King George's Playing Fields

The King George’s Fields Foundation was established on 3 November 1936 in order to promote the establishment of playing fields in memory of the late King George. It was considered that the King would have approved of such a living memorial, which would benefit the 'individual well-being and the general welfare of the nation', and young people in particular, by providing them with the environment and opportunity for open air exercise. The Trust Deed of the Foundation defined a playing field as 'any open space used for the purpose of outdoor games, sports and pastimes.' Local authorities were able to apply to the Foundation, whose trustee was the National Playing Fields Association, for a grant to provide these new facilities for public recreation. Each new playing field was to be known as King George's Field and was generally provided with heraldic panels that would distinguish it as such. It was a condition of the grant that the tenure of the site was sufficiently secure so that it would provide a meaningful legacy to the king's memory; the land must have been acquired only for the purpose of public recreation. The design of the entrance and the ground's layout had to be approved by the Foundation, which was to receive an annual report for the first five years from the acceptance of the offer. 471 playing fields across the UK were funded and following the demise of the scheme in 1965, their protection has been undertaken by the Fields in Trust. The largest King George's Field is Enfield Playing Fields (q.v.), some 128 acres, and the smallest is in the City of London, King George's Field in Portsoken Street (q.v.).

King George's Playing Fields in Morden were established in 1936 after Merton Borough Council received funding of £3,500 from the King George's Fields Foundation. The land prior to this was open fields. The park remains simply laid out and largely grassland used for sports with perimeter and scattered trees. While the playing fields remain the main provision, tennis courts and a children's play area with paddling pool were later added to the facilities, which now include a pavilion and outdoor gym. The original curved brick entrance on Tudor Drive has the King George's Fields Foundation stone heraldic plaques set into the brick piers either side of the gates, from where a tree-lined path leads through the park with the playground and tennis courts to the right and the raised sports field to the left.