Merton

From the records: “In 1086, the Domesday Book recorded the manor as Mordone, part of Wallington Hundred.”

From the records: “The priory or abbey, also known by a third name Priory of St Mary of Merton, was founded by Gilbert Norman in 1114.”

From the records: “Thomas Becket briefly studied there around 1130, and later was wont to wear the habit of a Merton canon – as was a successor of his, Hubert Walter.”

From the records: “From 1328 to 1536, a manor of Wimbledon was recorded as belonging to the Archbishop of Canterbury.”

From the records: “On 1 November 1437, shortly before his 16th birthday, Henry VI had a crowning ceremony at Merton Priory, although the exact nature of this is unclear.”

From the records: “The abbey joined almost all others in ending its existence in 1538, during Henry VIII's reign, having held land throughout the area in volume, such as holdings in Cuddington and tithes in Effingham, due to the dissolution of the monasteries.”

From the records: “Located on the Garth family estate, the current church was built in the 1630s in the Protestant style, and replaced an earlier wooden one from the Saxon period.”

From the records: “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.”

From the records: “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.”

From the records: “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.”

From the records: “In September 1802, Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, upon the advice of his mistress Emma Hamilton and her husband Sir William Hamilton, purchased Merton Place from the widow of Charles Greaves with its farm and woodland for £9,000 (equivalent to £758,547 in 2025).”

From the records: “Between trips to sea, Nelson lived at Merton Place with Emma and Sir William in a ménage à trois, although the married couple also kept a London home in Piccadilly, and Emma took a smaller home nearby after Sir William's death in April 1803.”

From the records: “Soon Emma was in debt and, after passing in at auction, eventually the estate was sold in 1809, to Asher Goldsmid (brother of Emma's friend Abraham).”

From the records: “For several years Wimbledon Park was leased to the Duke of Somerset, who briefly in the 1820s employed a young Joseph Paxton as one of his gardeners, but in the 1840s the Spencer family sold the park off as building land.”

From the records: “In 1829, Miss Mary Tate donated land and money to build almshouses on the site of the former Tate family home in Cricket Green.”

From the records: “The residential area splits into two sections: the village and the town, with the village near the common centred on the High Street, being part of the original medieval village, and now a prime residential area of London commanding high prices, and the "town" being part of the modern development, centred on The Broadway, since the building of the railway station in 1838.”

From the records: “Despite the rapid suburban development of nearby Wimbledon occasioned by the arrival of the new railways constructed in the mid 19th century, Morden remained a rural parish throughout the 19th century.”

From the records: “The Wimbledon Cup trophy, first awarded in Wimbledon for high-power rifles in 1866, was presented to the American rifle team in 1875 and a century and a half later continued to be awarded by the National Rifle Association of America.”

From the records: “The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club is a private club founded on 23 July 1868, originally as "The All England Croquet Club".”

From the records: “In 1864, the Spencers attempted to get parliamentary permission to enclose the common as a new park with a house and gardens and to sell part for building.”

From the records: “The inaugural 1877 Wimbledon Championship started on 9 July 1877 and the Gentlemen's Singles was the only event held. 22 men paid a guinea to enter the tournament, which was to be held over five days.”

From the records: “In 1884, the club added the Ladies' Singles competition and the Gentlemen's Doubles was transferred from the Oxford University Lawn Tennis Club.”

From the records: “The borough gained a football team in 1889 when Wimbledon Old Centrals were founded, and were soon a member of the local football leagues.”

From the records: “The relationship with Slazenger is the world's longest-running sporting sponsorship, providing balls for the tournament since 1902.”

From the records: “The parish of Wimbledon was made a local government district in 1866.”

From the records: “By 1910, Wimbledon had established the beginnings of the Wimbledon School of Art at the Gladstone Road Technical Institute and acquired its first cinema and the theatre.”

From the records: “Merton was made an urban district in 1907; it was enlarged in 1913 to take in neighbouring Morden, becoming the Merton and Morden Urban District.”

From the records: “An attempt was made to destroy the grounds in 1913, during the suffragette bombing and arson campaign.”

From the records: “The name was retained when the Club moved in 1922 to the present site in Church Road, although no longer a true description of its location.”

From the records: “The first black player to compete at Wimbledon was Bertrand Milbourne Clark, an amateur from Jamaica, in 1924.”

From the records: “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.”

From the records: “Mitcham was made an urban district in 1915, and it was incorporated to become the municipal borough of Mitcham in 1934.”

From the records: “Since 1937 the BBC has broadcast the tournament on television in the United Kingdom.”

From the records: “In the period of 1915–1918, no tournament was organised due to World War I.”

From the records: “In 1943, the council was granted a civic coat-of-arms incorporating lions from the Garth family arms and the fret from the arms of Merton Priory.”

From the records: “The modern borough was created in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963, covering the combined area of the former boroughs of Mitcham and Wimbledon and the Merton and Morden Urban District.”

From the records: “Wimbledon was also involved in a piece of television history, when on 1 July 1967 the first official colour television broadcast took place in the UK.”

From the records: “Prize money was first awarded in 1968, the year that professional players were allowed to compete in the Championships for the first time.”

From the records: “The club was elected to the Football League in 1977 and enjoyed a great run of success, which began in 1983 with the Fourth Division title, and saw them reach the First Division in 1986 – a mere nine years after joining the Football League.”

From the records: “However, a new Wimbledon club – AFC Wimbledon – was formed to represent the local area in 2002 by fans of the original club after the move to Milton Keynes was given the go-ahead.”

From the records: “A new retractable roof was built in time for the 2009 championships, marking the first time that rain did not stop play for a lengthy time on Centre Court.”

From the records: “In 2012, the All England Club hosted the Summer Olympic Games and became the first Olympic grass court tournament since tennis was reintroduced as an Olympic sport and the first to be held at a Grand Slam venue in the Open era.”