Description
Once part of Norbiton Common, the land was later part of the Coombe estate owned by the Duke of Cambridge, and until c.1911 it was part of Hoppingwood Farm. Raynes Park Golf Club, which was established in 1893, moved to Malden in 1925 when its original course was taken for development. The club's new course and clubhouse opened in 1926, the club renamed Malden Golf Club. The golf course has woodland areas with clumps of exotic species planted. Although private, the golf course is crossed by a public footpath from Cambridge Avenue. A small area of 4ha. is in LB Merton.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Norbiton Common; Jack Nicklaus Golf Centre |
|---|---|
| Site location | Beverley Way/Traps Lane/Cambridge Avenue, New Malden |
| Postcode | KT3 4RS |
| What3Words | ///chest.cakes.react |
| Type of Site | Private Open Land |
| Borough | Kingston |
| Open to Public | Partially |
| Opening Times | private, visible from public footpath |
| Public Transport | Rail: New Malden. Bus: 213, 265, 131, 152, 265, K5 |
| Research Updated | 1 April 2012 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The land was part of the extensive Coombe estate, which the 1st Duke of Cambridge had purchased in 1837 from the Spencer family, who had owned it since 1753. After the Duke's death in 1850 the estate was inherited by his son George, who became 2nd Duke of Cambridge. With his younger sons Colonel Sir Augustus and Admiral Sir Aldolphus Fitzgeorge he created a golf course on their estate, Coombe Wood Golf Course (q.v.). Colonel Sir Augustus Fitzgeorge became President of Malden Golf Club, presiding over the opening ceremony in 1926, after which an exhibition match took place between Abe Mitchell, Harry Vardon, Alex Herd and Ted Ray, four great professionals at that time. Herd had advised on the layout of the course. The club has attracted a number of well-known golfers, including Gary Player and Bing Crosby, and sportsmen in other fields have also played here such as the cricketer Jack Hobbs. The Brock Cup, which is played for at the club on Armistice Sunday, commemorates Wing Commander Frank Brock, son of C T Brock who set up the famous fireworks company. Frank joined the family business and became director until the outbreak of WWI. He devised various pyrotechnics that were used as smoke screens in military raids including that on Zeebrugge on 22/23 April 1918, when Wing Commander Brock was killed in action.
The golf course was possibly a site of medieval significance, since a moat can be clearly seen on the OS Map (1970). The name 'Hoppinge' is old and may refer to 'flat land either side of a river where hops grew'. The Coombe Brook, into which a central pond drains, crosses the north of the golf course and the Beverley Brook flows through the south-east corner. Also running through the site is the water pipe, now owned by Thames Water, which runs north of the railway line taking water from the reservoirs at Seething Wells by the Thames at Kingston to South London, which were built in the 1850s by Chelsea Water Company and opened in 1856. Seething Wells was the site of a spring, which was described in the late C17th by historian John Aubrey as 'cold in summer and warm in winter; it bubbles up and is called Seething Well. The inhabitants thereabouts do use to wash their eyes with it, and drink of it'.
The golf course was possibly a site of medieval significance, since a moat can be clearly seen on the OS Map (1970). The name 'Hoppinge' is old and may refer to 'flat land either side of a river where hops grew'. The Coombe Brook, into which a central pond drains, crosses the north of the golf course and the Beverley Brook flows through the south-east corner. Also running through the site is the water pipe, now owned by Thames Water, which runs north of the railway line taking water from the reservoirs at Seething Wells by the Thames at Kingston to South London, which were built in the 1850s by Chelsea Water Company and opened in 1856. Seething Wells was the site of a spring, which was described in the late C17th by historian John Aubrey as 'cold in summer and warm in winter; it bubbles up and is called Seething Well. The inhabitants thereabouts do use to wash their eyes with it, and drink of it'.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ212693 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 46 |
| Site Ownership | Malden Golf Club |
| Site Management | Malden Golf Club |
| Dates | 1926 |
| Designers | Alex Herd (adviser on golf course layout) |
| 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 | Kingston |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes - Borough Importance II |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | Yes |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - Strategic Area of Special Character |
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
Beverley Park was laid out in c.1890 on part of the land that used to be Hoppinghood Farm, demolished in 1911, part of whose land is also now Malden Golf Course. The park has a pavilion and tennis courts, open grass, some mature trees and an extensive rose garden in the south west corner. The Beverley Brook flows along its eastern boundary and on the other side of the stream are school playing fields and sports grounds. An avenue of trees runs east-west across the centre of the park and there are various specimen trees including catalpa, gingko, oak, copper beech as well as conifers and a number of raised beds at the entrances.
Soames House was built by Stanley Ramsey as a modern neo-Georgian building, but at the back of the house the projecting drawing room was the former Orangery of Coombe Warren. Coombe Warren was built by George Devey in 1869/70 and had associations with the novelist John Galsworthy, as a result of which the 1930s house was named after the character in 'The Forsyte Saga'. Although Coombe Warren was demolished in 1926, there are fragments of gates in the gardens and the walls of the large formal grounds as well as other remnants of the Coombe Warren estate in the surrounding area.
Morley Park is a new public park created on part of the former site of Atkinson Morley Hospital. The hospital closed in 2003 and the site was later purchased by Berkeley Homes for their Wimbledon Hill Park development. As part of the planning consent, land for a public park was leased to Merton Council and the new park opened in 2019. Morley Park comprises playing fields, a pavilion, woodland and meadow. Atkinson Morley Hospital had been built near the former site of the C18th Prospect Place, which had gardens laid out by Humphry Repton in the late C18th/early C19th. Later known as Cottenham Park, the estate was sold for development in the early 1850s. Part of the site was acquired for the new hospital in 1863, which opened in 1869; the old house was pulled down and the hospital laundry built on its site. The wooded hospital grounds were on a sloping site, with an area of lawn levelled south of the hospital and the north-east woodland developed on an abandoned orchard and garden. Some trees from the former planting remain.