Merton

Merton may refer to:

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See also

London Borough of Merton

The London Borough of Merton ⁱ/ˈmɜːrtən/ is a borough in south-west 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 and Morden Urban District, all formerly within Surrey. The main commercial centres in Merton are Mitcham, Morden and Wimbledon, of which Wimbledon is the largest. Other smaller centres include Raynes Park, Colliers Wood, South Wimbledon, Wimbledon Park and Pollards Hill.

The borough derives its name from the historic parish of Merton which was centred on the area now known as South Wimbledon. Merton was chosen as an acceptable compromise, following a dispute between Wimbledon and Mitcham over the new borough's name. The local authority is Merton London Borough Council.

Districts

Merton (parish)

Merton is an ancient parish which was first in Surrey but since 1965 (as Merton Priory [current parish]) has been in London, bounded by Wimbledon to the north, Mitcham to the east, Morden, Cheam and Cuddington (Worcester Park and rest of Motspur Park) to the south and (New) Malden to the west. The 1871 Ordnance Survey map records its area as 1,764.7 acres (7.1 km²) (2.7 sq mi).

The parish was and is centred on the 12th-century parish church, St Mary's in Merton Park. The parish as a result of the disestablishment of the vestries became of two legal types and areas: religious and civil. It had in the late 19th century seen breakaway ecclesiastical parishes but the civic aspect in 1907 was transformed into Merton Urban District, this in turn was enlarged and empowered into the London Borough of Merton in 1965.

Use

Merton Park is quite widely used as a neighbourhood. Merton itself is a rarely used name, to fellow residents and businesses in the borough at any rate, to describe any particular district of the borough, with popular preference turning to the new 19th century 'Park' and 'Wood' estates designated by the railway stations as they all unusually all here formed new parishes. These are Raynes Park, Colliers Wood, part of Motspur Park and flowing from a tube station in the far north, the remainder is commonly known as South Wimbledon.