Mitcham is an area within the

London Borough of Merton The London Borough of Merton () is a London borough in London, England. The borough was formed under the London Government Act 1963 in 1965 by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Mitcham, the Municipal Borough of Wimbledon and the Merton ...

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

, England. It is centred southwest of

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...

. Originally a village in the county of

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, today it is mainly a residential

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

, and includes Mitcham Common. It has been a settlement throughout recorded history. Amenities include Mitcham Library and

Mitcham Cricket Green Mitcham Cricket Green is a List of Test cricket grounds, cricket ground in Mitcham, south London (historically in Surrey). It is the home of Mitcham Cricket Club and is reportedly the oldest cricket ground still in use, having been used for cri ...

. Nearby major districts are

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

Beddington Beddington is a suburban settlement in the London Borough of Sutton on the boundary with the London Borough of Croydon. Beddington is formed from a village of the same name which until early the 20th century still included land which became ...

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

Morden Morden is a district and town in South London, England, now within the London Borough of Merton, in the ceremonial county of Greater London. It adjoins Merton Park and Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon to the north, Mitcham to the east, Sutton, Londo ...

Tooting Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is located south south-west of Charing Cross. History Tooting has been settled since pre-Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times. The name is of Anglo-Saxon ori ...

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

Norbury Norbury is an List of areas of London, town and suburb in south London. It shares the postcode London SW16 with neighbouring Streatham. The area is mainly in the borough of Croydon London Borough Council, Croydon, with some parts extending int ...

and

Colliers Wood Colliers Wood is an area in south west London, England, in the London Borough of Merton. It is a mostly residential area, but has a busy high street around Colliers Wood tube station on London Underground's Northern line. The high street is pa ...

. Mitcham, most broadly defined, had a population of 63,393 in 2011, formed from six wards including Pollards Hill.

Location

Mitcham is in the east of the

, bounded by boroughs of

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...

and

. The

River Wandle The River Wandle is a right-bank tributary of the River Thames in south London, England. With a total length of about , the river passes through the London boroughs of London Borough of Croydon, Croydon, London Borough of Sutton, Sutton, Londo ...

bounds the town to the southwest. The original village lies in the west. Mitcham Common takes up the greater part of the boundary and the area to the south part of the CR4 postcode is in the area of Pollards Hill. Some of the area which includes Mitcham Common and parts of Mitcham Junction are in the CR0 postcode area.

History

The

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...

"Mitcham" is

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

in origin and means ''big settlement''. Before the Romans and

Saxons The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

were present, it was a

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

settlement, with evidence of a

hill fort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

in the Pollards Hill area. The discovery of Roman-era graves and a well on the site of the Mitcham gasplant evince Roman settlement. The Anglo-Saxon graveyard 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 British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

. Scholars such as Myres have suggested that Mitcham and other Thames plain settlements were some of the first populated by the

Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

. What became the parish lands could have hosted the Battle of Merton, 871, in which King Ethelred of Wessex was either mortally wounded or killed outright. The

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...

of St Peter and St Paul dates from the early

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from the late 9th century, when it was unified from various Heptarchy, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland to f ...

. Mostly rebuilt in 1819–1821, the current building retains the original Saxon tower. The

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 lists Mitcham as a small

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

community, an implied estimate of 250 people, living in two

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...

: Mitcham, the area today being Upper Mitcham; and Whitford (Lower Green). The Domesday Book records Mitcham as ''Michelham''. It was held partly by the Canons of

Bayeux Bayeux (, ; ) is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy in northwestern France. Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. It is also known as the fir ...

, partly by William, son of Ansculf and partly by Osbert. Its domesday assets were: 8 hides and 1

virgate The virgate, yardland, or yard of land ( was an English unit of land. Primarily a measure of tax assessment rather than area, the virgate was usually (but not always) reckoned as hide and notionally (but seldom exactly) equal to 30 acr ...

. It had ½

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * Factory * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Paper mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * Sugarcane mill * Textile mill * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic ...

worth £1, 3½

plough A plough or ( US) plow (both pronounced ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses but modern ploughs are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden ...

s, of

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable con ...

. It rendered £4 5s 4d, at a time when a

pound sterling Sterling (symbol: £; currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of sterling, and the word '' pound'' is also used to refer to the British currency general ...

still implied something similar to a pound of silver. The area lay in the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

county subdivision of Wallington

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

. During her reign

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

made at least five visits to the area.

John Donne John Donne ( ; 1571 or 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under Royal Patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's, D ...

and Sir

Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebell ...

also had residences here in this era. It was at this time that Mitcham became gentrified, as due to the abundance of

lavender ''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of perennial flowering plants in the sage family, Lamiaceae. It is native plant, native to the Old World, primarily found across the drier, warmer regions of the Mediterranean ...

fields Mitcham became renowned for its soothing air. The air also led people to settle in the area during times of plague. When

industrialisation Industrialisation ( UK) or industrialization ( US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive reorganisation of an economy for th ...

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 on the corner of Watney's Road and Commonside East, and named for a local farmer; Alfred Mizen School (Garden Primary School), named after a local nurseryman charitable towards the burgeoning town; and the road New Barnes Avenue, replacing part of New Barn(e)s Farm. Many

fields were in Mitcham, and

peppermint Peppermint (''Mentha'' × ''piperita'') is a Hybrid (biology), hybrid species of Mentha, mint, a cross between Mentha aquatica, watermint and spearmint. Indigenous to Europe and the Middle East, the plant is now widely spread and cultivated in m ...

and lavender oils were also

distilled Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

. In 1749 two local physic gardeners, John Potter and William Moore, founded a company to make and market toiletries made from locally grown herbs and flowers. Lavender features on Merton Council's coat of arms and the badge of the local football team, Tooting & Mitcham United F.C., as well as in the name of a local council ward, Lavender Field. Mitcham was industrialised first along the banks of the Wandle, where snuff,

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

, flour,

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

and

dye Juan de Guillebon, better known by his stage name DyE, is a French musician. He is known for the music video of the single "Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical ele ...

were all worked. Mitcham, along with nearby Merton Abbey, became the calico cloth printing centres of England by 1750.

Asprey Asprey is a United Kingdom-based designer, manufacturer and retailer of jewellery, silverware, home goods, leather goods, timepieces, and books. With its flagship retail store located in Mayfair, London, Asprey is a luxury retailer for ro ...

, suppliers of luxury goods made from various materials, was founded in Mitcham as a

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

-printing business in 1781.

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

opened a factory on the River Wandle at Merton Abbey. Merton Abbey Mills were the

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

silk-printing works. It is now a craft village and its waterwheel has been preserved. Activity along the Wandle led to the building of the

Surrey Iron Railway The Surrey Iron Railway (SIR) was a horse-drawn narrow-gauge plateway that linked Wandsworth and Croydon via Mitcham, all then in Surrey but now suburbs of south London, in England. It was established by Act of Parliament in 1801, and opened p ...

, the world's first public railway, in 1803. The decline and failure of the railway in the 1840s also heralded a change in industry, as horticulture gradually gave way to

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...

, with

paint Paint is a material or mixture that, when applied to a solid material and allowed to dry, adds a film-like layer. As art, this is used to create an image or images known as a painting. Paint can be made in many colors and types. Most paints are ...

varnish Varnish is a clear Transparency (optics), transparent hard protective coating or film. It is not to be confused with wood stain. It usually has a yellowish shade due to the manufacturing process and materials used, but it may also be pigmente ...

linoleum Linoleum is a floor covering made from materials such as solidified linseed oil (linoxyn), Pine Resin, pine resin, ground Cork (material), cork dust, sawdust, and mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, most commonly on a Hessian fabric, hes ...

and

firework Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

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. In 1829, Miss Mary Tate donated land and money to build almshouses on the site of the former Tate family home in Cricket Green. The buildings were designed in a Tudor style by John Butcher and established to accommodate twelve poor widows or spinsters of the parish. Miss Tate was the only surviving member of the Tate family, who had lived from about 1700 in a large mansion on the site of the almshouses. The gardens at the rear of the property were originally provided for the use of residents, but later informally rented out as allotments. Mitcham became a borough, within a two-tier council system, on 19 September 1934 with the charter of incorporation being presented to the 84-year-old mayor, R.M. Chart, by the

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ov ...

of Surrey, Lord Ashcombe. 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 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. During this time Mitcham also returned to its

agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

roots, with Mitcham Common being farmed to help with the war effort. From 1929 the electronics company

Mullard Mullard Limited was a British manufacturer of electronics, electronic components. The Mullard Radio Valve Co. Ltd. of Southfields, London, was founded in 1920 by Captain Stanley R. Mullard, who had previously designed thermionic valves (US ...

had a factory on New Road. Postwar, the areas of Eastfields,

Phipps Bridge Phipps Bridge is a housing estate in Mitcham, London, Mitcham in the London Borough of Merton. It was built following a need created by the end of the World War II, Second World War on the site of old slums, and is named after a nearby bridge. Al ...

and Pollards Hill were rebuilt to provide cheaper more affordable housing. The largest

council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council housing or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. D ...

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 Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field, at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails (small sticks) balanced on three stumps. Two players from the ...

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 Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

claims Mitcham has the oldest

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...

in England, believing it to have been granted a

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

by Queen Elizabeth I, a claim never proven. ;Literature

Nimrod Nimrod is a Hebrew Bible, biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles, the Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush (Bible), Cush and therefore the great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of Sh ...

, sporting writer of the early 19th century, advocated against the grazing on grass of racehorses. He finds a very fast donkey chaise, investigates the donkey's owner and finds it is a Mitcham blacksmith, who never turns out the donkey in summer onto Mitcham Common but keeps it fed with oats and beans as if a hunter racing horse. Mitcham appears in local variants of mildly vulgar rhymes of 18th and 19th centuries, all beginning with: :"

for good mutton" One variant ends with "Mitcham for a thief", another "

Ewell Ewell ( , ) is a town in Surrey, England, south of Centre of London, central London and northeast of Epsom. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census, it had a population of 34,872. The majority (73%) was in the NRS social grade, ABC1 ...

" which is opposite in direction. An author noted for another genre, James Edward Preston Muddock as Dick Donovan penned ''The Naughty Maid of Mitcham'' in 1910.

Open spaces

Mitcham is home to a large area (460 acres) of South London's open green space in the form of Mitcham Common, studded with a few ponds and buildings. The buildings comprising the Windmill Trading Estate have existed in one form or another since 1782. The Mill House Ecology Centre and the Harvester (formerly the Mill House Pub) are located near the site of an old windmill, the remnants of which still exist. The Seven Islands pond is the largest of all the ponds, created following

gravel Gravel () is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gr ...

extraction of the 19th century. The most recent, Bidder's pond, was created in 1990 and named after

George Parker Bidder George Parker Bidder (13 June 1806 – 20 September 1878) was an English engineer and calculating prodigy. W. W. Rouse Ball (1960) ''Calculating Prodigies'', in Mathematical Recreations and Essays, Macmillan, New York, chapter 13. Early life ...

Notable buildings

Eagle House, Mitcham - 2654478 ef0496f3.jpg, Eagle House, Mitcham Formerly Mitcham Railway Station - geograph.org.uk - 1220242.jpg, Old Mitcham Station Mitcham Public Library, London Road. - geograph.org.uk - 22087.jpg, Mitcham Library, London Rd Elm Lodge, Cricket Green (geograph 4990472).jpg, Elm Lodge, Cricket Green Mitcham Methodist Church - 2014, I.jpg, Mitcham Methodist Church St Barnabas church, Gorringe Park Avenue - geograph.org.uk - 217133.jpg, St Barnabas Church D61 0328 527 The White House Mitcham Cricket Green.jpg, The White House, Mitcham Burn Bullock Public House - geograph.org.uk - 1220234.jpg, The Burn Bullock The White Hart Mitcham (15310632588).jpg, The White Hart Public House Vestry Hall (geograph 3607927).jpg, Mitcham Vestry Hall *Th
Canons
House originally built in 1680; it was the home of the family Cranmer until it was sold to the local council in 1939. The name originates from an Augustinian priory that was given this site in the 12th Century. The pond next to which it is located and the dovecote (dated at 1511) both predate the house. * Eagle House, built in 1705. Eagle House is a Queen Anne house built in the Dutch style on land formerly owned by Sir Walter Raleigh. It is on London Road, Mitcham, the grounds forming a triangle bounded by London Road, Bond Road and Western Road. The building was commissioned by the

marrano ''Marranos'' is a term for Spanish and Portuguese Jews, as well as Navarrese jews, who converted to Christianity, either voluntarily or by Spanish or Portuguese royal coercion, during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, but who continued t ...

doctor Fernando Mendes (1647–1724), former physician to King Charles II. *Mitcham Common Windmill, a post mill dating from 1806. *Old Mitcham Station, on the

route. Now called Station Court, the building was a former merchant's home and is possibly the oldest station in the world. *The Tate

Almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) is charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the Middle Ages. They were often built for the poor of a locality, for those who had held ce ...

s, built in 1829 to provide for the poor by Mary Tate. *The Watermead Fishing Cottages. * Mitcham Vestry Hall, the annex of which now houses the Wandle Industrial Museum. * Mitcham Public Library, built in 1933. *Elm Lodge, 1808. This listed

Regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

house was occupied by Dr. Parrott, a village doctor, in the early 19th century, and for a short time by the artist, Sir William Nicholson. The curved canopy over the entrance door is a typical feature of this period. *Mitcham Court. The centre portion, first known as Elm Court, was built in 1840, the wings later. Caesar Czarnikow, a sugar merchant, lived here ca. 1865–86 and presented the village with a new horse-drawn fire engine. Sir Harry Mallaby-Deeley, M.P., conveyed the house to the borough in the mid-1930s. The Ionic columned porch and the ironwork on the ground floor windows are notable features. * Renshaw's factory, a

marzipan Marzipan is a confectionery, confection consisting primarily of sugar and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is often made into Confectionery, sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzipan and ...

factory, founded in 1898 in the

City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and thus one of the earliest in the country, which came to Mitcham in 1924. It was on Locks Lane until 1991, when the company moved its operations to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. The factory was featured in three 1950s British

Pathé News Pathé News was a producer of newsreels and documentaries from 1910 to 1970 in the United Kingdom. Its founder, Charles Pathé, was a pioneer of moving pictures in the silent era. The Pathé News archive is known today as "British Pathé". I ...

shorts. The building has lent its name to the area where it stood, Renshaw Corner. *Poulters Park, Home to Mitcham Rugby Union Football Club * Imperial Fields, Tooting & Mitcham United F.C.'s home ground. *Mitcham Methodist Church was designed by the architect Edward Mills (1915–1998), and built in 1958–9. Regarded as the best surviving work by the most successful Nonconformist architect of the period. A radical and inspiring building that was forwarded by the 20th Century Society for listing as it was under threat. Grade II listed on 5 March 2010. *St Barnabas church, Gorringe Park Avenue, Mitcham. Built in the gothic style, on 17 May 1913 the foundation stone of the church building was laid, and on 14 November 1914 the church was consecrated – by the bishop of Southwark. The architect was HP Burke-Downing. The building is still in use as an Anglican church. Both the church itself and the adjacent parish hall are Grade II listed. *The White House, Mitcham on which the wall plaque says: "This 18th Century house was renovated in the Regency style in 1826 by Dr. A.C. Bartley, a village doctor, whose daughter wrote reminiscences of old Mitcham. The house remained in his family until 1919. Fluted Greek Doric columns support a slightly altered porch with a bowed front." It is Grade II listed. * The Burn Bullock, a public house, London Road, Mitcham is a three-storey Grade II listed building originally called the King's Head Hotel. The front of the building dates from the 18th century whilst its wing dates from the 16th and 17th centuries. It is named after Burnett Bullock, a well known, former cricket player from the locality. *The White Hart public house is Mitcham's earliest recorded inn, rebuilt in 1749–50 after serious fire damage. The central porch, with frieze and balustrade, is supported by four Tuscan columns. Stagecoaches used to start from a yard at the rear. It is Grade II listed. It is located in London Road, opposite Cricket Green.

Notable people

– Jacobean poet and churchman *

James Chuter Ede James Chuter Chuter-Ede, Baron Chuter-Ede, (; 11 September 1882 – 11 November 1965), was a British teacher, trade unionist and Labour Party politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for 32 years, and served as the sole Home Secretary u ...

– politician, MP for Mitcham 1923, resident till 1937, later

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...

* Michael Fielding and

Noel Fielding Noel Fielding (; born 21 May 1973) is an English comedian, artist, and actor. He was part of The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe alongside Julian Barratt in the 2000s, and has been a co-presenter of ''The Great British Bake Off'' since 2017. He is kn ...

– ''

The Mighty Boosh The Mighty Boosh is a British comedy troupe featuring comedians Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Developed from three stage shows, The Mighty Boosh (1998 stage show), ''The Mighty Boosh'', Arctic Boosh, ''Arctic Boosh'' (1999) and Autoboosh, ...

'' comedians and brothers * Mike Fillery –

Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

* David Gibson – cricketer * Florence Harmer – historian

Dorothy Whitelock Dorothy Whitelock, (11 November 1901 – 14 August 1982) was an English historian. From 1957 to 1969, she was the Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at the University of Cambridge. Her best-known work is ''English Historica ...

, 'Florence Elizabeth Harmer', in ''Interpreters of Early Medieval Britain''
pp. 369-380
/ref> * Neil Howlett –

opera singer Opera is a form of Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a lib ...

* Banaz Mahmod, 20, an Iraqi Kurd, victim of

honour killing An honor killing (American English), ''honour killing'' (Commonwealth English), or ''shame killing'' is a type of murder in which a person, usually a woman or girl, is killed by or at the behest of male members of their family or their male ...

in 2006 * M.I.A. – singer, songwriter and rapper *

Peter D. Mitchell Peter Dennis Mitchell FRS (29 September 1920 – 10 April 1992) was a British biochemist who was awarded the 1978 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his theory of the chemiosmotic mechanism of ATP synthesis. Education and early life Mitche ...

— Nobel prizewinner, born in Mitcham in 1920 *

Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, particularly of science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has wo ...

— author * Ramz (rapper) - singer, rapper *

Slick Rick Richard Martin Lloyd Walters (born January 14, 1965), better known as Slick Rick, is an English-American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence as part of Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew in the mid-1980s. His songs " The Show" and ...

– East coast Rapper, born in Surrey, moved to USA aged 11 *

Alex Stepney Alexander Cyril Stepney (born 18 September 1942) is an English former association football, footballer who was Manchester United F.C., Manchester United's goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper when they became the first English club to w ...

– former

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

footballer and 1968 European Cup winner * Herbert Strudwick – cricket wicket-keeper * William Allison White – recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

* Faryadi Sarwar Zardad –

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

warlord; lived in Mitcham for a time, later convicted and imprisoned for war crimes

Demography and economics

;Mitcham and Morden (Westminster Parliamentary Constituency) * Population – 103,298 ;Ethnic Group *

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

British – 40,608, Irish – 1,840, Gypsy or Irish Traveller – 161, Other White – 12,899 * Mixed/Multiple Ethnic Groups White and Black Caribbean – 1,862, White and Black African – 856, White and Asian – 1,163, Other Mixed – 1,444 * Asian Indian – 4,536, Pakistani – 5,054, Bangladeshi – 1,484, Chinese – 1,169, Other Asian – 10,194 * Black/African/Caribbean African – 9,036, Caribbean – 7,029, Other Black – 1,912 * Other Ethnic Group Arab – 670, Other ethnic group – 1,381 ;Religion *

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

– 57,665 * No Religion – 17,677, Religion Not Stated – 6,887 *

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

– 11,046 *

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

– 8,400

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

– 862,

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

– 252,

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

– 147, Other Religion – 362 ;Gender * Female: 52,237 * Male: 51,061

Transport and locale

Mitcham is served by two railway stations: Mitcham Junction and Mitcham Eastfields. Mitcham Eastfields was the first suburban station to be built in 50 years in the area. Both stations are served by

Govia Thameslink Railway Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) is a British train operating company that operates the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise, TSGN rail franchise. Within the franchise, GTR runs trains under the sub-brands: Thameslink, Great North ...

's Southern and Thameslink brands with trains to

Epsom Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...

London Victoria Victoria station, also known as London Victoria, is a London station group, central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Victoria, London, Victoria, in the City of Westminster, managed by Network Rail. Named afte ...

London Bridge The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman Britain, Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 197 ...

(peaks only) and

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

. Trains on the Thameslink route from Central London continue on via the Sutton Loop Line to Sutton and

back towards Central London.

Tramlink Tramlink, previously Croydon Tramlink and currently branded as London Trams, is a light rail tram system serving Croydon and surrounding areas in South London, England. It is the first operational tram system serving the London region since 195 ...

also serves Mitcham with four stops in the area; Mitcham Junction,

Mitcham Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It ...

, Belgrave Walk and

. Trams provide a direct service to

, Beckenham Junction and Elmers End from Mitcham and also

New Addington New Addington is an area of South London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon. It is located 5 miles south east of Croydon and is adjacent to the Greater London boundary with Surrey. History Until the 1930s, the area now known as New ...

with a change at Croydon.

Bus

Bus services operated by

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus s ...

are available from Mitcham. These include night buses to

Aldwych Aldwych (pronounced ) is a street and the name of the List of areas of London, area immediately surrounding it, in the City of Westminster, part of Greater London, and is part of the West End of London, West End West End Theatre, Theatreland. T ...

and Liverpool Street in central London.

Coach

National Express Mobico Group, formerly National Express Group, is a British multinational public transport company with headquarters in Birmingham, England. Domestically it currently operates bus and coach services under brands including National Express. Th ...

services 028

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

, 025 London Victoria to

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

and

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

via

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport , also known as London Gatwick Airport (), is the Airports of London, secondary international airport serving London, West Sussex and Surrey. It is located near Crawley in West Sussex, south of Central London. In 2024, Gatwic ...

, 026 London Victoria to

Bognor Regis Bognor Regis (), also known as Bognor, is a town and seaside resort in West Sussex on the south coast of England, south-west of London, west of Brighton, south-east of Chichester and east of Portsmouth. Other nearby towns include Littleham ...

and A3 London Victoria to Gatwick Airport hourly shuttle all stop at Mitcham (Downe Road/Mitcham Library bus stop)

Footnotes

* * * * * *

References

External links

Merton Borough Council
{{Authority control Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Merton District centres of London