Cherished houses close to Wimbledon decorated (7)
I believe the answer is:
adorned
'decorated' is the definition.
('adorn' can be a synonym of 'decorate')
'cherished houses close to wimbledon' is the wordplay.
'cherished' becomes 'adored' (I've seen this before).
'houses' indicates putting letters inside.
'close to' suggests the final letters (the 'close' to the word).
The final letter of 'wimbledon' is 'n'.
'adored' going around 'n' is 'ADORNED'.
(Other definitions for adorned that I've seen before include "Put on finery" , "Bedecked while Don read" , "done up" , "Embellished, decorated" , "Decorated, bedecked" .)