Description
St John the Baptist Church was built at the top of Kingston Hill in Kingston Vale in 1861, a small church with picturesque bellcote, at that time surrounded largely by fields. The Vicar of Kingston, Revd Samuel Gandy, was instrumental in a number of new churches being built within Kingston parish to provide for the growing population. Due to the proximity to White Lodge in Richmond Park the church had many connections with the royal family and it was here that the future George V's engagement to Mary of Teck was witnessed. Now situated among housing, the church is surrounded by a hedged garden with a number of fine conifers and shrubs, and in the churchyard is a war memorial.
Practical Information
| Site location | Robin Hood Lane |
|---|---|
| Postcode | SW15 3PY |
| What3Words | ///gates.nail.pads |
| Type of Site | Churchyard |
| Borough | Kingston |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Public Transport | Rail: Norbiton then bus. Bus: 85, 485 |
| Research Updated | 1 March 2012 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The first church in the Kingston Vale area was built in 1839, and in 1847 it became a parish. St John the Baptist was built on land donated by the local landowner, the Duke of Cambridge and among those who contributed towards building the church was the Duchess of Gloucester, one of George III's daughters. The foundation stone for the north aisle, added in 1874, was laid by Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck, who was living in the White Lodge in Richmond Park. In later years the Duke and Duchess of York, later to become King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, attended St John's when they in residence at White Lodge. The novelist John Galsworthy was baptised here on 15 September 1867; the family lived in a number of properties in Coombe and his father was church warden at St John's.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ211719 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | Church, Diocese of Southwark |
| Site Management | Church |
| Dates | 1861 |
| Listed Structures | Building of Townscape Merit: Lamp standard in churchyard |
| 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 | Kingston Vale |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - Strategic Area of Special Character and the Protection of Key Views |
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
Dorich House was built for Estonian sculptor Dora Gordine and her husband Richard Hare, a diplomat and authority on Russian culture. The plot of land adjacent to Richmond Park was formerly owned by the Duke of Cambridge, the site of 2 orchards. Their garden had lawns, rose beds, shrubbery and trees, some of which remain from the Hares' time, including a mulberry and fruit trees that predate their occupancy. Dora outlived her husband and remained here until her death in 1991. Her executors gifted the house and its contents to Kingston University and the house was subsequently renovated and the grounds remodelled. The house became Dorich House Museum in 2004 and is an important part of Kingston University's research facilities.
Kingston University's Kingston Hill campus is in the grounds of two former grand houses built in the 1830s on Kingston Hill, Kenry House and Coombe Hurst. The land of both houses formerly belonged to Earl Spencer, and was once part of the ancient Coombe Wood. The 1837 Coombe Estate map shows parkland surrounding the houses. In 1948 Gipsy Hill Training College acquired Coombe Hurst, unoccupied since 1940, and then in 1950 expanded further when it purchased Kenry House, which had been empty since 1933. Gipsy Hill amalgamated with Kingston Polytechnic in 1975, which became Kingston University in 1992. The University grounds contain remnants of the ancient woodland with mature oak trees pre-dating the 1830s, together with fragments of the C19th landscaped gardens and parkland planting.
The Richardson Evans Memorial Playing Fields is a substantial grassed sports facility that has been owned and managed by the Wimbledon and Putney Commons Conservators since 1925. In the north east corner is a circular hedged area at the centre of which is the War Memorial, an austere stone cross on a circular platform reached by short flights of steps. Around the cross the grass is mown, with a number of mown paths radiating to entrance points created by gaps in the perimeter hedge. The paths are flanked by avenues of trees; aside from the mown paths the grass is allowed to grow long and semi-natural. To the north-east are woodlands part of Putney Heath.