Nonsuch Park

Public park in Stoneleigh, Surrey, England

the original Tudor Palace that stood in Nonsuch Park

Nonsuch Park '/n//ʌ//n/,/s//ʌ//tʃ/ is a public park between Stoneleigh, Cheam, and Ewell in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England. It borders the London Borough of Sutton. It is the last surviving part of the Little Park of Nonsuch, a deer hunting park established by Henry VIII surrounding the former Nonsuch Palace. The western regions of the larger adjacent Great Park of Nonsuch became known as Worcester Park after the 4th Earl of Worcester was appointed Keeper of the Great Park in 1606. The park contains Nonsuch Mansion, also known as Nonsuch Park House.

There is evidence of a possible Iron Age settlement towards the southern side of the park which was identified during road construction in 1939. Pits and hearths containing Iron Age pottery, burnt flints and a spindlewhorl were found, though subsequent archaeological surveys in 1993–1995 revealed no traces of earthworks or surface finds. The Roman road Stane Street passed along the northwestern boundary of what is now Nonsuch Park (the modern day London Road/A24) on its way from London to Chichester via the nearby spring at Ewell. The village of Cuddington was located within the current Nonsuch Park. It appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Codintone. Its domesday assets were: 5 hides; 1 mill worth 3 shillings; and 9 ploughs. It rendered £9 12s. Its total population was recorded as 28 households. Part of the Medieval (possibly Early Medieval or even Roman) trackway Vicarage Lane passes through the southwest of the park from Ewell Castle School towards the site of Nonsuch Palace and would have originally passed through the village of Cuddington. The track is now considerably sunken but is still a public right of way.

The park contains Nonsuch Mansion, also called Nonsuch Park House, which was built in the mid eighteenth century and extended by Jeffry Wyattville at the beginning of the nineteenth in Tudor Gothic style. It is Grade II* listed by English Heritage. There was a chalk quarry located in what is now the gardens of Nonsuch Mansion. It dates back to at least 1731 as it was marked "Chalk Pitt" on an estate map, but it is probable that it dates back further and is "thought to have been a source for chalk for the production of lime required for the construction of Nonsuch Palace". Parts of the quarry and some minor earthworks have been incorporated into the gardens. The local soil includes deposits of clay, suitable for pottery. There is evidence of clay digging and a pottery in the west of the park from at least 1708 until being discontinued around 1790. The more substantial Nonsuch Pottery was established in about 1800 in a similar area between London Road and Vicarage Lane and produced deep black abrasive rubbing bricks. The pottery no longer exists, but it was still shown on Ordnance Survey maps from at least 1913. The site is now partially occupied by BMX ramps and trails.

Nonsuch Park and the Mansion have been managed by Epsom and Sutton Councils through a joint management committee (JMC) since the land was purchased by four councils in 1937 to save it from development as part of the establishment of the Metropolitan Green Belt. The title deeds to the land are held in trust by Surrey County Council. The JMC has run the park and Epsom and Sutton Councils have paid for the upkeep of the park with no financial support from Surrey County Council. In 2007 Surrey County Council rejected a proposal by the JMC to lease out the Mansion House. At the southern end of the Park there are the concrete foundations of a road abandoned when the Park became Green Belt. Beyond this is Warren Farm, an open space belonging to the Woodland Trust. The London Loop goes through Warren Farm and Nonsuch Park. In the west of the park there is an area, formerly a clay pit as mentioned above, used by the local BMX community containing jumps and trails. Locally known as "Devil's Dyke", the area has been used for this purpose for at least 30 years and has, since 2009, had backing from the Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee. The area is now fenced off but is clearly visible from nearby footpaths. A parkrun takes place every Saturday morning.