Wildcroft Manor is a historic site in

Putney Putney () is an affluent district in southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ...

in the

London Borough of Wandsworth Wandsworth () is a London boroughs, London borough in South West (London sub region), South West London, England. It forms part of Inner London and has an estimated population of 329,677 inhabitants. Its main communities are Battersea, Balham, P ...

, with private housing and a

Grade II Listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

iron gateway.

Location

The estate is located on Wildcroft road within

Putney Heath Wimbledon Common is a large open space in Wimbledon, southwest London. There are three named areas: Wimbledon Common, Putney Heath, and Putney Lower Common, which together are managed under the name Wimbledon and Putney Commons totalling 46 ...

, between the Telegraph

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

and the A3 dual carriageway.

History

The original building was built in 1776 by politician

David Hartley (the Younger) David Hartley the Younger (1732 – 19 December 1813) was an English politician and inventor and the son of the philosopher David Hartley. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Kingston upon Hull, and also held the position of His Brita ...

1732–1813 who received a grant of £2500 to build an experimental fireproof house. A Grade II listed

obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...

nearby on

commemorates this innovation. The building was later home to publisher

George Newnes Sir George Newnes, 1st Baronet (13 March 1851 – 9 June 1910) was a British publisher and editor and a founding figure in popular journalism. Newnes also served as a Liberal Party Member of Parliament for two decades. His company, George Newne ...

1851–1910, architect of

Putney Library Putney Library is a listed building, Grade II listed public library in the London Borough of Wandsworth. Location The library is at numbers 5 to 7 on the north side of Disraeli road, just off Putney High street. Founding The original buil ...

, who was made baronet "of Wildcroft, in the parish of Putney" in 1895. Newnes demolished and rebuilt the building in 1877 and it was visited by writer

Naomi Royde-Smith Naomi Royde-Smith (1875–1964) was a British writer who published nearly four dozen novels, biographies, and plays. She was the first woman literary editor of the ''The Westminster Gazette, Westminster Gazette'' and in that capacity published t ...

as a child from 1900. The wrought iron gates were built around 1900 by J & C McLaughlin (likely McGloughlin) Ltd, Dublin, and were Grade II listed in 1983. Later buildlings were built in mid 1930s in

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

style, with 56 flats created on the site of the former manor, in four-storey blocks in Tudor vernacular. A

V1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb ( "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () name was Fieseler Fi 103 and its suggestive name was ( hellhound). It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug ...

fell on the site on 3 July 1944, killing Canadian firefighter J.S. Coull (Winnipeg) and caused serious damage to all buildings on the site. Entertainer

Ian Whitcomb Ian Timothy Whitcomb (10 July 1941 – 19 April 2020) was an English entertainer, singer-songwriter, record producer, writer, broadcaster and actor. As part of the British Invasion, his hit song " You Turn Me On" reached number 8 on the ''B ...

later lived on the site in the 1960s, as well as Sir (Frank)

Cyril Hawker Sir (Frank) Cyril Hawker (21 July 1900 – 22 February 1991) was an English banker and cricketer. Hawker was born in Epping in 1900, the son of Frank Charles Hawker. He was educated at the City of London School between 1913 and 1919. Finance ...

Sheriff of London 1963–1964.

References

External links

Historic England listing for the gates
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wildcroft Manor Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Wandsworth Putney Houses in the London Borough of Wandsworth Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Wandsworth