| Morden Hall Park | |
|---|---|
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 Interactive map of Morden Hall Park | |
| Location | Morden,London,England |
| Coordinates | 51°24′4″N0°11′15″W / 51.40111°N 0.18750°W /51.40111; -0.18750 |
| Area | 125 acres (51 ha) |
| Operated by | National Trust |
| Public transit access | Morden tube station andPhipps Bridge tram stop |
Morden Hall Park is aNational Trust park on the banks of theWandle inMorden, southLondon. Its several buildings and associated parking included, it is 125 acres (51 ha) of predominantly parkland. Hinting at the formermill leats the river here splits into channels, generally, through it spanned by numerous footbridges. The estate containsMorden Hall itself, Morden Cottage, two well-preserved snuff watermills, a restored stableyard, a dog-friendly café, exhibition space and second-hand bookshop. A western part, separately accessed, hosts the National Trust's only Garden Centre.
The estate land was originally owned byWestminster Abbey. There is evidence of an earlier manor-house originally built by the Garth family where Morden Lodge now stands. The Hall dates back to the 1770s and contains a variety of natural landscapes, including the parkland of the "Deer Park", meadow and wetland. A number of historic buildings are located in the park, including the Hall itself and preservedwatermills wheretobacco was once ground intosnuff.[1]
The land was occupied by theGarth family for generations before the estate was split in two and Morden Hall was built.The Hall was occupied, as a school, for young gentlemen about 1840, until it was sold by SirRichard Garth to a tobacco merchant Gilliat Hatfeild (1827–1906) in the 1870s.[2]
The Hall was a military hospital during the First World War and later a Women and Children's hospital.[2] Gilliat Edward Hatfeild lived at the nearby Morden Cottage.[2]
Gilliat Hatfeild's son, Gilliat Edward Hatfeild (1864–9 February 1941), left the core of the estate (including the house) to theNational Trust, when he died.[2]
SeveralSunday Pictorial garden parties were hosted on the land in this time in aid of theNSPCC with famous British actors such asRichard Attenborough,Alec Guinness andPatricia Roc in attendance.[3]
The main entrance to the park is a short walk from Morden town centre, and car parking is available in the Garden Centre car park. The Snuff Mills and Pottingshed Café are near to the main entrance.[4]
TheTramlinklight rail line fromWimbledon toCroydon,Elmers End andNew Addington runs through the northern part of the park, andPhipps Bridge andMorden Road tram stops give access to the park. They are respectively 0.3 mi (0.48 km) and 0.6 mi (0.97 km) walk through the park to the Snuff Mill and Riverside Café.Morden tube station (Northern line) andMorden South railway station (Thameslink) are respectively 0.4 mi (0.64 km) and 0.9 mi (1.4 km) walk through the town centre from the main entrance.[4]
Funded by theHeritage Lottery Fund and theEU's Interreg series of programmes, the Living Green Project was conceived as an exemplar to show how historic assets could be maintained to a highly sustainable standard. Architects Cowper Griffiths were appointed byThe National Trust along with engineers Crofton Consulting in 2009 to undertake the design with construction work commencing in 2010.[5][6] Receiving aBREEAM Excellent rating the project won theRICS award for Design and Innovation in 2012[7] and features as a case study in the BREEAM briefing paper Sustainable Refurbishment of Heritage Buildings - How BREEAM helps to deliver.[8]
| Royal parks |  | |
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| Largeurban parks |
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| Country parks | ||
| Commons | ||
| Village greens | ||
| Marshes and wetlands | ||
| Woodland | ||
| House gardens |
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| Entry-fee charging | ||
| Community gardens | ||
