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The 19th century stable yard

The 19th century stable yard
NTPL Zoë Colbeck

Thursday 10 November 2011

The Livinggreen Heart of the Park visitor centre is officially open!

The Livinggreen Heart of the Park visitor centre was officially opened on 3 November by Fiona Reynolds, Director General of the National Trust. This was the culmination of two years of hard work by the project team, staff at Morden Hall Park and numerous partners, contractors, funders and volunteers - a huge thank you goes to all those who have been involved!






National Trust Director General Fiona Reynolds cuts the ribbon, accompanied by (from left to right) chair of the Heritage Lottery Fund London Committee, Wesley Kerr, Deputy Mayor of Merton, Cllr Chris Edge, Merton Council Leader Cllr Stephen Alambritis, Livinggreen lead partner, Huib Haccou and Morden Hall Park Property Manager Zoë Colbeck. Credit: Professional Images

Our European partners in the Livinggreen Project also joined us at the launch, from France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, so they will be going back to tell others in their country about our project and to share learning from it as they develop their own eco-renovation projects.




Zoë Colbeck, Caroline Pankhurst and Zoë Adams from the project team with Livinggreen Project partners. Credit: Professional Images

On Saturday 5th November we welcomed our first public visitors to see the renovated stable yard, experience the new exhibitions, visit the cafe and craft stalls, and learn about the project. They were also entertained by local musicians, clog dancers and morris dancers. We were delighted to see over 1400 visitors over the weekend.


Visitors are entertained by the Colliers Wood ukelele band. NPTL/Caroline Pankhurst

There are two exhibitions to enjoy. The main exhibition space tells the story of the renovation project and explains the range of energy saving insulations, recycled materials and green technologies which have been used to make the stable yard the most energy efficient and eco-friendly historic building in the country. There is also a smaller, temporary exhibition area which is currently telling the story of the Film Star parties which were held at Morden Hall Park between 1947 and 1951.


A young visitor learns how solar panels work. NPTL/Caroline Pankhurst

The Livinggreen Heart of the Park Centre is now open Monday to Friday 11am - 3pm and between 11am and 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Please come and see us; we hope you will be inspired by the project and enjoy the surrounding park and gardens.

For more information about the project, please visit the National Trust Website.

Our address is:


Morden Hall Park
Morden Hall Road
London SM4 5JD

Click here for information about travel options - we are very close to tube, tram and bus, and a Sustrans cycle route runs through the park.

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