Morden Park - Epsom Road, Morden, UK
N 51° 23.585 W 000° 12.407
30U E 694321 N 5697241
Morden Park is a beautiful park dotted with mature trees, useful facilities, and some features of historical interest. It lies on the west side of Epsom Road and London Road.
Waymark Code: WMJM3M
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 12/02/2013
Views: 2
The
Merton Council website tells us about the park:
Morden Park was formerly part of
the Morden Park Estate and once a deer park originally within the Manor of
Morden's Morden Hall estate, which was owned from the 16th-18th century by
the Garth family. In the 1700s part of the manor lands were leased to London
merchant and distiller John Ewart who built a house here in 1770, Morden
Park, where he lived until 1788. After this the Morden Park estate passed
through a number of different owners, eventually purchased by Gilliat
Hatfeild who had already purchased Morden Hall, thus reuniting the two
estates.
In 1945 Morden Park was purchased from the Hatfeild family by Merton and
Morden Urban District Council, and the house and 90 acres were preserved as
public open space, the house now council offices. Behind the house is a
courtyard and the remains of a crinkle-crankle wall. Two round single-storey
outhouses were reputedly where deer slept in the winter. The courtyard used
to have 8 chestnut trees and a well, with a fig tree near the house. The
walled garden is no longer in existence but one or two trees, including a
large pear tree, may be a remnant of planting. The park consists of
extensive parkland with mature trees grouped in copses and a continuous belt
around the edges. A distinctive 40ft mound within the park situated within
woodland is believed to be a Romano-British burial mound, once used as a
base for a summer house. A railed area is the site of an old velodrome.
Among amenities added to the public park is an open air theatre with hedged
enclosure.
Wikipedia also tells us:
Morden Park is an area within the
district of Morden in the London Borough of Merton, and includes the Park
itself, an area of green space in an otherwise dense cluster of 1930s
suburban housing.
The present park and sports fields between Hillcross Avenue, London
Road/Epsom Road and Lower Morden Lane are owned and managed by the London
Borough of Merton parks department and cover land that previously formed the
grounds of Morden Park House, a small 18th-century country estate (not to be
confused with Morden Hall Park, the National Trust property close to Morden
town centre).
The estate comprised enclosed parkland, a small Georgian country house built
at the top of the hill in the 1770s for merchant and distiller John Ewart
with attached landscaped gardens and a farm called Morden Park Farm. By the
mid-1780s the estate was in the possession of the Polhill family. One member
of the family, Edward Polhill, bequeathed £1,000 in 1826 to the parish
church for the benefit of the Sunday school.
Between the 1880s and the 1910s the estate was occupied by banker John
Wormald.
At the bottom of the hill in the direction of Lower Morden runs the Beverley
Brook a minor tributary of the Thames.
In the park, surrounded by trees, is a large circular mound. This has been
identified as a possible burial mound from the Iron Age, Roman or Saxon
periods. Archaeological investigations were carried out in the 1950s
although no conclusive proof as to its date or purpose were found.English
Heritage believes that the earthwork was remodelled at some time into a
belvedere, or viewing platform, with a spiral path to ascend it. Between
1960 and the mid-1990s a cycle speedway track sat alongside the mound, which
was home to Morden Cycle Speedway Club. The track has since been demolished
but it's still possible to find signs of the track's existence. A local Aero
Modelling Club used the area South of the Mound on Sunday Mornings for
flying practice.
Morden Park House remains and, after many years of neglect and
semi-dereliction, has recently been restored and is now the local register
office and a venue for wedding ceremonies.
The entrance to the Park, from London Road is now dominated by South Thames
College, Merton Campus. This was built on the site of a Pig Farm which was
destroyed by fire at some point in the late 40's or early 50's. The derelict
sties remained in place for some years until the early 60's when clearing
began for the College. During this period many bones could be found amongst
the rubble; these have been assumed by archaeologists to be those of pigs.
Children from the Council Estate opposite the entrance at Hatfield Mead used
this area as an adventure playground for many years. At this period a
Gatehouse (occupied until its demolition in the 60's) was prominent at the
entry.
Facilities in Morden Park include a pitch and putt golf course and Morden
Park Swimming Pool which was opened in the late 1967 on the site of the old
house's gardens.
South Thames College is adjacent to the park and occupies the former site of
the farm.
Morden Park also hosts the annual Morden Park Holiday Club event for
children to attend for a week during their summer holidays from school. This
event is organised by the churches in the surrounding area.
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