Wellingtonia 72

Having snagged Wellingtonias 70 and 71, in the course of a rare visit to Worcester Park, we noticed a stand of three Wellingtonia on a skyline. It took a fair bit of driving around to run it down, but eventually we got to Grafton Close, off Grafton Road, Worcester Park.

The slightly more obviously distorted view of the same scene from gmaps. We wondered why there were so many of these trees in the area, usually relics of Victorian tree planting in the grounds of large houses, small stately homes even. A helpful young mum who happened to be walking by, from her accent possibly from South Africa, thought that there had been a number of big houses in the area, before the current houses were built, some of which were still standing. She pointed us in the direction of reference 1, a source of much wisdom in such matters.

Later that day, I went to Scottish National Libraries to turn up the snap above, pending the arrival from Ebay (I think) of reference 1. Where the road on the right is the present Salisbury Road, the road above it is the present Grafton Road, leading into The Avenue. So these trees were probably started out in the grounds of Worcester Park House, a little to the south of the house itself.

While the outing continued with a visit to the Church of St. John the Baptist at Old Malden, starting with this open ground, sloping down towards the Hogsmill. Quite a surprise in the middle of what I had taken to be a heavily built up, residential area.

Church firmly shut, but the tower was sporting the flag of the Ukraine.

While around the other side we had what looked like an expensive and tasteful extension for extra-curricular activities.

And some former residents ran to very substantial sepulchres. Sarah Bowry, widow of Cheam, who died in 1852. Perhaps she forgot to include some money in her will for the stone mason to touch up the lettering from time to time. Or perhaps she was mean about the stone to be used.

An even grander one.

It goes on. It must have been the must-have spot of its day. It seems that at some point in the 13th century, the presentation of the living (aka advowson) was given to then new Merton College, which has provided many of the vicars over the years. Perhaps this gave the place a bit of tone.

All in all, quite the heritage place. We must try to get in when it is open. 

Across the track from the church we had a rather unusual clutch of flats, in a style which is perhaps intended to respect the spirit of the Manor Farm buildings which it replaced. One of the many parcels of land once owned by Merton College, presumably once the property of the Merton who founded the college. According to the college website: 'Merton College, the first fully self-governing College in the University, was founded in 1264 by Walter de Merton, sometime Chancellor of England and later Bishop of Rochester'. According to Wikipedia at reference 2, more lawyer than parson, and while he clearly owned land in Merton he actually came from Basingstoke.

Last but not least, I now know a bit more about Worcester Park.  It seems that the Worcester in question was the 4th Earl of Worcester (creation of 1514), appointed by James I as his park keeper for the hunting park attached to Nonsuch Palace. Presumably the park at that time stretched north west from what is now Nonsuch Park to include most of what is now Worcester Park. Not a sinecure at all, as the  hunting park had to be kept well stocked with deer and generally in good order. Furthermore, at that time, the park keeper was also duty secretary when the king was in residence. It seems that he built himself a Worcester House, but over the years Worcester Park got separated from Nonsuch Park, Worcester House became Worcester Park House and was burned down in 1948, just before I was born. It seems that remains are still to be found in the trees. Presumably, most of the park which had been attached to the house had already been sold for housing. Got to make some money somehow.

PS 1: but we still don't which of these trees BH saw from the train. But she thought one rather than three, maybe one which has yet to be found.

PS 2: reference 3 tells me that Pepys visited Worcester Park House at the time of the Great Plague of London of 1665, for the duration of which chunks of the Exchequer had been moved to Nonsuch House, as the Palace was by then called. Chunks with which Pepys had business and he made several visits; at least sometimes, riding by horse from London. One wonders what the roads were like at that time. Worcester Park House for dinner - I forget what time of day this was at this time - on 28th November. At that time the country place of Sir Robert Long, Auditor of the Receipt of the Exchequer. Page 312 of reference 4.

References

Reference 1: Worcester Park, Old Malden and North Cheam: History at our feet - David Rymill - 2012. Source of most of the historical titbits above.

Reference 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_de_Merton. 

Reference 3: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worcester_Park_House.

Reference 4: The Diary of Samuel Pepys: VI: 1665 - Latham and Matthews - 1972.

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