Place Name
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. The Green itself was always the centre of the village which formed part of the Manor or Richmond. It featured on the court rolls of 1578 as the Green became elevated in importance as prominent courtiers, notably the dukes of Suffolk, Somerset, and Northumberland, bought houses to be close to Richmond Palace. James Green, Judith Filson and Margaret Watson writing in The Streets of Richmond and Kew add: “The pattern was repeated in the 18th century after Frederick, Prince of Wales leased the White House in 1732 and continued when George III leased the same house and then ‘Kew Palace’ before buying both of them in 1802 and 1781 respectively.”
