Hurlingham Park

The land was once known as Hurlingham Field following the arrival of Saxon settlers in c.500 AD who began farming here. From the C8th it was part of the manor of the Bishops of London whose summer residence was Fulham Palace (q.v.). Neolithic remains have been found here and it was the site of a plague pit dating from the 1665 Great Plague; there was an isolation hospital until 1736. An Act of William and Mary in 1693 enabled the Bishops to lease their land and by the C18th there were a few riverside villas as well as meadows and nursery gardens. Hurlingham House was built in 1760 for Dr William Cadogan (1711-97), who leased 9 acres from the Bishop of London. After his death the property was leased to John Ellis (1757-1832) for whom the riverside house was enlarged into a Neo-classical white stucco-faced mansion by George Byfield in 1797-8. In 1800 Ellis purchased the freehold and an additional 11 acres of land for £3,150. He sought the advice of Humphry Repton on the landscaping, who refers to it in his 'Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening' of 1803. A frequent visitor was George Canning, later Prime Minister. In 1807 the Hurlingham estate was sold to George O'Brien Wyndham (1751-1837), 3rd Earl of Egrement, who in 1820 sold it to John Horsley Palmer (1779-1858) for £12,000. Palmer, who was later Governor of the Bank of England, enlarged the estate to the north by a further 16 acres and in the mid-1830s he let it to Richard, Marquess Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington's brother. Other notable occupants included Euseby Cleaver, the 'mad' Archbishop of Dublin.

After Palmer's death, the Hurlingham estate was sold in 1860 to Richard Naylor (1814-99), who in 1867 gave permission to Frank Heathcote (1811-79) to use the grounds for pigeon shooting matches. The Gun Club of London had been founded in 1861 and had been seeking a suitable venue for pigeon shooting during the London Season. Hurlingham became a popular and fashionable venue, and here Heathcote founded the Hurlingham Club as a country resort. The Club leased the Hurlingham estate in 1869 and in 1874 bought the freehold for £27,500; Hurlingham House remains the core of the Clubhouse today. The Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, was Honorary Member of the Club and pigeon shooting continued here until 1905 by which time the main activity was polo, a sport that had originated in Persia before being played in India, coming to England in 1869. The first polo match was played here in 1874, watched by the Prince and Princess of Wales, and Hurlingham went on to become the game's headquarters for the British Empire. Tennis began to be played in 1877 and a lawn racquet ground was provided at Hurlingham in the 1880s, and croquet was introduced in c.1900. Celebrations for Queen Victoria's Golden and Diamond Jubilees took place in 1887 and 1897, and in 1903 other events such as concerts and plays were added to the entertainment.

The estate had been enlarged in 1879 with the purchase of Mulgrave House, subsequently demolished in 1927, and 15 acres of its grounds including its lake. In 1912 Broom House and its grounds were acquired. Broomhouse had been a medieval and possibly Saxon settlement. In 1906 the Club had undertaken further improvements to the house and grounds with Sir Edwin Lutyens engaged as architect. A pair of his pavilions remain from c.1906-12, as does the half-timbered lodge by Broomhouse Lane. By the outbreak of WWI much of the surrounding area had been built over with housing and during the war Hurlingham became the base for Yeomanry and an RNAS balloon detachment. In the 1930s an outdoor swimming pool, squash courts and bowling facilities were added and a 9-hole golf course was provided for winter use. In WWII Hurlingham was used as quarters for the Army and Air Force and an anti-aircraft battery and balloon barrage unit were based here, with the main polo ground turned over to allotments. The Club was badly bombed with 27 bombs and a landmine falling in the grounds. The house was largely saved although the eastern end was badly damaged including the loss of its crystal dome.

After the war, the LCC compulsorily purchased the Club's polo grounds in order to provide Hurlingham Park for public recreation. Fulham Borough Council acquired Polo Ground No. 2 for a school and housing at Sulivan Court Estate (q.v.). The cost of constructing the playing fields was provided by the National Playing Fields Association and Variety Club. Apart from the 1950s landscaping scheme and addition of municipal features such as public conveniences and other built structures, the park retains much of its open ambiance from its days as a polo ground. By the late 1990s, the 1930s concrete polo grandstand was in poor repair and has since been demolished. The park is bounded to the street by iron railings, with London planes and silver birch on the perimeter. On the north-east boundary of the park is Hurlingham Lodge, previously a hostel for tubercular men but now a private residence.