS grid reference	TQ159708
London borough	Richmond
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	TEDDINGTON
Postcode district	TW11
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
UK Parliament	Twickenham
London Assembly	South West
European Parliament	London
List of places: UK • England • London

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 de 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. During World War II, General Dwight D. Eisenhower planned the D-Day landings at his Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) in Bushy Park. 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, the Teddington Hockey Club (which claims to be the oldest hockey club in Britain) and Lensbury the sports and social club of Royal Dutch Shell.Lensbury is now run as a private members club and the sports teams previously associated with it have become independant, they are Lockside Rugby Club (http://www.locksiderugby.com) and Weirside AFC, these clubs still play at the Broom Road site but now have a clubhouse overlooking Teddington Lock.

1 Famous residents
2 Local geography
3 Trivia
4 External links
5 Literature
6 References

[edit] Famous residents

Thomas Traherne (1636/1637–1674), the poet and religious writer, lived in Teddington at the end of his life.
The actor Noel Coward was born in Teddington (131 Waldegrave Road) 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.
Comedian Julian Clary was born in Teddington in 1960.
The film actress June Duprez was born in Teddington on 14 May 1918.
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.

[edit] Local geography

[edit] Nearest places

Sluice gates at Teddington, on the River Thames

[edit] Local Royal Parks

[edit] Nearest railway stations

[edit] Churches in Teddington

St. Mary's with St Alban's Church of England Parish Church
Teddington Methodist Church
Teddington Baptist Church
Sacred Heart Roman Catholic
St. Mark's Church of England Parish Church
Teddington Methodist Church
Christ Church Free Church of England

[edit] Trivia

"Teddington Towpath Murders" took place in 1953. On 1 June, the day before Queen Elizabeth II was crowned, Barbara Songhurst was discovered floating in the river Thames. She had been stabbed four times and her friend, Christine Reed, was also missing. The investigation was led by Chief Inspector Herbert Hannam and Reed's body was found on 6 June. On 28 June Alfred Whiteway was arrested for their murder, and the sexual assault of three other women that same year. Whiteway was hanged at Wandsworth prison on 22 November 1953. The case was described as "one of Scotland Yard's most notable triumphs in a century".^[1]

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

[edit] External links

[edit] 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