Description
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.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Deepdale |
|---|---|
| Site location | 14 Calonne Road, Wimbledon |
| Postcode | SW19 5HJ |
| What3Words | ///happen.soaks.inform |
| Type of Site | Garden Feature Remnants |
| Borough | Merton |
| Open to Public | Occasionally |
| Opening Times | including for Open House |
| Public Transport | Rail/Tube: Wimbledon then bus. Bus: 93 |
| Research Updated | 1 September 2006 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
This represents a remnant of one of the old estates lying between Wimbledon Common Parkside and Wimbledon Village, retaining much mature woodland and shrubbery, large pond and grassland that is the Buddhapadipa Temple and monastery setting now. Old maps show the northern fork of Wimbledon Park Brook originating in this area and a series of large ponds developed in the grounds of Alberton Grange, later Atherton Grange, in the mid C19th. The largest of these ponds was in the area of the present-day Parkside Avenue, Margin Drive and Deepdale, and the present pond in the Temple Grounds is a northern remnant of these. The small wood is a survival of more extensive planting that is shown on late C19th maps. The house on the present site was not built until the early C20th. The Shrine Hall of the monastery was built in 1979 and inaugurated on 31 October 1982 by Her Royal Highness Princess Kalyani Vaddhana, a sister of the King of Thailand; it was designed by Thai architect Praves Limparangsri. The Temple was built in 1980. The Temple Grounds are open to the public at festival times, Soangkran in April, and Loy-kratong in November.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ238717 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | The Buddhapadipa Temple |
| Site Management | The Dhammaduta (group of Thai Buddhist missionary monks) |
| Dates | 1767 |
| Designers | Lancelot 'Capability' Brown |
| 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 | Merton |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes - Borough II (see note above) |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
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
In 1914, Gertrude Jekyll received her third commission for gardens in the Wimbledon area. Bowerbank was to be on a 1½ acre plot in Marryat Road on the former Wimbledon House estate. Her designs are very detailed with plants carefully selected both for a double entrance frontage and a large rectangular back garden sloping down towards a hedge. Beyond was an ornamental lake. However, no house by the name of Bowerbank has ever been identified and it is unknown whether the designs were ever implemented. It is now clear that Bowerbank was eventually built under the name Windyridge but may have been delayed by WWI. The lower part of the garden no longer exists but the house, upper garden and frontage all remain.
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.
Eagle House is an early C17th stucco-fronted, triple gabled Jacobean property on four storeys. It has a large landscaped forecourt with perimeter shrubs and 4 mature trees. Its remaining rear garden, now within a single walled area with lawn, paths, shrub beds and trees, was formerly much larger but an extensive area was sold in 1992 for housing development. At that time it was the only known archaeologically investigated walled garden from the Jacobean period. A plaque at the entrance gates refers to the origins of the house and its most notable owners between 1613 and 1887. On the front of the house itself another plaque refers to German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer who attended school here in 1803.