Description
The site includes Beddington Park and The Grange, once part of the substantial estate owned from the C14th by the influential Carew family, whose connection with Beddington continued for 4 centuries. Beddington Park was part of the deer park attached to Carew Manor. In the C16th Sir Francis Carew laid out elaborate gardens, fragments of which remain. The estate lands were being sold off for housing development from the late 1860s, and Beddington & Wallington UDC purchased land between 1904-27, part of which became the public park. The Carew Manor House is now Carew Manor School. In 1935 the UDC acquired The Grange and its ornamental gardens, laid out by Alfred Smee from 1850. The lake, originally a mill pond, and trees planted by Smee remain today.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Beddington Place |
|---|---|
| Site location | Croydon Road/Church Road/London Road, Beddington |
| Postcode | SM6 7LF |
| What3Words | ///verbs.dark.buddy |
| Type of Site | Public Park |
| Borough | Sutton |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | Beddington Park unrestricted, Carew Manor not normally open to the public, tours by LB Sutton Heritage Service of Great Hall, Dovecote, Orangery Walls |
| Facilities | Pavilion cafe, Skate park, little league and senior football pitches, mini pitches, tennis courts, ball court, changing rooms and toilets, indoor soft play, children’s playground (Beddington Cricket Club has its club house in the grounds). Boating Lake. |
| Events | Car Boot, Fairs and Annual Concert in the park |
| Public Transport | Rail: Hackbridge. Bus: 407, 410, 463, X26, 151, 455, 463 |
| Research Updated | 1 March 2012 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
There is evidence of early settlement in Beddington in the late Bronze Age, a Saxon cemetery has been found here, and the hamlet is mentioned in the Domesday Book. The north part of the public park was possibly the site of a Roman villa and bath house, and a Roman stone coffin was discovered in 1930. Carew Manor House was built in the Tudor period for the influential Carew family.The Carew estate once occupied most of the land between Mitcham Common (q.v.), Beddington Lane to the east, Croydon Road to the south and London Road to the west. Laid out in the C16th, Sir Francis Carew's gardens at Beddington were famous into the C17th, and included waterworks and an orangery, said to be the first in England. Although the gardens have now gone there are some remnants including C17th and C18th portions of a long orangery wall with blank arcading divided into pairs by pilasters on the north face. In the grounds an old water mill and its mill pond have been retained as a water feature, and a dovecote dating from the early C18th also survives. The western section of the area by Riverside Walk (q.v.) includes the bank and conduit system associated with the early C18th garden landscape of Sir Nicholas Carew 1st Baron. From the 1860s the estate lands began to be sold off for housing development, and acquisitions of land for the public park took place between 1904 and 1927. During WWII Beddington Park was used for allotments for the Dig for Victory campaign. Today the park has areas of bedding plants and meadowland. It lost a number of trees during the storms of 1987 and 1990 and some replanting has been undertaken.
The Grange is an ornamental garden created on the north side of Mill Pond by Alfred Smee FRS (1818-1877), surgeon to the Bank of England, who purchased the site in c.1850. The garden was very fashionable in the 1860s and the plan and details are recorded in his book 'My Garden: its Plan and Culture' (1872). The house was built in the garden by Smee's son Alfred Hutchinson Smee in c.1880. In 1935 The Grange was purchased by Beddington & Wallington UDC at a cost of £57,500, and the gardens became public. The house was used for a number of purposes including a clinic, a library and a venue for wedding receptions. It was destroyed by fire in 1960 and rebuilt in 1967, and later became a restaurant. The original rockery survives in a diminished state but most of the garden including the pergola and lily pond is late C20th.
The Grange is an ornamental garden created on the north side of Mill Pond by Alfred Smee FRS (1818-1877), surgeon to the Bank of England, who purchased the site in c.1850. The garden was very fashionable in the 1860s and the plan and details are recorded in his book 'My Garden: its Plan and Culture' (1872). The house was built in the garden by Smee's son Alfred Hutchinson Smee in c.1880. In 1935 The Grange was purchased by Beddington & Wallington UDC at a cost of £57,500, and the gardens became public. The house was used for a number of purposes including a clinic, a library and a venue for wedding receptions. It was destroyed by fire in 1960 and rebuilt in 1967, and later became a restaurant. The original rockery survives in a diminished state but most of the garden including the pergola and lily pond is late C20th.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ290650 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | LB Sutton |
| Site Management | Parks Service (House is education property); Friends of Beddington Park |
| Dates | C17th, C18th, C19th, C20th |
| Designers | The Grange: Alfred Smee |
| Listed Structures | LBI: Carew Manor; LBII: Walls in the estate; Beddington Cottage; Orangery wall. SAM: Dovecote. Local list: Rockery of The Grange |
| 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 | Sutton |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Beddington Park |
| Tree Preservation Order | Yes - Several of the many trees |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
| Other LA Designation | Site of Wildlife Value |
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
St Mary the Virgin Church at Beddington is recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086. Fragments of the church building date from just post the Norman Conquest, although the building is largely C14th. Between the churchyard and Beddington Manor house are brick and flint walls dating from at least the C17th, those to south and west of later date. The oldest part of the churchyard is to the south and west of the church, with a picturesque lych-gate on Church Road. Between 1829-69, a number of structural changes were made to the church, including repairs to the tower, and c.1868 the area for burials was enlarged when land to the west across Church Road was laid out as a graveyard. The extension has flint walls and a large entrance-gate, erected c.1868. In the mid 1960s the churchyard extension was re-ordered with gravestones laid flat and repairs were carried out to the flint boundary walls. A fine memorial with cross is located n the churchyard extension.
Riverside Walk is an area of land that until c.1930 was watercress beds to the rear of Beddington Park on the River Wandle, although there is no trace of this usage, now covered over.
Elms Pond Open Space and Lakeside are landscaped lakes that were associated with Wallington House, which was demolished in 1928. Elms Pond became part of the Elms estate in 1799 and was landscaped c.1805. Although the Manor House has gone, there was a clause in the 1790s to ensure preservation of the land as open space. The form of the present landscape with fountains, borders, yews etc. was made between 1928-1930. The lakeside was extended in length in the C19th and now has a wooded perimeter. The site has many fine trees. Elms Pond was restored in c.2004.