Richmond architecture walking tour - Saturday 23 May 2026 10am
Regular price £9.50Join Open City for a walking tour exploring the unique architectural, landscape and urban history of Richmond
This insightful walking tour tells the story of how Richmond developed from a place where the Georgian royalties and upper class gathered, to a suburb where people now work and live.
The tour will look at various housing typologies developed by notables and speculative developers, from Victorian townhouses to mid century houses.
A key highlight is the Grade I-listed Georgian-style Marble Hill house built for a woman in the 1720s. It is the last complete survivor of the elegant villas and gardens that bordered the River Thames between Richmond and Hampton Court in the 18th century.
We will also look at the huge and traditionally-styled Richmond Riverside development which was completed in the 1980s, and see how existing historical buildings were preserved and historical riverfront revived. We will then see the Poppy Factory, one of the area’s few remaining 1930s Art Deco factories which is still being used as a factory.
We will examine the impact of the development of transportation links on the suburban development, from the building of Richmond Bridge in 1777 to the building of Richmond Station in 1864 and the tube link in 1877.
The tour will finish at the viewing point on Richmond Hill with a beautiful view protected by an act of Parliament.
Key information
Meet: Outside La Creperie Bretonne 115 St. Margarets Rd, TW1 2LH, turn right coming out of St. Margarets train station.
The 2nd stop on the tour is Turner’s House on Sandycombe Road.
End: Richmond Hill viewing point TW10
Duration: 2.5 hrs approx
Distance: 3.2km / 2 miles
Route notes: Mostly flat, pavement walking. There some uneven surfaces, parkland grassed surfaces and some brief uphill walks towards Richmond Hill, we recommend wearing comfortable shoes.
Shuang Karen Hu is a resident of Richmond and had many years of experience in law and teaching before she trained as a walking tour guide. Hu is interested in bringing people’s attention to our built environment, thinking about how they were developed and discovering the stories behind them.
Hu is a graduate of the 2025 Golden Key Academy — a masterclass for urban and architectural tour guiding run by Open City. She joined the Open City tours team in February 2026.
Please select solidarity pricing if you feel you can help our charity to offer reduced concessionary tickets to others who require them.
We offer reduced-price tickets for people who are currently without paid work (e.g. job seekers or those on income support). If you are retired and income support does not apply to you please select the Over 65s ticket, which also includes a discount.
We aim to be inclusive and accessible where possible, please contact Adrianna at tours@open-city.org.uk to discuss your accessibility needs, reduced ticket prices and if you require a free carer ticket.
Tickets are non-refundable and tours go ahead rain or shine.
Photography may be taking place on any of our tours, please indicate on the day if you do not want to be in any of the photos.
* Please check for any planned transport engineering works, planned strike action or large scale events that may affect your journey before making your ticket purchase *
If you find you can no longer make the tour for any reason including Covid we are unable to transfer you to another date, but please feel free to pass your booked place onto a friend to go and enjoy the tour in your place.
In the event your tour date is cancelled you will be issued with a credit note (with no expiry date) that you can use to
- book onto a rescheduled date
- book onto any other tour from our programme
or you can request a refund.
All ticket purchases are in support of the work of our organisation including our pioneering education programmes. We really appreciate your support!
Get in touch with Adrianna at tours@open-city.org.uk with any queries.
