Mitcham

Location

Mitcham is in the east of the London Borough of Merton, bounded by boroughs of Wandsworth, Croydon, Lambeth and Sutton. The River Wandle 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 "Mitcham" is Old English in origin and means big settlement. Before the Romans and Saxons were present, it was a Celtic settlement, with evidence of a hill fort 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. Scholars such as Myres have suggested that Mitcham and other Thames plain settlements were some of the first populated by the Anglo-Saxons.

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 of St Peter and St Paul dates from the early Kingdom of England. Mostly rebuilt in 1819–1821, the current building retains the original Saxon tower. The Domesday Book of 1086 lists Mitcham as a small farming community, an implied estimate of 250 people, living in two hamlets: 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, partly by William, son of Ansculf and partly by Osbert. Its domesday assets were: 8 hides and 1 virgate. It had ½ mill worth £1, 3½ ploughs, 56 acres (23 ha) of meadow. It rendered £4 5s 4d, at a time when a pound sterling still implied something similar to a pound of silver. The area lay in the Anglo-Saxon county subdivision of Wallington hundred.

During her reign Queen Elizabeth I made at least five visits to the area. John Donne and Sir Walter Raleigh also had residences here in this era. It was at this time that Mitcham became gentrified, as due to the abundance of lavender fields Mitcham became renowned for its soothing air. The air also led people to settle in the area during times of plague.

When industrialisation occurred, Mitcham quickly grew to become a town and most of the farms were swallowed up in the expansion. Remnants of this farming history today include: Mitcham Common itself; Arthur's Pond 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.

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 Miller & Carter steakhouse (previously Harvester, and the Mill House Brewers Fayre pub before that) 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 extraction of the 19th century. The most recent, Bidder's pond, was created in 1990 and named after George Parker Bidder.

Notable buildings

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

The Tate Almshouses, 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 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.

Notable people

Valerie Anand - writer of historical fiction, lived latterly in Mitcham

John Donne – Jacobean poet and churchman

James Chuter Ede – politician, MP for Mitcham 1923, resident till 1937, later Home Secretary

Michael Fielding and Noel Fielding – The Mighty Boosh comedians and brothers

Mike Fillery – Association football

David Gibson – cricketer

Florence Harmer – historian

Neil Howlett – opera singer

Banaz Mahmod, 20, an Iraqi Kurd, victim of honour killing in 2006

M.I.A. – singer, songwriter and rapper

Peter D. Mitchell — Nobel prizewinner, born in Mitcham in 1920

Michael Moorcock — author

Ramz (rapper) - singer, rapper

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

Alex Stepney – former Manchester United footballer and 1968 European Cup winner

Bert Strudwick – cricket wicket-keeper

William Allison White – recipient of the Victoria Cross

Faryadi Sarwar Zardad – Afghan 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

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 – 57,665

No Religion – 17,677, Religion Not Stated – 6,887

Muslim – 11,046

Hindu – 8,400

Buddhist – 862, Sikh – 252, Jewish – 147, Other Religion – 362

Gender

Female: 52,237

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 Thameslink and Southern with trains to Sutton, Epsom, London Victoria, London Bridge (peaks only) and St Albans.

Trains on the Thameslink route from Central London continue on via the Sutton Loop Line to Sutton and Wimbledon back towards Central London. Tramlink also serves Mitcham with four stops in the area; Mitcham Junction, Mitcham, Belgrave Walk and Phipps Bridge. Trams provide a direct service to Wimbledon, Croydon, Beckenham Junction and Elmers End from Mitcham and also New Addington with a change at Croydon.

Bus

Bus services operated by London Buses are available from Mitcham. These include night buses to Aldwych and Liverpool Street in central London.

Coach

National Express services 028 London Victoria to Eastbourne, 025 London Victoria to Brighton and Worthing via Gatwick Airport, 026 London Victoria to Bognor Regis and A3 London Victoria to Gatwick Airport hourly shuttle all stop at Mitcham (Downe Road/Mitcham Library bus stop)