Wallington, London
Encyclopedia
Wallington is a town in the London Borough of Sutton
situated 10.3 miles (16.6 km) south south-west of Charing Cross
. Prior to the merger of the Municipal Borough of Beddington and Wallington
into the London Borough of Sutton, it was part of the county of Surrey
.
Wallington appears in Domesday Book
of 1086 and was held by William the Conqueror. Its domesday assets were: 11 hide
s. It had 2 mill
s worth £1 10s 0d, 11 plough
s, 8 acres (32,374.9 m²) of meadow
. It rendered £10.
The historic village was situated somewhat to the north of the current town centre around what is now Wallington Bridge over the River Wandle
.
What was then called "Carshalton" railway station was opened in 1847 in the open fields to the south of Wallington
because the owner of Carshalton Park
objected to it being built near to Carshalton village.
This acted as a spur to the development of the area and in the 1860s Nathaniel Bridges
created a prestigious housing estate of gothic revival villas (architect E. L. Brock) and a new church (Holy Trinity). The area around Holy Trinity Church is known as Wallington Old Town In particular Clifton road, Belmont road and Park road exhibit some fantastic Victorian and Edwardian villas.
This southward development continued towards Woodcote and by the time of the first world war the section of Woodcote Road
to the south of the station had become the new high street.
The Municipal Borough of Beddington and Wallington
was created in 1915 and a town hall (architect Robert Atkinson
)
and public library were built in Wallington town centre in the 1930s, as was the fire station in Belmont Road.
Wallington County Grammar School
(for Boys) was opened on London Road, close to Beddington Park, in 1927.
Wallington was an important centre for the production of lavender
oil until about the time of the first world war.
This is remembered in a number of ways, for example:
Express, Café Nero, SpecSavers
and in 2009 a new Subway
, KFC
, as well as Iceland
, following the fall of Woolworths
. These are in addition to existing High Street names such as Sainsbury's, Boots
, WH Smith, Dorothy Perkins
, Greggs
, Lloydspharmacy
, Peacocks and Lidl
. In addition, many major banks and building societies are sited in the town.
A farmers' market is held on the second Saturday of each month. This is usually located outside the old town hall, but occasionally in the car park at Shotfield.
All services listed above go through Wallington town centre, except for the 407 and X26 which pass through Wallington Green.
Wallington was served by the N213 night bus (which ran from Kingston to West Croydon) until 4 July 2009 when the N213 was dropped in favour of making the 213 route 24 hours. This route is between Kingston and Sutton, not serving areas such as Wallington, Carshalton and the Roundshaw estate. This decision has led to a campaign by local young people to bring back the service.
to London Bridge and Victoria via West Croydon and to Epsom and beyond via Sutton.
The northbound platform extends over the bridge that crosses Woodcote Road. The road immediately below this bridge occasionally floods during heavy rain and achieved some notoriety on 20 July 2007 when it was severely flooded, making it impassable for several hours.
A faster service to London Bridge via Wallington was introduced in May 2010. This stops at Waddon, West Croydon and Norwood Junction and then runs non stop to London Bridge, shaving several minutes off the previous journey time.
Secondary education
See the London Borough of Sutton
article for details of education in the borough.
London Borough of Sutton
The London Borough of Sutton is a London borough in South London, England and forms part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the 80th largest local authority in England by population. It is one of the southernmost boroughs of London...
situated 10.3 miles (16.6 km) south south-west of Charing Cross
Charing Cross
Charing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...
. Prior to the merger of the Municipal Borough of Beddington and Wallington
Municipal Borough of Beddington and Wallington
Beddington and Wallington was, from 1915 to 1965, a local government district in north east Surrey, England. It formed part of the London suburbs, lying within the Metropolitan Police District and the London Passenger Transport Area...
into the London Borough of Sutton, it was part of the county 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...
.
History
The name "Wallington" derives from the Anglo Saxon "Waletone", meaning "village of the Britons".Wallington 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 and was held by William the Conqueror. Its domesday assets were: 11 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. It had 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 £1 10s 0d, 11 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, 8 acres (32,374.9 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...
. It rendered £10.
The historic village was situated somewhat to the north of the current town centre around what is now Wallington Bridge over 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...
.
What was then called "Carshalton" railway station was opened in 1847 in the open fields to the south of Wallington
because the owner of Carshalton Park
Carshalton Park
Carshalton Park is a public park in Carshalton, in the London Borough of Sutton. It is situated south of the High Street, in the area bounded by Ruskin Road, Ashcombe Road, Woodstock Road and The Park...
objected to it being built near to Carshalton village.
This acted as a spur to the development of the area and in the 1860s Nathaniel Bridges
created a prestigious housing estate of gothic revival villas (architect E. L. Brock) and a new church (Holy Trinity). The area around Holy Trinity Church is known as Wallington Old Town In particular Clifton road, Belmont road and Park road exhibit some fantastic Victorian and Edwardian villas.
This southward development continued towards Woodcote and by the time of the first world war the section of Woodcote Road
to the south of the station had become the new high street.
The Municipal Borough of Beddington and Wallington
Municipal Borough of Beddington and Wallington
Beddington and Wallington was, from 1915 to 1965, a local government district in north east Surrey, England. It formed part of the London suburbs, lying within the Metropolitan Police District and the London Passenger Transport Area...
was created in 1915 and a town hall (architect Robert Atkinson
Robert Atkinson (architect)
Robert Atkinson, OBE was an English architect primarily working in the Art Deco style.Atkinson was born in Wigton, Cumberland and studied at University College, Nottingham before studying abroad in Paris, Italy and America. He was a talented draughtsman and worked for C.E. Mallows from 1905...
)
and public library were built in Wallington town centre in the 1930s, as was the fire station in Belmont Road.
Wallington County Grammar School
Wallington County Grammar School
Wallington County Grammar School is a state-funded boys' grammar school located in Wallington, Sutton, London. Places at the school are invariably oversubscribed and entrance is via competitive exam...
(for Boys) was opened on London Road, close to Beddington Park, in 1927.
Wallington was an important centre for the production of lavender
Lavender
The lavenders are a genus of 39 species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. An Old World genus, distributed from Macaronesia across Africa, the Mediterranean, South-West Asia, Arabia, Western Iran and South-East India...
oil until about the time of the first world war.
This is remembered in a number of ways, for example:
- There is a large sculpture at the junction of Woodcote Road and Stafford Road representing a lavender plant.
- The Christmas lights also represent lavender plants.
- One of the local lavender farmers - John Jakson of Little Woodcote Farm - lent his name to a public housePublic houseA 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...
in Woodcote Road.
Today
Since 2007 Wallington has enjoyed something of a mini boom with new retailers being attracted to the town, including TescoTesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
Express, Café Nero, SpecSavers
Specsavers
Specsavers Optical Group Ltd is the biggest optical retailer in the UK and Ireland. It is also the biggest of the four major opticians that control 70% of the British market for spectacles and contact lenses, with Specsavers having a 39% share of the market...
and in 2009 a new Subway
Subway (restaurant)
Subway is an American restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates, Inc. . Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with 35,519 restaurants in 98 countries and territories as of October 25th, 2011...
, KFC
KFC
KFC, founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. KFC has been a brand and operating segment, termed a concept of Yum! Brands since 1997 when that company was spun off from PepsiCo as Tricon Global...
, as well as Iceland
Iceland (supermarket)
Iceland is a supermarket chain in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Iceland's primary product lines include frozen foods, such as frozen prepared meals and frozen vegetables - hence the name of the company...
, following the fall of Woolworths
Woolworths Group
Woolworths Group plc was a listed British company that owned the high-street retail chain, Woolworths, as well as other brands such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK and book and resource distributor Bertram Books...
. These are in addition to existing High Street names such as Sainsbury's, Boots
Boots UK
Boots UK Limited , is a leading pharmacy chain in the United Kingdom, with outlets in most high streets throughout the country...
, WH Smith, Dorothy Perkins
Dorothy Perkins
Dorothy Perkins, whose trading name was inspired by a rambler rose of the same name, is a large British women's clothing retailer, active mostly in the United Kingdom.- History :...
, Greggs
Greggs
Greggs plc is the largest specialist retail bakery chain in the United Kingdom. It was established in the 1930s as a single shop but has approximately 1,500 outlets....
, Lloydspharmacy
Lloydspharmacy
Lloyds Pharmacy is the largest community pharmacy operator in the United Kingdom. It operates over 1,700 pharmacies, located primarily within local communities and health centres...
, Peacocks and Lidl
Lidl
Lidl is a discount supermarket chain based in Germany that operates over 7,200 stores across Europe. The company's full name is Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG...
. In addition, many major banks and building societies are sited in the town.
A farmers' market is held on the second Saturday of each month. This is usually located outside the old town hall, but occasionally in the car park at Shotfield.
Transport
Wallington is well served by bus, coach and rail connections, and it is possible to reach London's two major airports - Heathrow and Gatwick - in less than an hour by car, or a little longer by public transport.Bus
A variety of bus services are available from Wallington. for accurate information to find exactly each stop check the Transport for London website as it shall lead to you to all the changes going on and how to re-route. This shall give you a rough guideline to the buses available in the local area.- 127 - to Purley, Carshalton, Mitcham, Tooting Broadway
- 151 - to Carshalton, St Helier, Sutton, Cheam, Worcester Park
- 154 - to Croydon, Carshalton, Sutton, Morden
- 157London Buses route 157London Buses route 157 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Abellio London.-History:...
- to Crystal Palace, Croydon, Morden - 407 - to Caterham, Purley, Croydon, Sutton
- 410 - to Crystal Palace, Norwood, Croydon, Beddington
- 455 - to Beddington, Waddon, Croydon, Purley
- 463London Buses route 463London Buses route 463 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Quality Line for London Buses.-History:...
- to Coulsdon, Beddington, Mitcham - 612 - to Wallington Boys School
- S4 - to Roundshaw, Sutton, St Helier
- X26London Buses route X26London Buses route X26 is a Transport for London contracted bus route from Heathrow Airport to West Croydon. The service is currently contracted to Metrobus.The route is the longest London Buses route in London.-History:...
- to Croydon, Carshalton, Sutton, Kingston, Heathrow. - 627 - to Wallington Girls School
All services listed above go through Wallington town centre, except for the 407 and X26 which pass through Wallington Green.
Wallington was served by the N213 night bus (which ran from Kingston to West Croydon) until 4 July 2009 when the N213 was dropped in favour of making the 213 route 24 hours. This route is between Kingston and Sutton, not serving areas such as Wallington, Carshalton and the Roundshaw estate. This decision has led to a campaign by local young people to bring back the service.
Coach
National Express services 025 from London Victoria to Gatwick Airport and Brighton, and 027 from Victoria to Chichester also serve Wallington.Rail
Services operate from WallingtonWallington railway station
Wallington railway station is in the London Borough of Sutton in south London. The station, and all trains serving it, is operated by Southern, and is in Travelcard Zone 5....
to London Bridge and Victoria via West Croydon and to Epsom and beyond via Sutton.
The northbound platform extends over the bridge that crosses Woodcote Road. The road immediately below this bridge occasionally floods during heavy rain and achieved some notoriety on 20 July 2007 when it was severely flooded, making it impassable for several hours.
A faster service to London Bridge via Wallington was introduced in May 2010. This stops at Waddon, West Croydon and Norwood Junction and then runs non stop to London Bridge, shaving several minutes off the previous journey time.
Famous residents
- Mervyn PeakeMervyn PeakeMervyn Laurence Peake was an English writer, artist, poet and illustrator. He is best known for what are usually referred to as the Gormenghast books. They are sometimes compared to the work of his older contemporary J. R. R...
's father bought a medical practice at 55 Woodcote Road in 1923, and "Woodcroft" was his home until the early 1930s. He lived there for five years when he inherited the house on the death of his father in 1953, but sold the house for development when he moved to Chelsea.
- Nick RossNick RossNick Ross is a British radio and television presenter across a wide range of factual programmes and during the 1980s and 90s he was one of the most ubiquitous of British broadcasters, but he is best known for his long-running co-hosting of the BBC TV show Crimewatch which he left on 2 July 2007...
, television presenter.
- Eileen ShanahanEileen Shanahan (Irish poet)Eileen Shanahan was one of the small number of Irish women poets. Her best-known poem, The Three Children , was included in the Oxford Book of Irish Verse...
, Irish poet, lived with her family in Blenheim Gardens.
- Neil ArdleyNeil ArdleyNeil Richard Ardley was a prominent English jazz pianist and composer, who also made a name as the author of more than 100 popular books on science and technology, and on music.-Brief biography:...
, jazz pianist and composer, was born in Wallington.
- Jeff BeckJeff BeckGeoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
of The YardbirdsThe Yardbirds- Current :* Chris Dreja - rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Jim McCarty - drums, backing vocals * Ben King - lead guitar * David Smale - bass, backing vocals...
was born in Wallington and lived on Demesne Road.
- Will OwenWill OwenWilliam James Owen was a British miner and politician, whose career as a Member of Parliament was ended by his trial under the Official Secrets Act 1911 for giving secrets to Czechoslovak intelligence...
, Member of Parliament for Morpeth, Co. Durham, also lived in Wallington.
- Giles MarshallGiles MarshallGiles Marshall is a member of the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom. He was chairman of the Tory Reform Group. Marshall was educated at Solihull School, an historic school in the Midlands...
, Ex-Conservative spin bowler, current head of 6th of Sutton Grammar School.
- David WeirDavid WeirDavid Weir is a Scottish association footballer who plays for Scottish Premier League club Rangers and is a Scottish internationalist, as a centre back....
, Paralympic gold medalist lives on the RoundshawRoundshawRoundshaw is a housing estate and park in south Wallington on the eastern edge of the London Borough of Sutton. Grid Ref . It was built on part of the site of the former Croydon Airport, and occupying roughly the area on which once stood the buildings of the first Croydon Aerodrome which was...
estate.
- Gary Mason, former British Heavyweight Champion BoxerBoxingBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, who lived in Wallington before his untimely death on Sandy Lane South whilst riding his bicycle, on the January 6th 2011.
- Linsey Dawn McKenzieLinsey Dawn McKenzieLinsey Dawn McKenzie is an English glamour model, pornographic actress, and minor celebrity.McKenzie made her topless modelling debut in The Sunday Sport tabloid newspaper on her 16th birthday in 1994...
, English glamour model, pornographic actress, and minor celebrity.
Education
Primary education- Bandon Hill Primary School
- Amy Johnson Primary School
- Foresters Primary School
- Highview Primary School
- Holy Trinity C of E Junior School
- Holy Trinity C of E Primary School
Secondary education
- Wallington County Grammar SchoolWallington County Grammar SchoolWallington County Grammar School is a state-funded boys' grammar school located in Wallington, Sutton, London. Places at the school are invariably oversubscribed and entrance is via competitive exam...
- Wallington High School for GirlsWallington High School for GirlsWallington High School for Girls is an all girls educational institution located just south of Wallington, in the London Borough of Sutton, England.-Admissions:...
- Wilson's SchoolWilson's SchoolWilson's School is a boys' grammar school in Wallington, in the London Borough of Sutton, UK. Admission is based on performance in an entrance test with around 1,000 pupils being taught there....
See the London Borough of Sutton
London Borough of Sutton
The London Borough of Sutton is a London borough in South London, England and forms part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the 80th largest local authority in England by population. It is one of the southernmost boroughs of London...
article for details of education in the borough.