Place Name
To mark the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887, workmen dammed a stream running through meadowland near Wimbledon windmill, so creating a man-made lake. Queensmere pond (or Queen’s Mere or Queensmere), as it became known, soon became a popular attraction, both for boating and as a venue for paddling and swimming prior to the construction of Wimbledon Swimming Baths in 1901. In 1923 a drainage application incorporating a Plan of Proposed Layout was submitted for a new estate in Wimbledon Park, London. The drawing was signed by Harold E Moss, who described himself as Architect to the Estate. Originally consisting of 29 numbered plots; nine on Queensmere Road; seven on Bathgate Road, and thirteen on Victoria Drive, The name for this new development took its inspiration from the nearby lake, hence The Queensmere Estate. As the area developed in the 1930s other streets were named after royals, and to match Queensmere, Kingsmere was named, perhaps to adopting some of the grandeur of its nearby neighbour, even though no such place existed.
