Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for WIMBLEDON

WIMBLEDON, a village and a parish in Kingston district, Surrey. The village stands on high ground, on the margin of an extensive common, adjacent to the Southwestern railway, 7¼ miles SW of the Waterloo terminus, in London; has direct communication, by branch-railways, with Croydon and with Epsom; was known to the Saxons as Wibbandun; gave the title of Viscount, in the time of Charles I., to the Cecils; and has a post-office‡ under London SW, and a r. station with telegraph. The parish contains also Merton-Bridge, with a post-office‡ under London S; comprises, 3,700 acres; and is a registration sub-district. Real property, £29,444; of which £100 are in gasworks. Pop. in 1851, 2,693; in 1861, 4,644. Houses, 773. Pop. in 1869, about 8,000. The increase of pop. arose from the devotement of much land to building purposes, and from the influx of families attracted by the salubrity of the climate. The manor was once a grange to Mortlake; passed to Thomas Cromwell, Queen Catherine Parr, Cardinal Pole, the Cecils, Queen Henrietta Maria, General Lambert, the Digbys, and the Spencers; and belongs now to Earl Spencer. W. Park mansion was built in 1588, by Sir T. Cecil; was occupied by Queen Henrietta Maria and by General Lambert; was taken down and rebuilt, early in the last century, by the Duchess of Marlborough; was destroyed by fire in 1785, and rebuilt in 1801; came into the occupancy of the Duke of Somerset; and commands a very fine panoramic view. A very beautiful park of 922 acres surrounded the mansion; but much of it was sold or let for building, and is now studded with villas. W. House belonged to the French minister Calonne; was afterwards occupied by Prince de Conde; and passed to Mrs. Marryat, mother of the well-known novelist. A brick house opposite W. House was long the residence, and eventually the death-place, of Horne Tooke. Another house was a seat of Wilberforce; often visited, in his time, by Pitt. Good residences, chiefly modern villas, are numerous; and a suite of 31 model dwellings, on a plot of about an acre, was built in 1866. W. Common is said to have been a camping-ground of Julius Cesar, in the year 54 b. c.; it was the scene, in 568, of a battle between Ethelbert of Kent and Ceaulin of Wessex; it has a well-preserved circular entrenchment of about 7 acres, believed to have been formed in connexion with that battle; and it is now famous for great demonstrations of our volunteer forces, with well-appointed camp. The living is a vicarage, with three chapelries, in the diocese of London. Value, £400. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Worcester. The parochial church, excepting the chancel, was rebuilt in 1843. Christ church was built in 1859, at a cost of £3,800. Trinity church was built in 1862; and is in a free but picturesque variety of the decorated English style. A temporary iron church was opened in 1868. There are chapels for Independents, Baptists, and Wesleyans, national and industrial schools, six alms houses, and many general charities.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a village and a parish"   (ADL Feature Type: "populated places")
Administrative units: Wimbledon St Mary AP/CP       Kingston RegD/PLU       Surrey AncC
Place names: WIBBANDUN     |     WIMBLEDON
Place: Wimbledon

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