Ham, Surrey
Historical Description
Ham, a parish in Surrey, on the Thames, near Richmond Park, about 2 miles from Richmond station on the L. & S.W.R., 2 N of Kingston-on-Thames, and 12 from London, and has a post and money order office, of the name of Ham, under Richmond; telegraph office, Petersham. Acreage, 1913; population of the civil parish, 1933; of the ecclesiastical, 1479. Ham House stands on low ground, close to the river; was built in 1610 by Sir Thomas Vavason; has over the principal entrance the words (t Vivat Rex," was bought 15 years after its erection by the first Earl of Dysart, was the retreat of James II. before he escaped to France, continues to be little or none altered from its original condition, contains much antique furniture, a richly-carved oak staircase, many interesting portraits and valuable pictures; includes the famous Duchess of Lauderdale's apartments nearly as when she occupied them, and stands amid grounds with many fine old trees, and with a colossal statue representing the Thames. The National Orphan Home was established on Ham Common in 1849; was rebuilt on a new site there in 1862; is a brick structure with stone dressings and with a portico, and contains accommodation for 200 orphan girls. There are a brewery and market gardens. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Rochester; gross value, £250. Patron, King's College, Cambridge. The church stands on the common; was built in 1832 and enlarged in 1859, and consists of nave, aisle, and chancel. There are some alms-houses for fourteen aged persons.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
Ancient County | Surrey | |
Civil parish | Petersham | |
Hundred | Kingston | |
Poor Law union | Kingston |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
Ancestry.co.uk, in association with Surrey History Centre, have images of the Parish Registers for Surrey online.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Ham from the following:
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Surrey is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Ham are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Surrey papers online:
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitation of Surrey, 1662-1668 is available on the Heraldry page.