Facts about Kew
History of Kew
Kew forms part of the Richmond Park UK Parliament constituency; the Member of Parliament is Sarah Olney. For elections to the London Assembly, it is part of the South West London Assembly constituency. In 1965, under the London Government Act 1963, the boundaries of Greater London were expanded to include Kew which, with Richmond, transferred from Surrey to the new London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.
Kew Retail Park stands on the site of a former factory where, from the 1920s until 1967, Dodge made lorries with the model name Kew. Cars were also manufactured there. Dodge Brothers became a Chrysler subsidiary in 1928 and truck production moved to Chrysler’s car plant at Kew. In 1933 it began to manufacture a British chassis, at its works in Kew, using American engines and gearboxes.
Gemeral Info
Kew is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, 1.5 miles north-east of Richmond and 7.1 miles west by south-west of Charing Cross; its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens, now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is also the home of important historical documents such as Domesday Book, which is held at The National Archives.
Julius Caesar may have forded the Thames at Kew in 54 BC during the Gallic Wars. Successive Tudor, Stuart and Georgian monarchs maintained links with Kew. During the French Revolution, many refugees established themselves there and it was the home of several artists in the 18th and 19th centuries.
