IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
St. Helens Close, WORCESTER PARK, KT4 7FD

The Manor Drive is a residential road in the outer suburbs of south west London.

Large town pub on a corner opposite Worcester Park station. The following is from Wikipedia, on the origins of the name. "Worcester Park takes its name from the 4th Earl of Worcester, who was appointed Keeper of the Great Park in 1606. The area was once part of the Great Park which covered around 1100 acres and surrounded the Little Park which contained Nonsuch Palace of Henry VIII. Both parks were originally used as deer parks. Henry VIII had obtained the land from Sir Richard de Cuddington. During the ownership by Sir Richard de Cuddington, there was a manor house on a site which was later replaced by Worcester House and is now the site of Worcester Close. There was also a church of St. Mary on roughly the same site where the church of St. Mary the Virgin, Cuddington, now stands. The diarist Samuel Pepys visited the district and in his diary commented on Worcester House. In 1809 Worcester Park was acquired by William Taylor. He used a mill on the banks of the Hogsmill to continue the manufacture gunpowder which had been carried out on and off in the area for several centuries. Manufacturing continued until the 1850s when the mill blew up."

Spring flowers outside The Worcester Park pub just opposite the station.

It comes as a shock to see such once-prosperous enterprises closed and out of use. This used to be a well-respected place where important social events, such as 'Masonic' balls etc. were held. It was a Grade 'A' Venue on the Musicians Union list. Now it seems unlikely to open again as such.

Opened in 1859 by the London & South Western Railway on the line from Wimbledon to Epsom. View north towards Motspur Park and Wimbledon, with a new footbridge under construction