Inventory Site Record

This area once formed part of the Wimbledon Park estate and the grounds of the Manor House was to the east of Arthur Road. Remnants of the C18th 'Capability' Brown landscape that can be found near Arthur Road are now located in a later C19th housing development, and consist of the ha-ha of Brown's landscape, a surviving retaining wall, and an Artesian well built by Earl Spencer in 1798 in order to raise water for his house. There are surviving walls and doors to the churchyard of St Mary's Church in Church Road; and a short surviving section of wall, with door to the south of Stag Lodge.

Site location:

Arthur Road

Postcode:

SW19 7DL

What 3 Words:

blocks.margin.cheek

Type of site:

Garden Feature Remnants

Borough:

Merton

Open to public?

No

Opening times:

private properties

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Events:

Public transport:

Rail: Wimbledon Park

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Research updated:

21/03/2025

Last minor changes:

21/03/2025

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news.

This area once formed part of the Wimbledon Park estate and the grounds of the Manor House was to the east of Arthur Road. Remnants of the C18th 'Capability' Brown landscape that can be found near Arthur Road are now located in later C19th housing development, and consist of the ha-ha of Brown's landscape, a surviving retaining wall, walls and doors to the churchyard of St Mary's Church in Church Road; and a short surviving section of wall, with door to the south of Stag Lodge, former gatehouse to Earl Spencer's estate.

John Spencer, who became the first Earl Spencer, had inherited Marlborough Manor House and the 500 acre parkland in 1764 by which time the formal gardens laid out by the Dowager Duchess of Marlborough in the 1730s were neglected. Spencer acquired more land for the estate, almost doubling its extent, including enclosure of Wandsworth West Common in 1782 and part of Wimbledon Common. Capability Brown was first contracted by Earl Spencer in 1765-66, and again from 1779-83 (when both men died) and over these 20 years he transformed the landscape, including building a dam in order to create the lake in the centre of the parkland. His works included replacing the formal gardens; felling most of the existing avenues of trees and hedgerows to plant new clumps of trees; planting a perimeter woodland belt with carriage drives laid out through the woodland. An Artesian well built by the Spencers in 1798 in order to raise water for the manor house was in use until 1816; it was later restored in 1970 as a private residence. Having run up significant debts, John, the 3rd Earl and Frederick, the 4th Earl sold the estate in 1843 and 1846 to John Augustus Beaumont, a wealthy developer, who began building fine villas here from 1865 on the north and west of the estate. Stag Lodge was built for Beaumont in 1846 as the new entrance to the estate. The seated stag was removed during WWII for safety but was subsequently lost and the stag on the building is a replica, erected in 1988. It was the inspiration for an artwork at Wimbledon Station in 2012.

Sources consulted:

Shirley Comrie-Smith, 'The Landscape of the Manor Houses of Wimbledon', AA dissertation 1992;  https://competitions.landscapeinstitute.org/capability-brown/garden/wimbledonpark/index.html; https://wphg.org.uk/heritage-trail-guide/

Grid ref:

TQ248716 (524850,171650)

Size in hectares:

Site ownership:

private

Site management:

Date(s):

c.1770

Designer(s):

Capability Brown

Listed structures:

LBII: Stag Lodge including Flanking Walls and Corner Piers (no. 1 Arthur Road); Artesian Well (No. 19 Arthur Road)

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:

Wimbledon North

Tree Preservation Order:

No

Nature Conservation Area:

No

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

Yes - Archaeological Priority Zone

Other LA designation:

None