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Abbey Recreation Ground was once within the lands of Merton Place estate owned by Lord Nelson, where he lived from 1801-1805 immediately prior to his death at the Battle of Trafalgar. In the C19th the estate was largely built over for housing. The site was open land up until theC19th and later in use for allotments before it became a recreation ground after WWI. The Recreation Ground is predominantly open green space that is used for playing fields, with perimeter path and trees. To the north is a woodland path following part of the old railway line between Merton Park and Morden Road, improved in the 1990s as part of Merton Park Green Walks.
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The All England Croquet Club was founded in 1868; in 1875 the new game of lawn tennis was added to its activities and the first Lawn Tennis Championships were held in 1877 on the Club's old grounds in Worple Road, and the Club's name changed to The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club. The Club moved to the present grounds in 1922, which was formerly part of the C18th estate of Wimbledon House, landscaped by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown for Earl Spencer in 1765.
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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.
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Beverley Meads is in the south-west corner of Wimbledon Common and was once part of Warren Farm. The land borders the Royal Wimbledon Golf Course and was acquired by Wimbledon Borough Council in the 1950s. It was laid out for a pitch and putt course in the 1970s, but was established as a Local Nature Reserve in 1993. Paths run through the woodland and to the north is Fishpond Wood, formerly managed by the London Wildlife Trust until 2018.
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At Calonne Road to the north-west of Deepdale lies a serpentine lake that was part of the C18th landscape designed by landscape gardener 'Capability' Brown for Earl Spencer of Wimbledon House, where he worked in 1767 and 1768. The major part of his landscape has been covered by housing developments of the C19th and C20th and what remains of the lake is now within the grounds of the Buddhapadipa Temple, a Thai style Buddhist monastery, which include the ornamental lake, small grove of trees, flower garden and orchard.
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* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens
Cannizaro Park is on land that was once part of Wimbledon Common. In the early C18th the estate was purchased by William Browne who built two houses, Mansion or Westside House, and Warren House. Between 1817-41 Warren House was leased to Francois Platamone who became the Duke of Cannizzaro in 1830, after whom the house was renamed (albeit misspelt) in 1874. In 1920 house and grounds were purchased by E. Kenneth Wilson and his wife, who laid out a new garden, much of which remains in the public park today. In 1947/8 the Wilsons' daughter sold the house and 13.5 hectares of land to the Corporation of Wimbledon, who opened the grounds to the public. The gardens soon regained their reputation as a place of beauty, and the park today has a sunken garden, azalea dell, water garden, Italian garden, Mediterranean garden and rose Garden, as well as woodland and lakes. Cannizaro House was leased as an Old People's Home and since 1987 has been a hotel.
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Cannon Hill Common was not commonland as such but part of the former extensive holdings of Merton Priory, founded in the C12th and later part of Cannon Hill Estate. In estate sale documents in 1613 it was described as 'a wood called Cannondowne Hill containing 60 acres'. The land was farmed for many centuries until Cannon Hill House was built, probably shortly after 1773. By 1880 the house was empty and the surrounding land farmed. In 1924 developer George Blay purchased the estate as well as part of the Rayne Estate and built over much of it, but in 1925 offered the present site to Merton and Morden UDC for a public park, which opened in 1927, named Cannon Hill Common. The house was demolished and its site at the edge of the lake and woodland was first designated a bird sanctuary in 1927/9, since 1998 it has been managed as a nature reserve. The ornamental lake was created in the C18th and is a remnant of the former landscaped grounds of Cannon Hill House.
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The Canons was one of the Manors of Mitcham and the site of a grange farm of the Augustinian Canons of St Mary Overie, Southwark, who built the stone dovecote of c.1511 that stands in the gardens. The pond was formerly a fish pond for the priory and was later divided into two 'stew' ponds for carp breeding. It was enlarged and deepened in 1664 by City merchant Robert Cranmer, whose son John built the present house, which once housed Merton Heritage Centre. The property had been purchased in July 1939 by the Corporation of Mitcham intending to use the house as a community centre and the grounds for sports. After WWII the neglected grounds were laid out with perimeter paths, some of the historic features restored and recreational facilities provided. Further improvements were made to the grounds after 1965 when the new London Borough of Merton was created. A National Lottery grant was awarded in 2021/22 to restore the house and landscape.
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Cherry Wood is a 1.65 hectare remnant of old woodland that once covered a larger area but was eventually built over by residential development. In 1837 it is shown on the Tithe Map as Great Wood, and, now surrounded by 1930s suburban housing, it is dominated by pedunculate oak trees. Until 1990 it was neglected and used as a dump, but work to enhance it was then undertaken by LB Merton and Cherry Wood was established as a nature reserve in 2000.
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Church Lane Playing Field is 1.8 hectares of land lying north of St Mary's Church and has C17th and C18th Grade II listed enclosing walls, probably those of a C17th house, Merton Place, which was later Church House. It was demolished in the 1920s and replaced by two houses. During the course of its history the site became a workhouse, a school and later occupied by the John Innes Horticultural Institute before being acquired by the Council Council becoming a public recreation ground. The site is grassland with trees generally around the perimeter, with a few recently planted scattered trees and an old mulberry near the entrance gate on Church Lane.
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The area was once a stretch of meadowland within the 250-acre estate of Prospect Place, an C18th house whose last owner was Lord Cottenham, after whom the estate was renamed. He had the property from 1831-51, after which it was sold and large-scale development of the land began. Initially known as Melbury Gardens, Cottenham Park Recreation Ground was the first such amenity to be provided in this area, opening in 1897. A diagonal path across the park marked by trees and hedging is a remnant of an avenue that once stretched across the whole estate. A number of old trees survive including an oak probably planted shortly after the Battle of Trafalgar, and some of the London plane trees along the park boundary date from 1898. Facilities for cricket, football, tennis and bowling were provided, all but the bowling green remaining today, and permission for concerts by local bands was granted in the park's early years.
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Crooked Billet is a small corner of Wimbledon Common with a green, two public houses and residential housing, which despite surrounding development has never quite lost its identity as a semi-rural enclave. It was former grazing land, with adjoining farm buildings and cottages dating back to at least the C17th and possibly earlier. The origins of the name Crooked Billet are disputed. There are a number of trees on the green, including a horse chestnut, willow and London plane.