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Merton (historic parish)
Encyclopedia
Merton was an ancient parish
in the Brixton
hundred of Surrey
, England. It was bounded by Wimbledon
to the north, Mitcham
to the east, Morden
to the south and Kingston upon Thames
to the west. The 1871 Ordnance Survey
map records its area as 1764.704 acres (7.142 km²). The parish was centred around the 12th century parish church, St. Mary's in Merton Park
. The parish had only nominal existence after 1907 when the Merton Parish Council was abolished and the parish formed the Merton Urban District. Merton contributed its name to the London Borough of Merton
, although Merton itself is no longer a clearly defined area within the borough; and the parish was abolished on 1 April 1965 when Greater London
was created.
Stane Street which connected London to Chichester
. Locally, the road ran in a direct line from the current Colliers Wood High Street to London Road, Morden, crossing the site of Sainsbury's Savacentre and the industrial estates. The name dates back at least to the 7th century when documents record its use. The translation of the name is usually given as "Farm by the Pond" or "Maera's homestead".
Merton appears in Domesday Book
of 1086 as Meretone. It was held by William the Conqueror. Its domesday assets were: 20 hide
s; 1 church, 2 mill
s worth £3, 21 plough
s, 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) of meadow
, woodland
worth 80 hogs. It rendered £43 also 18s 2d from 16 houses in Southwark
.
Merton Abbey
or Priory was founded by Gilbert Norman in 1114 on a site close to present day location of the Sainsbury's store. In 1117 it became an Augustinian
establishment and developed a high reputation for scholarship . It is believed to have been the birthplace of Walter de Merton
, founder of Merton College, Oxford
. In 1235, it was the location of Henry III's
negotiations with his Baron
s for the Statute of Merton
. The Abbey was also responsible for the educations of St. Thomas Becket
and Nicholas Breakspear
, the only English Pope
.
Merton Abbey was closed in 1538 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries
. Its buildings were dismantled and the materials removed for re-use elsewhere. It is believed that in 1496 a hospice
for travellers was erected opposite the site of Sainsbury's store. An inn
was built there in 1594 and beer was sold there from that date until 2004, when the King's Head, Merton was finally closed. The existing building dates only from 1931, but it has been designated as a Local Listed Building.
The River Wandle
flowing north towards Wandsworth
, had for centuries driven watermill
s and provided water for a number of industrial processes. In the 1660s a silk mill was in operation at Merton Abbey and the Jacob family was operating a fabric bleaching ground close by - a process requiring large quantities of water. The name remained associated with the locality as two hundred years later, Stanford's 1862 Library Map of London and its Suburbs , shows Jacob's Green at the junction of what are now Christchurch Road and Western Road.
Textile production became the established industry in the area in the 18th century with calico
printing beginning in the 1720s.
In 1764, merchant Richard Hotham
a member of the East India Company
purchased Moat House Farm, a property to the south of Merton High Street. He began developing the property, enlarging the house and renaming it "Merton Place". He first leased then later sold the house to one of the partners in a local calico works, Charles Greaves.
Hotham next built another house, to the north-west of the junction of Kingston Road and Morden Road. This he called "Hotham House" (later "Merton Grove") and it remained in his possession until his death in 1799.
Despite the industrial development along the Wandle, Merton was, at the beginning of the 19th century, still primarily a rural farming community. The population numbered just 813 residents scattered across the entire parish.
In 1803, the Surrey Iron Railway
opened between Wandsworth and Croydon
following the shallow Wandle valley and passing through Merton and Mitcham to the south. Although horse-drawn, the railway
provided a freight service for the industries along the river to send their goods up to wharves
on the Thames
and can be considered to be the first long distance railway in the world. From Merton High Street the railway ran along the route of Christchurch Road before turning to a more south-westerly route just before Mitcham tram stop
.
In 1802, Merton's most famous resident, Admiral Horatio Nelson
, purchased Merton Place from the widow of Charles Greaves with its large estate, for £9,000. Nelson expanded the estate with the purchase of additional land south of his house until his Merton property covered most of the area west of the Wandle and north of Morden Hall Park
and also included the whole of the area between Merton Road, South Park Road and Haydons Road. Between trips to sea, Nelson lived at Merton Place with his mistress Emma Hamilton
and her husband Sir William Hamilton
, although Sir William died at his London house in 1803.
Unfortunately, Nelson had only a short time to enjoy his new home before his death at the Battle of Trafalgar
in October 1805. In recognition of Nelson's success and sacrifice at Trafalgar his older brother was made Earl Nelson
and Viscount Merton in November 1805.
Following Nelson's death, Emma Hamilton got into debt and despite help from friends was unable to maintain Merton Place. The house was demolished in 1821 and the estate lands were sold off in parcels over the following years. The part of the Merton Place estate immediately south of the High Street was developed as small scale housing and became known as Nelson's Fields. North of the High Street the land remained undeveloped until the end of the century.
Competition from the newer, steam-powered railways caused the closure of the Surrey Iron Railway in 1846. Part of the route was later re-used by the Wimbledon and Croydon Railway when it opened in 1855 through Merton, Morden and Mitcham.
In the 1860s, a flour works sat at the junction of Bygrove Road and Wandle Bank and there was a copper rolling mill on Merton High Street where later the Merton Board Mills would be built. This was in the possession of James Shears and Sons
by 1815 and remained in their possession until at least 1867. Further south, the Merton Abbey Mills
complex had developed each side of the river on land adjacent to Merton Abbey House.
In 1868, the Tooting, Merton and Wimbledon Railway (TM&WR) opened a branch line from the Wimbledon and Croydon Railway between Merton Park station
(now Merton Park tram stop
) and Tooting Junction station (now Tooting station
). Cutting through Nelson's former estate and the site of Merton Abbey, Merton Abbey station
was constructed to the south of Station Road to serve the industrial complex there. William Shears, a member of the Shears
family was one of the directors of this company.
Continuing the long association of Merton with textile printing, Arts and Crafts
designer William Morris
opened a works at Merton Abbey Mills in 1881. Close by, the firm of Edmund Littler was known for its high quality printing and was by the 1890s sending its entire production to Liberty & Co.
in Regent Street
. Liberty & Co. subsequently took over the production at Merton from Littler.
Gradually, the character of the area was changing as industry developed further around the Wandle and residential development began in the late Victorian
period north of the High Street and along Kingston Road and in Merton Park
. In 1894 when a new Local Government Act
was implemented, the parish of Merton was still considered sufficiently rural to be included as part of the Croydon
Rural District
(CRD).
Following the earlier lead of neighbouring Wimbledon, Merton underwent a transformation in the first two decades of the 20th century that saw its fields developed from east to west. Population growth lead to the removal of Merton from the CRD and the creation of the separately administered Merton Urban District in 1907. Between 1901 and 1921 the parish's population nearly quadrupled from 4,510 to 16,177.
In 1913 the parish of Morden was also removed from the CRD and merged with the Merton Urban District to form the Merton and Morden Urban District
.
Hotham's Merton Grove House survived until the beginning of the 20th century but had been demolished and redeveloped for housing by 1913. The Grove Tavern pub
on the opposite side of Kingston Road remembers the name.
Growth was stimulated and assisted by the arrival of tram
s in Merton High Street in the first decade of the century and the opening of a new bus garage at the east end of Merton High Street in 1913. The combination of tram services and the extension of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London
's City & South London Railway
through Colliers Wood
and South Wimbledon
to Morden
in 1926 destroyed demand for passenger services on the Merton Abbey branch line and these were ended in 1929. Goods operations continued until 1975 when the line was closed and tracks removed.
Liberty took over Morris & Co.
in 1904 and continued to operate the Merton Abbey Mills until 1972. From the 1930s, extensive industrial estates were laid out from Lombard Road on the southern part of the former Merton Place estate between Morden Road and Phipps Bridge.
The section of the TM&WR route east of Morden Road was used to construct Merantun Way (A24
) in the early 1990s. The road was built to relieve traffic congestion on Merton High Street and was originally planned to continue to the west, along the route of the defunct railway to Kingston Road, with a flyover across Morden Road. This section of the route was never constructed although the space between the carriageways where Merantun Road meets Morden Road provides the space for a flyover bridge to be constructed.
During the 20th century, the waters of the Wandle became less important to the industries remaining in the Merton Abbey complex and, in the 1980s and 1990s, the majority of these closed down or moved elsewhere. The Sainsbury's Savacentre occupies part of the site and the Mill buildings were refurbished and developed as a popular heritage and craft centre. The Colour House, where Liberty dyed fabric, was opened as a theatre in 1995. The ruined Chapterhouse of the Abbey was also used as a venue for several theatrical performances in the late 1990s.
When automatic telephone exchanges were introduced in the UK, the code for the Merton and South Wimbledon telephone exchange was set as 542 and used the mnemonic
"LIBerty", based on the numbers on a telephone to which the letters are assigned. The mnemonic was derived from Liberty fabric works but the use of letter codes was dropped in the late 1960s.
and Colliers Wood
. Other modern areas included within the parish area are:
Nelson's and Emma's pew remains in the parish church of St Mary the Virgin and on the wall of the north aisle
of the church are the funeral hatchment
s of both Nelson and Sir William Hamilton. Outside the church, on Church Path, are "Nelson's Steps" (now somewhat overgrown) reputedly used by Nelson to mount his horse.
Much of this and the surrounding area are now a conservation area.
Construction works in the Merton Abbey area including those for Merantun Way have revealed remains of Merton Priory which have been protected and preserved where possible. Further archaeological
excavations are planned.
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
in the Brixton
Brixton (hundred)
Brixton Hundred or the Hundred of Brixton was an ancient hundred in the north east of the county of Surrey, England. Its area has been entirely absorbed by the growth of London; with its name currently referring to the Brixton district...
hundred of Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, England. It was bounded by Wimbledon
Wimbledon, London
Wimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...
to the north, Mitcham
Mitcham
Mitcham is a district in the south west area of London, in the London Borough of Merton. A suburban area, Mitcham 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,...
to the east, Morden
Morden
Morden is a district in the London Borough of Merton. It is located approximately South-southwest of central London between Merton Park , Mitcham , Sutton and Worcester Park .- Origin of name :...
to the south and Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames (parish)
Kingston upon Thames was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey, England. It contained the following areas which eventually became civil parishes in their own right:The ancient parish was roughly similar to the Kingston hundred of Surrey....
to the west. The 1871 Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
map records its area as 1764.704 acres (7.142 km²). The parish was centred around the 12th century parish church, St. Mary's in Merton Park
Merton Park
Merton Park is a place in the London Borough of Merton. It is a quiet and leafy suburb situated between Wimbledon, Morden, South Wimbledon and Wimbledon Chase. It is 7.3 miles south-west of Charing Cross...
. The parish had only nominal existence after 1907 when the Merton Parish Council was abolished and the parish formed the Merton Urban District. Merton contributed its name to the London Borough of Merton
London Borough of Merton
The London Borough of Merton is a borough in southwest London, England.The borough was formed under the London Government Act in 1965 by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Mitcham, the Municipal Borough of Wimbledon and the Merton and Morden Urban District, all formerly within Surrey...
, although Merton itself is no longer a clearly defined area within the borough; and the parish was abolished on 1 April 1965 when Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
was created.
Early history
The village of Merton was located on the Roman roadRoman roads in Britain
Roman roads, together with Roman aqueducts and the vast standing Roman army , constituted the three most impressive features of the Roman Empire. In Britain, as in other provinces, the Romans constructed a comprehensive network of paved trunk roads Roman roads, together with Roman aqueducts and the...
Stane Street which connected London to Chichester
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...
. Locally, the road ran in a direct line from the current Colliers Wood High Street to London Road, Morden, crossing the site of Sainsbury's Savacentre and the industrial estates. The name dates back at least to the 7th century when documents record its use. The translation of the name is usually given as "Farm by the Pond" or "Maera's homestead".
Merton appears in Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086 as Meretone. It was held by William the Conqueror. Its domesday assets were: 20 hide
Hide (unit)
The hide was originally an amount of land sufficient to support a household, but later in Anglo-Saxon England became a unit used in assessing land for liability to "geld", or land tax. The geld would be collected at a stated rate per hide...
s; 1 church, 2 mill
Mill (grinding)
A grinding mill is a unit operation designed to break a solid material into smaller pieces. There are many different types of grinding mills and many types of materials processed in them. Historically mills were powered by hand , working animal , wind or water...
s worth £3, 21 plough
Plough
The plough or plow is a tool used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed or planting. It has been a basic instrument for most of recorded history, and represents one of the major advances in agriculture...
s, 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) of meadow
Meadow
A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...
, woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
worth 80 hogs. It rendered £43 also 18s 2d from 16 houses in Southwark
Southwark
Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
.
Merton Abbey
Merton Priory
Merton Priory was founded in 1114 by Gilbert Norman, Sheriff of Surrey under Henry I. It was located in Merton, Surrey, England at the point where the Roman Stane Street crossed the River Wandle....
or Priory was founded by Gilbert Norman in 1114 on a site close to present day location of the Sainsbury's store. In 1117 it became an Augustinian
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
establishment and developed a high reputation for scholarship . It is believed to have been the birthplace of Walter de Merton
Walter de Merton
Walter de Merton was Bishop of Rochester and founder of Merton College, Oxford.-Life:Walter was born probably at Merton in Surrey or educated there; hence the surname. He came of a land-owning family at Basingstoke; beyond that there is no definite information as to the date or place of birth...
, founder of Merton College, Oxford
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to...
. In 1235, it was the location of Henry III's
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
negotiations with his Baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
s for the Statute of Merton
Statute of Merton
The Statute of Merton or Provisions of Merton , sometimes also known as the Ancient Statute of Merton, is considered to be the first English statute, and is printed as the first statute in The Statutes of the Realm.The statute's terms were agreed at Merton between Henry III and the barons of...
. The Abbey was also responsible for the educations of St. Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
and Nicholas Breakspear
Pope Adrian IV
Pope Adrian IV , born Nicholas Breakspear or Breakspeare, was Pope from 1154 to 1159.Adrian IV is the only Englishman who has occupied the papal chair...
, the only English Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
.
Merton Abbey was closed in 1538 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
. Its buildings were dismantled and the materials removed for re-use elsewhere. It is believed that in 1496 a hospice
Hostel
Hostels provide budget oriented, sociable accommodation where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed, in a dormitory and share a bathroom, lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex, although private rooms may also be available...
for travellers was erected opposite the site of Sainsbury's store. An inn
INN
InterNetNews is a Usenet news server package, originally released by Rich Salz in 1991, and presented at the Summer 1992 USENIX conference in San Antonio, Texas...
was built there in 1594 and beer was sold there from that date until 2004, when the King's Head, Merton was finally closed. The existing building dates only from 1931, but it has been designated as a Local Listed Building.
17th and 18th centuries
| 1801 | 813 |
|---|---|
| 1811 | 905 |
| 1821 | 1,177 |
| 1831 | 1,447 |
| 1841 | 1,914 |
| 1851 | 1,870 |
| 1861 | 1,822 |
| 1871 | 2,139 |
| 1881 | 2,480 |
| 1891 | 3,360 |
| 1901 | 4,510 |
| 1911 | 12,938 |
| 1921 | 16,177 |
| 1931 | 28,609 |
| 1941 | war # |
| 1951 | 39,313 |
| # no census was held due to war | |
| source: United Kingdom census | |
The River Wandle
River Wandle
The River Wandle is a river in south-east England. The names of the river and of Wandsworth are thought to have derived from the Old English "Wendlesworth" meaning "Wendle's Settlement". The river runs through southwest London and is about long...
flowing north towards Wandsworth
Wandsworth
Wandsworth is a district of south London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-Toponymy:...
, had for centuries driven watermill
Watermill
A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
s and provided water for a number of industrial processes. In the 1660s a silk mill was in operation at Merton Abbey and the Jacob family was operating a fabric bleaching ground close by - a process requiring large quantities of water. The name remained associated with the locality as two hundred years later, Stanford's 1862 Library Map of London and its Suburbs , shows Jacob's Green at the junction of what are now Christchurch Road and Western Road.
Textile production became the established industry in the area in the 18th century with calico
Calico (fabric)
Calico is a plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may contain unseparated husk parts, for example. The fabric is less coarse and thick than canvas or denim, but owing to its unfinished and undyed appearance, it is still very cheap. Originally from the...
printing beginning in the 1720s.
In 1764, merchant Richard Hotham
Richard Hotham
Sir Richard Hotham was an English eighteenth century property developer and politician who rose from humble origins to a position of some power and influence. He is especially noted for his development of the Sussex village of Bognor Regis into a seaside resort...
a member of the East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
purchased Moat House Farm, a property to the south of Merton High Street. He began developing the property, enlarging the house and renaming it "Merton Place". He first leased then later sold the house to one of the partners in a local calico works, Charles Greaves.
Hotham next built another house, to the north-west of the junction of Kingston Road and Morden Road. This he called "Hotham House" (later "Merton Grove") and it remained in his possession until his death in 1799.
19th century
In 1803, the Surrey Iron Railway
Surrey Iron Railway
The Surrey Iron Railway was a horse drawn plateway whose width approximated to a standard gauge railway that linked the former Surrey towns of Wandsworth and Croydon via Mitcham...
opened between Wandsworth and Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
following the shallow Wandle valley and passing through Merton and Mitcham to the south. Although horse-drawn, the railway
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
provided a freight service for the industries along the river to send their goods up to wharves
Wharf
A wharf or quay is a structure on the shore of a harbor where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.Such a structure includes one or more berths , and may also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships.A wharf commonly comprises a fixed...
on the Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
and can be considered to be the first long distance railway in the world. From Merton High Street the railway ran along the route of Christchurch Road before turning to a more south-westerly route just before Mitcham tram stop
Mitcham tram stop
Mitcham tram stop is a Tramlink stop in Mitcham in the London Borough of Merton. The stop is on Tramlink route 3 between Belgrave Walk and Mitcham Junction. It was formerly Mitcham railway station, whose station closed in 1997...
.
In 1802, Merton's most famous resident, Admiral Horatio Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...
, purchased Merton Place from the widow of Charles Greaves with its large estate, for £9,000. Nelson expanded the estate with the purchase of additional land south of his house until his Merton property covered most of the area west of the Wandle and north of Morden Hall Park
Morden Hall Park
Morden Hall Park is a National Trust park located on the banks of the River Wandle in Morden, south London. It covers over 50ha of parkland with the River Wandle meandering through it spanned by numerous foot bridges. The estate contains Morden Hall itself, Morden Cottage, an old Snuff Mill, and...
and also included the whole of the area between Merton Road, South Park Road and Haydons Road. Between trips to sea, Nelson lived at Merton Place with his mistress Emma Hamilton
Emma, Lady Hamilton
Emma, Lady Hamilton is best remembered as the mistress of Lord Nelson and as the muse of George Romney. She was born Amy Lyon in Ness near Neston, Cheshire, England, the daughter of a blacksmith, Henry Lyon, who died when she was two months old...
and her husband Sir William Hamilton
William Hamilton (diplomat)
Sir William Hamilton KB, PC, FRS was a Scottish diplomat, antiquarian, archaeologist and vulcanologist. After a short period as a Member of Parliament, he served as British Ambassador to the Kingdom of Naples from 1764 to 1800...
, although Sir William died at his London house in 1803.
Unfortunately, Nelson had only a short time to enjoy his new home before his death at the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
in October 1805. In recognition of Nelson's success and sacrifice at Trafalgar his older brother was made Earl Nelson
Earl Nelson
Earl Nelson, of Trafalgar and of Merton in the County of Surrey, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 20 November 1805 for William Nelson, 2nd Baron Nelson, older brother of the famous Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson. The Nelson family had been settled in...
and Viscount Merton in November 1805.
Following Nelson's death, Emma Hamilton got into debt and despite help from friends was unable to maintain Merton Place. The house was demolished in 1821 and the estate lands were sold off in parcels over the following years. The part of the Merton Place estate immediately south of the High Street was developed as small scale housing and became known as Nelson's Fields. North of the High Street the land remained undeveloped until the end of the century.
Competition from the newer, steam-powered railways caused the closure of the Surrey Iron Railway in 1846. Part of the route was later re-used by the Wimbledon and Croydon Railway when it opened in 1855 through Merton, Morden and Mitcham.
In the 1860s, a flour works sat at the junction of Bygrove Road and Wandle Bank and there was a copper rolling mill on Merton High Street where later the Merton Board Mills would be built. This was in the possession of James Shears and Sons
James Shears and Sons
James Shears and Sons was a firm of London coppersmiths and braziers who were active from c1785 to 1891. The firm was founded by James Shears and continued by his two sons Daniel Towers Shears and James Henry Shears and subsequently by William Shears.-The origins of the company:James Shears was...
by 1815 and remained in their possession until at least 1867. Further south, the Merton Abbey Mills
Merton Abbey Mills
Merton Abbey Mills is a former textile factory in the parish of Merton in London, England near the site of the medieval Merton Priory, now the home of a variety of businesses, mostly retailers....
complex had developed each side of the river on land adjacent to Merton Abbey House.
In 1868, the Tooting, Merton and Wimbledon Railway (TM&WR) opened a branch line from the Wimbledon and Croydon Railway between Merton Park station
Merton Park railway station
Merton Park railway station was a railway station in Merton, Surrey , serving both the West Croydon to Wimbledon Line and the Tooting, Merton and Wimbledon Railway...
(now Merton Park tram stop
Merton Park tram stop
Merton Park tram stop is a halt on the Tramlink service in the London Borough of Merton.It overlaps part of the site of the former Merton Park railway station which was served by passenger trains on the West Croydon to Wimbledon Line until 1997, and by trains via Tooting Junction on the Merton...
) and Tooting Junction station (now Tooting station
Tooting railway station
Tooting railway station is in the London Borough of Merton in South London, in Travelcard Zone 3. The station is served by First Capital Connect and Southern trains, and is on the Sutton Loop....
). Cutting through Nelson's former estate and the site of Merton Abbey, Merton Abbey station
Merton Abbey railway station
Merton Abbey railway station was a railway station in Merton on the Tooting, Merton and Wimbledon Railway. It was opened in 1868, became part of the Southern Railway in 1923...
was constructed to the south of Station Road to serve the industrial complex there. William Shears, a member of the Shears
James Shears and Sons
James Shears and Sons was a firm of London coppersmiths and braziers who were active from c1785 to 1891. The firm was founded by James Shears and continued by his two sons Daniel Towers Shears and James Henry Shears and subsequently by William Shears.-The origins of the company:James Shears was...
family was one of the directors of this company.
Continuing the long association of Merton with textile printing, Arts and Crafts
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
designer William Morris
William Morris
William Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
opened a works at Merton Abbey Mills in 1881. Close by, the firm of Edmund Littler was known for its high quality printing and was by the 1890s sending its entire production to Liberty & Co.
Liberty (department store)
Liberty is a long-established department store in Regent Street in Central London, England, in the West End shopping district.-Early years:...
in Regent Street
Regent Street
Regent Street is one of the major shopping streets in London's West End, well known to tourists and Londoners alike, and famous for its Christmas illuminations...
. Liberty & Co. subsequently took over the production at Merton from Littler.
Gradually, the character of the area was changing as industry developed further around the Wandle and residential development began in the late Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
period north of the High Street and along Kingston Road and in Merton Park
Merton Park
Merton Park is a place in the London Borough of Merton. It is a quiet and leafy suburb situated between Wimbledon, Morden, South Wimbledon and Wimbledon Chase. It is 7.3 miles south-west of Charing Cross...
. In 1894 when a new Local Government Act
Local Government Act 1894
The Local Government Act 1894 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level under the Local Government Act 1888...
was implemented, the parish of Merton was still considered sufficiently rural to be included as part of the Croydon
Croydon Rural District
Croydon was a rural district in north east Surrey, England, from 1894 to 1915. It was created by the Local Government Act 1894 and replaced the Croydon Rural Sanitary District...
Rural District
Rural district
Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the administrative counties.-England and Wales:In England...
(CRD).
20th century
In 1913 the parish of Morden was also removed from the CRD and merged with the Merton Urban District to form the Merton and Morden Urban District
Merton and Morden Urban District
Merton Urban District and Merton and Morden Urban District was an urban district in Surrey, England. It was formed in 1907 from the parish of Merton and was expanded in 1913 to take in Morden...
.
Hotham's Merton Grove House survived until the beginning of the 20th century but had been demolished and redeveloped for housing by 1913. The Grove Tavern pub
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
on the opposite side of Kingston Road remembers the name.
Growth was stimulated and assisted by the arrival of tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
s in Merton High Street in the first decade of the century and the opening of a new bus garage at the east end of Merton High Street in 1913. The combination of tram services and the extension of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London
Underground Electric Railways Company of London
The Underground Electric Railways Company of London Limited , known operationally as The Underground for much of its existence, was established in 1902. It was the holding company for the three deep-level "tube"A "tube" railway is an underground railway constructed in a circular tunnel by the use...
's City & South London Railway
City & South London Railway
The City and South London Railway was the first deep-level underground "tube" railway in the world, and the first major railway to use electric traction...
through Colliers Wood
Colliers Wood tube station
Colliers Wood is a London Underground station in South London. The station is on the Northern Line, between and stations. It is located at the corner of Merton High Street and Christchurch Road...
and South Wimbledon
South Wimbledon tube station
South Wimbledon, originally South Wimbledon , is a London Underground station in South London. The station is on the Northern Line, situated between Colliers Wood and Morden stations. The station is the southernmost station on the London Underground network with platforms below ground. It is...
to Morden
Morden tube station
Morden is a London Underground station in Morden in the London Borough of Merton. The station is the southern terminus for the Northern line and is the most southerly station on the Underground network. The next station north is...
in 1926 destroyed demand for passenger services on the Merton Abbey branch line and these were ended in 1929. Goods operations continued until 1975 when the line was closed and tracks removed.
Liberty took over Morris & Co.
Morris & Co.
Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. and its successor Morris & Co. were furnishings and decorative arts manufacturers and retailers founded by the Pre-Raphaelite artist and designer William Morris...
in 1904 and continued to operate the Merton Abbey Mills until 1972. From the 1930s, extensive industrial estates were laid out from Lombard Road on the southern part of the former Merton Place estate between Morden Road and Phipps Bridge.
The section of the TM&WR route east of Morden Road was used to construct Merantun Way (A24
A24 road (Great Britain)
The A24 is a major road in England. It runs south from Clapham in southwest London through Morden before entering Surrey and heading through Ewell, Epsom, Ashtead, Leatherhead and Dorking...
) in the early 1990s. The road was built to relieve traffic congestion on Merton High Street and was originally planned to continue to the west, along the route of the defunct railway to Kingston Road, with a flyover across Morden Road. This section of the route was never constructed although the space between the carriageways where Merantun Road meets Morden Road provides the space for a flyover bridge to be constructed.
When automatic telephone exchanges were introduced in the UK, the code for the Merton and South Wimbledon telephone exchange was set as 542 and used the mnemonic
Mnemonic
A mnemonic , or mnemonic device, is any learning technique that aids memory. To improve long term memory, mnemonic systems are used to make memorization easier. Commonly encountered mnemonics are often verbal, such as a very short poem or a special word used to help a person remember something,...
"LIBerty", based on the numbers on a telephone to which the letters are assigned. The mnemonic was derived from Liberty fabric works but the use of letter codes was dropped in the late 1960s.
Geography
Until the 20th century, most of the parish remained rural in character and the main residential and commercial centres were at Merton Park and along Merton High Street between modern South WimbledonSouth Wimbledon
South Wimbledon is a locality in the London Borough of Merton in southwest London, England.-Toponymy:It is marked on an Ordnance Survey map of 1876 as New Wimbledon and on a 1907 map as South Wimbledon...
and Colliers Wood
Colliers Wood
Colliers Wood is an area in south London, England, in the London Borough of Merton. Colliers Wood station is served by the London Underground's Northern Line.It is a mostly residential area, split down the middle by a busy High Street...
. Other modern areas included within the parish area are:
- Wimbledon Chase
- Southern Raynes ParkRaynes ParkRaynes Park is a suburb within the London Borough of Merton south-west London, centred around Raynes Park station and situated between Wimbledon and New Malden. It is 8.2 miles south-west of Charing Cross. The area is effectively divided into two by the Waterloo - Southampton mainline railway...
- Motspur Park/West BarnesMotspur ParkMotspur Park, also known locally as West Barnes is a suburb in South West London situated across the boundary between the London Borough of Merton and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. It owes its identity to the railway station of the same name, which has six trains an hour to London's...
Heritage
A small memorial exists on the site of Merton Place. Other commemorations of Nelson's association with the parish are the Nelson Hospital on Kingston Road and the "Emma Hamilton" public house at Wimbledon Chase. The Nelson Trading Estate off Morden Road and Hamilton, Hardy, Nelson, Victory and Trafalgar Roads, off Merton High Street, are all built on land once part of the Merton Place estate.Nelson's and Emma's pew remains in the parish church of St Mary the Virgin and on the wall of the north aisle
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
of the church are the funeral hatchment
Hatchment
A hatchment is a funeral demonstration of the lifetime "achievement" of the arms and any other honours displayed on a black lozenge-shaped frame which used to be suspended against the wall of a deceased person's house...
s of both Nelson and Sir William Hamilton. Outside the church, on Church Path, are "Nelson's Steps" (now somewhat overgrown) reputedly used by Nelson to mount his horse.
Much of this and the surrounding area are now a conservation area.
Construction works in the Merton Abbey area including those for Merantun Way have revealed remains of Merton Priory which have been protected and preserved where possible. Further archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
excavations are planned.
Notable people associated with the parish of Merton
- Thomas BecketThomas BecketThomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
, educated at Merton Abbey - Nicholas BreakspearPope Adrian IVPope Adrian IV , born Nicholas Breakspear or Breakspeare, was Pope from 1154 to 1159.Adrian IV is the only Englishman who has occupied the papal chair...
(Pope Adrian IV), educated at Merton Abbey - David GarrickDavid GarrickDavid Garrick was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of theatrical practice throughout the 18th century and was a pupil and friend of Dr Samuel Johnson...
, actor and dramatist, lived at Church House - James Pierrepont GreavesJames Pierrepont GreavesJames Pierrepont Greaves , was an English mystic, educational reformer, socialist and progressive thinker who founded Alcott House, a short-lived utopian community and free school in Surrey...
, Educational reformer, mystic and "sacred socialist" - born in the Parish. - Emma Hamilton, mistress of Nelson
- Sir William HamiltonWilliam Hamilton-Europeans:Politicians and noblemen*William Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Hamilton , Scottish nobleman*William Douglas-Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton , Scottish Nobleman*William Hamilton , Lord Chancellor of England...
, diplomat and husband of Emma Hamilton - Sir Richard HothamRichard HothamSir Richard Hotham was an English eighteenth century property developer and politician who rose from humble origins to a position of some power and influence. He is especially noted for his development of the Sussex village of Bognor Regis into a seaside resort...
, developer and promoter of Bognor RegisBognor RegisBognor Regis is a seaside resort town and civil parish in the Arun district of West Sussex, on the south coast of England. It is south-south-west of London, west of Brighton, and south-east of the city of Chichester. Other nearby towns include Littlehampton east-north-east and Selsey to the... - John Innes, developer of Merton Park
- Vice-Admiral Horatio NelsonHoratio Nelson, 1st Viscount NelsonHoratio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...
, hero of Trafalgar - Walter de MertonWalter de MertonWalter de Merton was Bishop of Rochester and founder of Merton College, Oxford.-Life:Walter was born probably at Merton in Surrey or educated there; hence the surname. He came of a land-owning family at Basingstoke; beyond that there is no definite information as to the date or place of birth...
, Lord ChancellorLord ChancellorThe Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
and Bishop of RochesterBishop of RochesterThe Bishop of Rochester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers the west of the county of Kent and is centred in the city of Rochester where the bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin...
, educated at Merton Abbey and founder of Merton College, OxfordMerton College, OxfordMerton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to... - William MorrisWilliam MorrisWilliam Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
, artist and writer - Richard Brinsley SheridanRichard Brinsley SheridanRichard Brinsley Butler Sheridan was an Irish-born playwright and poet and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. For thirty-two years he was also a Whig Member of the British House of Commons for Stafford , Westminster and Ilchester...
, dramatist and politician, lived at Church House - Rear Admiral Isaac Smith, participant in Captain James CookJames CookCaptain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
's voyage in EndeavourHM Bark EndeavourHMS Endeavour, also known as HM Bark Endeavour, was a British Royal Navy research vessel commanded by Lieutenant James Cook on his first voyage of discovery, to Australia and New Zealand from 1769 to 1771....
, lived at Merton Abbey
