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51°25′26″N 0°20′15″W / 51.424006°N 0.337472°W / 51.424006; -0.337472
| Park Lane Stables Teddington | |
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Park Lane Stables are stables in Teddington, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames built around 1830[1] and originally conceived as a fire station[1] when fire engines were horse drawn. Today the stables are run as a charity belonging to the Riding for the Disabled Association.
The stables were built to house a fire station around 1830 by the Abbot of Westminster[2] in what was then known as Alms House Road, on account of the almshouses in the street opposite the stables.[2]
In 1831 a parish fire engine was purchased and put in the care of the beadle, a caretaker employed by the Abbot of Westminster.[3] In 1837 the Abbot gave up the land and ownership turned to the local civic parish council.[2]
In the 1901 census the stables are described as 'Council Stables, Engine House [and] Council Yard',[4] belonging to the civil parish.
In 1950 Keith Luxford[5] leased the stables from the council to start a riding school which became known locally as the 'Children's Riding School'.[6] In the late 1950s the stables were taken over by Peter Churchill who ran horsemanship night courses and a riding school. By 1963 the stables were run by John Quinn.[7] In 1989 ownership passed to Mr and Mrs P Dailly[8] who continued to operate the riding school as 'Park Lane Stables'.
As a result of foot and mouth disease in 2001 and the closure of local parks,[9] the stables were forced to shut; they remained so until 2008[10] when Natalie O'Rourke MBE took over management and subsequently founded Park Lane Stables RDA as a registered charity.[11] In 2016 after refurbishment HRH Princess Anne re-opened[12] the stables in her capacity as RDA president.[13] Mid 2021 the stables were classed as an 'Asset of Community Value'[14] by the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and in November 2021 as a 'Building of Townscape Merit',[15][16] affording it further protection from development.
In the beginning of 2021 the stables faced closure due to the landlord wishing to sell the property. A community effort raised over £1 million to purchase the building via crowd funding,[17] and the purchase was completed in late 2021.[18]
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