Page 259 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - London

FUR THER AFIELD  257

collection of the King of Poland
when he was forced to abdicate
in 1795. The superb collection has
works by Rembrandt (his Jacob
III de Gheyn has been stolen
from here four times), Canaletto,
Poussin, Watteau, Claude, Murillo,
Raphael and Gains-borough.
The building houses Soane’s
mausoleum to Desenfans and
Bourgeois, the art dealers who
built the collection.
f Battersea Park
Albert Bridge Rd SW11. Map 19 C5. Tennis racket and net from 1888, Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum
Tel 020 8871 7530. 1 Sloane Sq then
bus 137. 3 Battersea Pk. Open g St Mary’s, watch clips and recent matches
6:30am–10:30pm daily. 7 - Sports Battersea in the video theatre. Tours include
facilities. See Six Guided Walks pp272–3. a visit to Centre Court.
∑ batterseapark.org Battersea Church Rd SW11. Tel 020
7228 9648. 1 Sloane Sq then bus 19
or 219. Open by arrange ment. 5 j Wimbledon
This was the second public park 8:30am Mon–Wed; 12:30pm Thu;
created to relieve the growing 8:30am, 11am & 6:30pm Sun. 7 Windmill Museum
urban stresses of Victorian Concerts. ∑ stmarysbattersea.org.uk Windmill Rd SW19. Tel 020 8947
Londoners (the first was 2825. 1 3 Wimbledon then
Victoria Park in the East End). There has been a church here 30-minute walk. Open Apr–Oct:
It opened in 1858 on the former since at least the 10th century. 2–5pm Sat, 11am–5pm Sun & public
Battersea Fields, a swampy The present brick building dates hols (Nov– Mar: groups only, by
area notorious for vice, centred from 1775, but the 17th-century arrangement). & 8 -
on the Old Red House, a stained glass, comm emorating ∑ wimbledonwindmill.org.uk
disreputable pub. Tudor monarchs, comes from
The new park was the former church. In 1782, the Built in 1817, the mill on
immediately popular, especially poet and artist William Blake Wimbledon Common now
for its man-made boating lake, was married in the church. Later, houses a museum exploring
with its romantic rocks, gardens J M W Turner painted views of windmills, rural life and local
and waterfalls. In 1985, a peace the Thames from the church history. Boy Scout founder Robert
pagoda was unveiled, a 35-m tower. Benedict Arnold, who Baden-Powell wrote part of
(100-ft) high monument built served George Washington in Scouting for Boys here in 1908.
by Buddhist nuns and monks. the American War of Indepen-
There are also an excellent dence, is buried in the crypt.
children’s zoo (entry fee), a play-
ground, sports activities and an
art gallery, the Pumphouse. h Wimbledon Lawn
Tennis Museum
Church Rd SW19. Tel 020 8247 3142;
tours 020 8946 6131. 1 Southfields.
Open Apr–Sep: 10am–5:30pm;
Oct–Mar: 10am–5pm daily (during
championships, ticket holders only).
Closed 1 Jan, 24–26 Dec. & 7
8 book ahead. - =
∑ wimbledon.com
Even those with only a passing
interest in the sport will find
plenty to enjoy here. The
museum explores tennis’s
development from its invention
in the 1860s as a diversion for
country house parties to the
sport it is today. Equipment and
tennis fashion from the Victorian
Peace Pagoda, Battersea Park era are on display and visitors can St Mary’s, Battersea

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