Tooting
Tooting is a suburb in the London Borough of Wandsworth in south London. It is 5 miles (8 km) south south-west of Charing Cross.
History
Tooting has been settled since pre-Saxon times, and its name means "the dwelling of the sons of Totas". The Romans built Stane Street from London (Londinium) to Chichester (Regnum), which passed through Tooting. Tooting High Street is built on this road. In 666 AD, Tooting and Streatham (then Toting-cum-Stretham) was given to the Abbey of Chertsey. Then in 900 AD, Suene (Sweyn), believed to be a Viking, was given the land by Edward the Confessor. It was later passed on to again: in 933 AD, King Athelstan of England gave lands including Totinge (Tooting) to the family of Chertsey Minster.
Tooting appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Totinges. It was held by Haimo the Sheriff (of Kent) from Chertsey Abbey. Its domesday assets were: 1 church, 2½ ploughs, 5 acres (20,000 m2) of meadow. It rendered £4. Tooting Bec appears as a distinct area. It was held partly by St Mary de Bec-Hellouin Abbey and partly by Westminster Abbey. Its domesday assets were: 5 hides. It had 5½ ploughs, 13 acres. It rendered £7.[1]
As with many of South London's urban suburbs, Tooting developed largely during the late Victorian years. Some development occurred in the Edwardian years but another large spurt happened during the 1920s and 30's.
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- 1703 AD - Daniel Defoe was a Tooting Presbyterian Minister in hiding.
- 1906 - Tooting Bec Lido opened.
- 1954 - St George's Hospital begins to relocate to Tooting from Hyde Park Corner, taking over the old Grove Fever and Fountain Hospitals.
- 2003 - Redevelopment of St George's Hospital buildings completed.
Cultural references
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. (October 2008) |
The BBC comedy series Citizen Smith was set in Tooting and popularised the cry "Freedom for Tooting!". Star of the series Wolfie Smith (played by Robert Lindsay) was a beret-hatted Communist "leftie" type, founder of fictional revolutionary political organisation, the Tooting Popular Front.
In 2005, a 28-km diameter crater on Mars was named after Tooting.[2] A geologic map of Tooting Crater is under preparation, and will be published by the U.S. Geological Survey in the United States.
British TV police drama 'The Bill' is frequently filmed in and around Tooting.
Scottish singer-songwriter Sandi Thom found fame after she webcast 21 performances from her basement flat in Tooting between February and March 2006. Her track 'I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers In My Hair)' reached No1 in the UK charts on 2 June 2006.
Tooting Bec appears in the book The Meaning of Liff, defined as the situation in which a driver sounds his or her horn at a car in front, only to discover that the car in front is parked.
In the third series of the popular British comedy sketch show Little Britain it is uncovered that Dudley Punt's new found Thai bride Ting Tong Macadangdang is really from Tooting and not where she originally said she was from, a tiny village called Pong Pong, "Ting tong not from Pong Pong, Ting Tong from Tooting.".
Politics
The Member of Parliament for Tooting is Sadiq Khan, first elected at the 2005 General Election to represent the parliamentary constituency of Tooting.
Councillors for Tooting Ward (May 2006) are Susan John-Richards (Conservative), Alex Jacob (Conservative) and Dr Nick Bowes (Labour).
Open spaces
A large open area, popularly known as Tooting Common lies at the northern end of Tooting. Historically this was two separate open spaces Tooting Graveney Common nearer to Tooting, and Tooting Bec Common towards Streatham. The latter common includes Tooting Bec Lido, which is 90 metres long and 30 metres wide making it undoubtedly the largest freshwater open air pool in the UK, and reputedly the largest freshwater open air pool in Europe.
Sport
Tooting shares a football club with nearby Mitcham: Tooting & Mitcham United F.C.
Snooker legend Jimmy White comes from Tooting and sometimes plays snooker in the Mayfair snooker hall.
Darren Bent who plays football for Tottenham Hotspur comes from Tooting.
Coventry City FC player Clinton Morrison was born in Tooting.
One of London's few greyhound racing tracks, the Wimbledon Stadium, is found in Tooting.
Former British and European Light Middleweight boxing champion Wayne Alexander was born in Tooting.
Transport
Tooting is positioned on the Northern Line — with stations at the top and the bottom of the hill that slopes down the High Street, Tooting Bec and Tooting Broadway.
Nearest places
Nearest tube stations
(North to South on Northern Line)
- Balham tube station
- Tooting Bec tube station
- Tooting Broadway tube station
- Colliers Wood tube station
- South Wimbledon tube station
Nearest railway stations
Shopping
The Tooting Markets are open Monday to Saturday with a wide range of small independent marketplace sellers. You can find green-lipped New Zealand mussels at the fishmonger right next door to a lace and fabric stall. The markets also contain a pet shop, CD store, women's shoe stall, tattoo parlour, bakery, coffee shop, nail salon and much more. The markets are closed on Sunday.
Tooting Broadway is a centre of the Muslim Pakistani community of south London. There are many Indian and Pakistani clothes shops, sweet shops and Restaurants. There are also many Somalis, Tamils, Poles and Jamaicans in the area.
Tooting also plays host to a range of chain stores including; Snappy Snaps, New Look, Budgens, Peacocks, Primark, Sainsbury's, Clarks, Holland & Barrett, Greggs and Tesco's.
Notable residents
- Matt Willis - Musician
- Darren Bent - Professional Footballer
- Bas Savage - Professional Footballer
- Henning Wehn - Comedian
- Jimmy White - Professional snooker player
- New Musik - Band
- Right Turn Left - Indie Rock Band
References
External links
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