Mortimer Heritage Trail - walk 1 Preview

Community centre car park

The walk is about 3km (2 miles) and starts at the Community Centre car park, at the edge of the Mortimer Common Fairground, a centrally located historic open space amenity. Once used for horse fairs it became designated as a fairground in 1802.From the car park walk along the pavement towards the War Memorial.

Pond

At the junction with Hammonds Heath, the pond contains two small brick walls. From one, a culvert leads eventually down to Foudry Brook, near the railway station.

Chestnuts

Chestnuts was built around 1805 as two cottages by the Hunter family for their employees. They were some of the first houses to be built adjacent to the newly-enclosed common.For the next stop, rather than continuing along the road, proceed a little way along it, where you will see a path into the faiground, You can then proceed north on the path inside the fairground until you reach the small parking area where you need to re-cross the road to enter the woods at a signed footpath.

Entering the woods

Go through the kissing gate and take the footpath through the woods in an easterly direction.

Leaving the woods

At the far edge of the woods bear slightly right onto the path that has a fence to its right and a hedge to its left.

kissing gate

Pass through the kissing gate and the two that follow it

Kissing gate

Continue straight ahead at this third gate but note the path to the left as you will go on it later

Abbeycroft

To your right through a gap in the hedge you can seeAbbeycroft, built as a vicarage at the start of the 18th century to replace Saddlers which is further down the hill.In the 19th century Abbeycroft became a preparatory school for Eton College and was adapted to provide accommodation and classrooms for up to 20 pupils.Now retrace your steps up the hill to the last kissing gate you passed

Gate

Go through the wooden gate, bearing right through Wheats Farm, between buildings

view of Wokefield Park

You’ll see Wokefield Park in the distance to your left. Formerly an approved school (borstal) for the London Borough of Brent, it is now a hotel, golf and conference centre.

Wern Cottage

you will see Wern Cottage on the left, originally a pair of cottages owned by Eton College until sold with the rest of the Rectorial Glebe (church land that provides an income to the vicar) in 1879. Its records go back to 1612.

Saddlers

Saddlers was the vicarage in the 17th century and beside it stood the tithe barn. Later it was the home of Walter Long who was a famous harness maker and saddler.

Pumping Station

To your left is the white Pumping Station that supplies Mortimer’s drinking water from a borehole that goes down to the chalk 250 metres below. If you look across the fields behind the pumping station, you may be able to just make out the roof of the Great Barn at Great Park Farm. This was a stud farm for the breeding of heavy horses during the Wars of the Roses. It was part of the Manor of Mortimer that Henry VIII gave to each of his six wives in turn as part of their dowry. Not many of them lived to enjoy it.

Mortimer station

This is the last known surviving example of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s design for a small station. The Duke of Wellington, when given the Stratfield Saye Estate, that lies next to Mortimer, by a grateful nation, decided he didn’t want the railway near his house so Mortimer became his local station. The Duke did however use the station frequently for his visits to London. Tri-ang, makers of model railways, made a station based on its design. Dr Who’s assistant Sarah Jane Smith (Elizabeth Sladen) is seen arriving here in 1974’s ‘Planet of the Spiders’.

post office

This was built in the 19th century and for many years housed the village post office. It has been extended in 2012.

post box

The Cinnamon Tree

The Cinnamon Tree is the oldest pub in the village living through many names in its long life from The Horne to the Railway Hotel, when the railway arrived, to The Fox and Horne and is now an Indian restaurant. At the rear, the village bowls club had a three-rink green. To its left stood a wheelright

Harris House

Harris House, formerly Mr Harris’ bakery, is where the culvert, fed from the pond at Hammonds Heath, exploded in 2007 creating a flood. This was one of the principal shops when village life was in this part of the village.

Foudry House

Foudry House is an imposing large pink Grade 2 listed property.

St Mary the Virgin Church Yard

Foudry Brook

Foudry Brook which runs over the remains of a hydraulic ram, which used to pump water up to the Manor House (Church Farmhouse) that is visible beside the church gate.

LadyField

Manor House (Church Farmhouse)

A hydraulic ram used to pump water up to the Manor House (Church Farmhouse) that is visible beside the church gate.

‘pill box’ strong point

On the corner of Mortimer Lane in the field is a ‘pill box’ strong point (guard post), now overgrown, installed in the Second World War. Lime Cottage, on the other side of the lane was a dame (private preparatory) school before national education came to Mortimer

St Marys School

St Mary’s School was started in the 1860s by applying liberal coats of lime wash to the walls of the old poor house to address the bug population. This was soon knocked down and a proper schoolroom and house for the headmaster was built by 1868, complete with a clock tower

Old Police House

On the right side of The Old Police House you can see the cell where villains were kept until they were transported to Reading on the train. One tried to be difficult by overnight systematically destroying all his clothes. But he was outwitted by the Mortimer constable who went to the farm and fetched a sack. He cut three holes in it and pulled it over the villain’s head and off he went to Reading.

Fire Station

at the school children crossing sign is a building on your left, which was the Fire Station (18) built when the Brigade first obtained a fire engine. The building behind was used for many years as the postal sorting office.

Mortimer Hall

On you left is the drive toMortimer Hall. It’s had many uses including a home for the blind, a school, a dormitory. It now comprises apartments.Across the road is the drive to Abbeycroft. Immediately to it's right was Thorp's shop known as Paices, but now called Abbots Lodge. Paices served as tuck shop for the schoolboys attending Canon Lovett Cameron's boarding school at Abbeycroft.

Birchwood

Birchwood was built in 1922. Mortimer's Dr Anderson Hill and his wife Davina moved here from Glenapp Grange (see walk 2) in 1954. In 1959 they passed the house on to their son Dr Ian Hill ("young" doctor Hill) where he lived until 1970.Birchwood's original tennis court, was sold in 1970 to form the adjacent "Sinnet Court".

War memorial

Mortimer's war memorial was dedicated in 1921 to those who lost their lives in the great war of 1914 to 1918.It was rededicated in 2000 to those who gave their lives in World War 2 between 1939 and 1945.In 2004 Major John F Kemp MBE, presented the parish council with a list of names of those who died in both world wars, including some from Mortimer who are not named on the memorial. The document is available in the reference section of Mortimer Library and by searching online for "stratfield mortimer war memorial".