diamond geezer

 Friday, March 15, 2024

Twenty years ago, on my first Random Borough trip, my jamjar took me to Merton and I only gave it a one-day write-up. Two decades later I'm doing Merton justice by giving it three days, of which this is the last, so buckle down to learn about fertiliser, philanthropy and phone masts.

Before I start with 'somewhere famous', yes I know that Merton's most well-known thing is undoubtedly the Wimbledon tennis tournament but I chose that last time. I also picked the other frontrunner, Wimbledon Common, and wider recognition tails off somewhat after those. So I've decided to focus instead on a famous resident, or at least a resident with a famous name who never saw the product everyone knows him for.


Somewhere famous: John Innes Park
John Innes, the name on many a bag of compost, was born nowhere near here in 1829. He started out as a wine merchant in the City of London but made his money by starting an office property company with his brother, and that's when his eyes turned to Merton. He bought up Manor Farm, installed himself as Lord of the Manor and set about developing an extensive garden suburb on the site. Merton Park's still a really nice garden suburb, but we'll get to that. John died in 1904 after three decades of local do-gooding and, in a will changed a week before his passing, bequeathed significant funds to found either an art museum or a horticultural institute. His trustees picked the latter, as you might have guessed, and that set in train the events by which he's now known.



John's buried in the churchyard of St Mary the Virgin at the heart of the estate, which unusually for a mid-suburban church is very early medieval and retains 12th century crossbeams in the roof of the nave. I hoped to get inside to see Edward Burne-Jones' stained glass and Lord Nelson's bench (he was a regular worshipper here towards the end of his life) but it was only possible to get as far as the porch. Not to worry, that was far enough to be able to pick up a Churchyard Trail leaflet, and even without that it's immediately obvious looking down the churchyard that only one memorial has anywhere near the required dimensions to be John Innes' final resting place. Nice cherubs. Also the grass near the tomb was flourishing with spring flowers, including primroses and my very first bluebell of the year, which I thought was very appropriate for someone everyone thinks of as a famous horticulturalist.



The streets hereabouts are lovely, a few predating suburban development but mostly broad avenues lined by large desirable properties in Queen Anne and Domestic Revival styles. A particular feature of the estate is the use of holly hedges to act as garden boundaries. These days the area forms a substantial conservation area, one of many on this side of Merton, each readily identified by a special form of light blue street sign. Various pinned-up notices seem to suggest that the estate has a significant problem with dogs being rowdy and digging things up, especially behind the church hall, but this may just be a reflection of the residents association being run by sticklers and perfectionists.



The finest public facility hereabouts is undoubtedly John Innes Park, several manicured acres of recreational resource. The name's not just bolted on, these were originally the grounds of John's house transformed into a proper park and opened five years after his death. Its twisting paths link rockeries, lawns and well-tended flower beds, which even now include a riot of carefully-planted pansies and some almost past-it camellias, all interspersed by up to fifteen different types of holly. The park's designer supplemented the planting with a bijou bandstand, an ornamental arch and, in what's now a bit of a novelty, an Arts and Crafts toilet block. As an indication of status there's also a croquet lawn, and as confirmation that we're near Wimbledon the tennis courts are surfaced in purple and green. You'd be blessed to have this on your doorstep.



You can see John Innes's revamped manor house in this photo, just behind the pergola just to the right of the pond. It's now part of Rutlish School, a boys' secondary whose most famous past pupil is Sir John Major, and whose campus also incorporates buildings from the original John Innes Horticultural Institution. It was here in the 1930s that scientists developed the iconic soil-based John Innes composts, releasing their formulae into the public domain in 1938 and never profiteering from their manufacture. In 1950 the Institution upped sticks and moved to Bayfordbury near Hertford, and in 1967 moved again to more modern premises in Colney on the edge of Norwich. They continue to do great work but it's one product invented in Merton that brought them widespread fame, named after a man who could never have guessed he'd be remembered for a product sprinkled across gardens nationwide.
by tram: Merton Park; by bus: K5

Somewhere random: Cranmer Green
I wanted this to be properly random so I handed over my decision to the local free paper. I picked up a copy of the South London Press from a hopper outside Wimbledon Park station and decided to visit the location of a Merton-related news story inside. It's 48 pages long and full of news, I reasoned, so there are bound to be several. Not so. The paper's circulation area in fact covers nine boroughs, but out of the 40+ news stories poor Merton was the subject of only two. One was a parliamentary candidate moaning about GP waiting times, no location specified, so I was forced instead to visit the site of a recent protest documented on what appeared to be the NIMBY page.



It's a familiar tale - phone company proposes building a mast to improve connectivity, local residents object. In this case the phone company was EE and the locality was Cranmer Green, a triangular offshoot of Mitcham Common between the railway line and the cricket ground. We can't have a 20m pole and six cabinets on our village green, protestors claimed, there are vulnerable pensioners in those flats and this is their nearest green space. "It's 100ft from the church where people get married," one said. "It will be an eyesore. It will have a negative impact on the community.” Residents even went to the effort of organising a coffee morning to encourage objections, not to mention printing special t-shirts, and as the local paper reports they actually won.

Cranmer Green turns out to be rather pleasant, a nature reserve underlain by sands and gravels and an unfenced respite from the busy roads around the edge. Much of it is meadow, part of it is woodland and there's also a small pond which was probably dug in the 18th century to provide water for livestock. Oddly the green has a dead end road up the middle complete with period lampposts - this is a conservation area after all - which it seems is solely used for parking. It's also all terribly squidgy at the moment, with large parts of the grass resembling small pools and footpaths you'd need wellies for, but the southern stripe with the daffodils was thankfully more solid. I can see why the council refused permission, I thought, because adding a pole and boxes here would be an aberration.



Except the mast was actually scheduled to be added to an entirely separate patch of grass across the road - more shared municipal lawn than village green. When residents claimed it would 'cast a shadow' over protected land that is literally all it would do, and as for that claim it'd be '100ft from the church' I measured it and it's actually over 800. Always take the mathematical accuracy of a crusading campaigner with a pinch of salt. That said I probably wouldn't want a big mast beside my house either, especially in a freshly fenced compound, but the winners here are really the residents of Cranmer Farm Close and not the chiffchaffs, moorhens and butterflies on Cranmer Green proper. There are many more important news stories across Merton, but they're not in the local paper.
by train: Mitcham Junction; by bus: 127, S1

I'm not going to continue the random sequence by revisiting Islington in three months time - one fully upgraded borough was enough - but that's how jamjar-inspired reportage has evolved twenty years later.


<< click for Newer posts

click for Older Posts >>


click to return to the main page


...or read more in my monthly archives
Jan24  Feb24  Mar24  Apr24  May24  Jun24  Jul24  Aug24  Sep24  Oct24  Nov24
Jan23  Feb23  Mar23  Apr23  May23  Jun23  Jul23  Aug23  Sep23  Oct23  Nov23  Dec23
Jan22  Feb22  Mar22  Apr22  May22  Jun22  Jul22  Aug22  Sep22  Oct22  Nov22  Dec22
Jan21  Feb21  Mar21  Apr21  May21  Jun21  Jul21  Aug21  Sep21  Oct21  Nov21  Dec21
Jan20  Feb20  Mar20  Apr20  May20  Jun20  Jul20  Aug20  Sep20  Oct20  Nov20  Dec20
Jan19  Feb19  Mar19  Apr19  May19  Jun19  Jul19  Aug19  Sep19  Oct19  Nov19  Dec19
Jan18  Feb18  Mar18  Apr18  May18  Jun18  Jul18  Aug18  Sep18  Oct18  Nov18  Dec18
Jan17  Feb17  Mar17  Apr17  May17  Jun17  Jul17  Aug17  Sep17  Oct17  Nov17  Dec17
Jan16  Feb16  Mar16  Apr16  May16  Jun16  Jul16  Aug16  Sep16  Oct16  Nov16  Dec16
Jan15  Feb15  Mar15  Apr15  May15  Jun15  Jul15  Aug15  Sep15  Oct15  Nov15  Dec15
Jan14  Feb14  Mar14  Apr14  May14  Jun14  Jul14  Aug14  Sep14  Oct14  Nov14  Dec14
Jan13  Feb13  Mar13  Apr13  May13  Jun13  Jul13  Aug13  Sep13  Oct13  Nov13  Dec13
Jan12  Feb12  Mar12  Apr12  May12  Jun12  Jul12  Aug12  Sep12  Oct12  Nov12  Dec12
Jan11  Feb11  Mar11  Apr11  May11  Jun11  Jul11  Aug11  Sep11  Oct11  Nov11  Dec11
Jan10  Feb10  Mar10  Apr10  May10  Jun10  Jul10  Aug10  Sep10  Oct10  Nov10  Dec10 
Jan09  Feb09  Mar09  Apr09  May09  Jun09  Jul09  Aug09  Sep09  Oct09  Nov09  Dec09
Jan08  Feb08  Mar08  Apr08  May08  Jun08  Jul08  Aug08  Sep08  Oct08  Nov08  Dec08
Jan07  Feb07  Mar07  Apr07  May07  Jun07  Jul07  Aug07  Sep07  Oct07  Nov07  Dec07
Jan06  Feb06  Mar06  Apr06  May06  Jun06  Jul06  Aug06  Sep06  Oct06  Nov06  Dec06
Jan05  Feb05  Mar05  Apr05  May05  Jun05  Jul05  Aug05  Sep05  Oct05  Nov05  Dec05
Jan04  Feb04  Mar04  Apr04  May04  Jun04  Jul04  Aug04  Sep04  Oct04  Nov04  Dec04
Jan03  Feb03  Mar03  Apr03  May03  Jun03  Jul03  Aug03  Sep03  Oct03  Nov03  Dec03
 Jan02  Feb02  Mar02  Apr02  May02  Jun02  Jul02 Aug02  Sep02  Oct02  Nov02  Dec02 

jack of diamonds
Life viewed from London E3

» email me
» follow me on twitter
» follow the blog on Twitter
» follow the blog on RSS

» my flickr photostream

twenty blogs
our bow
arseblog
ian visits
londonist
broken tv
blue witch
on london
the great wen
edith's streets
spitalfields life
linkmachinego
round the island
wanstead meteo
christopher fowler
the greenwich wire
bus and train user
ruth's coastal walk
round the rails we go
london reconnections
from the murky depths

quick reference features
Things to do in Outer London
Things to do outside London
London's waymarked walks
Inner London toilet map
20 years of blog series
The DG Tour of Britain
London's most...

read the archive
Nov24  Oct24  Sep24
Aug24  Jul24  Jun24  May24
Apr24  Mar24  Feb24  Jan24
Dec23  Nov23  Oct23  Sep23
Aug23  Jul23  Jun23  May23
Apr23  Mar23  Feb23  Jan23
Dec22  Nov22  Oct22  Sep22
Aug22  Jul22  Jun22  May22
Apr22  Mar22  Feb22  Jan22
Dec21  Nov21  Oct21  Sep21
Aug21  Jul21  Jun21  May21
Apr21  Mar21  Feb21  Jan21
Dec20  Nov20  Oct20  Sep20
Aug20  Jul20  Jun20  May20
Apr20  Mar20  Feb20  Jan20
Dec19  Nov19  Oct19  Sep19
Aug19  Jul19  Jun19  May19
Apr19  Mar19  Feb19  Jan19
Dec18  Nov18  Oct18  Sep18
Aug18  Jul18  Jun18  May18
Apr18  Mar18  Feb18  Jan18
Dec17  Nov17  Oct17  Sep17
Aug17  Jul17  Jun17  May17
Apr17  Mar17  Feb17  Jan17
Dec16  Nov16  Oct16  Sep16
Aug16  Jul16  Jun16  May16
Apr16  Mar16  Feb16  Jan16
Dec15  Nov15  Oct15  Sep15
Aug15  Jul15  Jun15  May15
Apr15  Mar15  Feb15  Jan15
Dec14  Nov14  Oct14  Sep14
Aug14  Jul14  Jun14  May14
Apr14  Mar14  Feb14  Jan14
Dec13  Nov13  Oct13  Sep13
Aug13  Jul13  Jun13  May13
Apr13  Mar13  Feb13  Jan13
Dec12  Nov12  Oct12  Sep12
Aug12  Jul12  Jun12  May12
Apr12  Mar12  Feb12  Jan12
Dec11  Nov11  Oct11  Sep11
Aug11  Jul11  Jun11  May11
Apr11  Mar11  Feb11  Jan11
Dec10  Nov10  Oct10  Sep10
Aug10  Jul10  Jun10  May10
Apr10  Mar10  Feb10  Jan10
Dec09  Nov09  Oct09  Sep09
Aug09  Jul09  Jun09  May09
Apr09  Mar09  Feb09  Jan09
Dec08  Nov08  Oct08  Sep08
Aug08  Jul08  Jun08  May08
Apr08  Mar08  Feb08  Jan08
Dec07  Nov07  Oct07  Sep07
Aug07  Jul07  Jun07  May07
Apr07  Mar07  Feb07  Jan07
Dec06  Nov06  Oct06  Sep06
Aug06  Jul06  Jun06  May06
Apr06  Mar06  Feb06  Jan06
Dec05  Nov05  Oct05  Sep05
Aug05  Jul05  Jun05  May05
Apr05  Mar05  Feb05  Jan05
Dec04  Nov04  Oct04  Sep04
Aug04  Jul04  Jun04  May04
Apr04  Mar04  Feb04  Jan04
Dec03  Nov03  Oct03  Sep03
Aug03  Jul03  Jun03  May03
Apr03  Mar03  Feb03  Jan03
Dec02  Nov02  Oct02  Sep02
back to main page

the diamond geezer index
2023 2022
2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
2011 2010 2009 2008 2007
2006 2005 2004 2003 2002

my special London features
a-z of london museums
E3 - local history month
greenwich meridian (N)
greenwich meridian (S)
the real eastenders
london's lost rivers
olympic park 2007
great british roads
oranges & lemons
random boroughs
bow road station
high street 2012
river westbourne
trafalgar square
capital numbers
east london line
lea valley walk
olympics 2005
regent's canal
square routes
silver jubilee
unlost rivers
cube routes
Herbert Dip
metro-land
capital ring
river fleet
piccadilly
bakerloo

ten of my favourite posts
the seven ages of blog
my new Z470xi mobile
five equations of blog
the dome of doom
chemical attraction
quality & risk
london 2102
single life
boredom
april fool

ten sets of lovely photos
my "most interesting" photos
london 2012 olympic zone
harris and the hebrides
betjeman's metro-land
marking the meridian
tracing the river fleet
london's lost rivers
inside the gherkin
seven sisters
iceland

just surfed in?
here's where to find...
diamond geezers
flash mob #1  #2  #3  #4
ben schott's miscellany
london underground
watch with mother
cigarette warnings
digital time delay
wheelie suitcases
war of the worlds
transit of venus
top of the pops
old buckenham
ladybird books
acorn antiques
digital watches
outer hebrides
olympics 2012
school dinners
pet shop boys
west wycombe
bletchley park
george orwell
big breakfast
clapton pond
san francisco
thunderbirds
routemaster
children's tv
east enders
trunk roads
amsterdam
little britain
credit cards
jury service
big brother
jubilee line
number 1s
titan arum
typewriters
doctor who
coronation
comments
blue peter
matchgirls
hurricanes
buzzwords
brookside
monopoly
peter pan
starbucks
feng shui
leap year
manbags
bbc three
vision on
piccadilly
meridian
concorde
wembley
islington
ID cards
bedtime
freeview
beckton
blogads
eclipses
letraset
arsenal
sitcoms
gherkin
calories
everest
muffins
sudoku
camilla
london
ceefax
robbie
becks
dome
BBC2
paris
lotto
118
itv