Merton Heritage Centre
The borough’s memory store: maps, photographs, oral histories and objects tracing Merton’s villages—Mitcham, Morden and Wimbledon—from rural commons and mills to suburbia and industry along the River Wandle. Displays spotlight textiles, market gardening and everyday life shaped by railways and wartime.
Opening Hours
What's not to miss inside?
Wandle Industry & Textiles
Shows why the fast-flowing Wandle powered mills for bleaching, dyeing and printing—linking local sites to national design history.Match a printed fabric sample to a wooden printing block and map the mill it came from along the river.
📍 Industrial history section
Merton Abbey Works
Materials and images from the riverside works used by William Morris & later Liberty reveal Arts & Crafts ideals translated into factory practice.Look for evidence of natural dyes and hand processes surviving within an industrial workflow.
📍 Design & craft case
Lavender, Herbs & Market Gardening
Implements, bottles and labels recall Mitcham’s once-famous lavender fields and the herb trade that perfumed Victorian London.Compare a field map with surviving brand labels to see how local crops became national products.
📍 Local livelihoods displays
Maps, Streets & Suburbia
Large-scale maps and planning photos track the leap from village greens to rail-age suburbs.Overlay two dates to watch a single lane become a tram route and then a high street.
📍 Topography & transport wall
Inspire your Friends
- William Morris moved his workshops to Merton Abbey on the River Wandle in 1881; the site later hosted Liberty’s textile printing—making Merton a national centre for patterned cloth.
- Mitcham’s lavender industry peaked in the 18th–19th centuries, exporting oil and essences across Britain—local bottles, labels and tools survive in the collections.
- The River Wandle powered more mills per mile than almost any other English river at its height, explaining Merton’s dense cluster of bleach, dye and print works.
