Heritage society members are celebrating after receiving permission from the government to move a historic horse trough away from danger from a congested road.

Mitcham Cricket Green Community and Heritage moved the Grade II listed trough and drinking fountain on Monday morning, after a nine-month negotiation with Merton Council and the department for communities and local government.

An English Heritage spokeswoman said: "Changes to listed buildings need to get consent. The owners themselves can't give consent. They would have to get permission, usually from the local planning authority."

Since the council is the planning authority, they had to seek permission from central government to move the monument 4m back from the road.

The heritage society campaigned to move the trough after it was "knocked" several times by heavy lorries navigating the narrow lanes from the SITA Benedict Wharf management facility and other locations.

Wimbledon Times:

Tony Burton, a trustee of Mitcham Cricket Green Community and Heritage, said: "We are delighted to have helped to safeguard and restore this important part of Mitcham Cricket Green's rich history.

"We look forward to sharing its story as part of our efforts to protect and care for this special area."

The trough is located on the pavement at 'Jubilee Corner', where the A239 meets London Road on the edge of Cricket Green.

Made in 1887, the horse trough commemorates Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee and was a stopping place for horses and people to drink when the adjacent White Hart and Burn Bullock pubs were coaching inns.

The cleaning and moving of the horse trough is part of the society’s £20,000 Heritage Lottery Fund supported by Know Your Cricket Green project.

Mitcham’s listed 18th-century milestone and the Tom Ruff Memorial Stone which commemorates the oldest cricket ground in the world will also be cleaned.


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