New Malden
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| New Malden | |
  New Malden shown within Greater London |
|
| OS grid reference | |
|---|---|
| London borough | Kingston |
| Merton | |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | London |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | NEW MALDEN |
| Postcode district | KT3 |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| European Parliament | London |
| UK Parliament | Kingston and Surbiton |
| London Assembly | South West |
| Merton and Wandsworth | |
| List of places: UK • England • London | |
New Malden is a town and shopping centre in the south-western London suburbs, mostly within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and partly in the London Borough of Merton, and is situated 9.4 miles (15.1 km) from Charing Cross.
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[edit] History
New Malden was established entirely as a result of the arrival of the railway when the “Coombe for Malden” station was opened on 1 December 1846. However, when Queen Victoria visited distinguished residents in the Coombe Hill area, the royal train always continued to Norbiton station where the platform was at ground level. New Malden was developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with two- and three-bedroom terraced houses. Destruction of housing during The Blitz cleared the way for new developments. Further out are larger detached and semi-detached houses from the 1930s. The recent settlement grew up around the station on the main line from Waterloo. The road up the hill to Coombe, Traps Lane, is thought to derive from a farm owned by a Mrs Trap.
Two miles (3km) to the south is the former village of Old Malden from which it gets its name, whose origins go back to Anglo-Saxon times, the name being Saxon for Mael + duna = the cross on the hill.
Under the District Councils Act 1895, The Maldens & Coombe Urban District Council was created (the plural relating to Old Malden and New Malden). In 1936 Malden and Coombe was granted full Borough status, with its own Mayor, and had the rare distinction of a civic mace bearing the royal insignia of King Edward VIII. In 1965, the London Government Act 1963 came into force merging the boroughs of Malden & Coombe and Surbiton with Kingston-upon-Thames to form the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames.
[edit] Description
New Malden is bounded to the north by the affluent Coombe Hill and to the south and east by Raynes Park, Worcester Park and Tolworth. New Malden includes Motspur Park, home to the training ground of Fulham Football Club.
- To the west: Kingston upon Thames, Norbiton.
- To the south: Tolworth, Surbiton, Worcester Park, Old Malden
- To the east: Raynes Park, Motspur Park
- To the north: Coombe, Wimbledon, Richmond Park
The busy A3 trunk road runs through part of New Malden. A minor tributary of the River Thames, Beverley Brook, flows through the east of the town, while its western boundary is along the Hogsmill, another Thames tributary.
The first Parking Meters were made in New Malden at Venners Ltd.
[edit] Korean culture and presence
New Malden has the largest expatriate community of South Koreans in Europe, and is the most densely populated area of Koreans outside South Korea. According to different sources, the Korean population in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is around 20,000, mostly residing in New Malden. The area has around fifteen Korean cafes and restaurants. The Anglo-Korean Cultural Institute can be found on Burlington Road.
The size of this community has been attributed to the former residence of the South Korean ambassador in Wimbledon. During the 1970s many Koreans came to the area following his example, but when house prices rose in Wimbledon, they moved to New Malden. In addition, Samsung Electronics' UK division used to be based in New Malden, although it has now relocated its European headquarters to nearby Chertsey.
[edit] Amenities
New Malden has its own sports centre, the Malden Centre, which includes a swimming pool, gym and community facilities.
Beverley Park provides a football pitch, tennis courts, children's playground, allotments and open space.
Tudor Williams Ltd, established in 1913, is a family run department store in the High Street. The company also has shops in Cobham and Dorking and expanded by acquiring department stores Elphicks of Farnham in October 2004 and Knights of Reigate in September 2006. Sandy's Menswear is another long established, family run business, specialising in menswear and hirewear in the High Street, having been opened originally in 1955 by the current owners father.
The area is covered by its own local montly publication, The Village Voice. This offers a series on local history, news, topical articles and advertisements for businesses serving the commnuity.
There is an annual Malden Fortnight comprised of a parade showcasing all the local schools and community groups and various other activities.
Each Christmas the high street is festooned with Christmas lights with its own switching on ceremony.
For a small town it is more than proportionately blessed with winners of the Victoria Cross. Research recently published in the Village Voice revealed the existence of a previously unknown third medal winner - see Notable Residents below.
New Malden has its own youth theatre, the Green Theatre Company, established in 1986 in a converted cricket pavilion at Barton Green. [1]
The area's last Cinema, the Odeon at Shannon Corner on the A3 has closed and been replaced by a large retail area including several large stores. The other Cinema in the High Street (corner of Sussex Road) burnt down on Boxing Day 1936.
[edit] Notable open spaces
- Wimbledon Common
- Richmond Park
- Bushy Park
- Beverley Park
[edit] Sports and recreation
- Topnotch Fitness Centre, Blagdon Road
- Malden Centre, Blagdon Road
- Kingsmeadow Sports Centre, Kingston Road
- Malden Wanderers Cricket Club
- Malden Golf Club
- Coombe Hill Golf Club
- Graham Spicer Institute
[edit] Education
- For education in New Malden see the main Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames article.
[edit] Transport
New Malden railway station has services provided by South West Trains to London Waterloo, Hampton Court, Kingston-upon-Thames, Richmond and Shepperton. Motspur Park railway station also has rail connections to Chessington South, Epsom, Dorking and Guildford. There are also many bus routes going through New Malden. The 213 route going towards Sutton and the 57 route going through Kingston Town Centre. The town also has a series of bus routes for it self, these include the K1, K2, K3, K4 and K5.
[edit] Notable residents
Notable former residents include cricketer Alec Stewart, singer-songwriter John Martyn, fiddler Dave Swarbrick of Fairport Convention, sculptor Anthony Caro and actor, comedian and entertainer Max Wall also lived there. It is also home to the infamous Mr. Woo who famously appeared as the 'stickman' in Nike commercials.
The Victorian artist John Sargent Noble lived in a house in Poplar Grove at the turn of the last century.
Two young New Malden residents who both attended Beverley School (now renamed Coombe Boys School), Ian Bazalgette and Cyril Barton, were both awarded the VC during World War II. These two posthumous awards are arguably for some of the greatest acts of heroism for which a VC has ever been awarded. Bazalgette Gardens and Barton Green were named in their honour.
New Malden also has links to a third recipient, Humphrey Osbaldston Brooke Firman VC, whose parents lived in Coombe at the time of his death. A plaque bearing his name was unveiled on the high street war memorial in April 2008.
Cyril Stevens lived at "Mitchley" in Traps Lane and was the S in BKS Air Transport [2] an airline of the 1950s and 1960s that became part of British Airways. His son is Lord Stevens.
Eric Clapton joined his first band the Roosters in January 1963 after seeing them play live at the Prince Of Wales pub in Kingston Road. He lived nearby and recorded his first ever record I Wish You Would with the Yardbirds in New Malden in 1964. According to local historian Richard James, Clapton also played with the Yardbirds in what is now the YMCA Hall in nearby Surbiton during the early 1960s.
[edit] Cultural references
- In the BBC TV series The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, New Malden features twice in the list of excuses Perrin made to his boss for his late arrival at work; one of the claims made is that a badger hit the junction box there. [2]
- The house on the corner of Dukes Avenue/Howard Road featured in the 1970s ITV series Bless This House, which featured comedian Sidney James.
- New Malden is the centre of the universe according to Monty Python.[citation needed],
- A fictional character Meera from Little Britain comes from New Malden.[citation needed],
- In 2004, Tesco reported that the New Malden store was the biggest consumer of fruit and veg in the Country, in relation to items of fruit purchased per customer. It is thought that the Korean diet contributes significantly to this.[3]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- New Malden Small Group
- Christ Church New Malden
- New Malden Baptist Church
- New Malden Evangelical Free Church
- New Malden Woodcraft Folk
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