Wimbledon Park
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 better 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.
Horse Close Wood
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.
See also
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