Glover's Island
| Glover's Island | ||
|---|---|---|
.jpg) from Terrace Gardens, from Richmond Hill , Richmond |
||
| Waters | Thames | |
| Geographical location | 51 ° 27 ′ N , 0 ° 18 ′ W | |
|
||
| Residents | uninhabited | |
 |
||
Glover's Island (originally Petersham Ait) is located in Horse Reach of the Thames , between Richmond Lock and Teddington Lock in the Borough of Richmond upon Thames , London , England .
In 1872 the island was bought by Joseph Glover, a ferryman , for £ 70 . He put the island up for sale in 1895 but Sir J. Whittaker Ellis, the Richmond Charter Mayor, declined to buy it for £ 5,000, suggesting that the Richmond Corporation do so. This saw it as possible to buy the island, but refused the asking price.
In 1898, Glover tried again and created a scandal when he put the island up for auction, suggesting that it could be bought by Pears Soap , a soap brand, to put on a billboard.
Glover used this to blackmail the Richmond Corporation, to whom he offered the island for £ 4,000. Even if the corporation wanted to buy the island, it saw no justification for such a large expenditure of its own.
There was a long public discussion about keeping the view from Richmond Hill undisturbed. There was a suggestion that the island should be bought with donations and corporation money.
By September 1898 only £ 50 in donations were raised and it was revealed that Glover had bought the island for £ 70 did not encourage the willingness to donate.
The auction took place on September 21, 1898. The highest bid was only £ 200. An unnamed local resident offered Glover £ 1,000 to give to the corporation. But Glover turned down all offers and withdrew the island from the sale.
In 1900 Max Waechter , who lived in Terrace House on Richmond Hill, bought Glover Island for a sum that was never published and donated it to the Corporation.
See also
swell
- Richmond Libraries' Local Studies Collection at richmond.gov.uk
