| Raynes Park | |
|---|---|
 Coombe Lane | |
  Raynes Park Location withinGreater London | |
| Population | 9,738 (2011 Census. Ward)[1] |
| OS grid reference | TQ235685 |
| London borough | |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LONDON |
| Postcode district | SW20 |
| Post town | NEW MALDEN |
| Postcode district | KT3 |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| UK Parliament | |
| London Assembly | |
| 51°24′12″N0°13′56″W / 51.4033°N 0.2321°W /51.4033; -0.2321 | |
Raynes Park is a residentialsuburb,railway station and local centre nearWimbledon,London, and is within theLondon Borough of Merton. It is situated southwest ofWimbledon Common, to the northwest ofWimbledon Chase and to the east ofNew Malden, inSouth West London. It is 7.8 miles (12.5 km) southwest ofCharing Cross. Towards the north and west, either side of the borough boundary with theRoyal Borough of Kingston upon Thames are the areas ofCopse Hill andCoombe with their largedetached houses,golf courses and gated lands. Raynes Park had a population of 19,619 in 2011, which refers to the populations of the wards of Raynes Park and West Barnes. The district of Raynes Park is composed of the neighbourhoodsMostpur Park ( West Barnes ), Raynes Park itself, Shannon corner and Grand drive.[2]
Raynes Park is 7.8 miles fromCentral London and has one of the largest proportions of green open space inSouth London. The area has a number ofparks including Cottenham Park Recreation Ground, named afterCharles Pepys, 1st Earl of Cottenham, andCannon Hill Common. It lies approximately 2.5 miles (4 km) north of the Greater London border withSurrey.
Cannon Hill Common covers 21 hectares of open space, and is a site of borough importance – Grade 1 for Nature Conservation. It contains mature woodland that is over 140 years old and provides a habitat for a variety offauna andflora.
Historically, the area of Raynes Park south of Coombe Lane and Kingston Road was part of theparish ofMerton[3] and the area north of that line was part of the Parish of Wimbledon.[4] The area remainedrural until late into the 19th century. The first development in the area was the opening of theLondon & South Western Railway in May 1838 which crossed the area on a highembankment, 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 fromCharles 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 ofMorden, planned to develop a new garden suburb[5] similar to that being developed byJohn Innes atMerton Park to the east. The name refers to the Rayne family,[5] 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,[6] 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 ofBengal slowed the development and much of the rest of the area became a golf course and cricket grounds.
By the lateVictorian 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[7] known locally as "the Apostles" (although they are not named after theApostles) were laid out over a former cricket ground starting during theVictorian 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 intoLower 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".[8] Much of the area remains open space.
During World War II the area suffered considerable bombing, especially in 1944 from theV-1 flying bomb.[7]
In 2015, Raynes Park High Street was a finalist in theGreat British High Street competition's London category.[9] The competition title was eventually won byEaling'sPitshanger Lane.[10]
Raynes Park station is on theNational Rail network. The station is at the junction of the branch line heading towardsEpsom andDorking and has four platforms. A distinctive local landmark is the station footbridge which spans all four main running lines at an angle of about 45 degrees. Another distinctive feature of the station is that the platforms are not opposite each other. The station benefits from frequent train services to central London, with approximately 210 trains to Waterloo each day, averaging about 12 per hour during service hours. Raynes Park is effectively divided into two by theWaterloo -Southampton mainline railway.
In recent years, Raynes Park has benefitted from increased investments; this includes a largeWaitrose.
Raynes Park has London bus services running throughWimbledon toColliers Wood,Tooting,Streatham and toNew Malden andKingston upon Thames, as well as nightbus services toWandsworth,Vauxhall,Westminster andAldwych.
Bushey Road connects the Kingston Bypass toWimbledon Chase andMerton Park. On the south side is Prince George's playing field which plays host to Sunday league football. The field also has other purposes and has in the past held travellingFunfairs andHindu festival celebrations. Adjacent to the playing field is a sports and leisure centre. The area has a number of other parks and open spaces including Cottenham Park Recreation Ground and Raynes Park Sports Ground.
The nearest London Underground tube station isWimbledon on theDistrict line.
Raynes Park has aNon-League football clubRaynes Park Vale F.C. who play at Prince George's Fields.[19] Other leisure facilities in the area include the Raynes Park Residents Lawn Tennis Club, and the Malden Golf Club. The Malden Golf Club was founded in 1893 and the parkland course is set over an area of 120 acres. Wimbledon United CC have fielded a number of Sunday cricket teams with great success at their home ground at Cottenham Park for the past 90 years. 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 city of London. Since 2010 the MyRaynesPark Festival has taken place annually for a week during the summer, providing arts and cultural events for the local community, with previous guest speakers includingYasmin Alibhai-Brown andTim Vine.[20]
Wimbledon Volleyball Club is based at Raynes Park High School.
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