Brief History
Wimbledon has been inhabited since at least the Iron Age 967, during the reign of King Edgar the Peaceful, when it is thought the hill fort on Wimbledon Common was constructed. This area is now known locally as ‘The Village’.
The ownership of the manor (Wimbledon) changed hands many times over the years. The manor was held by the church until 1398 when Thomas Arnold, Archbishop of Canterbury, fell out of favour with Richard 11 and was exiled. The manor was confiscated and became Crown property. It remained Crown property until Henry VIII, when it was granted briefly to Thomas Cromwell Earl of Essex until Cromwell was executed in 1540. Here after the area was held by Henry VIII's last wife Catherine Parr until her death in 1548 when it was once again reverted to the monarch.
In 1550 Henry’s daughter Mary I granted the manor to Cardinal Reginald Pole until his death in 1558 after which, it once again became royal property .The property was then held until 1574 by Mary’s sister Elizabeth I, when she gave the manor house only to a Christopher Patton who in turn sold it to Sir Thomas Cecil the Earl of Exeter. The lands of the manor house were given to the Cecil family in 1588 and a new manor house Wimbledon Palace was constructed and the gardens were laid out in the formal Elizabethan Style.
During the 17th century, Wimbledon’s convenience to the capital began to attract many wealthy families to the area including Robert Bell Master of the Worshipful Company of Girdlers and a Director of the East India Company who built Eagle House. The Cecil family retained the manor for fifty years until it was bought by Charles I in 1638 for Queen Henrietta Maria.
During the next few years, from 1649 to 1735, it changed ownership many times from the Dowager Queen, to Earl of Bristol, then The Lord High Treasurer Thomas Osbourne the Earl of Danby. The Osbourne family sold to a Sir Theodore Janssen, a director of the South Sea Company, in 1712. The next owner was Sarah Churchill the Duchess of Marlborough until her death in 1744, when it was passed to her grandson John Spencer and subsequently the first Earl Spencer.
The village of Wimbledon continued to grow and in the 18th century, the introduction of the stagecoach services from the Dog and Fox public house made the journey to London routine .
Today the area where the horses were stabled at the rear of the pub is now known as ‘Wimbledon Village Stables’.
The area today is known as The Wimbledon Park Area which includes the Common.
Directly south of the common the early 18th Century Warren House, now known as Cannizaro House from 1841 was home to a series of grand residents.
Wimbledon Common is one of the largest areas of common ground in London.