Free
Local
#174
Museum of Richmond
A civic museum mapping Richmond’s long arc—from the medieval riverside settlement and royal Tudor palace to Georgian spa culture, Victorian bridges and 20th-century institutions. Displays blend archaeology, river trade, court life and suburbia into a clear, walkable narrative.
Opening Hours
Tuesday: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Wednesday: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Thursday: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Friday: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Saturday: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
What's not to miss inside?
Richmond Palace & the Tudors
Explores Henry VII’s rebuilding of the old Shene Palace as ‘Richmond’ and the court life that followed.Tiles, seals and architectural fragments outline a vanished riverside residence where Elizabeth I spent her last days in 1603.
📍 Tudor gallery
River Thames: Trade & Leisure
Charts the Thames as lifeline—ferries, wharfs, boatbuilding—and as a leisure stage for skiffs, regattas and painting.Engravings and boat gear show how transport and pleasure overlapped on this gentle bend of the river.
📍 River & bridges section
From Spa Town to Suburb
Documents fashionability, new bridges and railways pulling Richmond into the metropolitan orbit.Tickets, hotelware and health-spa ephemera trace how visitors turned into residents.
📍 Georgian–Victorian cases
Inspire your Friends
- Henry VII renamed Shene Palace ‘Richmond’ after his earldom in Yorkshire; the new name spread to the whole town.
- Elizabeth I died at Richmond Palace in 1603, making the site a bookend to the Tudor era; only fragments of the vast complex survive today.
- Successive bridges at Richmond—ferries, a wooden structure, and later a graceful 18th-century stone bridge—reshaped river traffic and the town’s street plan.
