Description

Church Lane Playing Field is 1.8 hectares of land lying north of St Mary's Church and has C17th and C18th Grade II listed enclosing walls, probably those of a C17th house, Merton Place, which was later Church House. It was demolished in the 1920s and replaced by two houses. During the course of its history the site became a workhouse, a school and later occupied by the John Innes Horticultural Institute before being acquired by the Council Council becoming a public recreation ground. The site is grassland with trees generally around the perimeter, with a few recently planted scattered trees and an old mulberry near the entrance gate on Church Lane.

Practical Information

Site location Church Lane/Church Path, Merton Park
Postcode SW19
What3Words ///event.locked.nodded
Type of Site Public Open Land
Borough Merton
Open to Public Yes
Opening Times Mon - Fri 8am - dusk; Sat/Sun/Bank holidays 9am - dusk
Public Transport Tube: South Wimbledon (Northern), Wimbledon (District). Rail: South Merton, Wimbledon then bus. Tramlink: Merton Park. Bus: K5
Research Updated 1 June 2011
Last Updated 18 October 2026

Full description

Church Lane Playing Field is located within Merton Park Conservation Area and just across Church Path from the parish church of St Mary. The playing fields are completely surrounded by a Grade II Listed wall dating partly from the 17th century.  This is a flat open site almost entirely hidden from view from the surrounding streets, and can only be seen through the iron gates at the Church Lane entrance, through which public access is provided.

Church House (for a time known as Merton Place) is seen on Rocque’s map, to the north of the Church, on the opposite side of Church Path. It is surrounded by the part 16th part 17th century curtilage wall, which is shown on the map, and which survives today. These extensive buildings are believed to have been part Elizabethan and part Georgian. Merton Place was an “E” shaped building whose open side faced south towards the church. A fine early 18th century wrought iron gate situated between brick piers, each topped by stone vases, made an imposing entrance to the grounds from Church Path. The gate was moved by the John Innes Society to its present position, in the 1970s.  The gates form the entrance to the playing fields. The piers are evident today (one reconstructed), but the vases are not. Within the grounds to the west there was a large barn. Between 1820 and 1845 the property was used as a workhouse, and later as a school (occupied at some point by the John Innes Horticultural Institute). Part of Church House was demolished in 1911, and the remainder in 1923.

A few trees have been planted within the area, and there is an old mulberry near the Church Lane entrance. It is used for informal recreation.  Beside the southern edge of the field, the nearby Merton First School created a nature area in 1985 and added a small pond two years later, though in 2025 when visited it is no longer easily apparent.  

Further Information

Grid Reference TQ250695
Size in hectares 1.82
Site Ownership LB Merton
Site Management Leisure and Culture Services; Merton Park First School
Listed Structures LBII: Garden wall enclosing 4 sides of playing field, iron gate and overthrow
On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens No
Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 No
Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 No
Local Authority Merton
In Conservation Area Yes
Conservation Area Name John Innes Merton Park
Tree Preservation Order No
Nature Conservation Area Yes - Local Importance
Green Belt No
Metropolitan Open Land No
Special Policy Area Yes - Archaeological Priority Zone
Other LA Designation Public Open Space

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Nearby parks and gardens

  • Merton
  • 0.1 miles away

St Mary the Virgin Churchyard and Glebe Fields

The site is made up of 2 core areas: the current churchyard surrounding the medieval church with numerous monuments to local dignitaries; and Glebe Fields adjacent. In front of the church on church lane is a smaller elongated oval area of shrubland within the wider part of the dog-leg shape of Church Lane recorded on the Surrey OS 25 inch map from 1865.

The suburban development of Merton Park took place from the 1870s initially by John Innes, who was buried here in 1904. The churchyard also features some fine trees. A gate in the churchyard leads to Glebe Fields. Glebe Fields was shown as meadowland in Thomas Milne's Map of 1800. It remained undeveloped when the Merton Park estate was laid out in the late C19th. The site of the hedge marking the division between two fields remains as a bank and ditch and a row of horse chestnut trees.  Glebe Fields forms a rare rural setting to the Church and its churchyard fully accessible to the public with a public path across from the car park of the (modern) church hall through to the corner of Erridge Road where it meets Stratton Close.
  • Merton
  • 0.2 miles away

John Innes Park and Recreation Ground

This (2.28 ha) park and associated recreation ground (1.75 ha of playing field) linked by a footpath were originally the grounds of the Manor House, home of John Innes. On his death in 1904 he left the house, grounds and most of his money to found a school of horticulture, if possible, or a museum and other charitable schemes. The layout of the park was adapted from the original manor house gardens by the architect J S Brocklesby and was formally opened to the public in 1909. The Recreation Ground, which is connected by public footpath to John Innes Park, was established at the same time. The Park and Recreation Ground were transferred by way of deed of gift to the Urban District Council in 1949. They are currently both managed and maintained by the London Borough of Merton’s Greenspaces teams

Screened by evergreen hedges and shrubs and secluded evergreen walks the park has an intimate character. The layout of 1909 is little altered today although the bowling green has been relocated in the south-east corner. Buildings predating the park layout include the entrance lodge on the junction of Church Path and Mostyn Road, a two-storey lodge and an archway, both inside the park. The bandstand, cricket pavilion and toilet block all date from the 1909 layout.  More recent works have sought to reinstate original features with a substantial replanting of the rockery in 2004.
  • Merton
  • 0.2 miles away

Greystones

Greystones, an Arts & Crafts style house at 29 Mostyn Road, Merton Park, was built in 1913 and its gardens were designed by Gertrude Jekyll. They survived for half a century and although destroyed in the 1970s, were partly restored in 1992 by the then owners. Jekyll’s distinctive box and yew hedging has since been re-established as have the original broad shapes of the beds containing shrubs and flowers. However, subsequent owners have chosen not to allow access of any kind and it is not possible to check whether Jekyll’s detailed plant listings are still maintained. Nevertheless the site was once part of the John Innes estate and remains within the John Innes Conservation Area today. Its architect, JS Brocklesby, also designed John Innes Park, virtually next door to Greystones, which opened to the public in 1909.