Look at "The Prospect of Richmond
in Surry" in 1726

You can just make out the line of The Vineyard road going horizontally
across the hill. Only three houses are visible close to The Vineyard. They were - perhaps - The
Vineyard House, Clarence House or Michel's Almshouses and Halford House but the details are not very
clear and probably not very accurate.
What is clear is that Richmond Hill as a whole was fields.
(Click on the picture for larger image)
Today the open fields have disappeared
View Larger Map
Now we have an urban street with 2 churches, 3 almshouses, 7 other listed buildings and a listed
phone-box - not to mention a varied group of interesting houses.
How did we get from country to town and change so drastically our local environment? This site
aims to show you how and when. We also look at some of the residents in the road between 1841 and 1911. The
Vineyard is especially interesting because it was developed piecemeal as the result of many individual landowners
and residents whereas most of the other roads on Richmond Hill were mainly designed at the behest of a single
developer.
"The Vineyard was, and is, a long road with houses of different sizes and qualities, the grandest being the
Hatherly's Newark House at No 9." (Bryan Govett)
This story will be more valuable and interesting if all those with knowledge of the road
or individual houses contribute that knowledge to this site. This site is a work in progress, please
comment and suggest improvements.
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