Wimbledon Park
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Wimbledon Park is a both a park in Wimbledon and the suburb around it to which it lends its name. It is the second largest park in the London Borough of Merton and also gives its name to Wimbledon Park tube station. To the immediate west of the park resides the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Wimbledon Park should not be confused with the much larger and more well known Wimbledon Common, also to the west.
Until the mid 19th century the whole of the Wimbledon Park area formed the large landscaped grounds of Wimbledon Park House, part of the manor of Wimbledon and one of the homes of the Earls Spencer, lords of the manor. The park had been landscaped in the 18th century by Capability Brown when the lake was formed as a focal point for the house located to the south of the present park.
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 in the north of the area still bear his name today - Augustus Road and Beaumont Road. Development of the area continued slowly throughout the second half of the 19th century gradually nibbling away at the parkland.
The modern park was purchased by the Borough of Wimbledon just before the First World War and is, with its ornamental lake the only remnant of the former, larger park.
Along the park's northern edge lies Horse Close wood, a small patch of Ancient woodland, largely consisting of Oak and Elm.
[edit] See also
- Wimbledon - History for details of the early history of the manor.
[edit] External links
- Wimbledon Park Heritage Group
- Motco.com
- Stanford's 1862 Library Map of London and its Suburbs
- 1871 to 1874 Ordnance Survey Map of Wimbledon Showing Wimbledon Park House
| Section 5: | Capital Ring Walking Route | Section 6: |
|---|---|---|
| Streatham | Wimbledon Park | Richmond |
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