Haig Memorial Homes

Haig Memorial Homes is an estate providing for ex-Servicemen and their dependents after WWI, built in the 1930s in two parts, located on either side of Green Lane in Morden. It is administered by Haig Housing Trust, which has its origins in two charitable trusts, The Housing Association for Officers' Families (HAOF) founded in 1916 by Mrs Willie James to provide homes for disabled service officers, and for widows and dependents of service officers, and Douglas Haig Memorial Homes; the two merged officially in 1995 as Haig Homes, later to become Haig Housing Trust. Field-Marshall Sir Douglas Haig (1861-1928) had become Commander-in-Chief of the British and Empire forces on the Western Front in 1915 and after the war devoted much of his time to raising awareness and raising funds to ameliorate the lives of ex-service people, especially the disabled, and their families. He was created 1st Earl Haig in 1919 (later Viscount Dawick, Baron Haig of Bemersyde). In 1921 he was influential in the foundation of The Royal British Legion and the Haig Fund, which continues today as the Poppy Fund. He died of a heart attack in January 1928, and in that year the Lord Mayor of London launched an appeal to provide homes for ex-servicemen, their widows and dependents as a memorial to Field-Marshal Haig. The Douglas Haig Memorial Homes, later known as Haig Homes, was set up as a charitable trust in 1929 at the invitation of the then Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII, who became its first Patron. The Prince had served under Haig as well as working with him in peacetime and he felt that the Memorial Homes would be a fitting tribute. 

In the interwar period the LCC had acquired large tracts of land in Morden for its planned St Helier Estate (q.v.), but in c.1929 it leased 10 hectares between the railway line, Central Road and Epsom Road to the Douglas Haig Memorial Homes. The estate, built by the Trustees of Haig Homes and the Officers' Families Association, consists of two parts, Haig Homes South and Haig Homes North. The first part, to the north of Green Lane, was laid out in courtyards of different characters, with ranges of neo-Georgian style housing of two or three storeys set around grassed open spaces, and was opened in May 1931 by the Prince of Wales. By 1934 most of the development was built, including the Sanctuary, South Close, the Precincts, Lawrence Weaver Institute to the south of Green Lane, together with most of the homes on the north side of Green Lane. The latter were designed by Grey Wornum and Louis de Soissons (see Pevsner) and built for ex-servicemen, their widows and dependents, with provision made for the disabilities of the residents. The housing on the south of Green Lane was built for disabled married officers, their families and dependents. The estate was expanded with additional housing in the 1950s and also from the 1990s. The names of the blocks have associations with both world wars, for example Rhodes Moorhouse Court is named after 2nd Lieutenant W B Rhodes Moorhouse, who died in WWI, and his son Flying Officer W H Rhodes Moorhouse, who was killed in the Battle of Britain. A stone plaque featuring the profile of Field Marshal Haig surrounded by a wreath and a circle of gauged bricks appears on buildings throughout the estate. The estate falls within the Upper Morden Conservation Area, and some areas, in particular the space bounded by The Precincts, The Sanctuary and South Close, and the large area of open ground between the rear of Trenchard Court and Rhodes Moorhouse Court, designated open space, although the latter has been encroached by new building.

Haig Homes North contains 5 communal open spaces within the strong geometrical character of the layout, two enclosed by the buildings of Legion Court and Douglas Square; one by Lawrence Weaver Court, Legion Court and Denmark Court, one by Denmark Court and Alexandra Square and one by Alexandra Square. These green spaces are for the most part open grass laid out on a formal symmetrical plan, with relatively few trees, aside from those generally planted later than the construction of the estate. The estate plan showed straight paths laid out in geometrical fashion across these spaces creating square and rectilinear subdivisions, and paths link the spaces through the buildings. The entrances to Legion Court from Green Lane and to Denmark Court from Central Road have large brick piers. The formality of the spaces is less in evidence in the eastern area due to the curvature of the adjacent railway line, and here a new building, Hart Square, was built in 2001 - 2006. Private gardens are situated between some of the buildings and the communal spaces, and the residential blocks are set back from the roadway, with large front gardens forming the frontage to the public domain. At the junction of Central Road and Green Lane a triangular green space fronts Lawrence Weaver Court. Although none of these buildings are currently listed, there are 6 buildings on Merton's Local List that are considered to contribute to the character and appearance of the Conservation Area: Lawrence Weaver Close, Douglas Square/Legion Court, 1 Legion Court, Denmark Court and Alexandra Square, while the more recent Hart Square is deemed to make a neutral contribution to the area. Denmark Court has two roundel plaques registering the gratitude of the people of Denmark, that commemorating Haig found throughout the estate, and the other commemorating F K Kielberg.

Haig Homes South was formerly the part of the estate built by the Housing Association for Officers' Families. The overall layout of the buildings here combines elements of formality and informality. Individual blocks or groups of buildings designed by Percy Morley-Horder in collegiate style date from the early 1930s: The Sanctuary, The Precincts, Hill Top and South Close, each enclosing a formal and regular space. The central part of the area between these blocks is quite informal and irregular in its layout and general character and contains the layout and the surviving landscape features of the former grounds of Hill House, which had been located on the north-west edge of the present-day tennis court. Hill House and its grounds are shown on OS Maps surveyed in 1866, 1894 and 1910. Informal groups of mature trees dominate the space and the informal layout of the paths, reflecting its historical origins. Part of the approach drive to Hill House, originally from Epsom Road opposite the public house, survives as a path. The current access road from Green Lane demarcates the south-eastern boundary of the Hill House land. Rhodes Moorhouse Court was built in 1949 named after 2nd Lieutenant W B Rhodes Moorhouse, who died in WWI, and his son Flying Officer W H Rhodes Moorhouse, who was killed in the Battle of Britain. Trenchard Close was built in 1952, financed by the Royal Air Force and is named after Viscount Trenchard. There are 5 buildings on Merton's Local List that are considered to contribute to the character and appearance of the Conservation Area: The Precincts, The Sanctuary, Trenchard Close, South Close and Hill Top; Nos. 3-15 Green Lane, 1 Haig Place and Lawrence Weaver Institute Hall are unlisted but regarded as making a positive contribution, while Alban Dobson House (c.1970s) and 1-13, 12a and 14 Rhodes Moorhouse Court (c.1950s) are deemed to make a neutral contribution to the area.  The landscaped area that lies between South Close, Trenchard Close, the Precincts and the Sanctuary has been designated a Site of Interest for Nature Conservation, and is described as resembling an arboretum, containing mostly mature trees and shrubs from around the world, but including a number of native species, including yew, oak and ash. 

Haig Housing Trust developed the estate in three main periods, the early 1930s, in the  late 1940s/1950s post World War II, with later developments from the mid-1990s onwards, most recently in 2019. Completed in 2019 as part of Haig Housing's Centenary Development are Kulbir Thapa House and Jack Cornwell House. The former is named after the first Nepalese Gurkha recipient of the VC, Havildar Kulbir Thapa Magar of the 3rd Queen Alexandra’s Own Gurkha Rifles, who rescued 3 men from behind enemy lines in France in September 1915 despite being wounded himself. The latter is named after Boy 1st Class Jack Cornwell VC who joined the Royal Navy when he was only 15 and was killed a year later in 1916 during the Battle of Jutland. Despite being mortally wounded and surrounded by dead and dying crew members, he never deserted his post. 

The Trust was granted funding from the Ministry of Defence through the Veterans Accommodation Fund (VAF) to provide an additional 68 residential units on the Morden estate, and in 2016 submitted an application to LB Merton planning department for the development of 68 new dwellings on the undeveloped area between Rhodes Moorhouse Court and Hill Top; although this resulted in loss of open space, the proposal included provision of a new green space. The strip of land between Hill Top and the large open space adjacent to Rhodes Moorhouse Court was used by Haig’s Grounds Maintenance team for storage purposes. The large open space at Rhodes Moorhouse Court remained unused apart from an area set aside for residents to walk their dogs, separated by metal railings from the later (1950s) adjacent development of Rhodes Moorhouse Court along the eastern boundary of Haig Homes South. A small access road onto this terrace from Green Lane terminated in a cul-de-sac with a pair of garages within the open space, which was otherwise fenced off from the roadway.  What remains is now landscaped as a new green space surrounded on three sides by the new housing on Queen Elizabeth Terrace. The Terrace is named in honour of HRH Queen Elizabeth II, who was Patron of Haig Housing Trust from 1952 until her death in 2023 and who officially opened this Centenary Development on 11 October 2019. The houses overlook the new publicly accessible green space, which is laid out with grass, planted with a number of shrubs and trees, and has a number of benches. It is crossed by a curving path with a central war memorial and flagpole surrounded by hedging.  

Haig Housing Trust now has over 1,500 properties throughout the UK, providing a mix of houses, flats, maisonettes and bungalows with from 1 to 4 bedrooms, generally on small estates ranging in size from four houses up to the largest estate in Morden of over 330 homes. In late summer 2023 the Trust relocated its Head Office from Alban Dobson House, which has now been decommissioned and the neighbouring Lawrence Weaver Institute has also been closed. This site will be redeveloped to build new homes for Veterans and plans are currently in development. Public consultation began in 2024, and the scheme is due to be completed in Autumn 2027, providing c.29 homes and landscaped communal space with a children's play space, retaining 2 existing trees.