Morden

This is the first station for me to visit on the Northern Line. The Northern Line is the amalgamation of  two separate railway companies - The City and South London Railway and the Hampstead Tube. 

Here is a map of the line showing all 52 stations. I have already visited 9 where the stations are serviced by other underground lines. It still leaves me with 43 to explore. Today I am starting at the Undergound's  most southerly station which is Morden on the Northern line. I know you will be saying I have that wrong as the map shows the station at the top which surely means it is the most northern station but no these maps always have the station you are at shown at the top. Compared to North London i.e. north of the Thames, there are very few stations south of the River Thames. It just so happens that the last three underground lines I have to visit all have stations in South or South-West London.

The station has 5 platforms which surprised me as the station is only used by the Northern Line. Three tracks run through the station to the depot and there are two platform islands.

The octagonal ticket hall has a large octagonal raised window flooding the hall with natural light.

The station was one of the first stations to be built in a more modern style for London Underground by Charles Holden. The architect Charles Holden (1875-1960) was commissioned by the Underground's Managing Director, Frank Pick to design a series of new buildings for the ever growing underground. Pick wanted a fresh new look that would transform  tube station buildings into beacons of modernity. Holden introduced the roundel into his designs so that passengers could easily identify the stations at street level.  The prominent roundels, Portland stone and glazed screens were a feature of his earliest designs in the 1920s on the Northern Line. Holden designed over 40 London Underground stations with no two stations alike.

Morden was one of the first stations Holden designed in 1926.

 On the 26th September 1926, London Underground opened the Northern Line extension to Morden. This station was one of seven new ones built on the Underground. The Underground contributed to the increase in the development of the area and an increase in population by nine fold between 1921 and 1931. Until the underground arrived Morden was a sleepy village with a few small shops and a handful of farms

 

With this extension, Morden became a transport hub for south London, with buses going from the station to the suburbs not served by the Underground.

Outside the station was a modern water fountain. There is a big push to have free drinking water accessible and to cut down on the use of plastic water bottles.

The tracks going down to the depot.

This is Merton Civic centre home to the council offices. What I didn't realise until I was doing the research after I had taken the photos, was that the 14 storey building behind  is also part of the Civic centre so you will have to imagine the rest of it.

The High Street seemed to be made up of numerous eating establishments and estate agents. This section had four estate agents in a row.

Art deco shopping parade which was refurbished in 2018 giving it a new lease of life.

Further along the road is one of the biggest mosques in Western Europe. The Baitul Futuh mosque was built on the site of an old diary and covers an area of 5.2 acres. It is a mix of Islamic and modern British architecture and was voted one of the top 50 buildings in the world by the Spectator magazine. Whereas it is impressive, I can't agree that it would be top 50 in the UK let alone in the world. The building can accommodate 1600 worshippers in each of the two prayer halls.

Across the road from the mosque is Morden Park, a hive of activity on a Sunday morning with numerous football matches taking place. I followed the road back to see what was on the other side of the station. A short walk beyond the station brought me to Morden Hall Park.

Morden Hall was built during the 1790s for the Garth family, who owned the manor of Morden for over 200 years. Between 1830 and 1870, the building housed a private academy for the sons of gentry. In 1872 the estate was sold to the Hatfeild family, who had leased the adjacent snuff and tobacco mills since 1831. During the Great War, Morden Hall was converted for use as a military hospital on the instructions of its owner, Gilliat Edward Hatfeild. It remained  an annexe to the London Hospital for several years. Following the death of Mr Hatfeild in 1940, the Morden Hall estate was bequeathed to the National Trust. The Hall was leased as council offices until 1985. It was then converted into a popular restaurant and is now a private wedding venue.

 Morden Hall is set in parkland with the River Wandle running through its meadows. Morden Hall Park is a former deer park owned and managed by the National Trust. One of several estates bordering the River Wandle during the industrial hey day.

This is the original watermill where tobacco was ground into snuff between 1760 and 1922. The snuff was snorted up the nose to induce sneezing and was thought to clear the mind. Each month the watermills ground 3 tons of snuff.

Originally two waterwheels turned in the river, driving the machinery in the Snuff Mills. The river was channelled towards the mills and the flow of the river was controlled by a metal gate.

 This was the Snuff Mill now used for children's workshops. 

A view of the two mills which were built c1750 and c1870.

A couple of the old millstones have been strategically placed to keep people of the grass.

The old stables have been converted into offices and a cafe.

I walked through the park, having a quick look at the wetland area. The National Trust have erected a boardwalk allowing easy access into the bullrushes and reeds making it easier to view the various species that enjoy this habitat. Not that I spotted any wildlife.

I left the park and crossed the tramline. Just missed getting a photo of the tram as it passed by just before I got there.

In the park I had seen signs for a city farm just outside the park so I decided to pay it a visit and maybe stop for lunch if there is a cafe there.

The yarn bombers had been busy decorating this rubbish bin.

Lots of families were enjoying the animals and feeding them. This goat was very disappointed that I had not bought any animal feed to give him. I did stop in the cafe for some lunch but it wasn't great.

The river ran past the farm so I walked beside it until I reached the main road back to the station. A pleasant day's walking and the weather was kind. I look forward to seeing more of the Northern Line in the coming weeks and months.

Chesham

I visited this station two weeks before Christmas as I was determined to at least finish photographing the Metropolitan Line before the end of 2023. It was a long journey to the station, as at 25 miles out of Central London, this is the most distant of the Underground stations.

Being a terminus it just has the one platform, with the trains leaving the station on the same line they entered. 

It used to have another platform which is now a garden. I imagine this looks stunning in the summer, not so on a mid winter's day.

A useful undercover bike shed.

The small waiting room was full of awards for the best well kept station .

As I was leaving the station, there on the wall was the first in the series of Mark Wallinger labyrinths: 1/270.  These artworks are created in vitreous enamel, a material used for many underground signs including the roundel. Wallinger created 270 individual artworks based on a labyrinth, one for each station on the network, to celebrate 150 years of the underground in 2013. Two were added ten years later  to the new stations on the Northern Line - Battersea Power station and Nine Elms. The new designs are numerically linked to the previous stations and are numbered 110a/270 and 110b/270. Each of the numbers is written in Wallinger's own hand.

 The numbering system is connected to a particular tube journey. They refer to the order of stations visited in the Guinness World Record ' Tube Challenge' 2009, the record for the fastest time taken to pass through every single station on the London Underground network'. The record stands at 16 hours, 20 minutes and 27 seconds set on 16th Aug 2013. Participants only have to pass through the stations on the system and can change from one line to another by foot or using other forms of public transport. Seeing as I am doing my own Underground challenge, maybe I can have the record for taking the longest time to visit every station on the underground.

As I looked back at the small station building I could see the train I had arrived on, just about ready to leave. It was a short walk down Station Road to the High Street. This road was cut through into the High Street in 1889 to give access to the newly arrived Metropolitan railway station.

The first shop I passed was a musical instrument shop. Prozone Music has one of the widest selections of woodwind and brass instruments and accessories in the country. 

At the junction of Broadway and the High Street is the Chesham War Memorial. It was erected in 1921 to honour those who died in WW1. The sculptor, Arthur George Walker modelled it on a soldier who had returned home from the war.

The date on this building is 1890. Here we are, almost 125 years later and food poverty is present in every town and country. Foodbanks have become an essential part of life for people struggling to make ends meet and put food on the table. In order to get food from a foodbank you need to be referred with a  voucher. I believe these are available from doctors, health visitors and social services. Food is donated to the foodbanks by supermarkets and other food producers.

Throughout history Chesham has been known to have three main industries- brush making, boot making and beer. Boot making started in the area around 1792 while brush making began in 1829. Beer making increased greatly in the 19th century and by 1900 there were 80 pubs for a population of 8000. The breweries began to decline by the start of the 20th century but I noticed there are still a lot of pubs on the  High Street. The Generals Arms was once a showroom for a boot manufacturer before becoming a pub. 

I wonder if this was an old coaching inn.

Grade II listed building from early to mid 19th century.

This pub dates from the 15th century. In the 1790s this was a stop for the stagecoach to London which took 5 hours.

The Market Square was first laid out in 1257 after Henry III granted a Royal Charter to the 4th Earl of Oxford to hold a weekly market here. It was also the site of a weekly cattle market. The market stalls gradually became more permanent and the first shops were opened in the front rooms of people's houses. 

Looking in the opposite direction I can see the Clock Tower. This marks the site of the old market hall. Originally built in 1679, it was replaced by a Georgian one in 1856. Over the years the hall was used for various purposes such as a corn exchange, a magistrate's court, a fire station and a cinema but it eventually fell into disrepair and was demolished in 1965. The clock tower was rebuilt in 1992 with the old clock and the bell was reinstalled in 2014 to commemorate the start of WW1.

I left the High Street to go and find the older part of the village. I walked through Lowndes Park.The park is named after the Lowndes family who owned land in this area from the 16th century onwards. William Lowndes was a politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1695 until his death in 1724. During this time he was Secretary to the Treasury under Mary II, William III and Queen Anne. He also had the Bury and manor house here rebuilt in 1712 and his descendants stayed in the town for over 200 years. He was married four times and had a total of 25 children.

Started by Samuel Gurney, MP and the barrister Edward Wakefield, the Metropolitan Free Drinking Fountain Association changed its name to include cattle troughs in 1867.

This is a cycle waymarker. To celebrate the Millennium 1000 of these markers were erected on cycle pathways around the country. They are all different having information about the local area.

I walked through the park to an iron gate which led me to the oldest surviving building in the village, St Mary's church. Parts of this 12th century Norman church still survive despite all the rebuilding over the centuries to accommodate increases in population.

Opposite the church is a path and steps down to The Bury, the historic home of the Lowndes family which is now private offices.

The Bury was built within the shadow of the church showing a strong connection between the two. 

I left the area of the church via a long drive 

I think this was the rectory on one side of the road with church community rooms on the other.

I think these church rooms were once the lodges of the Bury.

I am now in the older part of the town. The one photo I wanted to post was of a row of small cottages with flint facades. These historic cottages are known as the 'sixpenny cottages' the weekly rental cost. Unfortunately the photo didn't come out but these photos of other cottages  give you an idea of the small terraced housing. The quaint streets of the old town is a popular filming location. It has been used in Midsomer Murders on numerous occasions, Doctor Foster, Inspector Morse and many others. 

These look like almshouses. Properties given to the town by a wealthy merchant for the benefit of the poor.

I was getting hungry and decided to make my way back to the High Street where there seemed to be many cafes.

This is the River Chess, a chalk river which flows around the town.

I followed the river round through Wright's meadow where a saw mill once stood.  

I was soon back on the High Street and enjoyed a wonderful bowl of warming soup in this cafe.

The yarn bombers have been busy.

After Lunch I walked back down the High Street to the station. As I passed the Chapter 2 community bookshop. Profits from the shop go to the local hospice. I couldn't resist going in as Christmas was just around the corner and I was looking for a couple of surprise presents. Near the till was a display with the title 'Don't just a book by its cover.'. The books below the notice were all neatly wrapped in Christmas paper with the first sentence of the book written on the wrapping paper. there was no clue to the author or what the book was about. I thought they would make a surprise present to a couple of friends.