Barnes is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is inside the north east of the borough and is positioned 9.3 km west south west of Charing Cross.
Barnes has lots of eighteenth centu and 19th century buildings in the streets close to Barnes Pond, which make up Barnes Village conservation area where a lot of the mid-19th century buildings are placed. On the east riverside, there's the WWT London Wetland Centre which adjoins numerous fields for three main national team sports.
The town had been part of Surrey, and it appears in the Domesday book as ‘Berne’. Barnes’ village church was built between 1100 and 1150 and named the Chapel of St Mary’s. It was extended in the early 13th century, and was added to again in 1786. A large fire destroyed parts of the extensions to the chapel in 1978, so restoration work was accomplished in 1984.
Barnes features a great deal of sporting history spanning decades. In football, a High Master of St Paul’s School, Richard Mulcaster, is recognised with turning mob football into a refereed team sport. The school sits on Lonsdale Road, but at the time of Mulcaster it was located in St Paul’s Cathedral. The town has a non-league football club named Stonewall FC, who play at Barn Elms Playing Fields.
Barnes Rugby Club is considered to be the oldest club in the world in any football code. They play next to the WWT London Wetlands Centre. The town is also known for rowing; the loop of the Thames surrounding Barnes is part of the Championship Course used for the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race.