Queen's Promenade

Until the 1850s the river frontage had been dangerous, and gravel working along the foreshore had weakened the foundations of the main road. During the 1820s Brunel had been called in to advise but his proposed scheme was beyond the means of the town and the river road was left to crumble. William Woods built 300 houses in and around Portsmouth Road and planned a raised walkway between Ravens Ait and St Raphael's Church (q.v.) on land that he held on long lease from Kingston Corporation. Following a meeting with Frederick Gould, Chairman of Kingston Board of Surveyors, Woods undertook to pay for the promenade and to hand it and the lease to the people of Kingston provided that the remaining stretch from St Raphael's Church was accomplished at public expense. The walk thus became a public facility and was constructed between 1852 and 1854 when the bank and river bend were infilled with excavations from the reservoirs and filter beds from the Chelsea Waterworks Co. at Seething Wells. The improvements to the riverside attracted many visitors to Kingston, and it became a popular place of resort.

Within five years of opening, however, the bank was crumbling away through neglect. Restoration work was eventually carried out and the promenade was increased in width to 9 metres, the construction mainly using stone from the Old Blackfriars Bridge built in the 1760s. In 1896 the Queen's Promenade was extended into Kingston at its northern end and a bandstand, now demolished, was constructed near the junction with Palace Road. It became known colloquially as the Perfumed Parade owing to the pungent odours of the nearby guano factory.

For the majority of its length Queen's Promenade is screened from Portsmouth Road by a variety of mature trees and shrubs, enclosed with railings on the footway side. At the northern end an imposing set of wide steps leads down to the path bordered by mature planting and it now links with the southern end of the riverside walk through Kingston. The widest section has a lower and upper walkway, the lower borders the river and is separated by a grass verge from the main promenade walk, which has lawns on the eastern side with floral displays, retaining much of its Victorian character. At the Surbiton end is an ornamental fountain of c.1858 and the boundary railings date from 1852. There are fine views from the promenade towards Hampton Court Park (q.v.) and other landmarks visible from the Promenade include Kingston Bridge, Kingston parish church of All Saints (q.v.) and St Raphael's Church (q.v.).