Oak Avenue Nature Reserve

In the C19th Oak Avenue was called Hanworth Long Lane, which ran through an agricultural area and by the 1890s was in poor condition. It had oak trees on each side of the lane but it was a mass of mud and standing water in winter. In 1897 there was a petition from a number of residents to re-name the road Oak Avenue. From that time onwards the number of market gardens, nurseries and glasshouses gradually increased on the land both sides of the road.

During WWII much of north-west Hampton was an important area for food production with its market gardens, glasshouses and nurseries. However, after the war there was a great need for housing and Hampton had the only large area of land potentially available for building in the borough. By the 1960s many of the nurseries and glass houses also started to disappear with the increase in imported food, and this trend continued into the 1970s.

The Nature Reserve was created on the site of a former derelict garden nursery. Initially site clearance was funded by the Royal Mail and a Hampton Fuel Allotment Grant. Bulbs and a 200m native hedge were then planted, and the site was designated a Local Nature Reserve (LNR) in 1992. Richmond Council then recapped the land with new topsoil, and volunteers from local schools, churches, Guide and Scout troops all helped to develop the site. It now has a mixed habitat with rich neutral grassland, scrub and secondary woodland consisting of elm, hawthorn and ash trees.

In 2013 Richmond Council created a green link with footpaths running between the Nature Reserve and Hatherop Park. On the Oak Avenue side the Reserve is opposite Hampton Common so it is possible to walk from Buckingham Road to Broad Lane (1.5 miles) through both these green spaces, although there is some rough ground.

Friends of Hatherop Park and Oak Avenue Nature Reserve (https://www.facebook.com/hatheroakfriends/) was established c.2017 and organises events and activities in both spaces.