Wrapping Up Along the Wandle!

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.