Notable buildings

Listed buildings include a watchman's box, that also served as a village lock-up^[15] and dates from 1787.^[16]

Petersham Road (part of the A307) includes an extremely sharp right-angled bend edged by a pair of handsome wrought iron gates. This is the entrance to Montrose House, one of the most notable houses in Petersham. After a spate of serious accidents on the bend in the road, the neighbours formed a group in the 1850s called Trustees of the Road. The Hon. Algernon Tollemache of Ham House was their leader and they managed to persuade the owner of Montrose House to part with some land to reduce the sharpness of the bend. But various dents in the brick wall today reveal that motorists are still taken unawares by it.^[17]

Adjacent to Montrose House and equally as impressive is Rutland Lodge, built in 1666 for a Lord Mayor of London;^[18] it is Grade II* listed.^[19]

Another historic house in Petersham is Douglas House, just off the west drive to Ham House. One of its notable inhabitants was Catherine, Duchess of Queensberry. In 1969 it was bought by the Federal Republic of Germany for use as a German school. New buildings have been erected in the grounds, but the original house and stables have been preserved.^[20]

St Peter's Church

Petersham Parish Church is believed to pre-date the Norman conquest of England, as a church at Petersham is mentioned in Domesday Book (1086).^[3]

All Saints' Church

All Saints', on Bute Avenue, was built as a church but was never consecrated.^[22] It was built between 1899 and 1909 by Leeds architect John Kelly for Mrs Rachael Warde (née Walker) (1841–1906)^[23] as a memorial to her father Samuel Walker and her aunt Ellen Walker.^[24] During World War II it was used as an Anti-Aircraft Command post^[25][26][27] and it has also been used as a recording studio^[28] and as a filming location.^[29] It is now a private residence.^[29]

Living people

• Shirley Bloomer (born 1934), who won three Grand Slam tennis titles during her tennis-playing career, is the widow of Chris Brasher (see Historical figures below); they brought up their family in Petersham.^[34]
• Michael Frayn (born 1933), playwright and novelist, and his wife Claire Tomalin (born 1933), journalist and biographer, live in Petersham.^[35]
• The entertainer Tommy Steele (born 1936) bought Montrose House in 1969.^[36][37] He sold it in about 2004.^[38]
• Lynne Truss (born 1955), author, journalist, novelist, and radio broadcaster and dramatist, grew up in Petersham.^[39]
• Peter Voser (b. 1958), the former CEO of Royal Dutch Shell, lived in Petersham. He has since moved back to his native Switzerland.^[40]
• Fearne Cotton (b. 1981), TV presenter, lived at Chestnut Cottage, Petersham 2004–2008.^[41]

Historical figures

• Daisy Ashford (1881–1972), who is most famous for writing The Young Visiters, was born at Elm Lodge, Petersham.^[42][43]
• Chris Brasher (1928–2003), an athlete and sports journalist who co-founded the London Marathon, lived in River Lane, Petersham.^[34]
• The author and illustrator Charles George Harper (1863–1943) lived in Petersham in later life, and died there in 1943.^[44]
• Lodowick Carlell (1602–1675), courtier and playwright, and his wife Joan Carlile (c.1606–1679), portrait painter, lived at Petersham Lodge in Richmond Park. They are buried together in St Peter's churchyard, but the location of their grave is not known.^[45]
• Prince Rupert Loewenstein (1933–2014), aristocrat, merchant banker and longtime financial manager of The Rolling Stones, lived at Petersham Lodge in River Lane, a former grace-and-favour mansion, purchased for about £2 million in 1987.^[46] It is an early 18th-century house, built for Catherine Douglas, Duchess of Queensberry, and Grade II listed by Historic England.^[47]
• The businessman Tony Rampton (1915–1993), who was chairman of the clothing retailer Freemans, lived at Gort Lodge, an early 18th-century Grade II listed house in Petersham, where he and his wife Joan, who were both philanthropists, brought up their family, including their son Richard Rampton QC (born 1941), who became a libel lawyer. Tony and Joan Rampton are buried in St Peter's churchyard.^[48][49]
• George Vancouver (1757–1798), Captain in the Royal Navy and one of Britain's greatest explorers and navigators, is thought to have lived in Glen Cottage on River Lane in Petersham; he is buried in St Peter's churchyard.^[5]
• Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton (1784–1841), politician, sociopolitical theorist and colonial administrator, who was Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies between 1821 and 1828, and Governor of Ceylon from 1831 to 1837, lived and died at Sudbrook Park, Petersham.^[50]