The district has modest convenience shops and amenities, including a petrol station and several pubs, but its commerce is subsidiary to the nearby regional-level economic centre of Kingston upon Thames.

In this area is the Thames Young Mariners 10 acres (0.04 km2) site, operated as a water activity centre by Surrey County Council.

[11] Several surface finds of flint tools, axes, adzes, scrapers, awls chisels and knives as well as arrowheads, hammer stones and flint shards were made during gravel workings in Ham Fields at Coldharbour, near the present day Thames Young Mariners site (51°26′19″N 0°19′32″W / 51.438655°N 0.325586°W / 51.438655; -0.325586) and further east in maize fields now covered by housing.

[12] Other finds from Ham are held at the Museum of London including an early Bronze Age collared urn, also from the Edwards Collection.

[13][14] A few finds of Romano-British pottery from the late Iron Age, mid 1st and early 2nd centuries AD show that the area remained inhabited to some extent, though the closest indications of modest Roman settlements are further south in the Canbury area of North Kingston.

Along with pottery finds dated to the 5th century AD, this suggests the area was amongst the first colonised by Saxon settlers.

The southern boundary between Ham and Kingston spanned the width of the hundred, from near present-day Canbury Gardens on the Thames, about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) eastwards crossing Richmond Park to Beverley Brook.

[17] The earliest known written record of Ham as a separate village dates from the 12th century when Hamma was included in the royal demesne as a member of Kingston, contributing 43s.

The related history of the Earls of Dysart dominated the development of Ham and Petersham for the following four centuries.

Hesba Stretton (real name Sarah Smith), the evangelical children's writer, retired to Ivycroft, Ham Common in 1892 and died there in 1912.

There is also a memorial bench (installed 2024) for Malcolm Singleton (died 2022) who ran M&J Hardware since 1988 and had worked for the previous owner, Dorling’s, starting at age 16.

[33] The urban district was abolished in 1933, when a county review order included it in an enlarged Municipal Borough of Richmond.

[35] Ham was an agricultural community for centuries, with meadow and pasture land mostly along the river, and common grazing.

Livestock included cows, sheep, pigs, goats, ducks and chickens as well as horses and donkeys – many of which grazed the common land.

[37] Improvement in transport and the growth of London led to a shift from general mixed agriculture to market gardening by the early 20th century.

[39] In 1904 William Tollemache, 9th Earl of Dysart leased part of the farmland to the Ham River Grit Company Ltd to extract sand and ballast.

A dock was constructed in 1913 and a lock in 1921, parts of which remain as the Thames Young Mariners water activity centre.

It has notably unusual vegetation due to the underlying alkaline rubble instead of the more acidic fluvial deposits.

Sopwith Aviation went into voluntary liquidation and reformed in 1920 as H. G. Hawker Engineering at their original Kingston base.

[45] The remaining Ham Factory lease was sold to Leyland Motors, which initially used it to recondition ex-War Department lorries for civilian use.

World War II shifted production to military vehicles, fire engines, other equipment and munitions.

[47] In 1948 the site was sold back to Hawker Aircraft Ltd and it became the main base for Kingston's aviation industry.

The profits allowed the site to be redeveloped as Hawker's UK headquarters and the factory gained an imposing frontage by 1958 in a building that closely linked design and production.

[48] The company became part of Pinchin Johnson and was acquired by Courtaulds in 1960, continuing under the International Paint group banner from 1968.

Beaufort House in Ham Street, dating from 18C, is Grade II listed and was the home of Lady Juliana Penn from 1795 to her death in 1801.

[52] In contrast, Langham House Close, to the west of Ham Common, completed in 1958, is an early example of brutalist architecture.

The Thames Young Mariners provides sailing, canoeing, open-water swimming and other sport and outdoor activity facilities.