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Wimbledon’s famous Henman Hill has been demolished as works continue at the All England Club ahead of a milestone anniversary for the Championships. Next year will mark 150 years since Wimbledon began, and tournament bosses are going all out for the occasion. The site is undergoing redevelopment and improvements – and that means Henman Hill has been dug up. The iconic viewing point will return in time for the 2027 edition of the Championships, but for now, it looks like a pile of mud.
Henman Hill sits alongside the No.1 Court, overlooking a large screen that shows matches from around the grounds. It’s a hotspot for groundspass holders who want to catch the action on Centre Court even if they don’t have a ticket. Punters can also sit down and enjoy a Pimm’s or a picnic on the sloping lawn.
The hill, of course, is named after former British No. 1 Tim Henman. It has also been given other nicknames, including ‘Murray Mound’ after two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, and ‘Raducanu Ridge’ after 2021 US Open winner Emma Raducanu.
The area is actually known as Aorangi Terrace, but Henman Hill is the name that has stuck over the last two decades. Henman himself is a board member of the All England Club, and he has jokingly ruled out changing the monicker to honour any other British player.
The former world No. 4 appeared on Andy Roddick’s Served podcast, and the American asked how he referred to the lawn. “When you’re on-site, do you say, ‘Let’s go the hill?’ Do you say Henman’s Hill? Or do you say, ‘Let’s go to my hill?’” Roddick asked.
“My hill. I mean, I own it, so why wouldn’t I?” Henman joked. Former world No. 1 Roddick also asked Henman if he was surprised that the hill had never been renamed after Murray, a three-time Major champion, two-time Olympic gold medallist, and former No. 1.
“Never heard of him,” Henman jibed. “I mean, you can’t change its name. Once something as important as that has a name. You’re not going to change the name of Centre Court, so why are you going to change the name of Henman Hill? I rest my case.”
According to The Sun, the redevelopments in SW19 will see the gradient on Henman Hill reduced. There will also be greater access and 20 per cent more seating on the slope, plus a new pergola will provide shade and shelter for fans.
That’s not the only exciting change at the All England Club. A statue of Murray will be unveiled next summer as part of the tournament’s 150th anniversary celebrations. The bronze piece was made by sculptor David Williams-Ellis.
Speaking at Wimbledon earlier this year, Williams-Ellis said: “It's going to be life and a life and a fifth, which, if you're Andy, 6ft 3inches is quite tall. I do a lot of photographs, in this small room when he was doing this pose for me. And I also have a lot of photographs to capture the quirks, the way the shorts go over his thighs, or his shoulders, or the way the shirt comes, or the way the wind catches the back of his shirt, or whatever it is.
“It's made in clay, and cast into bronze. The clay itself is probably about half a ton of clay. And I build it up on a steel frame, with a sort of builder's frame underneath, and build up the clay on top. So it's got like a skeleton inside. And then it's cast, moulded, and cast in bronze, and the bronze, I expect to be about 400 kilos. On top of a length, which will probably be about half a ton of stone.”
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