a surprising pond

When I was small - between 0 and 3 - we lived at Top Flat, 3 Copse Hill (about eight streets from where I am now).  There were two major excitements, so far as I was concerned.  One was the regular appearance of helicopters: the Atkinson Morley Hospital was further down Copse Hill, and, as the major specialist in neurological issues and brain surgery in London, had seriously injured patients being flown in all the time (it opened in 1863 as a convalescent hospital, and closed in 2003 - or rather, the Atkinson Morley Wing is now part of St George's).  The other excitement - processions of horses from the stables that use to be at the top of Hillside who were going down to the riding ring and jumping course behind the Atkinson Morley.  

Then, when we we came back to Wimbledon in 1961, these same horse facilities had become the Pony Club paddocks - I rode in the occasional horse show there, and went to the occasional horseback meeting, until the paddocks themselves moved, because the Atkinson Morley was building some nurses' housing on part of them. Indeed, the site has had a fascinating longer history: it was the site of Prospect Place, built in 1753, and then in the early C19th, Humphrey Repton laid out some magnificent gardens there - before it was demolished to build the hospital.  Then after 2003, a very upmarket town house and apartment development has occupied the hospital buildings and replaced that nurses' accommodation.  What I'd never known - well, actually, I'd never known about the history of Prospect Park, either - what I'd never known before today was that part of the paddocks still remains, and is now Morley Park. I saw a little footpath on my way to fetch the Order of Service pamphlets from the printers, and went exploring. It's a tiny park, to be sure, but a real wildlife refuge - indeed, the wooded part of it makes one understand the copse part of Copse Hill.  And it has this little pond - which apparently only fills up with water when it's rained a lot - which explains why it's so full now ...