Place Name
Castle Tower/s – later the Castle Towers Hotel – was a substantial villa that stood, prior to demolition, at what is now 57 Parkside. Originally called plain Tower House, the name was changed to Castle Towers by 1885, possibly to distinguish itself with other properties named Tower House in the wider area. Neal Ransome, in Wimbledon Village: A History Told Through Its Street Names, says that among those who stayed at Castle Towers in 1900 was the British imperialist and businessman Cecil Rhodes. It opened as a hotel in 1923 boasting 50-rooms, having for a short time been residential apartments, and by 1955 was advertising itself as a convenient country hotel asking would be patrons: “Is your stay in congested London really necessary?’ Among its guests was Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia who stayed in 1936 before moving to Lincoln House. The hotel closed in 1959 with its entire contents – including “antique and modern furniture, carpets, chandeliers, bed and table linen, radiogram, billiards table” among much else being auctioned in April of that year. This street and Castle Close were laid out in 1959 and 1960.