A photo of the flowering cherry tree at the junction of Richmond Park Road, Sheen Lane and Vicarage Road, in all its glory was posted on 28 March 2025 at https://childlawobserver10.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=2096&action=edit
As can be seen in the photo below there is a bench in front of the tree with a memorial to Susie, a beloved Corgi, donated by the owner T. S. Macadam. Does anyone know of Susie or Macadam?
This report is published today by the Michael Sieff Foundation, a charity based in East Sheen, which has been working in the child welfare field for forty years. The Foundation does not do face to face work with children but seeks to improve policy and practice.
Eighty per cent of children cautioned or sentenced in the youth justice system have special education needs or disabilities. The Foundation convened an expert working group to consider what reforms would enable these children to avoid contact with the justice system, and if they do enter the system, what would help them to lead well-functioning, fulfilled and productive lives.
The Report makes a number of recommendations to improve the system. Expert economic analysis reports that the cost of implementation would be in the region of £16m per year, with economic benefits of £191m.
The full report is available at https://www.michaelsieff-foundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/SEND-Neurodivergence-and-Youth-Justice-Report-Sieff-Foundation-2025.pdf
Three generations of Penrhyns owned The Cedars in East Sheen from 1824 to 1920. They were substantial local philanthropists.
Edward Penrhyn ne Leycester was born in 1794 and died in 1861. In 1817 inherited a fortune from his cousin Lady Penrhyn. In accordance with her will he changed his name to Penrhyn. He was educated at Eton and St. John’s College Cambridge. He was President of the Cambridge Union.. In 1818 he was admitted as a barrister to the Middle Temple.
In 1823 he married Lady Charlotte Elizabeth Stanley (1801–1853), a daughter of the 13th Earl of Derby and a sister of the 14th Earl of Derby, who in 1852 became prime minister. They had two sons:
In 1823 Edward Penrhyn was “of East Sheen”. He bought the Cedars in 1824. He built Derby Road and Stanley Road. He was largely instrumental in building Christ Church but died before its consecration in 1864.
His son E Leycester Penrhyn was the first chairman of Surrey County Council in 1899. The County Council offices are in Penrhyn Road Kingston upon Thames. He bought the sixteen Model Cottages built by the Labourers’ Friends Society between 1852 and 1858 and built ten more between 1866 and 1870.
In 1920 the family gave a strip of land to allow for the widening of the Upper Richmond Road: see the plaque on the pavement near the junction with Sheen Gate Gardens. Round the corner is Penrhyn Crescent.
The Cedars was demolished in 1930 and replaced by Cedar Court.
Richmond Council writes:
Hammersmith Bridge’s main carriageway is now open for pedestrians, cyclists and e-scooter users.
There are now three separate lanes in the carriageway – one dedicated for cyclists traveling north, another for cyclists traveling south and a third two-way pedestrian path.
The outer footways will also remain open to pedestrians only.
There’s a lot going on in Mortlake at the Stag Brewery Film Studio.
In April 2024 The Story Collective, a production company co-founded by Simon Vaughan and Damian Keogh, a Barnes resident, launched The Story Works at the Stag Brewery in Mortlake. The Story Works is a film and television studio complex developed and owned by The Story Collective. The Story Collective, co-founded by Simon Vaughan and Damian Keogh, is the company behind the development and management of The Story Works.
The Story Works is described as the “largest film and television studio in the heart of London,” and it provides production offices, workshops, and soundstages. The site has also been used for outdoor set construction, like the Victorian East London docks and back-streets for the Disney+ drama series “A Thousand Blows”.
The highly praised A Thousand Blows filmed on the site in 2023 has already been shown on Disney + (and can still be streamed) with a second season already in the can. The Guardian awarded the series five stars, praising its depth of storytelling and themes. Stylist Magazine lauded it as “an immersive, entertaining, and gripping watch,” with particular praise for its “grandiosity” enhanced by authentic costumes and film sets.
A sequel to Downton Abbey has been filmed and more is expected. Filming for the fourth season of Jack Reacher will begin in the summer of 2025.
Exciting times. And if the Academy does not get the planning go-ahead in the forthcoming decisions of the Planning Inspector or the Department for Education, the company would be up for expansion on the site. That could get really exciting.
Continue readingThere’s a lot going on in Mortlake at the Stag Brewery Film Studio.
In April 2024 The Story Collective, a production company co-founded by Simon Vaughan and Damian Keogh, a Barnes resident, launched The Story Works at the Stag Brewery in Mortlake. The Story Works is a film and television studio complex developed and owned by The Story Collective. The Story Collective, co-founded by Simon Vaughan and Damian Keogh, is the company behind the development and management of The Story Works.
The Story Works is described as the “largest film and television studio in the heart of London,” and it provides production offices, workshops, and soundstages. The site has also been used for outdoor set construction, like the Victorian East London docks and back-streets for the Disney+ drama series “A Thousand Blows”.
The highly praised A Thousand Blows filmed on the site in 2023 has already been shown on Disney + (and can still be streamed) with a second season already in the can. The Guardian awarded the series five stars, praising its depth of storytelling and themes. Stylist Magazine lauded it as “an immersive, entertaining, and gripping watch,” with particular praise for its “grandiosity” enhanced by authentic costumes and film sets.
A sequel to Downton Abbey has been filmed and more is expected. Filming for the fourth season of Jack Reacher will begin in the summer of 2025.
Exciting times. And if the Academy does not get the planning go-ahead in the forthcoming decisions of the Planning Inspector or the Department for Education, the company would be up for expansion on the site. That could get really exciting.
Continue reading
This picture is exhibited in the Orleans House Gallery in Twickenham. The subject is the Five Alls Pub in East Sheen.
Where, when. what does the name mean?
And nearby….. is a plaque which includes the name Major A Leycester-Penrhyn.
Find out more at the Barnes Home Guard Club at 76a Richmond Park Road SW14 8LA at 730pm on Wednesday 30th April 2025. And about other pubs and personalities.
Sarah Olney MP reported in her Newsletter on Friday that she had recently held a community meeting with local businesses in East Sheen, prompted by East Sheen Business and Retail Association. They are concerned that our high street businesses are facing a crisis if certain issues are not tackled immediately.
While the government’s manifesto included the overhauling of the business rates system, there have been no systemic changes to speak of, while the reduction of the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Rates Relief Scheme will impact businesses significantly. Many of the business owners raised that their rates, on top of rent, energy bills, and other expenses, are too high and could force them into closing.
East Sheen Village issued a statement to EastSheenMatters:
“The most important thing is for people to shop locally in East Sheen in order to support the local businesses on their high street. When they shop locally, not only do they support the businesses but they help the local economy and keep our high street vibrant and alive. It’s sadly too late to support shops when they announce that they are having to close.
“We need more people to regularly remember to go into East Sheen high street to buy from a variety of shops, to venture into shops they have never visited before, to plan to buy their book a few days before they finish their current one rather than popping onto Amazon for a next day delivery, to purchase birthday cards from the independent shops, get beauty treatments locally, find the odd bits and pieces at the independent hardware stores, venture into the independent groceries and delis and eat and drink and meet their friends at the cafes and restaurants that sit along the whole of our high street.”
A recurring issue discussed at the meeting is shoplifting. In addition to the financial consequences, the emotional toll in being threatened or having your store broken into is sometimes not understood. The roundtable discussion registered that many owners are concerned about the safety of their staff.
The local police have been granted a number of Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs) for identified prolific offenders. These orders will place restrictions on entry to certain places in Richmond, and in some cases, to the borough as a whole. It will make enforcement and prosecution an easier task if the offenders are found to be in violation of their CBOs.
What games are being played by the Metropolitan Police on the Parks Police service? It was widely reported on 3 April 2025 (and not denied by the Met) that the Royal Parks Police is to be disbanded by the end of 2025.
Sarah Olney MP reports in her Newsletter yesterday that her office has since spoken with the Head of External Relations at the Metropolitan Police, who confirmed that a decision is yet to be made, but budgeting decisions and cuts will be announced in the coming weeks.
Are we simply being softened up for a decision which the Met knows is wholly unacceptable to the local community?
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