Some of the most interesting Riverhouse residents were the lesbian lover poets (Edith Cooper and Katherine Bradley) who wrote under the pseudonym “Michael Field”.
"When looking for a place to call home, the river and Richmond drew them in." Edith and Katherine hunkered down at 1, Paragon – now part of the Riverhouse in 1899. It became a literary and artistic hub back in the day and W.B. Yeats, John Ruskin and Browning flocked to them until the ‘Michaels’ death in 1914.
Seventy years later, Mr and Mrs Trinder, also drawn by the river, bought the crumbling townhouses as a family home and bed and breakfast before developing the first boutique hotel and restaurant in Richmond.
With a long and colourful history behind it the next chapter is being written...
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The Riverhouse was very different when Sama’s Kenyan mother Ruth and English father Bill bought the Bingham partly as a family home and quirky B and B back in 1984. It was all 70's kitch and a bit of a faulty towers. Sama recalls sitting on her father’s knee aged 7 counting the coins doing the weekly cashing up. At that time there were 12 ramshackle bedrooms, and the garden level was derelict. Over the years, the property has gone through a number of reinventions and since Sama took over in 2001 it was transformed from the run down B and B into a boutique hotel featured in the second edition of the Mr and Mrs Smith Printed Guide Book. In 2020 Bingham Riverhouse transitioned into a Members club serving the local community and those wanting to make a positive impact on the world. “It’s a dream come true to create a place which responds to the needs of our neighbourhood, offering a sense of belonging and second home for people to get together, work and play in.” Says Sama The following is an exert from We are Michael Field by Emma Donoghue (pub. Absolute Press 1998). |