Barnes is a district within the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is in the north east of the borough and is positioned 9.3 km west south west of Charing Cross.
Barnes has numerous 1700s and nineteenth century buildings in the streets near Barnes Pond, which make up Barnes Village conservation area where the majority of the mid-19th century buildings sit. Around the east riverside, there's the WWT London Wetland Centre which adjoins several fields for 3 main national team sports.
The town once was a part of Surrey, and it appears inside the Domesday book as ‘Berne’. Barnes’ village church was built in between 1100 and 1150 and named the Chapel of St Mary’s. It was extended in the early 13th century, and was added to once more in 1786. A big fire destroyed components of the extensions to the church in 1978, so restoration work was carried out in 1984.
Barnes has a lot of sporting history spanning decades. In football, a High Master of St Paul’s School, Richard Mulcaster, is recognised with turning mob football into a refereed team sport. The school sits on Lonsdale Road, but at the time of Mulcaster it was positioned in St Paul’s Cathedral. The town includes a non-league football club named Stonewall FC, who play at Barn Elms Playing Fields.
Barnes Rugby Club is known to be the oldest club in the world in any football code. They play next to the WWT London Wetlands Centre. The town is also identified for rowing; the loop of the Thames surrounding Barnes is a part of the Championship Course utilised for the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race.
