Kingston Vale
| Kingston Vale | |
| Surrey | |
|---|---|
 St. John the Baptist, Kingston Vale | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ215715 |
| Location: | 51°25’46"N, 0°15’5"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | London |
| Postcode: | SW15 |
| Dialling code: | 020 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Kingston |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Richmond Park |
Kingston Vale is a partially urbanised village in Surrey, to the north of Kingston upon Thames, perched between Richmond Park to the west, Wimbledon Common to the east. Coombe Hill Golf Club physically separates Kingston Vale from Coombe to the southm, which is contiguous with Kingston itself.
The main road through Kingston Vale is the A308 (also called Kingston Vale and Kingston Hill) which is a through route for traffic passing to and from Kingston Hill to the A3 trunk road (locally known as the Kingston By-pass). Many of the branch roads are cul-de-sacs. It includes, toward the east and in the Vale, the only part of Kingston which drains eastward, that is, into Beverley Brook.
History
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An inn, the Bald-Faced Stag, stood on the site of the present day Asda from around 1650 into the 19th century.[1] The inn was reputedly a haunt of the highwayman Jerry Abershawe until his execution in 1795, after which his body was displayed in a gibbet at Putney Vale.[2]
The bulk of the housing in Kingston Vale was built before the 1970s, with many houses along Kingston Hill going back to the 1840s. This older stock is typically ornate, well landscaped in small grounds, with some converted into apartments.
| “ | A Topographic Dictionary of England published in 1848 describes the area as: ...from the excellent situation of the place...from the pleasing scenery with which the neighbourhood abounds, and from the salubrity of the air, the district promises to become of some importance.[3] |
” |
Name
The vale part was little-inhabited and known as Kingston Bottom until the middle of the 19th century; the name is featured in a variety of documents dating from 1791 to c. 1850. The Last Will and Testament of one Philip Cawston, dated 26 September 1791, refers to his ownership of the Robin Hood premises in Kingston Bottom;[4] the name also features in maps and wills held by the National Archives dating from 1791 to 1856.[5]
The earliest record of the new name Kingston Vale occurs in the 1861 Census Returns,[6] where the area is referred to as 'Kingston Vale Hamlet'. By the time of the 1891 Census, the area is described as a 'civil parish, township or place' under the name of 'Kingston Vale'.[7] A detailed summary of Kingston of 1848 names the recent new churches and describes the one erected in this neighbourhood as "at Robinhood-Gate".[3]
Robin Hood Place Names
The name of Robin Hood has long been associated with the Kingston Vale area which is close to the Robin Hood Gate of Richmond Park (the name of the gate appearing in records from at least 1785, and a nearby "Robynhood Walke" and "Robyn-hodes Walke" in 1548).[8] Maps of the areas also show Robin Hood Lane and the Robin Hood Inn (later the Robin Hood Pub until it was converted into residential property) as early as 1874.[9] The association with Robin Hood is thought to have arisen from the Robin Hood plays and the May Day Games put on in Richmond Park for the entertainment of Henry VIII.[8]
The Kingsnympton Park Estate
The Kingsnympton Park Estate was originally part of "The Knoll", a large house with extensive grounds along Kingston Hill next to Richmond Park. In 1914 a Mr Crowther built his mansion, "Haygreen", named after his Yorkshire village and described "as one of the grandest of stately homes that once graced Kingston."[10] The grounds included a golf course, lakes and Dutch gardens. Haygreen Close is named to remember the connection.
In 1927 Mr F. N. Picket purchased the house and he renamed it "Kingsnympton" after his Dorset village, King's Nympton. The pillars on Crescent Road mark the former entrance.
The estate was then owned by Mr Maneckji B. Dadabhoy of Nagpur. He installed the automated wrought iron entrance gates by South Lodge; the roundels have his intertwined initials "MBD".[11] It was leased for a time by Montague Burton.
The estate was bombed in 1940. The house was demolished and then purchased by the council for housing.
Churches
- Church of England: St John the Baptist
- Roman Catholic: St Ann's
The first church in the area was built in 1839[12] and became the centre of its own parish in 1847. This first Church of England church was replaced by the current parish church, St John the Baptist on Robin Hood Lane. It was consecrated on 22 July 1861, and was completed in 1886 by the addition of the Choir Vestry. It was built on land given by the Duke of Cambridge, using funds donated by Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh (a daughter of George III) and others.[12]
In addition to worship, the church acts as a focal point for community activities, such as social clubs, table tennis and space for parties and local associations.
Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck who, as a resident in White Lodge in Richmond Park, was a frequent worshipper in the church and laid the foundation stone for the North Aisle.[12]
Sports
Kingston Vale is almost surrounded by open spaces, much reflected in the range of local activities. In the east of the village are the Stag Lodge Stables, for horse-riding in adjoining Richmond Park and Wimbledon Common.
The Richardson Evans Memorial Playing Fields, adjacent to Wimbledon Common, hosts many sporting activities including Saturday/Sunday league football teams, as well as number of annual schools' rugby and women's football tournaments. It is the home ground of London Cornish RFC.[13]
Society
- Residents' Association: Kingston Vale Residents Association. The association's newsletter is called the Bottom Line, from the village's old name, 'Kingston Bottom'.
- Amateur dramatics: The Kingston Theatre Group, founded in 1943 as the Kingston Vale Operatic Society[14]
- Kingston Vale Theatre Group
Every year the Church holds a summer fete and a fireworks night on varying dates.
The Parish Office manages the booking of four halls (three on the site at St. John's and the Village Hall). Kingston Vale's halls are used to host a variety of community activities including an art club, the local theatre group, a coffee club, and the Residents' Association.
Museum
The Dorich House Museum, a museum of sculpture and Imperial Russian art, is run both as a museum and a conference centre by Kingston University.[15]
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Kingston Vale) |
- Kingston Vale Theatre Group
- Kingston Vale Leisure Gardeners' Association
- Robin Hood Primary School
- St. John the Baptist Parish Church
- St Ann's Roman Catholic Church
References
- ↑ "Putney Vale - Hidden London". https://hidden-london.com/gazetteer/putney-vale.
- ↑ Harper, Charles G (1895). "The Portsmouth Road and its Tributaries: To-day and in days of old". London: Chapman & Hall. p. 69. (Accessed 5 July 2021)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 'Kingston-upon-Thames', describing Kingston in A Topographical Dictionary of England, ed. Samuel Lewis (publisher) (London, 1848), pp. 680-683. British History Online
- ↑ Causton One-Name Study "Body". Archived from the original on 28 July 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090728053116/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/john.causton/willslist.htm. Retrieved 29 October 2008.
- ↑ The National Archives: Kingston Bottom.
- ↑ 1861 Census Returns: Kingston Vale
- ↑ 1891 Census Returns: Kingston Vale
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Matthews, John (2016). Robin Hood. Amberley Publishing. p. 155. ISBN 978-1445656014. https://books.google.com/books?id=CesaDQAAQBAJ&q=robyn-hodes+walk+richmond&pg=PT155. (Accessed 29 July 2021)
- ↑ Ordnance Survey. "Surrey maps VII: Wandsworth Borough; Wimbledon St Mary. Surveyed: 1865, Published: 1874". National Library of Scotland. https://maps.nls.uk/view/102347427#zoom=2&lat=627&lon=4288&layers=BT.
- ↑ The Kingsnympton Park Estate history board, unveiled 20 February 2014
- ↑ National Heritage List 1300077: Gateway to Kingsnympton Park besides South Lodge (Grade II listing)
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Parish of St. John the Baptist
- ↑ "Richardson Evans Memorial Playing Fields". 2016. https://www.wpcc.org.uk/the-commons/richardson-evans-memorial-playing-fields.Template:Webarchive (Access date 5 July 2021)
- ↑ "History - KVTG". http://www.kvtg.co.uk/history/4581965306.
- ↑ "History". Dorich House Museum. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130122005604/http://www.dorichhousemuseum.org.uk/history.php. Retrieved 4 October 2020.