Inventory Site Record

* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens

Nonsuch Park is a large park situated partly in Sutton and partly in the Epsom and Ewell within a wider area that was once extensive royal parkland of some 2000 acres. It contained the site of Nonsuch Palace, built as a hunting lodge for Henry VIII from 1538. It was later owned by Charles II's mistress, who was created Baroness Nonsuch, but in 1682-83 the palace was demolished to pay her gambling debts. In the mid-C18th the mansion was the home of Thomas Whately, author of 'Observations on Modern Gardening', published 1770, who made improvements to the gardens. The Nonsuch Park Estate was owned by the Farmer family from 1799 to 1937, when it was purchased by the local authorities of Sutton and adjacent Epsom and Ewell.

Previous / Other name:

Nonsuch Park Estate

Site location:

London Road, North Cheam

Postcode:

SM3 8AL

What 3 Words:

blocks.fade.react

Type of site:

Public Park

Borough:

Sutton

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

unrestricted. Service Wing Museum 2pm-5pm, 2nd & 4th Suns each month April to Sept + Bank Hols May/Aug. Nonsuch Palace Gallery: 11am-2pm every Sunday

Special conditions:

Service Wing admission 2012 rates: £1.50 adults, 50p children/Friends of Nonsuch, concessions £1.Nonsuch Palace Gallery: £2.50 adults, 50p children

Facilities:

Car park, Cafe, playing fields, some dog free zones.

Events:

Service Wing opens for Heritage Weekend and Open House; also school visits and organised tours

Public transport:

Rail Cheam; Stoneleigh. Bus: 293, 470, 151, 213, 726.

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

01/03/2012

Last minor changes:

19/07/2023

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.sutton.gov.uk; www.friendsofnonsuch.co.uk

Site on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens, for Register Entry see https://www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list

Nonsuch Palace was built on the site of the former manor and church of the village of Cuddington, which were cleared for Henry VIII's new hunting lodge that was planned on a scale to exceed that of Hampton Court. The name it was given, 'None Such', referred to the fact that it was to be without equal. Unfinished at Henry's death in 1547, the palace was eventually completed by the 12th Earl of Arundel, who purchased the estate from the Crown in 1556. Elizabeth I later repossessed the estate in 1592, and it remained in royal ownership until 1670 when Charles II gave it to his mistress Barbara Villiers, who was created Baroness Nonsuch, Duchess of Cleveland. In order to pay her gambling debts she was granted permission to demolish the palace in 1682. Her grandson, 2nd Duke of Grafton inherited the estate, but also ran up huge debts, and by 1731 he had to sell off his estates. In 1750 The Great Park was purchased by William Taylor who set up the Malden Powder Mills. The Little Park was purchased by Joseph Thompson, and ownership then passed in 1743 to his nephew Joseph Whateley on condition he took holy orders. His brother Thomas lived at Nonsuch in the mid C18th, who wrote 'Observations on Modern Gardening', published 1770 and probably laid out the gardens here. Nothing remains of Nonsuch Palace, although the site was excavated in 1959-60 and the ground plan of the palace was revealed, as was the site of Cuddington Church. The finds were given to the Museum of London and the site was then filled in, and is now under grass.

The main building in the public park today, on the east side near Cheam Gate, is Nonsuch Mansion, a C17th house that was rebuilt in 1802-6 by architect Jeffry Wyatt, later known as Wyattville, in picturesque Gothic style. It was built for Samuel Farmer, who had purchased the Nonsuch Park Estate in 1799, following the death of Joseph Whateley in 1797. It is probably on the former site of the Keeper's Lodge in Little Park, attached to Nonsuch Palace. Parts of the present mansion date from the C18th but the greater part, including the south front and the state rooms, are Wyatt's; he also worked on alterations to Windsor Castle, for which he was knighted. Nonsuch Mansion has a castellated brick wall down one side and is laid out with a rose walk, sunken shrubbery, trees, grass area and flower beds. The gardens were partially those laid out by Thomas Whateley; greenhouses and hothouses were erected where orchids, azaleas and other exotic plants were grown, regularly winning horticultural prizes in the 1840s and '50s. A nursery garden provided fresh fruit and vegetables, and behind the Lodge where the Head Gardener lived was the Home Farm, which supplied the house with fresh produce. Also in the grounds was an ice-well.

The Farmer family continued to own the estate until 1937, when it was sold to the precursors of the two local authorities that continue to have joint ownership. During WWII the park was farmed by land girls and it was a base for the Home Guard; Canadian soldiers camped in the grounds just before D-Day. The extensive parkland around the house is largely in the Borough of Epsom and Ewell. Through the auspices of the active Friends of Nonsuch, established in 1991 to preserve the Nonsuch Park Estate as open space, the Service Wing of the mansion including the kitchen, larders, sculleries and laundries has been restored. It opened to the public in 1993 as The Service Wing Museum where there is an exhibition of rare English hand painted and antique European stained glass. In November 2011 a model of Nonsuch Palace was unveiled and is now on display in the Nonsuch Palace Gallery of the Service Wing Museum. Another group with an interest in the park's maintenance, focusing on wildlife within the park, is Nonsuch Watch.

The Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England was established in 1984 and was commonly called English Heritage. In April 2015 it split into 2 separate entities, Historic England (HE), which continues to champion and protect the historic environment, and the English Heritage Trust, whose role is to look after the 400+ historic sites and monuments owned by the state. HE manages the National Heritage List for England (NHLE) that includes over  400,000 items ranging from prehistoric monuments to office blocks, battlefields and parks, which benefit from legal protection.

Sources consulted:

John Dent, 'The Quest for Nonsuch', 1981 ed; Ben Weinreb & Christopher Hibbert, 'The London Encyclopaedia' (Macmillan, revised ed. 1993); Nonsuch Rotary Club website; Martin Biddle, 'The Stuccos of Nonsuch', Burlington Magazine (July 1984); Gerald Smith 'Nonsuch Mansion: A Modern Echo' (nd); 'Nonsuch: Pearl of the Realm', Sutton Leisure Services leaflet (nd); Gerald Smith 'Nonsuch Mansion: A Modern Echo' (nd); 'History of the Nonsuch Palace Site' on Friends of Nonsuch website

Grid ref:

TQ234636 (523450,163650)

Size in hectares:

Site ownership:

LB Sutton & Epsom and Ewell Borough Council

Site management:

Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee drawn from representatives of 2 boroughs; Friends of Nonsuch; Nonsuch Watch

Date(s):

1538, 1804, 1830, 1960

Designer(s):

Listed structures:

LBII*: Nonsuch Mansion (in Epsom and Ewell). LBII: Stone Cross and drinking fountain in Ewell Road.

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

Yes

NHLE grade:

Grade II

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:

No

Tree Preservation Order:

No

Nature Conservation Area:

No

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

Yes?

Special Policy Area:

No

Other LA designation:

None

Nonsuch Mansion - Photo: Colin Wing
Date taken: 07/10/06 13:13

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