Merton Priory Bids For World Heritage Status

A subway full of stones in South London has been nominated to join the Taj Mahal, Machu Picchu and the Great Wall of China on the World Heritage List. The foundations of Merton Priory, a 12th Century abbey as large as that at Westminster, are one of the lesser-known historic sites of London and all the more intriguing for it. The priory was the former haunt of kings and a centre of law making until it was demolished during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Its remains were only rediscovered 20 years ago during construction of a supermarket. The priory is the only London location in the list of 38 UK sites being considered for application (although Brunel's Great Western Railway is a fractional Londoner). We shouldn't complain: with four World Heritage sites already under our custodianship (Westminster, Tower of London, Maritime Greenwich, Kew Gardens), London is already one of the most richly blessed cities on the planet.