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Morden Hall Park has always been a favourite spot of mine. To some extent it is a neglected space in the Borough of Merton, despite its beautiful watermill and Victorian buildings. For many years it has been the home of the National Trust who have cared for it and kept the buildings and outhouses in good repair. There was, however, one notable exception and that was the old stables which were abandoned to house agricultural equipment neglected and seemingly forgotten.
This has now been put right in a dramatic and stunning way. This lovely Victorian building has now been converted to a multiuse exhibition area.
Up-to-date energy-saving flushing system |
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Surprisingly, the first area 1 was shown to was the ladies loo. You will see from the picture that the basin to wash your hands in is positioned over the bowl. This enables the soapy grey water to be reused in flushing the toilet. Outside is a handle that children love to use, which pumps the water into the toilet from underground tanks.
Most of the energy is provided by solar panels on the roof. A new variation on this theme is solar states, which merge in to the roof in a seamless way. The technically minded can investigate the storage tanks and look at the meters which measure the energy output. The floor tiles are mostly the original stables tiles, which have been carefully lifted as underfloor heating was laid down, and then re positioned in place. |
You can see this through a glass panel in the floor in the exhibition area. There are cut aways, which show the most up to date insulation (from cork to space therm) in the walls which keeps heat in and cold out.
Children are not forgotten. There are plans to have local schools on educational visits. To support this they have constructed a natural climbing frame and death slide in the grounds, nicety concealed from the stable project offering children robust entertainment.
What a delight it is, in these days of cut backs, to see a new and innovative project which gives an exciting vision of the future and a breath of optimism. It also presents the National Trust in a thoroughly modern light.
The public opening in November was a popular family affair entrancing visitors from far
afield. Caroline Pankhurst told me that they were very pleased with the outcome of a project that had taken three years to raise funds for and one year to complete. The transformation of the building, from a neglected Victorian stable to an ultra modern exhibition centre, has been completed with the latest green developments, while still retaining much of the original building. |
