History & Culture

When it comes to cultural heritage Wimbledon Village has a rich and illustrious history. Before the All England Lawn Tennis Championship, held since 1877 and widely considered the world’s premier tennis tournament, placed Wimbledon firmly on the world map, Wimbledon has long attracted affluent and historically important people to its leafy suburb.

Notable names and families have chosen to make Wimbledon their home since the 17th Century including Lord Nelson, Earl Spencer and family, the family of the late Lady Diana, as well as Robert Bell, Director of the East India Company, who built Eagle House on the High Street. Other notable residents over the years have included Brian May, Boris Becker, James Hunt and Simon Cowell who recently purchased a house on the corner of Parkside and Parkside Avenue for just over £15m.

In 1881 Arts and Crafts pioneer William Morris opened a factory at Merton Abbey, the Abbey Mills were also the base for the fabric printing enterprises of Arthur Liberty, founder of the iconic Liberty store off Oxford Street.

SAVILLS WIMBLEDON - “THE VILLAGE HAS A LAID- BACK, DISCREET, FAMILY ATMOSPHERE WHICH ALLOWS HIGH-NET WORTH INDIVIDUALS AND CELEBRITIES TO LIVE QUIETLY AND WITHOUT FUSS.”

There are the remains of an Iron Age fortified Village on the Common and a 19th Century Windmill left over from the industrial era. There are even several properties dating from the 16th century when Wimbledon was a royal abode. The village itself expanded in the 18th century around the stagecoach route between Portsmouth and London, the horses were kept in the stables behind the Dog and Fox pub, where the riding school remains to this day. Wimbledon is also the home of the Buddhapadipa Temple, the first Thai Temple to be built in the United Kingdom.

Today Wimbledon has a range of architecture which is an eclectic mix of Victorian, Edwardian, Georgian, Art & Craft and Contemporary, with much of the area protected with either listed or Conservation Area status.