The name mean “the farm of Tuda” and it was an Anglo-Saxon town in the 10th century. In the Middle Ages it belonged to Westminster Abbey. Bushy Park was formerly a royal hunting area. The area was essentially agricultural until the arrival of the railways in the 1870s, after which there was extensive redevelopment for housing.

The most popular streets are near the river. Streets off Lower Teddington Road have houses right on the river or close to it, such as Melbourne Road and Trowlock Avenue. The roads off Broom Road such as Broom Water, Broom Water West, Munster Road and King Edward’s Grove are also close to the river and contain sought-after houses. A former hospital between Broom Road and Kingston Road, the Normansfield Hospital, has been converted into houses and flats. Near the river is a 1970s estate of houses and flats called Rivermead Close. There are riverside blocks of flats to choose from, such as Teddington Wharf. There are Edwardian houses on the west side of Kingston Road in Langham Road and Kingston Lane. Away from the river, Teddington contains late Victorian and Edwardian houses, 1930s houses and some more modern houses.