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Warren Road, KINGSTON UPON THAMES, KT2 7LF

A conference centre on Warren Road.

The land around Warren Road was originally part of Coombe Farm. Between 1864 and 1883, many leases of land were granted at Coombe Warren, near the present George and Warren Roads. The people to whom the leases had been granted built large houses with gardens of several acres. These provided the setting for ‘The Forsyte Saga’ by John Galsworthy. The mansions could be reached by a relatively comfortable drive from London and yet provided all the rural pleasures of Surrey. Warren Road is part of the private Coombe Estate. The ‘warren’ refers to rabbit warrens and in the first volume of The Forsyte Saga, Galsworthy writes “The warren was as lonely as a prairie, its silence only broken by the rustle of rabbits bolting to their holes and the song of the larks.” In this view Coombe Wood Golf Course is on the right.

A private road on the Coombe Estate. Residential properties here must be among the largest anywhere in the London suburbs. Some are hidden by towering leylandii hedges, others are set well back from the road, in woodland. Almost all stand behind high locked gates; few are in open view of the road. In the quieter side-roads on the estate I met with snarling dogs. Plainly, residents here set great store by their privacy, and are in a position to expend vast sums of money to secure it. Useful notes on the history of the estate have been provided by Marathon: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/331538 To the left in this view - behind a low fence - is Coombe Wood golf course.

How many golf balls does it take to kill a tree?

Flat with notable gardens, which are open on certain days of the year under the National Gardens Scheme.

Small country house, now a Grade II listed conference centre. It was built in 1860's for Hugh Hamersley, extended 1884-6 by the architect George Devey for George Grenfell Glyn, Lord Wolverton. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Glyn,_2nd_Baron_Wolverton for more details about the Lord. See http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-479388-warren-house-greater-london-authority for more details about the country house.

Built in 1860 for banker Hugh Hammersley, and greatly extended later by another owner, it was for a while owned by ICI as a conference and training centre. Under later ownership it continues in these roles and also caters for weddings and similar functions.

The land around Warren Road was originally part of Coombe Farm. Between 1864 and 1883, many leases of land were granted at Coombe Warren, near the present George and Warren Roads. The people to whom the leases had been granted built large houses with gardens of several acres. These provided the setting for ‘The Forsyte Saga’ by John Galsworthy. The mansions could be reached by a relatively comfortable drive from London and yet provided all the rural pleasures of Surrey. Warren Road is part of the private Coombe Estate. The ‘warren’ refers to rabbit warrens and in the first volume of The Forsyte Saga, Galsworthy writes “The warren was as lonely as a prairie, its silence only broken by the rustle of rabbits bolting to their holes and the song of the larks.” In this view Coombe Wood Golf Course is to the left.

As seen from Warren Road. In the background is Image A conference centre.

Warren Road off Kingston Hill