53-745: Haydons Road railway station is in the north-east of the London Borough of Merton in South London . It is the nearest station to the Plough Lane stadium, the home ground of AFC Wimbledon . The station is served by Thameslink trains on the Sutton Loop Line and is in Travelcard Zone 3 . It was opened, originally as Haydens Lane , by the Tooting, Merton and Wimbledon Railway (itself jointly owned by
106-401: A charter of incorporation , constituting the area a municipal borough. The attempts to incorporate large industrial towns such as Birmingham , Bolton , Manchester and Sheffield by Whig and Radical "incorporationists" were bitterly contested by Tory "anti-incorporationists". The Tory objections to the legality of the charters led to them boycotting elections to the new boroughs until
159-453: A justice of the peace . The mayor was also required to serve as returning officer for parliamentary elections, except in those boroughs which were counties corporate , where the borough council appointed a sheriff whose duties included serving as returning officer. To fund their work the borough council was allowed to set and collect rates . Municipal boroughs were not automatically given powers to provide or maintain infrastructure under
212-521: A local government district in 1866. Such districts were converted into urban districts under the Local Government Act 1894 . The Wimbledon Urban District was subsequently incorporated to become the municipal borough of Wimbledon in 1905. Merton was made an urban district in 1907, which was enlarged in 1913 to take in neighbouring Morden, becoming the Merton and Morden Urban District . Mitcham
265-465: A mayor , aldermen and councillors to oversee many local affairs. The legislation required all municipal corporations to be elected according to a standard franchise, based on property ownership. The Act reformed 178 boroughs with effect from 1 January 1836. At the same time, a procedure was established whereby the inhabitant householders of a town could petition the Crown via the privy council to grant
318-529: A new stadium back on Plough Lane, using the former Greyhound Stadium around a hundred yards from its old stadium site and still within the London Borough of Merton. In 2018 the final agreements were signed off and demolition work started on the site (for both stadium and 600 flats) in April 2018. Building was completed for the 2020–21 season. The first competitive game in front of fans was played on 14 August 2021,
371-430: A 3–3 draw against Bolton Wanderers . The borough also has five non-League football clubs: Colliers Wood United F.C. who play at Wibbandune Sports Ground; Raynes Park Vale F.C. who play at Prince George's Fields; Tooting & Mitcham United F.C. who play at Imperial Fields, Morden; and Merton Forest F.C. who also play at Prince George's Fields and a Celebrity Fundraising Football team – Celeb FC who play all over
424-481: A football team in 1889 when Wimbledon Old Centrals were founded, and were soon a member of the local football leagues. The club later adopted the title Wimbledon FC and moved into a new stadium at Plough Lane in 1912, where it would spend the next 79 years. As the 20th century wore on, the club enjoyed considerable success in non-league football. The club was elected to the Football League in 1977 and enjoyed
477-682: A great run of success when 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. They quickly established themselves in the highest division of English football, and as clear underdogs, pulled off a shock win in the 1988 FA Cup Final against Liverpool , England's most successful and dominant club side in Europe during that era. They were founder members of
530-412: A handful of cities the chief magistrate was granted the further dignity of lord mayor . The corporation was a body corporate with perpetual succession, and included all registered electors or "burgesses" of the borough. However, the actual administration was carried out by a town council, which was in effect a committee representative of the community at large. All those eligible to vote were entered in
583-503: A local authority in an unreformed state; the City undertook a major reform of its democratic structure in 2005. In 1873 the Association of Municipal Corporations was formed to represent the interests of the boroughs collectively; its membership included both county and non-county boroughs. The AMC was later to be a strong advocate for expanding county boroughs and unitary local government, and it
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#1732855841186636-540: A poverty rate of 14% in 2020, the 2nd lowest rate in London. It also found that the 2023 level of pay inequality in Merton is lower than in any other borough, except Kingston. According to the council's comparative assessment of wards made in 2004, the most deprived wards within the borough were in the south and east where unemployment rates, educational attainment and the quality of health were worst. The most affluent wards were in
689-499: Is an affluent area of London with a high proportion of city workers, while Mitcham and Morden is relatively deprived by comparison, which explains the geographical split of political representation of the borough at both national and local elections. Merton currently operates a Police Cadet scheme under the Metropolitan Police Service. Each year The Championships, Wimbledon , better known as simply Wimbledon, one of
742-587: Is the Wimbledon Times (recently changed name from Wimbledon Guardian). This newspaper was founded in 1977 by a former Conservative councillor on Merton Council, but since then the paper has been sold on and it is now widely published in different editions across South London. The newspaper is available free, though there is a charge if bought from a newsagent. It is published each Friday. Notable businesses with their headquarters in Merton including: London's Poverty Profile (a 2017 report by Trust for London and
795-449: Is the only London Borough which has tube, rail and tram services. London Underground stations Tramlink stops National Rail stations In March 2011, the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were: driving a car or van, 19.2% of all residents aged 16–74; underground, metro, light rail, tram, 13.0%; train, 13.0%; bus, minibus or coach, 7.5%; on foot, 5.0%; work mainly at or from home, 3.4%; bicycle, 2.4%. In 2001,
848-665: The FA Premier League in 1992 and survived at that level until 2000, before relocating to Milton Keynes , some 70 miles away in Buckinghamshire , in a controversial move in 2003, being rebranded as Milton Keynes Dons in 2004. The club had left its Plough Lane stadium in 1991 to ground-share with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park , with numerous plans to build a new stadium in a number of different locations (including back in London and even in Dublin or Cardiff ) being considered over
901-456: The Local Government Act 1888 . Boroughs were divided into two sorts, with some becoming county boroughs which were entirely self-governing and independent from county council administration. The non-county boroughs had more limited powers of self-government, and shared power with county councils. In 1894, towns which had not been incorporated as boroughs became urban districts with similar powers to municipal boroughs. The title of "borough"
954-836: The London and South Western Railway and the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway ) on 1 October 1868. The ticket office is on the up side of the station; the original station buildings were redeveloped by British Rail during 1991 and 1992 when land adjacent to the up platform was redeveloped for housing. Until the advent of Thameslink it was served by the London Bridge loop trains via Wimbledon. All services at Haydons Road are operated by Thameslink using Class 700 EMUs . The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is: A small number of late evening services are extended beyond St Albans City to Bedford and daytime services on Sundays are extended to Luton . London Buses route 200 serves
1007-522: 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 and Wimbledon Park . The borough is the host of the Wimbledon tournament , one of tennis 's Grand Slam competitions. The borough derives its name from
1060-662: The New Policy Institute ) found that 40% of Merton's 19-year-olds lack level 3 qualifications. This is the 5th worst figure out of 32 London boroughs. Merton is served by a wide range of National Rail stations across the borough, as well as the southern tip of London Underground 's Northern line and the District line on the Wimbledon branch. The borough is also served by several Tramlink stops from Wimbledon, that goes to Croydon , New Addington , Elmers End and Beckenham . It
1113-474: The census recorded that 25% of the population of the borough was from an ethnic minority . The highest ethnic populations were recorded in wards in the east of the borough in Mitcham , Eastfields and Pollards Hill . The percentage of population from ethnic minorities is predicted to rise across the borough within the next decade. A report by Trust for London and the New Policy Institute found that Merton had
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#17328558411861166-676: The late Middle Ages they had come under royal control, with corporations established by royal charter . These corporations were not popularly elected: characteristically they were self-selecting oligarchies , were nominated by tradesmen's guilds or were under the control of the lord of the manor . A Royal commission was appointed in 1833 to investigate the various borough corporations in England and Wales. In all 263 towns were found to have some form of corporation created by charter or in existence by prescription . The majority had self-elected common councils, whose members served for life. Where there
1219-434: The "burgess roll", which was compiled by the town clerk annually. The town council of each municipal borough consisted of a mayor, aldermen, and councillors. The councillors were directly elected by the burgesses for a three-year term, with one-third of their membership retiring each year. Boroughs with a population of more than 6,000 were divided into wards with separate elections held in each ward annually. One-quarter of
1272-420: The 1835 Act had powers relating to electoral registration , providing a watch , making byelaws , and holding various civil and criminal courts. The types of courts which could be held depended on whether the borough had been given a separate commission of the peace or its own quarter sessions ; those which had their own quarter sessions were also required to appoint a coroner . The mayor was ex officio made
1325-543: The 1835 Act. Many boroughs were covered by separate bodies of improvement commissioners responsible for matters such as paving, lighting and cleaning streets, supplying water and providing sewers. These improvement commissioners continued to exist alongside the borough councils unless the commissioners chose to transfer their powers to the council. From 1848 onwards local boards could also be established for providing infrastructure and overseeing public health. Where local board districts were created covering municipal boroughs
1378-453: The 1840 Act in 1926, allowing urban districts to petition the Governor for a charter of incorporation. Accordingly, by 1972 the number of boroughs had increased to 12 in number. The system of local government was reorganised in 1973, with 26 local government districts replacing all county and municipal boroughs as well as urban and rural districts . The city or borough status conferred by
1431-541: The English boroughs, and each borough was divided into wards with three, six or nine councillors per ward and one alderman for every three councillors. The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 designated the six largest municipalities ( Belfast , Cork , Dublin , Limerick , Derry and Waterford ) as county boroughs. The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1919 introduced a system of proportional representation into municipal elections. Wards were replaced by electoral areas, and
1484-665: The UK without charge for small UK charities. The Talkback Thames television studio on Deer Park Road was used as Sun Hill Police Station in the ITV police drama The Bill from its inception in 1984 until it was axed in 2010. The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Merton. 51°23′N 0°10′W / 51.383°N 0.167°W / 51.383; -0.167 Municipal borough A municipal borough
1537-459: The abolished boroughs were inherited by one of the new local authorities. District councils were permitted to apply for a charter to receive borough status , while small municipal boroughs became successor parishes with town councils headed by a town mayor. In a few cases charter trustees , a special committee of district councillors, were formed to perpetuate the mayoralty of a town or city. The Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840 followed
1590-404: The borough council was often, but not always, appointed to serve as the local board. In some places it was deemed necessary for the local board district to cover a larger or smaller territory than the borough, in which case a separate local board was elected. The overlapping functions of borough councils, improvement commissioners and local boards were gradually consolidated. Many boroughs took over
1643-561: The borough was chosen as a compromise, following a dispute between Wimbledon and Mitcham over the new borough's name. Areas in the borough include: The local authority is Merton Council, based at Merton Civic Centre in Morden. Since 2000, for elections to the London Assembly , the borough forms part of the Merton and Wandsworth constituency. A lot of filming for former ITV police drama The Bill took place in Merton, particularly in
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1696-479: The borough was elected for a one-year term, although he was eligible for re-election indefinitely. Under the original legislation the mayor was required to be a councillor or alderman. The Municipal Corporations Act 1882 empowered the council to elect any suitably qualified inhabitant of the borough as mayor. However, the mayoralty continued to be almost universally conferred on a senior alderman or councillor. Municipal elections were originally held on 1 November, with
1749-403: The council were aldermen , who were elected by the council for a six-year term. Half of the aldermen were elected every third year at the council's annual meeting. It was originally envisaged that the council would choose persons from outside of the municipal body. In practice, however, the aldermanic benches were almost exclusively filled by the promotion of long-serving councillors. The mayor of
1802-656: The districts of Mitcham and Colliers Wood . The set of Sun Hill police station was also located in the Borough. Ray Austin, born at 9 Abbey Rd Merton on the 5 December 1932, is an English television and film director, television writer, novelist and former stunt performer and actor who worked in both the United Kingdom and the United States. He filmed episodes of The Avengers and The Saint in and around Merton. He served as director on episodes of some 150 programs between 1968 and 2010. The main local newspaper in Merton
1855-550: The enactment of the Borough Charters Confirmation Act 1842 . A number of further acts of parliament amended the 1835 legislation. All of these were repealed and replaced by the Municipal Corporations Act 1882 . The 1882 Act and the consolidating Local Government Act 1933 provided the statutory basis for municipal boroughs up to their abolition. An important change in the 1933 legislation removed
1908-477: The entire council was to be elected triennially. Separate elections of aldermen and councillors were ended, with all members of the council elected by popular vote. One-quarter of the elected members were entitled to the title of "alderman", which was used to designate the first candidates elected in each area. The remaining successful candidates being "councillors". Under the Government of Ireland Act 1920 , Ireland
1961-592: The example of the legislation in England and Wales. Unlike the 1835 Act, the Irish Act abolished nearly all of the country's boroughs, reforming just 10. Inhabitants of the larger of the abolished boroughs or of any town with a population of 3,000 could petition the crown for incorporation under the Act. In the event, only one additional borough was created when Wexford received a charter of incorporation in 1846. The corporation and town council were identical in their constitution to
2014-454: The following decade before the club's owners chose Milton Keynes as their destination. 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. The new Wimbledon club's progress was rapid, and after just nine years in existence they won promotion to the Football League in 2011. The club gained permission in 2016 it to build
2067-649: The four tennis Grand Slam tournaments (along with the US , French and Australian Opens ) is held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Church Road Wimbledon . The event takes place over a fortnight at the end of June and beginning of July and is the largest annual sporting event to take place in the United Kingdom with over 200,000 visitors during the Wimbledon fortnight. The borough gained
2120-681: The functions of commissioners or separate local boards under the Public Health Act 1872, which established urban sanitary districts , with borough councils usually being designated as the urban sanitary authority. There were a handful of exceptions where commissioners and local boards continued to operate alongside borough councils until the Local Government Act 1888 required the remaining anomalies to be addressed; from 1889 all borough councils were sanitary authorities with powers to provide infrastructure and oversee public health. In 1889, county councils were created across England and Wales under
2173-453: The historic parish of Merton which was centred on the area now known as South Wimbledon . The local authority is Merton London Borough Council , which is based in Morden . The area of the modern borough broadly corresponds to the four ancient parishes of Merton , Mitcham , Morden , and Wimbledon , all of which were historically in the county of Surrey . The parish of Wimbledon was made
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2226-645: The mayoral election and filling of aldermanic vacancies on 9 November. Elections were cancelled during the First and Second World Wars , and the November 1948 elections were postponed until May 1949. From that date, municipal elections were held on the second Thursday of May. In view of the forthcoming local government reorganisation, the 1972 elections were rescheduled to 4 May, with no elections in 1973 and all sitting councillors and aldermen holding their seats until midnight on 31 March 1974. The municipal boroughs created under
2279-545: The municipal charters passed to the new district councils. Nine boroughs (four county boroughs and five municipal boroughs) were within the territory of the Irish Free State in 1922. Two new boroughs were created by statute. In 1930, the borough of Dún Laoghaire was created by the amalgamation of the four urban districts of Blackrock , Dalkey , Kingstown , and Killiney and Ballybrack in County Dublin . This borough
2332-458: The north and west of the borough. Comparative crime rates appear to be unrelated to the deprivation ranking of wards. The wards containing Mitcham town centre and the St Helier Estate are ranked highest for crime within Merton with the wards containing the commercial shopping centres of Colliers Wood and Wimbledon also featuring high in the ranking. The constituency area of Wimbledon
2385-514: The powers of a parish council . Seven small boroughs in Cornwall, Devon and Shropshire underwent this process. The remaining municipal boroughs, of which there were over 200, were abolished on 1 April 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 . In England, they were replaced by metropolitan or non-metropolitan districts and in Wales by districts . In most cases, the civic privileges and coat of arms of
2438-556: The right to petition for incorporation from inhabitant householders. In future, petitions could only be made by existing urban or rural district councils. The boroughs unreformed by the Act were not immediately abolished. Several of them subsequently sought new charters as municipal boroughs; those that did not were finally abolished in 1887 by the Municipal Corporations Act 1886. Only the City of London Corporation survived as
2491-551: The station, connection to 156 , 493 and N87 at Plough Lane is within walking distance of the station. London Borough of Merton The London Borough of Merton ( / ˈ m ɜːr t ə n / ) is a London borough in 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
2544-487: Was partitioned in 1921, between Northern Ireland , which would remain in the United Kingdom, and the remainder, which left the United Kingdom in 1922 as the Irish Free State . On establishment, Northern Ireland contained the county boroughs of Belfast and Londonderry, with no municipal boroughs. The Parliament of Northern Ireland abolished proportional representation in local government elections in 1922, and amended
2597-609: Was a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1836 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in Scotland from 1833 to 1975 with the reform of royal burghs and creation of police burghs . Boroughs had existed in England and Wales since medieval times. By
2650-499: Was an election, the incumbent members of the corporation often effectively nominated the electorate. Eleven boroughs were manorial court leets . Following the report of the royal commission, legislation was introduced to reform borough corporations. The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 provided for a reformed form of town government, designated a municipal borough. The Act introduced a uniform system of town government in municipal boroughs, with an elected town council , consisting of
2703-618: Was at the annual conference of the AMC in 1965 that Richard Crossman called for a reform of all local government. This speech eventually led to the Redcliffe-Maud Report recommending large unitary councils for all England. Each municipal borough possessed a corporation uniformly designated as the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the town. The only exception was where the borough enjoyed city status ; in this case "burgesses" became "citizens". In
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#17328558411862756-499: Was considered to be more dignified than "urban district", and so many larger urban districts petitioned to be granted the status of a municipal borough, and many were granted this right. Borough status did not substantially increase local government powers, although municipal boroughs above a certain size had the right to run primary education . Under the Local Government Act 1958 , small municipal boroughs could be absorbed by surrounding rural districts to become rural boroughs , with
2809-430: Was made an urban district in 1915, which was incorporated to become the municipal borough of Mitcham in 1934. 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. The area was transferred from Surrey to Greater London to become one of the 32 London Boroughs. The name Merton for
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