Wikipedia

Morden

This article is about the district of London. For other uses, seeMorden (disambiguation).

Mordenis a district and town in South London, England, now within theLondon Borough of Merton,in theceremonial countyof Greater London. It adjoinsMerton ParkandWimbledonto the north,Mitchamto the east,Suttonto the south andWorcester Parkto the west, and is around 8 miles (13 km) south-southwest ofCharing Cross.Prior to the creation ofGreater Londonin 1965, for local government purposes, Morden was in theadministrativeandhistoric countyofSurrey.

Morden
Morden Hall
Morden is located in Greater London
Morden
Morden
Location withinGreater London
Population48,233 (2011)
OS grid referenceTQ255685
London borough
Ceremonial countyGreater London
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townMorden
Postcode districtSM4
Dialling code020
PoliceMetropolitan
FireLondon
AmbulanceLondon
UK Parliament
London Assembly
List of places
UK
England
London
51°24′05″N0°11′42″W/ 51.4015°N 0.1949°W/51.4015; -0.1949

At the2011 census,Morden had a population of 48,233, including the wards of Cannon Hill,Lower Morden,Merton Park, Ravensbury and St Helier.[1]

Morden Hall Park,aNational Trustpark on the banks of theRiver Wandleadjacent to the town centre, is a key feature of the area.

Origin of name

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Morden's name may be derived from theCommon BrittonicwordsMawr(great or large) andDun(fort), or possibly "The Town on the Moor".

History

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Early history

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Human activity in Morden dates back to theIron Ageperiod whenCeltictribes are known to have occupied areas aroundWimbledon,but the first significant development in Morden was the construction of theRoman roadcalledStane StreetfromChichesterto London.

The route ofStane Streetthrough Morden followed the currentA24,London Road up Stonecot Hill from the south west crossingMorden Parkto the west of the currentdual carriagewayroad and passing through the pitch and putt golf course and the grounds ofSt Lawrence's Church.The road then descended the other side of the hill towards the town centre passing west of theUnderground stationand crossing the north corner ofMorden Hall Parkheading in the direction ofColliers WoodandTooting.SmallRomanartifacts,mainly coins and pottery, have been found at various locations within the area although there is no evidence of any settlement.

Ethelstan the Etheling, son ofEthelred the Unready,left "land at Mordune" to theabbeyof Christ and St. Peter in his will of 1015, which became the site of the firstSaxonparish church ofSt Lawrence.

In 1086, theDomesday Bookrecorded the manor asMordone,part ofWallingtonHundred.It was held byWestminster Abbeyand its assets were: 3hides;1millworth £2 and 7ploughs.It rendered £15[2]in total. Fourteen people were recorded as living in the area.

The Garth family

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Morden Hall, home of the Garth family

The manor and village remained abbey property until theDissolution of the MonasteriesinHenry VIII's reign when the manor was sold to Lionel Ducket and Edward Whitchurch. Together, they sold it on the following year to Sir Richard Garth who becameLord of the Manor.[3]The Garth family owned the land and maintained their connection with the parish for the next four centuries, living atMorden Hall Parkuntil the manor was sold by another SirRichard Garthin 1872.[3]

The prominence of the Garth family is recorded locally in the name of Garth Road,Lower Mordenand the former Garth School. The two lions included in the present civicarmsof theLondon Borough of Mertonare adopted from the arms of Sir Richard.

19th century

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Morden's Population in the 19th Century[4]
19th century 20th century
1801 512 1901 960
1811 549 1911 1,202
1821 638 1921 1,355
1831 655 1931 12,618
1841 685 1941[i] war
1851 628 1951 35,417
1861 654 1961[ii] 68,011
1871 787 1971[ii] 62,872
1881 694 1981[ii] 61,108
1891 763 1991[iii] n/a
  1. ^no census was held due to war
  2. ^abcincludes Merton
  3. ^census data no longer relates to parish boundaries

Despite the rapid suburban development of nearbyWimbledonoccasioned by the arrival of the new railways constructed in the mid 19th century, Morden remained a rural parish throughout the 19th century. While the population ofWimbledongrew hugely from 1,591 in 1801 to 41,652 in 1901, the population of Morden was 512 in 1801 and, one hundred years later, had grown to just 960.[4]

In 1871, the area of the parish of Morden was 1,474.926 acres (596.881 ha)[5]with the small village clustered aroundSt Lawrence's churchat the top of the hill on the road from London toEpsom(now London Road/Epsom Road). Approximately1⁄2mile (0.80 km) to the west of the main village and the grounds ofMorden Parkstood the hamlet ofLower Morden.

Close to the church were the George Inn, a 17th-centurycoaching inn(now modernised and part of a national pub restaurant chain), the estate ofMorden Parkand a school.

The other main public house in the village was the Crown Inn, located to the north east of the village with a small cluster of cottages on Crown Road. The rest of what is now the commercial centre of Morden was fields.

In the late 19th century the principal industry remained agriculture, although some industrial activity did exist along theRiver Wandlewherewatermillsground tobacco tosnuffand a varnish works existed close to the site of Poplar Primary School. By 1898, the varnish works had gone and there was abrickworks[6]on the site of Mostyn Gardens in Martin Way (then called Green Lane).[6]

20th century

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Under theLocal Government Act, 1894,the parish of Morden formed part of theCroydon Rural DistrictofSurrey.The first two decades of the 20th century saw little change in the village, with industry still mainly agricultural in nature; however, development in the parish ofMertonto the north led to that area being removed from therural districtto form theMerton Urban Districtin 1907. Morden was merged with the Merton Urban District in 1913 to form theMerton and Morden Urban District.[7]It was not until 1926, whenMorden Underground stationopened as the terminus of a new extension (from Clapham Common) of theCity & South London Railway(now part of theLondon Underground'sNorthern Line), that the fast and direct route to Central London opened up the village for residential development.

  • A map of Morden from the 1920s
  • A map of Morden from 1944

To complement the new tube station, a garage was constructed on the other side of London Road, adjacent to the railway cutting and, in 1932, Morden Cinema was built next to it on the corner of Aberconway Road. Around the station, which, itself, had several shops built into the building, a new adjacent commercial centre grew quickly as shops sprang up along London Road and Crown Lane, including a rebuilt and enlarged Crown Inn public house (opened in 1932)[8]and a largeRoyal Arsenal Co-operative Society(RACS) department store (opened in 1940).[8]

Away from the new commercial centre of Morden, the existing rural roads were widened and rebuilt and the fields were rapidly divided into building plots and laid out for new housing. Further transport improvements came with the construction of a newSouthern Railwaybranch linefrom Wimbledon to Suttonvia stations atSouth MertonandMorden South(so named to differentiate it fromMorden Underground StationandMorden Road(now Morden Road tram stop), although it was actually North-East of the original village centre). The new line opened between January 1930 and 1933. As a result of the new train and bus links, the population of Morden increased rapidly, from 1,355 in 1921 to 12,618 in 1931. In the next fifteen years, the population continued to grow, as most of the parish was covered in new suburban homes.

One of the main residential developments in the 1930s was theSt. HelierEstate, built by theLondon County Council(LCC) to house workers from Inner London and named in honour of Lady St. Helier, analdermanof the LCC. The estate was, at the time, the largest local authority development in South London and has its road names arranged in alphabetical order, from the North-West corner (AbbotsburyRoad) to the South-East corner (WoburnRoad). Reflecting the previous ownership of the land byWestminster Abbey,all are named after religious establishments.

Morden in the 1960s

In 1943, the council was granted a civiccoat-of-armsincorporating lions from the Garth family arms and the fret from the arms ofMerton Priory.The motto,"In Libertate Vis",means"Our Strength is our Freedom".In 1965, under theLondon Government Act 1963,the Merton and Morden Urban District Council was abolished and its area combined with that of theMunicipal Borough of Wimbledonand theMunicipal Borough of Mitchamto form the present-day London Borough of Merton. It then became part of London and not Surrey any more.

Today

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Morden Hall Park

Despite London's suburban expansion, a little of the earlier rural nature of Morden has survived; for instance several grand period buildings remain, especially within Morden's parks. The area retains a good provision of parks and green spaces, many of them created from former country estates. The 125-acre (51 ha)Morden Hall Parkis of particular note and is run by theNational Trust(see below). Its main entrance is only 0.25 miles (0.40 km) from Morden Underground Station.

The largest building in the town centre is Crown House, sixties-built and 14 storeys tall; designed in 1959 by A. Green ARIBA and built between 1960 and 1962. The concaved frontage of the building lends it some distinction, as does the "chessboard" style juxtaposition of its light and dark facade features. It incorporated The Crownpublic house,on which site part of the building covered. The building is home toMerton Civic Centreand a large adjoining library.[citation needed]

At around the same time, Morden Underground Station, originally a single storey building, with shops, had three-storey office accommodation incorporated above it.

A further office building with a large supermarket (now aSainsbury's) at ground-floor level was built in the 1980s at the other end of the town centre.[citation needed]

The cinema and adjoining garage were demolished and replaced by shops some years ago.[when?]

Landmarks

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Morden plays host to a number of buildings and parks worthy of note including:

Baitul FutuhMosque
  • TheBait'ul FutuhMosque, the largest mosque in Western Europe, built by theAhmadiyya Muslim Community.Completed in 2003 at a cost of approximately £5.5 million, the mosque covers an area of 5.2 acres (21,000 m2) and the full complex can accommodate up to 10,000 worshippers. It is located next to Morden South railway station and approximately 700 yards from Morden Underground station.
  • Morden Hall Parkis a key feature of the Morden area with large, period buildings located within its boundaries. It is aNational Trustpark, and is located on the banks of theRiver Wandle,near the town centre and few hundred yards from Morden Underground station. It covers over 120 acres (50 ha) of parkland with the River Wandle meandering through it spanned by numerous foot-bridges. The estate contains a number of historic buildings including Morden Hall itself, Morden Cottage, an old Snuff Mill, and many old farm buildings, some of which are now a garden centre and a city farm. The rose garden has over 2000 roses. The estate land was originally owned by Westminster Abbey. There is evidence of an earlier manor-house, but Morden Hall dates back to the 1770s and contains a variety of natural landscapes, including the parkland of the "Deer Park", meadow and marshland.[9]
Morden Park House
  • Morden Park,another park containing a period building of note. The park includes land that previously formed the grounds of Morden Park House, a small 18th-century country estate. The Georgian country house was built at the top of the hill in the 1770s for merchant and distiller John Ewart with attached landscaped gardens.
St Lawrence Church, Morden
  • St Lawrence Church, Morden.St Lawrence Church is the Church of England parish church for Morden. The building isGrade I listed,[10]and located on London Road, at the highest point of Morden, overlooking Morden Park. Located on theGarth familyestate,[11]the current church was built in the 1630s in theProtestantstyle, and replaced an earlier wooden one from the Saxon period.
  • Morden Baptist Church, opened in 1935 to replace an earlier (1885) corrugated iron building.[12]The Church stands with the main entrance facing up Crown Lane on the Morden one way system. In 1990 a very substantial building scheme was undertaken to provide the current improved facilities.

Sport and Leisure

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Morden has aNon-League footballclubTooting & Mitcham United F.C.who play at Imperial Fields.

Transport

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Morden Underground station withMerton Civic Centrein the background
Morden Underground - main station entrance

Nearest tube station:

Nearest railway stations andtramlinkstops (in order of proximity):

The local day and night buses that serve Morden are:

Notable people associated with Morden

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Nearest places

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  • Morden Baptist Church, Crown Lane
  • Bridge at Morden Hall Park
  • Morden Hall Park
  • Stable Block at Morden Hall Park.
  • The Rose Garden, Morden Hall Park

References

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  1. ^"2011 Census Ward Population Estimates".Greater London Authority.Archived fromthe originalon 22 February 2014.Retrieved9 June2014.
  2. ^Surrey Domesday BookArchived15 July 2007 at theWayback Machine
  3. ^ab'Parishes: Morden', A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 4 (1912), pp. 235–37.
  4. ^abUK Census records
  5. ^Ordnance Surveymap, 1871 edition
  6. ^abOrdnance Survey map, 1898 edition
  7. ^VisionofBritain.org.uk
  8. ^abmy merton, issue 17, June–July 2006, p. 17
  9. ^Historic England."Morden Hall Park (1001336)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved4 October2021.
  10. ^Historic England."Church of St Lawrence (1080899)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved16 October2014.
  11. ^See the "Ecclesiae Amicus" (Latin for Friend of the Church) inscription on the gravestone of Richard Garth by the Communion table
  12. ^"A Grand Old Lady's Proudest Moment".Portsmouth Evening News.20 March 1935.Retrieved14 November2023– via British Newspaper Archive.In 1880s Morden was a place of cornfields and cattle, a country district with three little far sundered groups of houses... On a Sunday evening in 1885 a little company of "Lovers of Jesus" gathered in one of the shops in what is now London Road, to hold a simple evangelistic service. They met, and sang, and prayed and read the Scriptures. Near Morden one of the iron building firms had a few sample buildings on show. When they abandoned the pitch, they offered an iron chapel for sale and Queens Road Church, Wimbledon, London offered to buy it for Morden... 1929 saw the fellowship moving across the road from the 'Tin Chapel' to the "new" School Hall. This building still remains, and is now used for sports, playgroup, luncheon club and other activities. From small beginnings above a shop in 1885, who could have foreseen that exactly 50 years later, a new church would be needed (in addition to the School Hall) to accommodate the rapidly growing fellowship. So on 9 March 1935, the new church was formally opened.
  13. ^Motco.comArchived14 June 2006 at theWayback Machine15 Miles Round London (First edition), J Cary, 1786, MordenArchived28 September 2006 at theWayback Machine
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