Sir Joseph Hood Memorial Woodland and the Millennium Woodland.
The Sir Joseph Hood Memorial Woodland is named after Sir Joseph Hood, a local benefactor, MP and Mayor of Wimbledon (1863-1931). It was designated as a Local Nature Reserve in 1994. It is also listed as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) Borough Grade I. The Memorial Wood is the only remaining woodland in the area.
At the time of the Reformation (16th century), the whole area, consisting of woods, arable and pastureland, belonged to the Priory of Merton. From the early 16th century, and probably long before, an area between the Beverley Brook and the village of Lower Morden formed Hobald’s Farm. It was bought by the Garths, Lords of the Manor of Morden, before 1611. At some time during the 1860s, Richard Garth planted some land to the west of the farm with oak trees, and this survives today as Sir Joseph Hood Memorial Wood. As Garth had nearby dog kennels, he probably intended it as a hunting covert. Eventually, in the 1930s, the woodland and playing field was conveyed to the Urban District of Merton and Morden now London Borough of Merton and is subject to a number of covenants.
The woodland is comprised of regularly spaced mature oaks of approximately 150 years old with some semi-mature oaks. The open-under storey consists of a mixture of elder, hawthorn, blackthorn, ash, field maple, holly and privet. Ground cover includes patches of Lords and Ladies, ivy and bramble. The woodland floor has a plentiful supply of dead wood. The Memorial Wood has a dense shrub layer predominantly consisting of elder, hawthorn, blackthorn, ash, field maple, field rose, yew, alder, privet, cherry, holly and bramble. The wood contains more than one ancient woodland indicator species, which presumably were surviving here in hedgerows before the wood was planted.
Although small, the Memorial Wood also supports a number of common woodland herbs. The ground flora is generally sparse with much ivy, but on either side of the main footpath, which runs from north to south for the length of the site, hedge woundwort, herb-Robert, hedge bedstraw, cleavers, wood dock and cow parsley all occur. Elsewhere within the wood are Lords-and-Ladies, wood meadow grass and false brome. There is a glade to the west of the main path where butterflies may be seen in the summer (LEU 1998).
A range of birds can be seen in the Sir Joseph Hood Memorial Wood. Great spotted woodpecker, blackcap, chiffchaff, tree creeper and nuthatch are among those that breed in the wood while stock doves are sometimes present on the fields in the park, the kestrels observed possibly breed on the nearby gasholders. There is a large jackdaw roost in the wood. As the wood is some distance from any major roads, the bird song can be enjoyed in peace and quiet, with the only disturbance from the occasional passing train (LEU 1998).
Until 1990, Sir Joseph Hood Memorial Wood was closed to the public as it was designated as a bird reserve. As the fencing was being breached regularly, it was decided to allow pedestrian access by the children’s play area. An additional access path and small railway sleeper bridge was installed in 2005 to the southern end of the playing fields. This now allows for circular access around the woodland.
The Millennium Wood
Millennium Wood Local residents, community groups and school children throughout LB Merton celebrated the new Millennium with the creation of the Millennium Wood with 10,000 trees planted. LB Merton was joined by Railtrack, Trees for London and the Friends of the Stout Hall Environmental Education Centre in Wales in supporting the project. A commemorative plaque was located at the southern access point to the two woodlands welcoming visitors to the natural habitat (since removed due to vandalism). This new oak woodland of approximately 0.8 hectares (up to 120m at widest point) was planted in 1999. Situated to the west of the Playing Field, Millennium Wood is separated from the Memorial Wood by a managed meadowland. The new woodland has increased the area of woodland at the site. The new woodland and adjacent meadow have created an important additional habitat for wildlife but as yet have no formal nature conservation designation. This is currently being considered.
In February 2020 the Stoneleigh Youth Orchestra planted a copse of approximately 100 native trees adding to the Millennium Woodland with the support of Tree Warden Group Merton. This was to celebrate their 75th anniversary and contribute to tree planting in the borough in which they are based.
References:
https://www.gigl.org.uk/sinc/mebi05/
https://www.merton.gov.uk/system/files/sir_joseph_hood_management_plan_jan_2023_final.pdf
https://londongardenstrust.org/conservation/inventory/site-record/?ID=MER053