Place Name
Originally Kew Meadow Path. It was first featured unnamed in the Mortlake Tithe map from 1838. This was part of the Leyborne Popham estate and was, as the name suggested a footpath or shortcut from Mortlake to the dock and main drainage works run by the Richmond Main Sewerage Board. Kew is thought to come from Old English meaning a neck of land by a landing place, it was first recorded as Cayho in 1327 and Kayho three years later – it is made up of two Anglo-Saxon words cæg (meaning key or peg) and the ho or hōh indicating a spur of land. By 1439 it was spelt Keyhow, Kayo in 1483, Kaio in 1532, and Kewe in 1535. When Townmead Road was developed the eastern end of the path was widened into a road and 14 new houses were built in 1928.
