Recently richmond council have been attempting to improve its parks, creating a safe and enjoyable area for children of all ages to use.
The Archbishop of Canterbury owned a large manor whose gatehouse was facing mortlake green. This manor was then taken by Henry VIII in 1536 and eventually demolished sometime in the 18th century- the site was then built into Mortlake’s infamous brewery. In 1860 Mortlake green, at that time known as Kings Arms Field, was gifted to residents of mortlake as a recreational area by Earl Spencer who was, at the time, Lord of the Manor.
On the 26th February 2018 they are renovating mortlake green playground and it will be closed for the following two weeks. At the moment the park contains a large green space surrounded by trees and shrubs, a basketball hoop and a playground with swings, slides, monkey bars and other apparatus. Following the recent consultation the council have come up with a list of new equipment to install and replace the existing one , this includes:
- A new hopscotch board
- A selection of logs for an outdoor classroom
- Play panels
- A spacenet
- A basket swing / spider swing
- Play trail / trim trail
Along with the richmond council wanting to improve all its parks, another reason for this sudden renovation could have been sparked by the new Primary school, Thomson House School, which opened in 2013 and is located right opposite the park. This means that it often holds its sportsdays at the green and along with the pupils of St mary Magdalen's (another nearby primary school in Mortlake) there are alot of children playing at the park after school, often around 3pm-4pm it gets very busy.
Hopefully these renovations will attract more people to the area of Mortlake and encourage more children to go and socialise in a safe green area.
Lisa Crookham, Gumley House Convent School
