Glover's Island

[2] In 1872 the island, then called Petersham Ait, was bought by a Richmond-based waterman named Joseph Glover for £70 (equivalent to £8,000 in 2023);[1] he later advertised it for resale in 1895.

Sir John Whittaker Ellis, Mayor of Richmond,[1] had a house along the aristocratic row on the place with the highest, definitive Thames Arcadia view.

Trying again in 1898, Glover caused a furore by putting the islet up for auction and suggesting it could be sold to Pears soap to erect a giant advertising hoarding.

[1] There then followed a lengthy debate and correspondence in the local press about preserving the view from Richmond Hill and suggestions were made that the purchase should be funded jointly by public subscription and the corporation.

[1] In 1900 Max Waechter of Terrace House, Richmond Hill, bought it for £1,600 and conveyed it to the council having that body covenant, with intent to bind its successors, it was never to be developed.