Description
Adjacent to Cheam Library are the remains of the walled garden that once surrounded West Cheam Manor, which was demolished in c.1796. Part of a stable block remains to the north-east. Cheam remained rural until the 1920s but by the late 1930s was largely suburban. To the west of the library, which was built in 1962 on the site of the manor house, is the Memorial Garden and Cheam War Memorial, dedicated to the dead of both world wars. The garden is mainly laid to lawn, with paths and a number of flower beds.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | West Cheam Manor |
|---|---|
| Site location | Church Road/Malden Road, Cheam |
| Postcode | SM3 8QH |
| What3Words | ///post.trout.mess |
| Type of Site | Public Gardens |
| Borough | Sutton |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Facilities | Toilets (library) |
| Public Transport | Rail: Cheam. Bus 151, 213, 726. |
| Research Updated | 1 March 2012 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ243638 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.1 |
| Site Ownership | LB Sutton |
| Site Management | Parks Service |
| Dates | C18th; 1920s |
| Listed Structures | LBII: C18th Garden wall |
| 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 | Cheam Village |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| 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
A church in Cheam was recorded in the Domesday Book and probably dates from the early C11th, dedicated to St Dunstan. The old church was demolished in the 1860s and a new church built next to the Lumley Chapel, which was the chancel of the medieval church that had been converted as a memorial chapel for the Lumley family in the late C16th. St Dunstan's Church and Lumley Chapel stand in a well tended churchyard with mature cedars and yews. There are a number of historic tombs and a war memorial with an Arts and Crafts lych-gate of 1891 at the entrance.
Seear's Park was once part of Hammond's Orchard within East Cheam Manor estate. It was laid out as a park by John Seear between 1890-1912 and left to his wife and then to the local authority on her death in 1932. There remain some mature ornamental trees dating rom the C19th, including a monkey puzzle, redwoods and firs along the main road to the west, also some broken statuary and a pond from the same period. The drinking fountain was installed in 1932 as a memorial to the Seears. There is an attractive ornamental cottage in the north-east corner.
Cheam Park and Cheam Recreation Ground are the former grounds of Cheam Park House. An C18th house built by Dr Edmund Sanxay, it was considerably enlarged in the early 1800s by London tea merchant Archdale Palmer. It was purchased by Mrs Bethell in 1920 and became known as Bethell House. After her death in 1937 the house and grounds were purchased by Sutton Council, for the benefit of the public in perpetuity. The house was demolished following bomb damage in WWII. The site is in two parts with Cheam Park the more formally planted and Cheam Recreation Ground to the north having a more open landscape.