Coombe, Kingston upon Thames

Coombe
Coombe  Coombe shown within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ208703
London borough	Kingston
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	KINGSTON UPON THAMES
Postcode district	KT2
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
London Assembly	South West
List of places UK England London

Coombe is a historic neighbourhood within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in London, England.

Location

Coombe lies east of the Norbiton area of Kingston upon Thames. The neighborhood was part of the former Municipal Borough of Malden and Coombe prior to local government re-organisation in 1965. It now shares borders with the boroughs of Merton, Sutton, Wandsworth and Richmond. To the north lies Richmond Park; to the east, Wimbledon Common.

History

Coombe centres on what was originally Coombe House, a large residence built in the 1750s The house, now demolished, was located at the southwest corner of the intersection of present-day Coombe Lane (A238) and Traps Lane. Its red brick boundary walls can still be seen on the west side of Traps Lane.

The neighborhood has a long history. Roman coins and other ancient remains have been found in the area around Warren Road. Coombe appears in Domesday Book as Cumbe. It was held partly by Hunfrid (Humfrey) the Chamberlain and partly by Ansgot the Interpreter. Its domesday assets were: 1½ hides; 4 ploughs, 12 acres (49,000 m²) of meadow, herbage worth 4 hogs. It rendered £8.

The Neville name has long been associated with the neighborhood. In 1215 King John gave Coombe to Hugh de Nevill. The area was known as Coombe Nevill by 1260. At the beginning of the 14th century the manor was held by William de Nevill. The 1911 Ordnance Survey map identified an estate known as Coombe Nevile at the intersection of George and Warren Roads and owned by Commander L. Chetwynd. The present-day cul-de-sac known as Coombe Neville is in the same location.

16th century records speak of a gallows in Coombe, most likely near what is now Kingsnympton Park estate. This was reputedly the scene of public executions.

By 1761 Coombe was owned by John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer, an ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales and her son Prince William.

Coombe Warren was a wild woodland on the ridge known as Coombe Hill. It was used for hunting and public fairs. 'The Coombe Wood Highwayman', Jerry Abershaw, frequented the area in the late 1700s. Being based at the "Bald Face Stag" pub, he sheltered in the woods. An 1835 map placed Coombe Warren in an area now bisected by Warren Road between Kingston Hill (A308) and Coombe Lane (A238). Portions of the Warren are now covered by the Coombe Hill estate and Coombe Wood Golf Course.

In 1822 the Admiralty opened a semaphore station in the Warren, which was part of the semaphore line from London to Portsmouth. The station has disappeared, but survived in the name of "Telegraph Cottage."

At the time of the 1865 Ordnance Survey, the area west of Warren Road remained largely open country. By this time the George and Dragon public house was operating at the intersection of George Road and Kingston Hill (A308). By 1911, two golf courses were in place, as were a number of large estates along George Road near the present-day site of Marymount International School (London) and Holy Cross Preparatory School.

For further information on education in Coombe, Kingston upon Thames see the main Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames article.

Numerous German bombs struck Coombe during World War II.

Today

Coombe is a prestigious residential location, and house prices in the area are commonly into the millions. It includes the Coombe Hill estate, consisting of Coombe Hill Road, and cul-de-sacs such as Greenwood Park and Devey Close; and neighborhoods along Warren Road, George Road and Golf Club Drive.

Notable buildings

Grade II-listed buildings and ancient monuments in Coombe include:

• Three Tudor-era structures built as a system for supplying water to Hampton Court Palace from springs in Coombe: Coombe Conduit on Coombe Lane West, Ivy Conduit on the grounds of Holy Cross Preparatory School on George Road, Gallows Conduit on the grounds of Hampton Spring house on George Road.;
• Warren House on Warren Road, constructed in the 1860s for banker Hugh Hammersley and extended in 1884-1886 by the architect George Devey; and
• Cedar Court on Coombe Hill Road, built on its present site in 1911-12 incorporating timbers from a late medieval timber-framed building from Colchester (probably the Perseverance Inn, demolished in 1910)

Notable residents and visitors

• Coombe House was once owned by British politician Robert Jenkinson (Prime Minister, 1812-1827), and later by Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, great-great-grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II.
• British politician George Glyn lived in Warren House.
• John Galsworthy, author of The Forsyte Saga and winner of the 1932 Nobel Prize In Literature, was born in a house on Kingston Hill which was later named after him. Today, it houses an elderly care center.
• William Ewart Gladstone, British Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, spent extended periods as a house-guest of friends in Coombe.
• Coombe Park, one of the more affluent private roads in Coombe, is home to television personality Jimmy Tarbuck and tennis player Annabel Croft.
• Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood used to live in a Victorian-era home known as Holmwood on Kingston Hill, located opposite the entrance of Coombe Park and near the Galsworthy House.
• One of Saddam Hussein's daughters had a house in Golf Club Drive for a number of years.
• Elisabeth Murdoch lived in Coombe for several years.
• Dwight D. Eisenhower, when Supreme Allied Commander during World War II, based in Bushy Park, lived at "Telegraph Cottage" in Coombe, which was adjacent to the golf course which he used at weekends.
• Dame Nellie Melba lived in a house here for many years.
• Sir Wilfrid Sheldon, KCVO, a prominent consulting pediatrician and physician pediatrician to The Household of Queen Elizabeth II, lived on Edgecombe Close after his retirement in 1967.
• Sir Leonard "Len" Hutton, English cricketer, lived on Coombe Neville in the late 1960s.

Gallery

• 

  House, Coombe Hill Road

• 

  Coombe Wood Golf Club

• 

  Warren Road looking north from Coombe Neville

• 

  Coombe Wood Road

See also

Other listed buildings in Coombe
Maldens and Coombe Heritage Society
Malden & Coombe Residents' Association Ltd.

References

Next station upwards	Admiralty Semaphore line 1822	Next station downwards
Putney Heath	Coombe Warren	Cooper's Hill