About Deen City Farm
An urban farm with an educational focus.
Deen City Farm is one of the oldest city farms in London, located in the heart of the London Borough of Merton we are a charity with an educational focus. We teach the local community about the rural environment and where their food comes from. We have an active Volunteering programme as well as a Riding School offering affordable lessons to the local community.
Some of our charitable work consists of:
- Offer work experience for over 244 students a year, 64% of which have identified as disabled.
- Hosting students who have lost their desire or ability to thrive in mainstream education.
- Offering accessible riding lessons at subsidised prices, we are on average 22% cheaper than some of our competitors.
- Running educational activities on the farm: including workshops and guided experiences for school children.
- Hosting mental and physical health and well-being programmes within the local community
- Supporting volunteer opportunities for over 190 people a year, of those 43% in 2023/24 were unemployed, and 56% identified as individuals with additional needs.
- Safely welcoming over 130,000 visitors a year, mainly families where they can meet and feed the animals, engaging in therapeutic, fun and educational experiences, use the playground or enjoy the garden, free of charge.
We are a registered charity (no. 1008028), and rely upon donations from visitors and the local community to help us carry out our work. We play host to a huge range of activities and events; providing educational visits to schools, riding lessons for people of all levels, holiday schemes working in the farm yard and much more!
Find out more about the events and activities we run here.
Our history...
Deen City Farm is one of London’s oldest City Farms. Established in 1978 on a plot of land where the Phipps Bridge Estate now stands, Deen City Farm has educated the local community for over 40 years.
After a number of different sites in the local area, in 1994 we moved to our current farm, a 5-acre purpose built working farm with gardens and riding school. The land that the farm is built on is part of The National Trust’s Modern Hall Park (we are on Bunces Meadow) and the London Borough of Merton supported us to establish the farm here.
Running right next to the farm is the River Wandle and the Wandle Trail, which connects us to our neighbours The National Trust at Morden Hall Park and the Arts and Crafts Village at Merton Abbey Mills. Morden Hall Park, The River Wandle, and the area around Merton Abbey, is steeped in history. King Henry III signed the Statues of Merton within the Chapter House of Merton Priory in 1236, the first and founding documents of English Common Law. In the 18th Century the area around Merton Abbey became a major centre for textile printing and dyeing in England. In the 19th Century Gilliat Hatfield Snr. bought land surrounding Morden Hall, creating a Deer Park, which is now Morden Hall Park.
We are proud to be part of the local community and hope that we become part of the history of the local area.
How we are funded...
We are very lucky to be supported by:
However grants and sponsorship only cover a portion of our expenditure. Regular donations are vital for charities like us to survive, we can only continue our charitable work and keep our gates open for visitors with your help.
Find out more about how you can donate here.
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