Merton ‘Did you know?’

  • Mitcham, Morden, Merton and Wimbledon merged to form the borough of Merton in 1965, but the area was settled much earlier.
  • There are remnants of an Iron Age hill fort to the southwest of Wimbledon Common windmill, and there is evidence of another Celtic fort in the Pollards Hill area of Mitcham.
  • In 1569, a Wimbledon woman was sentenced to hang for witchcraft after she was accused of killing three children and four pigs in the village by casting spells on them.
  • Each year, Wimbledon is held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. One of the four tennis Grand Slam tournaments, it is the largest annual sporting event to take place in the U.K, with over 200,000 visitors during the Wimbledon fortnight.