Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for NONSUCH-PARK

NONSUCH-PARK, a seat in Cheam parish, Surrey; between the two Epsom lines of the Southwestern railway, under Banstead downs, 2½ miles N E of Epsom. It belongs to W. F. Farmer, Esq.; is a modern castellated edifice; was originally built after designs by Wyattville; has been much altered and enlarged; and contains some curious leather tapestries. A palace of the same namestood within the park, at an angle between the avenue.and a footpath toward Ewell; was founded by Henry VIII.; was given, in an incompleted state, by Elizabeth, to the Earl of Arundel; was completed by that Earl; re-verted to Elizabeth, and was frequently occupied by her in the latter part of her reign; was the seat of Queen Anne of Denmark, and of Queen Henrietta Maria; was occupied, in the time of the Commonwealth, by Gen. Lambert and Col. Pride, the latter of whom died in it; was given, by Charles II., to Lady Castlemaine, with the title of Baroness; and was taken down, and the materials of it sold, by Lady Castlemaine, after she became Duchess of Cleveland. The palace included an outer court, 150 feet by 132, and an inner court 137 feet by 116; and it was garnished with a series of bas-reliefs, of subjects from the heathen mythology, inserted between the timbers of the outside walls.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a seat"   (ADL Feature Type: "residential sites")
Administrative units: Cheam AP/CP       Surrey AncC
Place: Nonsuch Park

Go to the linked place page for a location map, and for access to other historical writing about the place. Pages for linked administrative units may contain historical statistics and information on boundaries.