London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames | |
|---|---|
Richmond Park and the wider Richmond upon Thames area, from above | |
|
Coat of arms Council logo | |
Richmond upon Thames shown within Greater London | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | London |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Created | 1 April 1965 |
| Admin HQ | Twickenham |
| Government | |
| • Type | London borough council |
| • Body | Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council |
| • London Assembly | Gareth Roberts (LD) |
| • MPs | Munira Wilson (LD) Sarah Olney (LD) Ruth Cadbury (L) |
| Area | |
• Total | 22.17 sq mi (57.41 km2) |
| • Rank | 235th (of 296) |
| Population (2024) | |
• Total | 196,678 |
| • Rank | 103rd (of 296) |
| • Density | 8,873/sq mi (3,426/km2) |
| Ethnicity (2021) | |
| • Ethnic groups | |
| Religion (2021) | |
| • Religion | List
|
| Time zone | UTC (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| Postcodes | |
| ISO 3166 code | GB-RIC |
| ONS code | 00BD |
| GSS code | E09000027 |
| Police | Metropolitan Police |
| Website | www |
The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames (ⓘ) is an Outer London borough formed in 1965 from the merger of three older boroughs. These were the Municipal Borough of Richmond and the Municipal Borough of Barnes, situated south of the Thames which was, until 1965, part of Surrey, and the Municipal Borough of Twickenham on the northern, Middlesex bank of the Thames. In this way it is the only London borough to straddle the River Thames.
The population is 198,019 and the major communities are Barnes, East Sheen, Mortlake, Kew, Richmond, Twickenham, Teddington and Hampton.
The borough includes Richmond Park, the largest park in London, along with the National Physical Laboratory and The National Archives. Kew Gardens, Hampton Court Palace, Twickenham Stadium and the WWT London Wetlands Centre are within its boundaries and draw domestic and international tourism. In 2023, the borough was ranked first in Rightmove's Happy at Home index, making it the "happiest place to live in Great Britain"; the first time a London borough has taken the top spot.