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Chris Brooke - Mitcham 25k collingwoodac.org.uk | Mitcham Private Hospital Specialists mitchamprivate.com.au |
For other places with the same name, see Mitcham (disambiguation). Coordinates: 51°24′03″N 0°09′06″W / 51.4009°N 0.1517°W
Mitcham is a district in South London, in the London Borough of Merton. The area is located on the border of Inner London and Outer London. It is both residentially and financially developed, well served by Transport for London, and home to Mitcham Town Centre, Mitcham Library, and Mitcham Cricket Green. Nearby districts include Streatham, Tooting, Sutton, and Croydon.
[edit] LocationMitcham is located between London Borough of Wandsworth and London Borough of Sutton and close to Wimbledon, Streatham and Tooting. The River Wandle bounds the town to the southwest. The original village lies in the west, although expansion has pushed the eastern boundary the furthest. Mitcham Common takes up the greater part of the boundary and area to the south. Mitcham had never been well serviced by railway, due to it being equidistant between the historic lines of Waterloo to Southampton and London Bridge to Brighton. A recent addition of Mitcham Eastfields railway station in June 2008, nearer to the centre of the town than Mitcham Junction, on the same line, has improved transport links. It is the first suburban station to be built in 50 years in the area. The station serves routes to London Victoria, Blackfriars and London Bridge, and by changing at Streatham 5 minutes away, makes St Albans and Bedford and Luton airport within reach by direct trains. An 18th century milestone on Figges Marsh indicates Mitcham to be 8.5 miles (13.7 km) from Whitehall. [edit] HistoryThe name "Mitcham" is Anglo-Saxon in origin and is believed to mean big settlement. Even before the Romans and Saxons were present, there was a Celtic settlement in the area, with evidence of a fort being located in the Pollards Hill area. The discovery of Roman-era graves and a well on the site of the Mitcham gas works evince Roman settlement. The Saxon graveyard, located on the North bank of the Wandle is the largest discovered to date, and many of the finds therein are on display in the British Museum. The area is a possible location for the Battle of Merton, 871, in which King Ethelred of Wessex was either mortally wounded or killed outright. The parish church of St Peter and St Paul dates back to the Saxon era. Although it was mostly rebuilt in 1819–1821, the current building still incorporates the original Saxon tower. Mitcham was listed in the Domesday Book as a small farming community, with 250 people living in two hamlets; Mitcham, an area known today as Upper Mitcham; and Whitford, today known as the Lower Green area. The area lay within the Anglo-Saxon administrative division of Wallington hundred. Mitcham appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Michelham. It was held partly by the Canons of Bayeux; partly by William, son of Ansculf and partly by Osbert. Its domesday assets were: 8 hides and 1 virgate. It had ½ mill worth £1, 3½ ploughs, 56 acres (230,000 m2) of meadow. It rendered £4 5s 4d.[1] During her reign Queen Elizabeth I made at least five visits to the area. John Donne and Sir Walter Raleigh also had residences here in this era. It was at this time that Mitcham became gentrified, as due to the abundance of lavender fields Mitcham became renowned for its soothing air. This air also led people to settle in the area during times of plague. When industrialisation occurred, Mitcham quickly grew to become a town, and most of the farms were swallowed up in the expansion. Remnants of this farming history today include: Mitcham Common itself; Arthur's Pond, sited on the corner of Watney's Road and Commonside East, and named for a local farmer; Alfred Mizen School (Now named Garden Primary), named after a local nursery man who was very charitable towards the burgeoning town; and the road New Barnes Avenue, which was named after the farm that stood on that site. The industrialisation of Mitcham occurred first along the banks of the Wandle, where snuff, copper, flour, iron and dye were all worked. Mitcham, along with nearby Merton Abbey, became the calico cloth printing centres of England by 1750. William Morris opened a factory on the River Wandle at Merton Abbey. The Merton Abbey Mills craft village is now located in the former Liberty silk-printing works, where there is also the restored waterwheel. Peppermint and lavender oils were also distilled in Mitcham, and Mitcham became home to many lavender fields, an association reflected today in Merton Council's Coat of Arms and the badge of the local football team, Tooting & Mitcham United F.C., as well as the name of a local council ward, Lavender Field.
The activity along the Wandle led to the construction of the Surrey Iron Railway, the world's first public railway in 1803. The collapse of the railway in the 1840s also heralded a change in industry, as horticulture gradually gave way to manufacturing, with paint, varnish, linoleum and firework manufacturers moving into the area. The work provided and migratory patterns eventually resulted in a doubling of the population between the years 1900 and 1910. Mitcham became a borough on 19 September 1934 with the charter of incorporation being presented to the 84-year old mayor, Mr RM Chart, by the Lord Lieutenant of Surrey, Lord Ashcombe.[2] Social housing schemes in the 1930s included New Close, aimed at housing people made homeless by a factory explosion in 1933 and Sunshine Way, for housing the poor from inner London. This industry made Mitcham a target for German bombing during World War II. During this time Mitcham also returned to its agricultural roots, with Mitcham Common being farmed to help with the war effort. From 1929, the electronics company Mullard had a factory on New Road. Post war, the areas of Eastfields, Phipps Bridge and Pollards Hill were rebuilt to provide cheaper more affordable housing. The largest council housing project in Mitcham is Phipps Bridge Estate. Further expansion of the housing estates in Eastfields, Phipps Bridge and Pollards Hill occurred after 1965. In Mitcham Cricket Green, the area lays reasonable, although not definitive, claim to having the world's oldest cricket ground in continual use, and the world's oldest club in Mitcham Cricket Club. The ground is also notable for having a road separate the pavilion from the pitch. Local folklore also claims Mitcham has the oldest fair in England, believing it to have been granted a charter by Queen Elizabeth I, although this claim has not been proven. [edit] DemographicsPopulation - 192,258 White - 60.5 White: British 53.1 White: Irish 2.8 White: Other White 4.7 Mixed - 3.9 Mixed: White and Black Caribbean 1.5 Mixed: White and Black African 0.7 Mixed: White and Asian 0.9 Mixed: Other Mixed 0.8 Asian or Asian British - 14.5 Asian or Asian British: Indian 4.3 Asian or Asian British: Pakistani 2.6 Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi 1.4 Asian or Asian British: Other Asian 6.2 Black or Black British - 18.5 Black or Black British: Caribbean 8.2 Black or Black British: African 8.9 Black or Black British: Other Black 1.3 Chinese or other ethnic group - 2.6 Chinese or other ethnic group: Chinese 1.5 Chinese or other ethnic group: Other ethnic group 1.1 [edit] Notable buildings
Famous People The environmentalist Ray Harrington-Vail lived in Deer Park Gardens. Micham from 1958 to 1981. [edit] Notable residents
[edit] Transport and locale[edit] Nearest places
[edit] Nearest stations
[edit] Recent developmentsA new railway station, Mitcham Eastfields railway station in the area of Eastfields, opened on Monday 2 June 2008. This is located at Eastfields Road level crossing, about a mile to the north of Mitcham Junction. The station has filled in a gap in the rail system and serves the centre of Mitcham more directly. [edit] References
[edit] External links
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