Raynes Park
| Raynes Park | |
| Surrey | |
|---|---|
 Coombe Lane | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ235685 |
| Location: | 51°24’12"N, 0°13’56"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 9,738 (2011) |
| Post town: | London / New Malden |
| Postcode: | SW20 / KT3 |
| Dialling code: | 020 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Merton |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Wimbledon |
Raynes Park is a residential suburb in north-eastern Surrey, within the metropolitan conurbation, It has its own railway station, Raynes Park Station, and local centre. It is found to the south-west of Wimbledon Common, and the north-west of Wimbledon Chase, to the east of New Malden.
Raynes Park had a population of 19,619 in 2011.
Nearby towns and villages include New Malden, Kingston upon Thames, South Wimbledon, Colliers Wood, Worcester Park, Morden and Lower Morden.
Raynes Park has one of the largest proportions of green open space in urban Surrey. The area has a number of parks including Cottenham Park Recreation Ground, named after Charles Pepys, 1st Earl of Cottenham, and Cannon Hill Common.
Cannon Hill Common covers 52 acres of open space, and is a site of importance for Nature Conservation. It contains mature woodland that is over 140 years old and provides a habitat for a variety of wildlife.
History
Historically, the area of Raynes Park south of Coombe Lane and Kingston Road was part of the parish of Merton[1] and the area north of that line was part of the Parish of Wimbledon. The area remained rural until late into the 19th century. The first development in the area was the opening of the London & South Western Railway in May 1838 which crossed the area on a high embankment, although the station did not open until 1871.
Cottenham Park to the north of the station was the first part of the area to be laid out for development in the 1870s. It takes its name from Charles Pepys, 1st Earl of Cottenham who lived in Wimbledon until his death in 1851. The name Raynes Park was originally used in the 1870s and only applied to the area south of the railway line where the local landowner, Richard Garth, Lord of the Manor of the adjacent parish of Morden, planned to develop a new garden suburb[2] similar to that being developed by John Innes at Merton Park to the east. The name refers to the Rayne family,[2] the previous landowners of the farmland on which Garth intended to build.
Garth laid out the northern section of Grand Drive, about as far south as Heath Drive,[3] and Blenheim Road and persuaded the railway company to build the station. A number of detached houses were constructed, but Garth's absence as Chief Justice of Bengal slowed the development and much of the rest of the area became a golf course and cricket grounds.
By the late Victorian period, the residential development of Wimbledon was encroaching on the north side of the railway from the east but, apart from a few buildings including the Junction Tavern and a school, development around the station did not start until the beginning of the 20th century.
South of the railway, the twelve terraced roads known locally as "the Apostles" (although they are not named after the Apostles) were laid out over a former cricket ground starting during the Victorian period. In the 1920s, the Kingston Bypass (A3) and its spur, Bushey Road (A298), were built as dual carriageways. South of the railway, the majority of residential development occurred in the 1930s with Grand Drive being extended south into Lower Morden and new roads being developed. During the interwar period, developer George Blay was key in transforming Raynes Park into the place it is today, with his properties still known locally as "Blay houses".[4] Much of the area remains open space.
During Second World War the area suffered considerable bombing, especially in 1944 from the V-1 flying bomb.
Sport and leisure
- Cricket: Wimbledon United CC, whose home ground at Cottenham Park
- Football: Raynes Park Vale F.C., who play at Prince George's Fields.[5]
- Golf: Malden Golf Club
- Tennis: Raynes Park Residents Lawn Tennis Club
- Wimbledon Volleyball Club is based at Raynes Park High School.
The golf club was founded in 1893 and the parkland course is set over an area of 120 acres.
Cannon Hill Common is popular for walking, cycling, recreational fishing and angling, dog walking, bird watching and represents a small piece of countryside within the conurbation.
Since 2010 the MyRaynesPark Festival has taken place annually for a week during the summer, providing arts and cultural events for the local community.
References
- ↑ "Merton AP/CP: Historical Boundaries". A Vision of Britain Through Time. http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/bound_map_page.jsp?first=true&u_id=10146550&c_id=10001043.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "History: Building Raynes Park". http://www.rpwbresidents.org.uk/area/local-history.
- ↑ Ordnance survey, 1898
- ↑ John Tarling. "History: Building Raynes Park". John Tarling. http://www.rpwbresidents.org.uk/area/local-history/32-building-raynes-park-part-1.
- ↑ "Raynes Park Vale". http://www.pyramidpassion.co.uk/html/raynes_park_vale.html.