Wallington, London

Wallington
OS grid reference	TQ294645
London borough	Sutton
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	WALLINGTON
Postcode district	SM6
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
UK Parliament	Carshalton and Wallington
London Assembly	Croydon and Sutton

Wallington is a town in the London Borough of Sutton situated 10.3 miles (16.6 km) south south-west of Charing Cross.

History

The name "Wallington" derives from the Anglo Saxon "Waletone" meaning "village of the Britons".

Wallington appears in Domesday Book of 1086 and was held by William the Conqueror. Its domesday assets were: 11 hides. It had 2 mills worth £1 10s 0d, 11 ploughs, 8 acres 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). 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.

Guy Portelli's sculpture "English Lavender" (1999) in Wallington Town Centre

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:

• 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 house in Woodcote Road.

Today

In 2007 Wallington has been enjoying something of a mini boom with new retailers being attracted to the town, including Tesco Express, Caffe Nero and SpecSavers. These are in addition to existing High Street names such as Sainsbury's, Boots, Woolworth's, WH Smith, Superdrug, Peacocks, Dorothy Perkins, Clinton Cards, Lloyds Pharmacy, Greggs and Lidl. In addition, many major banks and building societies are sited in the town.

Wallington also enjoys a regular farmers' market on the second Saturday of each month. This is usually held outside the town hall, close to the public library, but occasionally is located 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 if you use public transport.

Bus

A variety of bus services are available from Wallington. These include:

• 127 - to Purley, Carshalton, Mitcham, Tooting Broadway
• 151 - to Carshalton, St Helier, Sutton, Cheam, Worcester Park
• 154 - to Croydon, Carshalton, Sutton, Morden
• 157 - to Crystal Palace, Croydon, Morden
• 410 - to Crystal Palace, Norwood, Croydon, Beddington
• 455 - to Beddington, Waddon, Croydon, Purley
• S4 - to Roundshaw, Sutton, St Helier
• X26 - to Croydon, Carshalton, Sutton, Kingston, Heathrow.

Coach

For those wishing to travel by coach there is the 025 National Express service which goes from London Victoria to Brighton, via Wallington and Gatwick airport. Passengers can join the 025 at Wallington just south of the crossroads formed by Woodcote Road and Stafford Road.

From the same point passengers can catch the 027 National Express service from Wallington to Chichester. This service, which starts at London Victoria, is only available once a day. A once a day return service from Chichester is also provided.

Rail

Wallington is also well served by a rail link which can take passengers to London Victoria or London Bridge. Other direct northbound links include: West Croydon, Balham and Clapham Junction. In addition there are direct southbound links to Sutton, Epsom and Epsom Downs. A limited direct service is also provided to Dorking and Guildford.

Wallington railway station has just two platforms. The northbound platform is unusual because part of it is located on the bridge that crosses Woodcote Road. Passengers standing at this point on the platform have a dramatic aerial view of one of Wallington's main shopping streets. The road immediately below this bridge achieved some notoriety on 20 July 2007 when it was severely flooded, making it impassable for several hours.

Disabled passengers or those with pushchairs arriving on the southbound platform who wish to enter the town without using the stairs can do so by going through Lidl's car park. This is located at the back of the station.

Passengers arriving at the southbound platform should also note that the drop between train and platform varies depending on which carriage you are alighting from. The greatest drop occurs at the rear of the train and the smallest at the front of the train. If you are elderly or unsteady on your feet, and are planning to alight at Wallington's southbound platform, you are well advised to travel in one of the carriages close to the front of the train.

Tram

The closest tramstop is at Therapia Way, and is got to by catching the 455 bus, this will then take you on to Wimbledon. Alternatively, you can join the tram network by catching the 154, 157, 410 or 455 from the town centre to West Croydon Bus Station, or the 407 from Wallington Green, also to West Croydon Bus Station. Tramlink operates between Wimbledon, New Addington, Elmers End and Beckenham Junction.

Underground

The closest underground station to the town is Morden, which is at the end of the Northern Line. It takes about 20 minutes to reach the station by car from Wallington. Alternatively, travellers wishing to use the underground can catch either the 154 or 157 buses from outside the Public Hall in Stafford Road to Morden Station (the 157 is 10-15 minutes quicker), or any London Victoria train from Wallington railway station and change at Balham.

Famous residents

• Mervyn Peake once lived in Woodcote Road, Wallington but his house has since been demolished to make way for a block of flats.

• Eileen Shanahan, Irish poet, lived with her family in Blenheim Gardens.

• Jeff Beck of The Yardbirds lived on Demesne Road.

• Will Owen, Member of Parliament for Morpeth, Co. Durham, also lived in Wallington.

Education

See the London Borough of Sutton article for details of education in the borough.