Description
Winey Hill is a pleasant grassy hilltop located in the south of the borough that includes scattered trees, horse-grazed pastures, dense scrub, a large stock pond and some old boundary hedgerows, where several nationally declining birds breed. In 1937 Alderman Clement Hugh Bridge of Chessington Grange in Garrison Lane negotiated with Lady Barker of Barwell Court to enable Surbiton Borough Council to purchase Winey Hill, which was within her Barwell Court Estate, as permanent open space. As a result c.10 hectares were acquired for £5,000 in September of that year. The hill has fine views from the top, at 75 m above sea level. Here a viewpoint has been erected that indicates what can be seen in all directions, from Canary Wharf 17 miles to the north-east and Guildford 13 miles to the south-west to more local sites such as Horton Country Park 1.5 miles to the south east and St Matthew's Church 2.5 miles to the north.
Practical Information
| Site location | Barwell Lane, footpath off Leatherhead Road, Chessington |
|---|---|
| Postcode | KT9 2JQ |
| What3Words | ///oldest.hammer.glare |
| Type of Site | Public Open Land |
| Borough | Kingston |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Public Transport | Rail: Chessington South. Bus: 465 |
| Research Updated | 14 April 2023 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The viewpoint at the summit is a stepped brick and flint structure erected as a memorial and inscribed “In memory of Mark Anstead from his friends and family” with the date 1995, and a plaque referencing Lower Mole Project. The site is accessible via a public footpath known as the Chessington Countryside Walk.
According to RB Kingston's Review of Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (2021): 'Winey Hill is currently over-grazed by horses reducing the grasslands value. The horses also have access to the woodland which has added interest by creating areas of bare ground. The site is popular with walkers and has impressive views. Opportunities to improve to site include restoring the central pond. This could be achieved by fencing off the majority of the pond from the horses so that they can drink from it but avoid trampling all of the vegetation. Ideally, the pond would be better connected to the woodland by creating some scrub habitat between the two habitats so that the pond is less isolated. The pond also requires desilting. Additional opportunities include reducing grazing pressure and rotational management of scrub to encourage structural diversity.'
West of Winey Hill is Chessington World of Adventures, originally the site of a mansion built in 1348, which became a royalist stronghold during the English Civil War and was razed to the ground by Oliver Cromwell's forces. Known as the Burnt Stub it was rebuilt as an inn, and later rebuilt by the Vere Barker family.
According to RB Kingston's Review of Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (2021): 'Winey Hill is currently over-grazed by horses reducing the grasslands value. The horses also have access to the woodland which has added interest by creating areas of bare ground. The site is popular with walkers and has impressive views. Opportunities to improve to site include restoring the central pond. This could be achieved by fencing off the majority of the pond from the horses so that they can drink from it but avoid trampling all of the vegetation. Ideally, the pond would be better connected to the woodland by creating some scrub habitat between the two habitats so that the pond is less isolated. The pond also requires desilting. Additional opportunities include reducing grazing pressure and rotational management of scrub to encourage structural diversity.'
West of Winey Hill is Chessington World of Adventures, originally the site of a mansion built in 1348, which became a royalist stronghold during the English Civil War and was razed to the ground by Oliver Cromwell's forces. Known as the Burnt Stub it was rebuilt as an inn, and later rebuilt by the Vere Barker family.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ171628 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 10.32 |
| Site Ownership | RB Kingston |
| Site Management | Grounds maintenance contractor: Quadron Services Ltd |
| Dates | 1937 |
| 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 (hilltop) |
| Green Belt | Yes |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - Area of Archaeological Significance |
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
The recreation ground is named after Sir Francis Barker (d.1922) who had lived at Burnt Stub, a mansion house built between 1906-1911, and he later lived at Barwell Court to the west of the Recreation Ground. Barker gave land for the recreation ground on Leatherhead Road and for relaunching Chessington Cricket Club in 1919, which still has its home here. The recreation ground is largely grassed with some planting of hedges and conifers as boundaries to sports facilities and is bounded by housing to the north with open landscape rising to Winey Hill to the west. The playground was refurbished in 2004 and in 2021 new facilities were added.
The Grapsome is the remains of ancient woodland managed as coppice wood with standards, now a small copse on the western boundary of the borough. The site was eroded when the Esher By-pass was built in 1974/5. The area was previously known as Graplingeham, probably so-called after an early owner and is thought to be a moated manor from before the Norman Conquest. By the C19th it is marked as woodland called The Grapsome on the first OS map of 1865.
Jubilee Wood abuts Sixty Acre Wood, and although the latter contains species typical of ancient woodland it appears to have long been used for agriculture. Once part of the Hampton Court lands owned by the Crown, in 1587 Queen Elizabeth I gave it to Thomas Vincent. By 1872 it was partly landscaped as parkland and woods created for the Barwell Court Estate. Jubilee Wood was planted to commemorate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887, divided into two parts by an electricity sub-station; only the eastern end of Jubilee Wood is publicly accessible.