Sutton, London Borough Genealogy

Guide to The London Borough of Sutton history, family history, and genealogy parish registers, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.



History
As with all the other London Boroughs, Sutton Borought was cobbled together from a number of local areas with no concern for history or for the desires of the population. Family History researchers will need to review the specific segments listed below that were all part of the original County of Surrey.

The borough was formed in 1965 by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Sutton and Cheam with the Municipal Borough of Beddington and Wallington and Carshalton Urban District all of which had previously been part of Surrey.

An ancient parish originally in the county of Surrey. Its location on the London to Brighton turnpike from 1755 led to the opening of coaching inns, spurring its growth as a village. When it was connected to central London by rail in 1847, it began to grow into a town, and it expanded further in the 20th century.

The placename Sutton is recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book as Sudtone. It is formed from Old English 'sūth' and 'tūn', meaning 'south farm'.

Archaeological finds in the region date back thousands of years, including the excavation of a Roman villa in Beddington. An implement from the neolithic age was found in Sutton town center. The Roman road of Stane Street formed part of the northern boundary of the parish. Sutton was recorded as Sudtone in a charter of Chertsey Abbey believed to date from the late 7th century, when the Manor was granted to the Abbot of Chertsey by Frithwald, Governor of Surrey. Some sources state the name as Suthtone or Sudtana.

The 1086 Domesday Book records Sutton as spanning about 800 acres, and having about 30 houses and 200 people. It states that the Abbot of Chertsey held the manor. In 1538 it was sold to King Henry VIII and granted to Sir Nicholas Carew of Beddington. When Sir Nicholas was sentenced to death, the King seized the manor. Queen Mary restored it to Francis, son of Sir Nicholas. It later became a Crown possession again until King Charles II granted it to the Duke of Portland, who sold it in 1669. It changed hands regularly thereafter.

The London to Brighton stagecoach began in 1760, and the Cock Hotel was the 9am stop for coaches leaving the city. Regular contact beyond the town brought expansion and sophistication. Small businesses opened up, at first related to travelers and later to provide goods for neighbouring areas. The toll bars moved away from the junction as Sutton expanded, remaining in use until 1882.

Sutton railway station was opened in 1847. Following the arrival of the new, fast link to central London, Sutton's population more than doubled between 1851 and 1861, and the village became a town. New housing was built in the Lind Road area, and called "New Town". A pub built in 1854 on the corner of Lind Road was named the Jenny Lind, after the famous Swedish opera singer Johanna Maria Lind, who was visiting friends in the area in 1847 and enchanted locals with her singing. It has recently been renamed the Nightingale, also after the singer, who was known as the Swedish Nightingale.

In 1902 the Banstead Road site of the South Metropolitan Industrial school was bought by the Metropolitan Asylums Board. The site later became the Downs Schools and then the Downs Hospital. It is now shared between the Royal Marsden and Sutton Hospitals and the Institute of Cancer Research.

The Sutton Adult School and Institute opened in 1910 in a large Edwardian building in Benhill Avenue. It later became the Thomas Wall Centre,[19] named after the area's benefactor of Wall's sausage and ice cream fame. Thomas Wall's own lack of education led to a desire to encourage learning in others, resulting in the establishment of a trust and the construction of the Institute. The adult school is said to have had the best premises in the UK: by 1915 there were social clubs, a library, clubs for maternity and horticulture, debating and temperance societies, a legal advice committee, bible study and English literature classes, and what was claimed to be the finest public gymnasium in southern England.

During World War II bombing was not as heavy as in central London - 434 bombs in total were dropped on Sutton and Cheam, and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission lists 187 civilian casualties.

Cemeteries (Civil)
Sutton Cemetery A17 Alcorn Cl Sutton SM3 9PX Phone: +44 20 8644 9437

Bandon Hill Cemetery Plough La Wallington SM6 8JQ Phone: +44 20 8647 1024

Merton and Sutton Joint Cemetery Garth Rd Morden SM4 4NW Phone: +44 20 8545 3666

Cuddington Cemetery 17 Lindsay Rd Worcester Park KT4 8LF Phone: +44 20 8644 9437

Mordon Cemetery London SM4 4NU Phone: +44 20 8337 4835

Parishes
St Barnabas' Church address: 7 Betchworth Cl Sutton SM1 4NR

All Saints Church address: All Saints Rd Sutton SM1 3DA Phone: +44 20 8644 9070

St Nicholas' Church address: 19 Falcourt Cl Sutton SM1 2RQ Phone: +44 20 8642 3499

St Dunstan's Church address: Church Rd Cheam, Sutton SM3 8QH Phone: +44 300 330 1456

St Mary's Church address: Church Rd Wallington SM6 7NJ Phone: +44 20 8647 1973

Christ Church Church address: Christchurch Park Sutton SM2 5TN Phone: +44 20 8642 2757

St Mary the Virgin Church address: The Avenue Worcester Park KT4 7HL Phone: +44 20 8337 4026

St Paul's Church address: 183 Mollison Dr Wallington SM6 9HG Phone: +44 20 8647 1201

St John's Church address: Northdown Rd Sutton SM2 6DY Phone: +44 20 8643 4656

Non Conformists
Christian non-conformist groups that meet in Sutton Borough include:


 * Baptist
 * Church of Christ
 * Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
 * Emmanuel Community Church
 * Evangelical Free Church
 * First Church of Christ Scientist
 * Hope Church<br
 * Korean Catholic
 * New Life Christian Center
 * Potters House Christian Center
 * Redeemed Christian Church of God
 * Salvation Army
 * Seventh Day Adventist
 * Unitarian
 * Vineyard

Non Christian groups follow:


 * Baha'i
 * Buddhist
 * Confucian
 * Jewish
 * Hindu
 * Muslim
 * Sikh

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths records have been kept by the UK government since July 1837 to the present day. Prior to that, local parishes of the Church of England, and local branches of other faiths were the only repositories of this information.


 * London Borough of Sutton BMD records


 * ukbmd.org: Sutton registration District


 * free bmd.org: Search for Sutton Records


 * ukbmd.org: Surrey Parish Records


 * Surrey County Council BMD records

Local Histories

 * Londonist: Things you never knew about the London Borough of Sutton


 * Vision of Britain: Sutton


 * British History Online: Cheam


 * British History Online: Beddington


 * Vision of Britain: Wallington


 * Vision of Britain: Carshalton


 * British History Online: Esher

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Open Street Map: London Borough of Sutton


 * Oldmapsonline: Sutton


 * Francis Frith: Old maps of Cheam


 * Francis Frith: Old maps of Beddington


 * Francis Frith: Old maps of Wallington


 * Francis Frith: Old maps of Carshalton


 * Hidden London: Sutton gazetteer


 * Hidden London: Cheam Gazetteer


 * Hidden London: Beddington Corner


 * Hidden London: Wallington


 * Hidden London: Carshalton Beeches

Newspapers

 * The Sutton Guardian


 * The London Evening Standard: Sutton


 * Newspaper Archives: Sutton

Occupations
The London Borough of Sutton is one of the wealthiest of the London Boroughs, certainly as an outlying district. In fact, the area known as Cheam is called the "Stockbrokers Row", based on the class of people living there. More than 50% of the residents of the BOrough work in the "City" as the heart of London is called. The average house price is about 370,000 Pounds Sterling (close to US$500,000) and the median income in the UK is 27,500 Pounds Sterling (about US$35,750) so the average English person can in no way afford to live there. Menial jobs such as working in the shops and Malls, or within the local community, are filled by persons from the outlying Boroughs.

There is almost no industry or Company HQ activity, and most of the local employment comes from the outside. The accompanying reference provides an indication of the type of positions to be found within the Borough.

Societies

 * East Surrey FHS


 * West Surrey FHS


 * Carshalton and District History Society


 * The Sutton and Cheam Society (archive link0

Archives

 * London Borough of Sutton Archives


 * The National Archives: London Borough of Sutton


 * Surrey County History Center Archives


 * The National Archives: SUtton

Websites

 * London Borough of Sutton Council


 * Surrey County Council


 * Wikipedia: London Borough of Sutton


 * Wikipedia: Sutton


 * Wikipedia: Cheam


 * Wikipedia: Carshalton


 * Wikipedia: Beddington


 * Wikipedia: wallington