Wimbledon Park, Greater London, England

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest:

Surviving part of an 18th century park extended and relandscaped by Lancelot Brown for the first Earl Spencer.

LOCATION, AREA, BOUNDARIES, LANDFORM, SETTING

The remains of the 18th century Wimbledon Park, which amount to about 60 hectares, are situated within the urban housing of south-west London and are bounded on the north-east by the railway line which runs between Wimbledon and Southfields, and on the south-east by Home Park Road. To the west is Church Road which was laid out on the line of the southern part of Park Road, shown on John Corris' map of 1787 as an estate road leading to the house from the new lodge on the Turnpike Road to London. To the north-west the boundary is the 19th century Wimbledon Park Road which is shown on the same map as a 'Foot Road' leading from Wimbledon to Wandsworth. The All England Lawn Tennis Club ground lies immediately to the south-west and Wimbledon Common c 1km to the west. The site slopes down to the lake from the north and south.

REFERENCES

Victoria History of the County of Surrey IV, (1912), pp 122-123

Country Life, 105 (18 March 1949), p 615; 132 (2 August 1962), pp 248-250

D Stroud, Capability Brown (1965), p 121

P Willis, Charles Bridgeman (1977), pp 58-59, 159, 184

J Harris, The Artist and the Country House (1979), p 102

R Milward, A Georgian Village, Wimbledon 1724-1765 (1986), pp 41-47

Maps

J Rocque, Plan of London ¿1762 with new improvements 1766

J Corris, Plan of Wimbledon and surrounding Parishes, 1787

C and J Greenwood, Map of Surrey, 1825

OS 6" to 1 mile: 2nd edition published 1897

3rd edition published 1920

1936 edition

OS 25" to 1 mile: 1st edition published 1867

Description written: February 1998

Edited: January 2002