The Museum of Wimbledon

The Museum of Wimbledon is a small intimate museum which reveals in pictures, words and objects, the three thousand year history of Wimbledon.

The mission of the Museum of Wimbledon is to collect, record, conserve and display material relating to the history of Wimbledon, and to make it available to all. The staff you'll meet are friendly local people who are proud of our history and will gladly help you in any way they can.

Famous today for it's international tennis tournament, Wimbledon has not always been the haunt of white clad tennis professionals. Neaderthal hunters once prowled its open spaces, King George III reviewed troops on the Common and in the Victorian times Wimbledon became the venue for rifle shooting competitions.

There must be something competitive in the air in SW19 because it was also a popular destination for duelling gents, among them Prime Minister Willam Piss, who fought and survived a pistol duel on the Common in 1798, as did the Duke of Wellington in 1829.

These and other aspects of Wimbledon's 3,000 year history are recounted at this local museum, which holds an extensive archive of paintings, prints, objects, maps and manuscripts.The diverse range of objects includes a suffragette banner, a Wimbledon FC football shirt, and a lawn tennis racquet dating from the early days of the game.

Special exhibitions focusing on a particular aspect of local life are mounted every year and held in the new Norman Plastow Gallery.