Inventory Site Record

Hurlingham Park was formerly land that was owned by the Bishop of London, later part of the Hurlingham estate with a fine riverside mansion and grounds. From 1869 it was leased then purchased by the Hurlingham Club, becoming famous for polo. The site of the park was the former No.1 Polo Ground between 1874 - 1937 with a concrete grandstand built in 1935 provided seating. During WWII part of the polo grounds were leased for use as allotments from 1942, and in 1951 the Polo Grounds were compulsorily purchased by the LCC for housing development and a public park. The site of former stables became a series of enclosed gardens with ornamental planting, bowling green, paddling pool and play area, and the polo ground became a running track and tennis courts. The park has numerous large plane trees in the western part dating from the period before the land was bought by Hurlingham Club from the Mulgrave House estate in 1879.

Site location:

Hurlingham Road, Fulham

Postcode:

SW6

What 3 Words:

lodge.youth.legal

Type of site:

Public Park

Borough:

Hammersmith & Fulham

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

7.30am - dusk

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Events:

Public transport:

Tube: Fulham Broadway (District) then bus. Bus: C4

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Google Map    
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Research updated:

01/09/2008

Last minor changes:

19/07/2023

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.lbhf.gov.uk

The land was once known as Hurlingham Field following the arrival of Saxon settlers in c.500 AD who began farming here. From the C8th it was part of the manor of the Bishops of London whose summer residence was Fulham Palace (q.v.). Neolithic remains have been found here and it was the site of a plague pit dating from the 1665 Great Plague; there was an isolation hospital until 1736. An Act of William and Mary in 1693 enabled the Bishops to lease their land and by the C18th there were a few riverside villas as well as meadows and nursery gardens. Hurlingham House was built in 1760 for Dr William Cadogan (1711-97), who leased 9 acres from the Bishop of London. After his death the property was leased to John Ellis (1757-1832) for whom the riverside house was enlarged into a Neo-classical white stucco-faced mansion by George Byfield in 1797-8. In 1800 Ellis purchased the freehold and an additional 11 acres of land for £3,150. He sought the advice of Humphry Repton on the landscaping, who refers to it in his 'Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening' of 1803. A frequent visitor was George Canning, later Prime Minister. In 1807 the Hurlingham estate was sold to George O'Brien Wyndham (1751-1837), 3rd Earl of Egrement, who in 1820 sold it to John Horsley Palmer (1779-1858) for £12,000. Palmer, who was later Governor of the Bank of England, enlarged the estate to the north by a further 16 acres and in the mid-1830s he let it to Richard, Marquess Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington's brother. Other notable occupants included Euseby Cleaver, the 'mad' Archbishop of Dublin.

After Palmer's death, the Hurlingham estate was sold in 1860 to Richard Naylor (1814-99), who in 1867 gave permission to Frank Heathcote (1811-79) to use the grounds for pigeon shooting matches. The Gun Club of London had been founded in 1861 and had been seeking a suitable venue for pigeon shooting during the London Season. Hurlingham became a popular and fashionable venue, and here Heathcote founded the Hurlingham Club as a country resort. The Club leased the Hurlingham estate in 1869 and in 1874 bought the freehold for £27,500; Hurlingham House remains the core of the Clubhouse today. The Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, was Honorary Member of the Club and pigeon shooting continued here until 1905 by which time the main activity was polo, a sport that had originated in Persia before being played in India, coming to England in 1869. The first polo match was played here in 1874, watched by the Prince and Princess of Wales, and Hurlingham went on to become the game's headquarters for the British Empire. Tennis began to be played in 1877 and a lawn racquet ground was provided at Hurlingham in the 1880s, and croquet was introduced in c.1900. Celebrations for Queen Victoria's Golden and Diamond Jubilees took place in 1887 and 1897, and in 1903 other events such as concerts and plays were added to the entertainment.

The estate had been enlarged in 1879 with the purchase of Mulgrave House, subsequently demolished in 1927, and 15 acres of its grounds including its lake. In 1912 Broom House and its grounds were acquired. Broomhouse had been a medieval and possibly Saxon settlement. In 1906 the Club had undertaken further improvements to the house and grounds with Sir Edwin Lutyens engaged as architect. A pair of his pavilions remain from c.1906-12, as does the half-timbered lodge by Broomhouse Lane. By the outbreak of WWI much of the surrounding area had been built over with housing and during the war Hurlingham became the base for Yeomanry and an RNAS balloon detachment. In the 1930s an outdoor swimming pool, squash courts and bowling facilities were added and a 9-hole golf course was provided for winter use. In WWII Hurlingham was used as quarters for the Army and Air Force and an anti-aircraft battery and balloon barrage unit were based here, with the main polo ground turned over to allotments. The Club was badly bombed with 27 bombs and a landmine falling in the grounds. The house was largely saved although the eastern end was badly damaged including the loss of its crystal dome.

After the war, the LCC compulsorily purchased the Club's polo grounds in order to provide Hurlingham Park for public recreation. Fulham Borough Council acquired Polo Ground No. 2 for a school and housing at Sulivan Court Estate (q.v.). The cost of constructing the playing fields was provided by the National Playing Fields Association and Variety Club. Apart from the 1950s landscaping scheme and addition of municipal features such as public conveniences and other built structures, the park retains much of its open ambiance from its days as a polo ground. By the late 1990s, the 1930s concrete polo grandstand was in poor repair and has since been demolished. The park is bounded to the street by iron railings, with London planes and silver birch on the perimeter. On the north-east boundary of the park is Hurlingham Lodge, previously a hostel for tubercular men but now a private residence.

Sources consulted:

LB Hammersmith & Fulham Archives Dept, 'A note on the open spaces of Fulham and Hammersmith', 1974 p12. LB Hammersmith & Fulham Hurlingham Conservation Area Character Statement, 1999

Grid ref:

TQ248760 (524970,175990)

Size in hectares:

7.9

Site ownership:

LB Hammersmith & Fulham

Site management:

Environment Department, Parks Service (ground maintenance by Quadron Services)

Date(s):

1950

Designer(s):

Listed structures:

Local list: Hurlingham Lodge

On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens:

No

Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965:

No

Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931:

No

Local Authority Data

The information below is taken from the relevant Local Authority's planning legislation, which was correct at the time of research but may have been amended in the interim. Please check with the Local Authority for latest planning information.

On Local List:

No

In Conservation Area:

Yes

Conservation Area name:

Hurlingham CA 1971

Tree Preservation Order:

Yes (Hurlingham Lodge)

Nature Conservation Area:

No

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

Yes

Special Policy Area:

Yes - Thames Policy Area; Archaeological Priority Area

Other LA designation:

Local Park; Open Space of Borough-wide Importance