Place Name
Originally known as Harrington Close, after Lord Harrington who had Petersham Lodge designed for him by the 3rd Earl of Burlington in 1742, when it was first laid out in the late 1960s. The name was short-lived following objections from the residents (on what grounds is uncertain) and it was replaced by the present name, a riding being a woodland bridge path, this was appropriate given that there used to be The Ryders riding school at the end of the road. The name Ham comes from the Old English word hamm meaning a settlement in the bend of a river, this referring to the great loop in the River Thames. The name was first recorded sometime around the middle of the 12thCentury as Hama, becoming Hamme in 1154, Hammes in 1235 and Ham in 1532.
