History of Teddington – By Natasha Radosavljevic, Esher College Teddington is a little village in South West London, England. In 1867 the Local Government Board of Teddington was formed and this became the Urban District Council in 1894. Historically in Middlesex, it has been part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965.

Lots of change took place in Teddington around the 20th century. Many establishments were built including several which are still around today e.g. Dowsett’s newsagents. In 1902 the National Physical Laboratory started in Bushy House. This was the largest applied physics organisation in the UK (where the first accurate atomic clock was built). Electricity was soon supplied to Teddington allowing for further development.

On 26 April a train was almost destroyed in Teddington after an arson attack by Suffragetes.

Until this time there was only a very small cottage hospital. It could not hold the growing population and the injuries during World War 1. Money was eventually raised to build Teddington Memorial Hospital in 1929.

There are several notable figures who lived or grew up in Teddington like Mo Farah, Olympian, who has a home in Teddington and Keira Knightley, actress, who grew up in Teddington.

Teddington is very famous for Bushy Park which acted as hunting grounds for Henry VIII and his family. Its local proximity to Royalty brought this small village economic prosperity with the largest place for employment being The NPL. Teddington and surrounding areas have some of the highest house prices in the UK outside of Central London.

For such a small town it has quite a rich history with a link to royalty and a beautiful park used by many.

By Natasha Radosavljevic