Earlier this month, our Wandle
Treasures community heritage project culminated with a
celebratory event held at the Wheelhouse at Merton Abbey Mills. This
fantastic venue, in-keeping with the spirit of the project, is situated on
the banks of the River Wandle. The Wheelhouse is set in a working watermill, which generates the electricity to light the building, and houses a stoneware pottery
workshop.
The event gathered all
the volunteer researchers together, along with participants from a variety of local
organisations who had contributed to the project. It provided an
opportunity for all those involved to see artist Stephanie Theobald's illustrated treasures map
in full and to reflect on the project over cake,
strawberries and a glass of Pimms.
The event provided a lovely opportunity to bring the project to a close, to say thank you
and celebrate the hard work of the volunteers, and to present the illustrated map – a treasure in its own right.
And while all good things must
come to an end, this is not the end for the Wandle Treasures… We are developing plans for extending the life of the project by touring the
illustrated treasures map across the four Wandle River boroughs (Wandsworth,
Merton, Sutton and Croydon). We aim to announce more details about this very
soon.
*The Wandle
Treasures is a volunteer-led
local heritage project where we identify heritage treasures along the course of
the River Wandle, which spans four London boroughs (Wandsworth, Merton, Sutton
and Croydon). The final selection has been drawn by artist StephanieTheobald and will be uploaded to a website along with an interactive map.
The project
has been delivered in
collaboration with Living Wandle Landscape Partnership Scheme as part of the Industrial Heritage Recording Project.
