About Wimbledon, London
Introduction
Tennis in Wimbledon Southside
House
Introduction
to Wimbledon
Wimbledon is located in south west London,
approximately 10 kilometers (6 miles) away from
central London. The main railway station
is Wimbledon which is also a terminus for the
District Line of the London Underground
network. Frequent trains run to
Waterloo Station (journey time 15
minutes), which is very near to central
London and adjacent to the Eurostar terminal for
onward bound trains to Paris, Brussels and other
European cities.
Wimbledon is mainly a district of high quality housing with tidy
gardens to match. There are many open spaces and sports
grounds. Wimbledon Common and Cannizaro Park provide
great opportunities for relaxed walks. On the common there
is a Windmill which houses the Wimbledon Windmill Museum
depicting the history of windmills. Photo:
St. Mary's Church, Wimbledon, London
� Wimbledon Visitor.
Wimbledon and the surrounding area has numerous restaurants,
pubs, bars, two discotheques, a cinema, four theatres (including
two children's theatres) and a large shopping complex.
Wimbledon is home to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet
Club who organize the world famous tennis tournament held in the
last week of June and first week of July.
Visit Wimbledon
Visitor (external link) website for tourist information
about Wimbledon.
Introduction
to Tennis in Wimbledon
The tennis complex in Church Road is also home to the Wimbledon
Lawn Tennis Museum. Here there is an impressive display of
tennis material relating to the long history of the sport.
On view are collections of tennis outfits, rackets, balls and
other tennis memorabilia. Wimbledon championship trophies are also
on display. The famous Centre Court can be seen from a
viewing gallery. There is
also a coffee shop within the museum. To find out more
visit http://www.wimbledon.org
for information about the All England Lawn Tennis Club and http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/museum/museum
(external links) for museum information. Image
� All England Lawn Tennis Club,
Wimbledon, London
Short
History of Tennis
Major Walter
Clapton Wingfield, a British army major is credited with inventing
the game of tennis in 1873. He patented the game under the
name of Sphairistike in 1874, basing the name on sphairistike
techne which is Greek for the "art of playing
ball". It is believed that Wingfield adapted the
popular English indoor games such as badminton, squash rackets and
court tennis for outdoor suitability. Although the game was
known widely for some time under Wingfields patented name, players
gradually started using the terms Tennis-on-the-lawn or lawn
tennis.
Strawberries
and Tennis
Strawberries are a
variety of the rose family called Fragaria. They are short
plants that grow sideways spreading out runners. The ends of
the plant stems swell up and redden after the flowers have been
pollinated. The actual fruit is the tiny seed embedded in
the fleshy strawberry. Strawberries are, therefore, not berries.
The word strawberry comes from the Old English streowberie or
streawbelige. This is probably a combination of the words
strewed and berry. Strewed means scattered or spread
across. Straw could have referred to the straw that was used
to keep the strawberries fertile and dry. Animal dung was often
mixed in with the straw.
There are also small wild strawberries that often grow on the
edges of woods. These taste and smell delicious. The
Romans were the first to cultivate the crop while the 14th century
saw a popularity of growing strawberries in the gardens of French
palaces. They were a luxury and poor children would pick
them to sell to the rich.
During Shakespeare's time the playwright George Peele in his play
The Old Wives Tale, wrote a song linking strawberries with
summer and delight.
"When as the rye reach to the chin,
And chopcherry, chopcherry, ripe within,
Strawberties swimming in the cream,
And schoolboys playing in the stream..."
In those times strawberries were eaten fresh, or made into a
sauce to be eaten with meat. I n 1874 sugar tax was
abolished and consequently sugar became cheaper. This saw a
huge increase in boiling strawberries with sugar to make jam and
by the 20th century there was widespread
strawberry cultivation in Kent to supply the markets of London.
Strawberries are a source of natural sugar and provide good
quantities of vitamin C, as well as potassium, which is a mineral
essential in our diet. Unfortunately, strawberries rapidly
lose their vitamin C after picking.
In the UK strawberries are in season between May and
September. During the rest of the year they are imported
from countries such as Spain or the USA. Most commonly,
strawberries are grown on fruit farms and shoppers buy them in
super-markets either fresh, frozen, canned or as jam. Many
fruit farms encourage people to visit and pick their own fruit.
Every year about 27,000 kilos of strawberries are eaten during the
Wimbledon Tennis Championships, together with 7,000 litres
of cream. The popularity of serving strawberries with cream
is possibly as old as the event itself.
About
Southside House
Southside House is a
historic Dutch-Baroque mansion and has a superb collection
of art and historical objects. The house is often
described as an unforgettable experience and has connections with
Anne Boleyn, the Prince of Wales, Marie Antoinette, Admiral Lord
Nelson, Lord Byron and the famous Swedish writer Dr Axel Munthe.
To find out more about Southside House, visit http://www.southsidehouse.com/
(external link).
Image: Dining room at Southside
House � Southside
House., Wimbledon, London
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