Wimbledon Park is the name of an urban

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

and also of the

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

south and east of the park and the

Wimbledon Park tube station Wimbledon Park is a London Underground station in Wimbledon. The station is on the District line and is between Southfields and Wimbledon stations. The station is located on Arthur Road close to the junction with Melrose Avenue close to the ...

. The park itself is in area. The

All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, also known as the All England Club, based at Church Road, Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, London, England, is a Gentlemen's club, private members' club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon ...

is immediately to the west of the park. Wimbledon Park is not part of

Wimbledon Common Wimbledon Common is a large open space in Wimbledon, southwest London. There are three named areas: Wimbledon Common, Putney Heath, and Putney Lower Common, which together are managed under the name Wimbledon and Putney Commons totalling 460 ...

, which is situated further to the west up the hill.

Early history

The original park comprised part of the grounds of

Wimbledon manor house Wimbledon manor house; the residence of the lord of the manor, was an English country house at Wimbledon, Surrey, now part of Greater London. The manor house was over the centuries exploded, burnt and several times demolished. The first known man ...

, the seat of the manor of Wimbledon, situated on the hill to the south, near

St Mary's Church, Wimbledon St Mary's Church, Wimbledon, is a Church of England church and is part of the Parish of Wimbledon, south-west London, England. It has existed since the 12th century and may be the church recorded in the Domesday Book in the Mortlake Hundred. It ...

the old parish church of Wimbledon. A series of owners enlarged the park northwards and eastwards. By the 19th century it was at its largest extent, and one of the homes of the

Earls Spencer Earl Spencer is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain that was created on 1 November 1765, along with the title Viscount Althorp, of Althorp in the County of Northampton, for John Spencer, 1st Viscount Spencer. He was a member of the prominen ...

lords of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seigno ...

. The park had been landscaped in the 18th century by

Capability Brown Lancelot Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783), more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English gardener and landscape architect, who remains the most famous figure in the history of the English la ...

when the lake was formed by constructing a dam across a brook that flows from the springline near Wimbledon Common down to the

River Wandle The River Wandle is a right-bank tributary of the River Thames in south London, England. With a total length of about , the river passes through the London boroughs of London Borough of Croydon, Croydon, London Borough of Sutton, Sutton, Londo ...

Earlsfield Earlsfield is an area within the London Borough of Wandsworth, London, England. It is a typical London suburb and comprises mostly residential Victorian terraced houses with a high street of shops, bars, and restaurants between Garratt Lane, Al ...

. In 1846, the 4th Earl Spencer sold the estate and house to John Augustus Beaumont a property developer who laid out new roads and sold plots of land for house building. Two roads still bear his name today – Augustus Road and Beaumont Road. Development of the area was slow at first, but continued throughout the second half of the 19th century, gradually nibbling away at the parkland.

20th century onwards

The modern park was purchased by the Borough of Wimbledon just before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and is, with its ornamental lake, the grounds of the Wimbledon Club and Wimbledon Golf Course, the only remnant of the former, larger park. Late in the 20th century the

London Borough of Merton The London Borough of Merton () is a borough in Southwest London, England. The borough was formed under the London Government Act 1963 in 1965 by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Mitcham, the Municipal Borough of Wimbledon and the Merton ...

sold on the Golf Course to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, leaving just the public park and the lake in its ownership. Along the park's northern edge lies Horse Close wood, a small patch of old planted woodland, largely consisting of

Ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

and

Oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

. A Balcony is situated near the entrance at Home Park Road that once served as a tea room before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After its closure and abandonment, its windows got vandalised and was boarded up, as showcased in

Raymond Briggs Raymond Redvers Briggs (18 January 1934 – 9 August 2022) was an English illustrator, cartoonist, graphic novelist and author. Achieving critical and popular success among adults and children, he is best known in Britain for his 1978 story ...

's story of his parents who once lived in the area,

Ethel and Ernest ''Ethel & Ernest'' (subtitled "A True Story") is a 1998 graphic novel by British author and illustrator Raymond Briggs. It tells the story of the lives of Briggs' parents from their first meeting in 1928 to their deaths in 1971. Story The story ...

. The Balcony has since become a

Police Station A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, al ...

. Wimbledon Park was added to the English Heritage (now

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

) register of historic parks and gardens in 1987. A new children's water play area was opened in 2007, named the Elisabeth Pool in memory of a local child. The London Underground

District line The District line is a London Underground line running from in the east and Edgware Road in the west to in west London, where it splits into multiple branches. One branch runs to in south-west London and a short branch, with a limited servic ...

runs to the east of the Park between

Southfields tube station Southfields is a London Underground station in Southfields in the London Borough of Wandsworth. The station is on the District line between and stations. The station is located on Wimbledon Park Road at the junction with Augustus Road and Re ...

and Wimbledon Park station. Wimbledon Park is home to a wide range of leisure facilities including tennis courts, a bowls pavilion, beach volleyball court and an outdoor and Watersports centre which offer a huge range of activities such as Sailing, Kayaking and Canoeing on the large lake which is park of the park. The park also contains an athletics stadium with 400m track. Every November a large fireworks display takes place in Wimbledon Park, organised by Merton Council it is one of the largest and most popular shows in London. Wimbledonpark.jpg, Wimbledon Park Horseclose.jpg, Horse Close Wood cmglee_London_Wimbledon_aerial.jpg, Aerial view with Wimbledon Park (left) and the All-England Club (right)

External links

Save Wimbledon ParkFriends of Wimbledon ParkWimbledon Park Heritage GroupWimbledon Park Residents' Association Website Wimbledon Park entry from The DiCamillo Companion to British & Irish Country HousesWimbledon Park Golf ClubMotco.com
*
15 Miles Round London (First edition), J Cary, 1786, WimbletonStanford's 1862 Library Map of London and its Suburbs

* Showing Wimbledon Park House
Wimbledon Park FireworksWimbledon Park Watersports and Outdoor Centre

References

{{London Districts Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Merton Districts of the London Borough of Merton Areas of London Gardens by Capability Brown Wimbledon, London Urban public parks in the United Kingdom

Early history

20th century onwards

See also

External links

References