Finally! Traditional Cache
Long Man: As the owner has not responded to my previous log requesting an update is posted, I'm archiving it.
Andy
Long Man
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A hide along the edge of a nice little recreational area beside Cottenham Park Road.
Great for walking the geo-dog. Also great for a quick park-and-grab.
The park is a lesser known one in the area, as it is nicely tucked away, so many people pass by without realising it is even there.
The land was formally owned by the old Atkinson Morley hospital on Copse Hill. The hospital was opened in 1869, on 28 acres of land purchased from the Duke of Wellington's old Wimbledon estate. It was built with £100,000 of funds donated by Mr Atkinson Morley, who wanted the donation to be used for a quiet convalescent hospital, as he himself had been disturbed by traffic noise during his own convalescence.
During WW2, the hospital was converted into a Neurosurgery Unit. It was the first hospital to have a CT scanner, with which Geoffrey Hounsfield performed the first ever CT scan on a human being on 1st October 1971, for which he was awarded the 1979 Nobel Prize in Medicine. The hospital was noted as one of the most advanced brain surgery centres in the world.
In 2003, the Neurology services were moved to a new purpose built wing at the main St Georges Hospital site, and the Atkinson Morley hospital was sadly closed down.
The site was purchased in 2010 by Berkley Homes, who are currently redeveloping the old hospital building, and building new homes around it.
Due to the rules laid out in the bequeath by Mr. Atkinson Morley, the sports grounds cannot be developed. Only the area which held the original hospital buildings can be redeveloped. As such, part of the contract for the sale to Berkley homes, is that the old sports grounds must also be restored, and the old 1980s pavilion, which had fallen into neglect, must be rebuilt.
The old pavilion had been boarded up for over a year when this cache was originally published, and the original name of the cache was "Fixer Upper" to reflect its state. As Murphy's law would have it, within one month of publishing the cache, Berkley Homes finally started to demolish the old pavilion, and closed the path along which the cache was hidden.
The original location of the cache is actually undisturbed, but the pathway is still closed for now, and will be until completion of the project. I was hesitant to relocate it at first as I wasn't sure how long the area would be inaccessible.
Merton Council recently published an update on their website, suggesting the pavilion and grounds were due for completion in April 2016. So for now, I have relocated the cache to the park on the other side of the building site, which is still open and accessible. I have moved the waypoint to reflect the new entry point. I have also changed the name of the cache to reflect the change in circumstances 
Once the building works are complete, I hope to move the cache back to its original spot.
The old pavillion has now been completely demolished and removed, and they are in the process of building the replacement. This new pavilion will be at least the 3rd to be built on the site (the first burned down in the 1970s), but another source suggests that the one that burned down in the 1970s was already the 5th to be built on the site (the original having been built in 1912).
At the time of writing, the foundations and floor have been built, and the scaffolding has been erected in preparation for the walls to go up.
If you would like more information about the development, check the following links.
Map of whole development (visit link)
Residents Association of West Wimbledon (visit link)
Saving Atkinson Moreley's Green Space (visit link)
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
onfr bs gerr
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