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Worcester Park
Suburb of Greater London, England From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Worcester Park is a suburban town in Southwest London and Surrey, England. It lies partly in the London borough of Sutton and partly in the Surrey borough of Epsom and Ewell, while its post town also covers part of the Old Malden district of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. The area is 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Charing Cross. The suburb's population was estimated to be 33,008 at the time of the 2011 Census.[1] The suburb comprises the Worcester Park ward, an electoral area of the London Borough of Sutton with a population in 2011 of 11,655,[2] as well as the Cuddington ward, an electoral area of Epsom and Ewell, which had a population of 5,791 at the time of the 2001 census.[3]
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The Worcester Park post town, which is coterminous with the KT4 postcode district, covers all of the suburb and also extends into Old Malden. Other neighbouring localites include Kingston, Sutton, New Malden, Motspur Park, Lower Morden, Stoneleigh, Tolworth and West Ewell.
Worcester Park railway station (London Zone 4, South Western Railway), runs trains into London Waterloo.
Many maps and postal addresses refer to a significant part of North Cheam as Worcester Park, even though they have different postcodes.
The Beverley Brook runs through Worcester Park, alongside Green Lane and past Green Lane Primary School, traversing up to Cuddington Recreation Ground. The Huntsmans Hall (now The Brook) was situated on what was the far boundary of a hunting ground for Henry VIII.[4]
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History
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Early history
Worcester Park takes its name from the Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester, who was appointed Keeper of the Great Park of Nonsuch in 1606.[5] The area was once part of Nonsuch Great Park which covered around 1100 acres and was adjacent to the Little Park which contained Nonsuch Palace of Henry VIII.[6] Both parks were originally used as deer parks. Henry VIII had obtained the land from Sir Richard de Codington.[7]
During the ownership by Sir Richard de Codington, there was a manor house on a site which was later replaced by Worcester House and is now the site of Worcester Close. In 1650, it was valued at £550 per annum.[8] There was also a church of St. Mary on roughly the same site where the church of St Mary the Virgin, Cuddington, now stands.[9]
18th & 19th Century: Gunpowder Mills
In 1750, Worcester Park was acquired by William Taylor.[6] He used a mill on the banks of the Hogsmill River to continue the manufacture of gunpowder which had been carried out on and off in the area for several decades.[10] The mills were designed in 1771 by John Smeaton.[11] Manufacturing continued until at least 1854 when the mill blew up and heavily damaged the westerly structure.[12]
In 1890 Worcester Park Baptist Church was formed in Longfellow Road. It moved to its present location on The Avenue in the 1950s.[citation needed]
20th Century: Suburban residential development
The Worcester Park area was largely rural before the opening of the railway station.[citation needed] The majority of the district was constructed on by housing in the 1920s and 30s. The south of the district was built on in the 1960s following the closure of the Worcester Park Brick Works.[citation needed] Other pockets of 1960/70s development can be seen scattered across the Worcester Park area.
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The Hamptons & Mayflower Park
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The Hamptons is a mixed development completed in 2021 by Berkeley Group Holdings.[13] It contains mainly Colonial Revival architecture and is located in the northeast of Worcester Park.[14] It was constructed in 30 acres (120,000 m2) of parkland on the former site of sewage works and its formerly bracken buffer.
The estate contains conservation wetlands, an amphitheatre, community centre and gym, tennis courts (for residents) and a viewing platform with views to the City of London.[13]
The green space is called Mayflower Park which includes the grass amphitheatre for performances and an area of five wetlands as a nature reserve.[15] The park has been open to the public since July 2006.[16]
2019 Richmond House Fire
In 2019, a fire destroyed Richmond House in the Hamptons development leaving 23 families homeless.[17][18] A post event structural survey found that the fire was able to spread at an uncontrollable speed due to multiple breaches of building regulations at design and build level by the developer Berkeley homes.[19] A group of residents brought a £3m claim against the developer which was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.[20]
Development Awards
The developers received multiple awards.[21][citation needed]
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Localities
Rowe Hall
Rowe Hall or 2nd Cuddington is a Scout HQ, next door to Cuddington Primary School. It was built in 1958 and named Rowe Hall in honour of a long serving scout leader, "Miss Ivy Rowe". [citation needed] This headquarters was erected after the previous building was destroyed by arsonists and still serves the 2nd Cuddington (Rowe) Scout Group. Miss Rowe was the third-form teacher at Blakesley School, a private primary school owned by Mr and Mrs Eric Dudley, and highly esteemed Akela of the 2nd Cuddington (Blakesley) Cub pack from its founding in the early 1940s to the 1960s. [citation needed]
Worcester Park House
Presumed to be one of the residences of the 4th Earl of Worcester, the house was on the site of Linden Bridge School on what is now the border between Worcester Park and Tolworth near the intersection of Grafton Road and Cromwell Road.[22]
Nearby places
Demographics
In 2011, around 78% of residents of Worcester Park ward were White, with 3.6% mixed race, 4.8% Asian or British Asian, 2.0% Black and 3.3% Chinese or of another ethnic group.[citation needed]
Education
Primary Schools & Nurseries
Worcester Park has 8 primary schools and nurseries.[23]
Cheam Common Infants and junior school are pre-World War II school buildings. Air raid shelters were found underground during an extension to the main building of the junior school. [citation needed] The school is located at the top of the high street.
Dorchester Primary School is situated on Dorchester Road in the north of Worcester Park.
Cuddington School is a primary school on Salisbury Road in the south of the district, near the border with Stoneleigh.
Green Lane Nursery and Primary School opened in 2018 on Green Lane for pupils aged 3 to 11 as part of the Coombe Academy Trust.[24]
Malden Parochial CofE Primary School is on The Manor Drive near Malden Manor Railway Station.
St Cecilia's Catholic Primary School is on the edge of Worcester Park where Clarkes Avenue meets the A24.
The Mead Infant and Nursery School is on Cuddington Avenue.
Special Education
Linden Bridge School is a special school, part of The Howard Partnership Trust, for pupils range from ages 4 to 19.[25] Located on Grafton Road, in the south-west of the district, in Epsom and Ewell.
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In literature
Worcester Park is the site of the enormous launch structure built to pioneer crewed flight in the short story "The Argonauts of the Air" by H. G. Wells, written in 1895.[26]
Economy
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Central Road (A2043), roughly half a mile in length forms the focal point of Worcester Park. It hosts a number of shops, stores, banks, estate agents, building societies, solicitors, restaurants, pubs, and coffee bars. The largest store is a branch of the Waitrose supermarket chain.[citation needed]
Outer London Fund
Along with neighbouring North Cheam, Worcester Park was a beneficiary of the Mayor of London's "Outer London Fund".[27]
It won nearly £2m for improvements to the local area. Sutton Council begun a collaborative project, steered by Councillors and community stakeholders, to spend the money on making improvements to the public realm and supporting the development and growth of businesses in the town centres.[citation needed]
Sutton Council's bid for the money stated that: "In The London Plan, London's Mayor recognises the strategic importance of supporting town centres as key locations for a diverse range of activities. Town centres are key nodes for effective land use and transport integration, a focus for local communities, enhance quality of life, and are key focal points for regeneration initiatives. Both Worcester Park and North Cheam are recognised as part of a network of District Centres in London by the Mayor. In this way, they play an important role in the Borough [of Sutton]. Their development is also strategic: the long term growth strategy for Sutton identified in Sutton's Core Strategy, identifies both as ‘Centres for Intensification’ where renewal will largely be achieved through residential and mixed use development." It also notes that: "Network Rail are willing to build on plans to make enhancements to Worcester Park Station, working with the Council to make a welcoming and distinctive arrival to Worcester Park."[28]
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Transport
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Rail
Worcester Park railway station is in Zone 4, served by the National Rail services of South Western Railway and is on the boundary with the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames.
The railway line runs from London Waterloo, via Wimbledon and Worcester Park to Epsom, Dorking and Guildford. Worcester Park is approximately a 25-minute journey to London Waterloo by train with trains typically running every 30 minutes during the day.
Buses
There are multiple bus services that run through Worcester Park.
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Notable residents
- Ivey Dickson, pianist and musical director.
- Vic Flick, guitarist; born Worcester Park, 1937
- Jimmy Hill, footballer for Fulham Football Club and BBC TV Football commentator.
- William Holman Hunt, 1827–1910, Pre-Raphaelite artist, painted The Light of the World at Worcester Park Farm, while staying there in the early 1850s with John Everett Millais.[36]
- John Major – Prime Minister from 1990 to 1997, lived here as a boy at 260 Longfellow Road, Worcester Park from 1943 to 1955.[37]
- Roger Mayer – sound engineer, most notable for his development of the fuzz box.
- Daley Thompson, British decathlete, lived near The Plough public house.
- H. G. Wells, author, lived in The Avenue.[38]
- Kenneth Wolstenholme, BBC television sports commentator, remembered for the phrase "They think it's all over" in the 1966 FIFA World Cup Final.
Sport and recreation
- Worcester Park Cricket Club, Green Lane.
- Worcester Park Athletic Club, Green Lane.
- Worcester Park Football Club, Skinner's Field on Green Lane. The club was founded in 1908.
- Cazbar FC based at the Cazbar in Central Road play at Manor Park. Cazbar FC was founded in 2008 and now plays out of the Malden Manor Pub under the same name Cazbar FC.
- Wandgas Football Club is located on Grafton Road and also has cricket teams.
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Parks and open spaces
- Auriol Park, a King George's Field, in the Borough of Epsom & Ewell. Located in Stoneleigh but in the Worcester Park postcode[39]
- Shadbolt Park, also in the borough of Epsom and Ewell.[40]
- Dancer Dick Wood, accessible from Auriol Park Close. Located 100 yards north of Auriol Park, on the corner of Salisbury Road and Cromwell Road
- The Hogsmill Open Space, in the north west, bordering Ewell, Tolworth and Old Malden
- Cuddington Recreation Ground on St Clair Drive in the London Borough of Sutton.[41]
- Mayflower Park in The Hamptons open space in the north, towards Motspur Park
See also List of King George V Playing Fields (Surrey) under the entry for Worcester Park.
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Notes
Bibliography
References
External links
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