Discover Twickenham’s hidden gem as we celebrate Richmond's 60th anniversary

This year, Richmond upon Thames celebrates its 60th birthday! It is an exciting year for London too, with all the 32 boroughs celebrating the anniversary of their creation in April 1965.

A restructure in local government led to the Municipal Boroughs of Barnes, Twickenham and Richmond being brought together.

Initially, the new boroughs were given numbers, not names. It was up to each Council to choose a name for their new borough. For Barnes, Richmond and Twickenham, this was rather difficult, as only one of the three names could be used. We were known as Borough 24 until the name Richmond upon Thames was eventually chosen. 

On the 60th anniversary of Richmond upon Thames, we are shining a light on the story of ‘The Naked Ladies’ fountain, Twickenham’s hidden gem that can be found in York House Gardens.

The 'Naked Ladies' are a set of eight marble statues of women and two horses, located in the gardens of York House in Twickenham.

They were acquired by Sir Ratan Tata, who had the gardens of York House laid out in the style of an Italian garden to entertain his guests and show off the new group of statues he had acquired. After Sir Ratan's death, his wife sold York House to Twickenham Municipal Borough Council, and the statues passed into public ownership as part of the sale in 1924.

Find out more about the history of the statues and the restoration works in our video, or see them first-hand in York House Gardens.