London Borough of Richmond upon Thames

The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is a London borough in south west London, England, which forms part of Outer London.

Settlement
It can been seen from a map that the borough is not entirely urbanised. There are some large areas of open space within the borough boundaries. The main suburban developments are Hampton and Teddington in the south, Twickenham, St Margarets and Whitton in the central area west of the River Thames and the Richmond-Kew-Mortlake-Barnes corridor across the loop of the river. It is the only London borough to straddle the Thames with districts on both sides of the river.

List of districts

 * Barnes
 * East Sheen
 * Fulwell
 * Ham
 * Hampton
 * Hampton Hill
 * Hampton Wick
 * Kew
 * Mortlake
 * North Sheen
 * Petersham
 * Richmond
 * St Margarets
 * Strawberry Hill
 * Teddington
 * Twickenham
 * Whitton

Attractions, parks and open spaces
Parks take up a great deal of the borough and include Richmond Park, Bushy Park, Kew Gardens, and Hampton Court Park. There are over 100 parks and open spaces within its boundary and 21mi of river frontage - five times more green and open space than any other London borough.

The borough is also home to the National Physical Laboratory and the attractions of Hampton Court Palace, Twickenham Stadium and the WWT London Wetlands Centre draw both domestic and international tourism.

In December 2006, Sport England published a survey which revealed that residents of the Richmond upon Thames were the 2nd most active in England in sports and other fitness activities. 29.8% of the population participate at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes.

History
The borough was formed in 1965 by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Twickenham from Middlesex with the Municipal Borough of Richmond and the Municipal Borough of Barnes from Surrey; council offices were centred at York House in Twickenham. The name 'Richmond upon Thames' was coined at that time; it is now commonly but inaccurately used to refer to Richmond only.

Transport
The borough is connected to central London by the National Rail services of South West Trains. The London Underground, District Line, serves Richmond and Kew Gardens Stations: both are also served by Overground trains on the North London Line.

List of stations
The other stations are:
 * Barnes
 * Barnes Bridge
 * Fulwell
 * Hampton
 * Hampton Wick
 * Mortlake
 * North Sheen
 * St Margarets
 * Strawberry Hill
 * Teddington
 * Twickenham
 * Whitton

Education
Richmond upon Thames is the local education authority for the borough, and has responsibility for 52 schools.

University

 * St Mary's University College
 * Richmond, The American International University in London