Description
Miramonte was designed by architect Maxwell Fry in 'international modern' style, the house built in reinforced concrete faced with white plaster with a blue metal trim. Nikolaus Pevsner described it as 'a play of open and closed elements, of different geometric shapes and of judiciously contrasted window forms'. Adjacent to the road is a separate garage with flat above, a covered way leading to the L-shaped house. House and garden are linked by a projecting sun room with a covered balcony at the west end of the south front and curving walls. A tubular steel fence with wire mesh infill surrounds the garden in front of the garage.
Practical Information
| Site location | Warren Rise, Coombe |
|---|---|
| Postcode | KT3 |
| What3Words | ///love.cuts.lobby |
| Type of Site | Private Garden |
| Borough | Kingston |
| Open to Public | No |
| Opening Times | private |
| Public Transport | Rail: Norbiton then bus. Bus: 57 then walk |
| Research Updated | 1 March 2004 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Pending further research
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ208698 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | private |
| Dates | 1937 |
| Designers | Maxwell Fry |
| Listed Structures | LBII: Miramonte and garage with flat above, gates, walls and tubular steel fence |
| 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 | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Coombe House |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| 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
Now the international training centre for Unilever plc, Four Acres was built in 1929 in 'Vernacular Revival' style by George Warren. Warren also designed the former lodge that originally housed the servants to the main house and later became used for accommodation when the site became a training centre. Adjoining the lodge are a pair of circular brick gate piers with cone tiled tops. The house is set in well planted grounds with water features and sculptures; a low brick terrace is attached to the west and south front of the house, with paving and a flight of stone steps.
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.
The golf course was part of the estate of Coombe House, which the 1st Duke of Cambridge purchased in 1837, enlarging his estate for a shooting park by the purchase of commonland on Coombe Hill. Coombe Wood Golf Course was laid out in 1904 by the 2nd Duke of Cambridge and his sons, the Fitzgeorges. Originally a 9-hole course, but extended in 1922, it continues to straddle George Road. The Coombe estate was broken up after the death in 1933 of Sir Augustus Fitzgeorge, partly for housing development, but partly remaining open land. The golf course was saved as a result of Malden and Coombe UDC purchasing the land in 1934.