Barnes
Barnes is a district within the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is in the north east of the borough and is positioned 5.8 miles west south west of Charing Cross.
Barnes has lots of 1700s and 19th century buildings in the streets near Barnes Pond, which make up Barnes Village conservation area where most of the mid-19th century buildings are situated. Around the east riverside, there is the WWT London Wetland Centre which adjoins a number of fields for 3 principal national team sports.
The town was previously a part of Surrey, and it appears within the Domesday book as ‘Berne’. Barnes’ village church was constructed between 1100 and 1150 and named the Chapel of St Mary’s. It was extended in the early thirteenth century, and was added to once again in 1786. A huge fire destroyed parts of the extensions to the chapel in 1978, so restoration work was done in 1984.
Barnes has a large amount 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 situated in St Paul’s Cathedral. The town has a non-league football team known as Stonewall FC, who play at Barn Elms Playing Fields.
Barnes Rugby Club is known 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 recognised for rowing; the loop of the Thames surrounding Barnes is a part of the Championship Course made use of for the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race.
