Morden Hall - Colliers Wood walk - photos!

[fat Andy]

Oh - now you are all making me miss Carshalton It's only 4 months since we left and I do miss Sunday afternoons wandering around the park, feeding the swans and geese (and squirrels) before heading to the Windsor Castle, Greyhound or Railway for a couple of pints. I am sure we'll find a similar thing to do in Maidenhead but..

Go on come back....you know you want to! Its all gone to pieces since you left. The tea room is without a tennant and the prices in the Greyhound have gone mad since the refit (£4 a pint and nearly £6 for a glass of wine!)

 

[Dan U]

Go on come back....you know you want to! Its all gone to pieces since you left. The tea room is without a tennant and the prices in the Greyhound have gone mad since the refit (£4 a pint and nearly £6 for a glass of wine!)

£4 a pint in Carshalton

never thought i'd see the day etc

 

[QueenOfGoths]

The river Thames!

Yeah - tis nice down by the river. And our local is also called the Windsor Castle. But it is a "gastro-pub" grrrrr

 

[timebomb]

Excellent pictures, blast from the past for me.

 

[dogmatique]

Ed mentions that the Colourhouse Theatre is the oldest building of the Merton Abbey Mills - there are actually some foundations of Merton Priory's Chapterhouse accessable from the underpass that leads into the Sainsbury's carpark. It's the only part left from the site before it was concreted over and turned into, well, a carpark.

Here's a pic of the excavations that took place before Sainsburys was built:

If you're lucky enough to gain access if there's someone there to let you through the steel doors, there isn't a huge amount to see - just the foundations of a corner of the old Chapterhouse. Dotted about are parts of old sarcophagi, and bits of stone window frames.

It's quite atmospheric though, and you can't even hear the cars on the busy road directly above you. There have been occasional theatre evenings held down there, and it's often part of the London Open House weekends. You can also arrange access with the chap who runs Abbey Mills.

I was lucky enough to be visiting when David Saxby from the Museum of London's Archealogical service was there, and got a guided tour by chance - he was the head archeologist on the original dig back in the late 80's.

There isn't a huge amount of info online, but here's a couple of links:

Merton Council

Merton Priory Trust

 

[dogmatique]

Thames Water accidentally released a load of cleaning fluid from Beddington sewage works into the Wandle and basically totally killed it

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3054095.ece

It seems to be recovering nicely though, here's a story from this Monday about trout spawning in the Wandle: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/01/14/eawandle114.xml

 

[FabricLiveBaby!]

Carshalton Ponds are nice - lots of birds, lots of squirrels - as has been said - in the park and lovely views (if you ignore the traffic!) across to the church and the Greyhound. Plus the Heritage Centre by the ponds does a nice cup of tea!

The Carshalton Water Tower is quite an interesting place to visit. I think it is open on Sunday afternoons in summer

http://www.carshaltonwatertower.co.uk/
.

I used to go to the school, on the same ground as the watertower. We were never allowed to go for a walk round the popnds and to the tower, but the grounds of the school are specacular. The chapel is beutiful as is carshalton house. If you walk around there are 7 stations of the cross hidden along the walk by the pond.

I think I saw it once. The school were arseholes about letting us was on the "Holy Grass" (lol ) but then if you had 1000 pupils wandering around it you would probably end up with a field of mud.

 

[Stobart Stopper]

[/IMG]



That's a nice pic of you, Ed!

 

[editor]

The Carshalton Water Tower is quite an interesting place to visit. I think it is open on Sunday afternoons in summer

http://www.carshaltonwatertower.co.uk/

Looks good - I'll have to check that out. Here's the opening hours:

The Water Tower is open from 15th April to 30th September on Sunday afternoons from 2.30pm to 5pm

Admission: Adults 75p, Children 25p

 

[Dan U]

I used to go to the school, on the same ground as the watertower. We were never allowed to go for a walk round the popnds and to the tower, but the grounds of the school are specacular. The chapel is beutiful as is carshalton house. If you walk around there are 7 stations of the cross hidden along the walk by the pond.

I think I saw it once. The school were arseholes about letting us was on the "Holy Grass" (lol ) but then if you had 1000 pupils wandering around it you would probably end up with a field of mud.

St Phil's or the junior school?

 

[FabricLiveBaby!]

St Phils

 

[Dan U]

St Phils

mmm brown uniforms and 'good' catholic girls



i went out with a girl from St Phils

 

[QueenOfGoths]

St Phils

We used to live in Pound Street opposite St. Phil's and my husband used to parade around in just his pants at the upstairs window as he watched the girls go past.

He's such a perv! Thank god none of the girls saw him. Or if they did they had the good sense to laugh!

 

[FabricLiveBaby!]

Yeah the uniform is awesome. We got egged at the 154 bus stop by the BP garage. Not nice. I swear that school was full of slags.

Nice st phils uniform:

Oh and if you can go and have a peek in the school chapel, do cos it's nice.

 

[editor]

I took another walk from Morden Hall Park to Merton Abbey Mills on Sunday.

The park looked lovely. Shame that the hall is all boarded up.

Merton Abbey Mill looks a bit tacky these days - there's all garish plastic banners and new fast food outlets.

http://www.urban75.org/blog/a-walk-around-the-lovely-morden-hall-park-south-london/

 

[cybertect]

Once upon a time I did a recording session in the plunge bath of the Carshalton water tower (emptied of water) with a band I was briefly in.

Interesting natural reverb

 

[editor]

Work is supposedly starting on refurbishing the Colliers Wood Tower 'before the end of the year'.

http://www.urban75.org/blog/work-se...s-colliers-wood-tower-by-the-end-of-the-year/

 

[Crispy]

It's like a little slice of croydon, but slapped straight onto a suburban high street. Deservedly reviled.

 

[editor]

It's like a little slice of croydon, but slapped straight onto a suburban high street. Deservedly reviled.

It's owned by that charming man from Golfrate.