A new exhibition exploring Surrey's surprising links to the American War of Independence has opened at a Richmond bookshop to mark the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence.

How We Lost America is being held at Books on the Rise and examines the birth of American independence through a British perspective.

The exhibition comes 250 years after delegates began officially signing the Declaration of Independence in August 1776.

A series of banners uses satire, historic newspapers and little-known letters from the period to explore how ideas of liberty and equality developed during the revolutionary period.

The exhibition also looks at how those ideas established a democratic precedent that continues to influence political debate today.

One of its key themes is Surrey's role in the story of American independence, with connections spanning military service, legal traditions and the personal lives of the Founding Fathers.

Troops from the 1st and 2nd Royal Surrey Militia fought during the American War of Independence, while Surrey-born Lieutenant-General William Tryon served in the regiment later renamed the 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot.

The exhibition also explores the significance of Magna Carta, which was sealed at Runnymede in 1215.

The document established the principle that the monarch was subject to the law and became an important foundation of English common law.

According to the exhibition organisers, the principles associated with Magna Carta influenced Thomas Jefferson's arguments for self-determination.

Legal scholar Sir Edward Coke's interpretation of the tradition also influenced the legal education of figures including John Adams, Jefferson and James Madison, helping shape colonial arguments around "English liberties" during the revolutionary crisis.

The influence of Magna Carta even reached Massachusetts, where revolutionaries incorporated the document into the state's official seal as a symbol of liberty.

Surrey also had personal connections to the American Founding Fathers.

Jefferson and Adams visited estates across the county in 1786, where they explored its landscapes and agricultural innovations.

Meanwhile, George Washington's ancestor, Colonel Henry Washington, is buried in Richmond upon Thames.

The exhibition aims to bring together these military, legal and personal connections to explore Surrey's place in the story of American independence.

How We Lost America runs at Books on the Rise, 80 Hill Rise, Richmond, TW10 6UB, until 21 September 2026.

A series of talks by historians and a play reading will also take place alongside the exhibition.

More information about the programme can be found here.