Sutton Common
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Sutton Common is the name of former common land and a district and neighbourhood located in Sutton, London. The area is mostly located within the London Borough of Sutton, with some of the streets to the north and west of Sutton Common Park adjoining Lower Morden and Morden within the London Borough of Merton. Much of the area is taken up by the large Kimpton Park commercial and industrial estate, adjoining the A217 (Oldfields Road). It is served by Sutton Common railway station. The area to the south and east of Oldfields Road uses an SM1 postcode and the area to the north and west uses SM3.
The borders of the area are generally regarded to be the main Pyl Brook stream to the south, bordering West Sutton and North Cheam; the East Pyl Brook to the north where it borders Rosehill and St Helier; Angel Hill, Sutton Green and Benhilton to the east; and the A24 road and Stonecot Hill to the west.
The elevation of the area ranges from as low as 23m AOD in parts of the Kimpton Park industrial estate next to the Pyl Brook - the lowest point in the London Borough of Sutton aside from parts of the Beddington sewage treatment works - to 47m on Barrington Road (near Sutton Cemetery) and 50m at Angel Hill.
History
The original Sutton Common was, as the name suggests, common land bordering Oldfields Farm to the east, located at what is now Rosehill, and Stonecot Hill to the west, through which ran the Roman road from London to Chichester known as Stane Street and which is now the modern A24; the A217, built in the 1920s, also passes through the area.
The common was used by local people for farming and grazing animals until it was enclosed in 1809, under the terms of which a small part of the common at Sutton Green was reserved as a recreation ground. What remains of the common can now also be found at Sutton Common Park, Reigate Avenue Recreation Ground, Thomas Wall Park in Rosehill, and Rosehill Park East and West.
In the 1840s, Sutton Common only had two farms and a few cottages, but by 1868 there were some 29 large residences, some of which were located in the new, upmarket parish of Benhilton on the eastern side of Angel Hill. The road between Sutton Common Road and Gander Green Lane was called Clensham Lane: it followed the route of the modern road still called Clensham Lane and the southern section of what has now become Oldfields Road. On the southern side of Clensham Lane, close to the junction with Sutton Common Road, were two substantial houses called Broomloan and Hilton Grange. On the northern side of Sutton Common Road, directly opposite Hilton Grange, was the largest house in the area, Fairlands, which was demolished in the 1920s to make way for Reigate Avenue: it is now commemorated by the road on the site called Fairlands Road. Another dozen or so substantial Victorian and Edwardian houses were scattered along Sutton Common Road in the direction of Angel Hill, including a larger house called Aysgarth, which is now a block of modern flats called Aysgarth Court, and Hallmead Farm (known locally as Skinner's Farm after the dairyman who owned it at the turn of the 20th century) near Hallmead Road and Stayton Road. A sewage works was built on what is now the Kimpton Park commercial and industrial estate and Sutton Cemetery, located on Alcorn Close, was built next door in 1889. It was formally opened and partially consecrated on 13 March 1890.
Kelly's Directory of Surrey 1903 contains the following entry: "The [Sutton] Common runs westward from Benhilton church for about 1 mile, and contains some mansions and villa residences. The land has been sold in plots to small freeholders and the manorial rights extinguished. The soil of the eastern part of the parish [i.e. the parish of Benhilton] is light; subsoil, chalk; the western part, heavy; subsoil, clay. The chief crops are wheat, barley and oats."[1]
By 1913, large parts of the West Sutton area were fully developed but Sutton Common was still mostly open fields and a few allotment gardens. A large fireworks manufactory, "Brocks' Fireworks Factory", was located in the direction of what is now North Cheam, having moved there from Selhurst in 1901 where it supplied fireworks for displays at the Crystal Palace. In 1913 a small number of cottages, presumably intended to house the factory workers, had been built to the south west of the sewage works along Gander Green Lane. The factory was demolished in the late 1930s and is now commemorated by the road name "Brocks Drive". After the end of the First World War, more houses were built and Sutton Common railway station opened on 5 January 1930 (see main article). By 1937, Broomloan and Hilton Grange had been demolished and replaced by blocks of flats and streets of terraced housing for workers, including Broomloan Lane; in addition, a sports ground had been developed at what is now Rosehill Park West. Both Sutton Common Park and Reigate Avenue Recreation Ground had also been laid out. Hamilton Avenue, Oldfields Road, Blenheim Road and Stayton Road were some of the other streets built between the wars, and much of the area was developed at the same time as the St Helier estate to the north and Benhilton to the east, including most of the area to the west of Ridge Road and Forest Road bordering Stonecot Hill, although not to the same standards of architectural cohesion or urban planning.[2]
Today
Sutton Common is home to Glenthorne High School and two large recreation grounds, Sutton Common Recreation Ground and Reigate Avenue Recreation Ground (the latter also known locally as "The Daisy Field"), as well as part of the smaller Hamilton Avenue Recreation Ground bordering North Cheam; the Pyl Brook courses through, rising about half a kilometre further east near to Stayton Road and Pylbrook Road. Sutton Common Park, adjoining the Recreation Ground, contains a wet marsh and wild area for conserving and studying local biodiversity.
The neighbourhood is a mixture of residential, commercial and industrial uses. The majority residential area comprises blocks of purpose built flats, inter-War and mid-20th century terraced and semi-detached housing, and a few surviving mainly small Victorian and Edwardian properties, mostly along Sutton Common Road and close to Sutton Green. Three large detached Victorian houses remain alongside the Green. The exact border with Benhilton is unclear. Sutton Common Road runs along a ridge between the Pyl Brook and the East Pyl Brook and some of the streets on either side of the slope, particularly in the area east of the A217, are connected by stepped footways and steep, narrow alleys.
Clusters of local shops can be found around the railway station and further west along Sutton Common Road, next to Glenthorne High School and near to the roundabout with Ridge Road and Forest Road, as well as at Stonceot Hill. The main public house in the area is The Plough, now a Harvester, at the junction of Sutton Common Road and Reigate Avenue. The large Kimpton Park industrial area can be accessed from the A217 and adjoins a Tesco Extra superstore.
The local area is served by Sutton Common railway station and bus routes 470, which runs from Epsom along part of Sutton Common Road towards St Helier and Colliers Wood; 80, which runs from Downview prison in Belmont to Reynolds Close, Hackbridge via Stayton Road, Tonfield Road and Stonecot Hill; and local bus S3, from Sutton Hospital to Malden Manor railway station along Pylbrook Road and Dibdin Road. Cycle route 208 from Angel Hill to Wimbledon traverses Rosehill Park West and the Reigate Avenue and Sutton Common Recreation Grounds.
The Sutton Life Centre for young people is located on Alcorn Close next to the cemetery. 1st North Sutton Scout Group have their headquarters at Stayton Road.
The football team Sutton Common Rovers represent the area at football and play at Gander Green Lane, which is also the home of Sutton United. On 7 September 2016, the club announced plans for a new £1 million ground, to be built on part of the Reigate Avenue Recreation Ground.[3]
210 (Sutton) Transport Squadron of 151 Regiment RLC is based at Stonecot Hill.
Nearby places
Coordinates: 51°23′N 0°12′W / 51.383°N 0.200°W
References
- ↑ Oliver, Richard (July 2012). Extracts from Kelly's Directory of Surrey, Surrey Sheet 13.11 Sutton (North) & Benhilton 1910. Alan Godfrey Maps. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-84784-615-0.
- ↑ Oliver, Richard (July 2012). Surrey Sheet 13.11 Sutton (North) & Benhilton 1910 (Edition of 1913). Alan Godfrey Maps. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-84784-615-0.
- ↑ Anglesey, Anders (7 September 2016). "Sutton Common Rovers unveil £1m plans for new ground". Sutton Guardian. Newsquest. Retrieved 8 September 2016.