The Richmond History Journal includes ; an article on Richmond’s first balloon flight, penned by Dr. Robert Wood, details how an 18th-century print was unexpectedly found in the Hearsum Collection, an archive of material relating to the history of Richmond Park, held at the famous Pembroke Lodge within the park.

Other articles in the new issue include Simon Fowler on what Richmond’s first street names tell us about the town in the 17th and 18th centuries; Stephen Bartlett on the early history of Kew’s Lawn Crescent; Dr. Steven Woodbridge on the controversial anti-alien campaign pursued by Mrs. Norah Dacre-Fox during the 1918 General Election; Vanessa Fison on two local families linked by marriage and with royal connections; John Moses on St Anne’s Church, Kew, and its architectural attributions; Ron Berryman on the founding of the Richmond Society and its off-shoot, the Richmond Hill Committee, which was critical to saving the famous view from Richmond Hill in the 1960s; Martin Stilwell on the hidden and surprising history of industries in Kew and north Richmond during the First World War; and Dr. Simon Targett on a momentous conversation that took place in Richmond Palace between Francis Drake and Queen Elizabeth on his return from circumnavigating the world.

With plenty of images in eye-catching full colour, the new issue of Richmond History will be a superb addition to the bookshelves of anybody with a keen interest in local history or, indeed, in how local history often has a national or global dimension.