Sutton is a town in the London Borough of Sutton in South London, England. It is the administrative headquarters of the Outer London borough. It is south-southwest of Charing Cross, one of the fourteen metropolitan centres in the London Plan.
An ancient parish originally in the county of Surrey, Sutton is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as having two churches and about 30 houses. 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. It became a municipal borough with Cheam in 1934, and became part of Greater London in 1965.
Sutton has the largest library in the borough, several works of public art and four conservation areas. It is home to several large international companies and the sixth most important shopping area in London, centred on Sutton High Street. Sutton railway station is the largest station in the borough, offering frequent services by Southern and Govia Thameslink to Central London and other destinations, including Wimbledon and St Albans. It is home to the Royal Marsden Hospital and the Institute of Cancer Research.
Future plans for Sutton as of 2024 include creating the world's second largest cancer research campus and improving connectivity to central London and the London Underground through the Sutton Link tram project (currently awaiting funding).
Geography
Geology, soil and elevations
Sutton is one of several towns located on a narrow bed of Thanet Sands which extends from Croydon in the east, to Epsom in the west. To the south of this belt is chalk of the North Downs, and to the north is clay. The southern part of the town is on the lower slopes of the North Downs. The belt of Thanet sands allowed wells to provide clean water, and this attracted settlements from a very early date. The Sutton and Cheam Water Company began operations in 1864, and by 1900 had built 142 miles of mains. The company merged with the East Surrey Water Company in 1996 to form Sutton and East Surrey Water.
Elevations in and around the town range from AOD in Belmont to in Sutton Common, at the start of the Pyl Brook stream.
Location
Sutton has formed part of Greater London since 1965. There is another, much smaller Sutton in Surrey, near Dorking.
Its location is approximately south-southwest of Charing Cross, London and due southwest of the City of London, placing it within easy reach of Central London. Sutton is also approximately west of Croydon, London, north-east of Epsom, Surrey, and south-east of Kingston upon Thames, London.
Green spaces
In addition to the St Nicholas church grounds, there are two areas of green space within the town centre, Sutton Green and Manor Park.
thumb|300px|left|Sutton Green in the Spring, seen from above
thumb|left|Fountain, Manor Park
Sutton Green is at the northern end of Sutton High Street, near All Saints Church. It is bordered by a row of detached Victorian villas to the west, the High Street to the east and Bushey Road to the south. The green dates from 1810, when it was awarded to the residents of Sutton under the Sutton Common Enclosure Award. Victoria Gardens, a smaller area of green space which once included a pond, lies across the road from Sutton Green.
To the north of Sutton Green are Rose Hill Park East and Rose Hill Park West, to the east and west respectively of the main thoroughfare Angel Hill/Rosehill. Rose Hill Park East contains Greenshaw Woods, for which Greenshaw High School is named.
Manor Park lies opposite the police station. It was opened by the chairman of the then Sutton Urban District Council in 1914, and its fountain was added in 1924–1925. A plaque on the pool surround states: "This fountain was presented to the town by Councillor Chas Yates Chairman of Sutton U.D.C.1924–25"
The park is the site of the Sutton War Memorial, which was unveiled in 1921 by Sir Ralph Forster, a resident whose son had died in the war. The memorial, in portland stone, consists of a large ornamental cross on a plinth. 524 men who died in the First World War are commemorated on the memorial. There are four depictions of angels on the plinth overlooking the park. It was London's first energy-efficient building to use this construction method.
In the south of Sutton starts Banstead Downs, which extends for around a mile south towards neighbouring Banstead. Banstead Downs is a large Site of Special Scientific Interest, covering . Banstead Golf Course is on the northern slopes.
Local Nature Reserves
Sutton contains two Local Nature Reserves.
- The Anton Crescent Wetland reserve has ponds, willow carr and reedbeds. It provides a habitat for birds such as the green sandpiper and common snipe.
- Devonshire Avenue Nature Area is a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade II. It is mainly neutral grassland. A notable species is the small blue butterfly, which is rare in the borough.
History
Origin of the name
The placename Sutton is recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book as Sudtone. It is formed from Old English 'sūth' and 'tūn', meaning 'south farm'.
Pre 1700
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 centre. It states that the Abbot of Chertsey held the manor. In 1538 it was sold to 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.
thumb|left|The Cock Hotel in 1789.
From the time of Domesday until the 19th century, Sutton formed a parish in the Wallington hundred of Surrey in the feudal system.
Jose Glover, who was Rector of Sutton from 1628 to 1636, became a pioneer of printing in the English colonies of North America and one of the people instrumental in establishing Harvard College in the 1630s.
1700 to 1900
The road from London to Banstead Downs, through Sutton, was a haven for highwaymen in the 18th century. In 1755, two turnpike roads, which met at Sutton, were built: one from London to Brighton (Brighton Road), the other from Carshalton to Ewell (Cheam Road). The toll bars for the roads were originally located by the Cock Hotel, a coaching inn at the junction. The inn's sign straddled the Brighton road.
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 travellers and later to provide goods for neighbouring areas.
Sutton Water Company was incorporated in 1863, and the provision of water mains allowed houses to be built outside the Thanet Sands area. The Lord of the Manor, Mr Thomas Alcock, sold land for housing, and Sutton's population more than doubled again between 1861 and 1871, The grand and decorative London and Provincial Bank building (now home to Barclays Bank) was built overlooking the historic crossroads in 1894. Designed in the French Renaissance architectural style, it is four storeys tall and forms a prominent local landmark. There is a series of arches at ground level, and an ornate entrance where the roads meet.
In 1884 Sutton High School for Girls was founded by the then Girls' Public Day School Trust.
In 1899 Sutton County Grammar School (now Sutton Grammar School for Boys) opened.
thumb|left|Sutton Masonic Hall
In 1897 Sutton Masonic Hall was built in Grove Road. Freemasons have met there since its foundation, apart during World War II when the military requisitioned it and it served as a shelter for displaced people.
20th century
thumb|Sutton High St., Christmas, 1910
By 1901, the town's population had reached 17,223 as further housing was built and the High Street was developed.
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, the Institute of Cancer Research, and the site of a new school to be opened in 2019. named after the area's benefactor of Wall's sausage and ice cream fame. Thomas Wall's 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.
In 1950, in order to widen the High Street, the Cock Hotel was demolished. However, the inn sign and its fingerposts survive, overlooking the historic crossroads. The sign and fingerposts were given Grade II listed status by English Heritage on 18 April 2018.
In 1959 a local resident, George Edgar Alcock, started a campaign to preserve a unique avenue of copper beech trees. This campaign led the same year to the formation of the Sutton and Cheam Society, a local amenity group. A plaque commemorating Mr Alcock's life is situated at the junction of Christchurch Park with Brighton Road.
Governance
thumb|[[Sutton Civic Offices, the headquarters of the London Borough of Sutton]]
Sutton came within the area of the Metropolitan Police District in 1840. The parish of Sutton adopted the Local Government Act 1858 in 1882 and a local board was formed to govern the area. The Local Government Act 1894 reformed it as Sutton Urban District.
In 1928 the area of the urban district was expanded to include the parish of Cheam, and renamed Sutton and Cheam. The town became a municipal borough in 1934, and the civil parishes were merged in 1949.
Population and demography
{| class="wikitable" align="left" style=font-size:90%;margin-right:20px;
|+Sutton (parish) population
|-
!align="center"| 1881
|align="center"| 10,334
|-
!align="center"| 1891
|align="center"| 13,977
|-
!align="center"| 1901
|align="center"| 17,223
|-
!align="center"| 1911
|align="center"| 21,270
|-
!align="center"| 1921
|align="center"| 21,063
|-
!align="center"| 1931
|align="center"| 27,989
|-
| colspan=2| Absorbed by<br />Sutton and Cheam parish ►
|-
|style="font-size:smaller" colspan=2 align=center|source: UK census
|}
Most of Sutton, including the town centre, falls under the SM1 postcode area, though places south of Sutton railway station are part of SM2 instead, and the western part of Sutton Common is in SM3.
The population of the town was counted as 58,880 including the Sutton Central, Sutton South, Sutton North, Sutton West and Belmont Wards in the 2021 United Kingdom census, while the borough overall counted 209,639.
A majority of the town's population is in the middle class ABC1 social group.
Architecture
thumb|Sutton Lodge, the oldest surviving building in the parish of Sutton
thumb|upright|left|Ornate architecture in Sutton High Street
Sutton is mainly the product of the railways, which arrived in the town in the mid-19th century. So, although it already existed (as a village with coaching inns) in the horse and carriage era, most of the town's earliest architecture is Victorian. A few buildings date from before the Victorian era. The mid-18th century Georgian Sutton Lodge on Brighton Road is thought to be the oldest fully surviving building in the former parish of Sutton. The lodge was initially the farmhouse of the former Sutton Farm. Later, the farmland around the lodge was sold off for house building. The lodge itself survived and was bought by Sutton Council, for use as a day centre. During its early history it may have served as a hideaway for the future King George IV and his mistresses. The building is Grade II listed.
thumb|Sutton's Edwardian Police Station
The High Street and the central area housing has a majority of Victorian architecture; Edwardian architecture is also represented, especially among the town's housing stock. Of architectural interest because of its particularly varied style is the Victorian residential quarter east of the high street known as Newtown, where no single developer was in overall charge.
- The Landseer Road Conservation Area of grand, finely detailed, Edwardian villa houses.
- The Grove Avenue Conservation Area of mainly modernist houses.
Places of worship
There are three churches in the town centre: Trinity Church and St Nicholas Church on St Nicholas Way and Sutton Baptist Church on Cheam Road.
Other churches in the town include All Saints Church in the north, St Barnabas in the east and Christ Church in the south (all Anglican); and two Roman Catholic churches, Our Lady of the Rosary to the east, and the Church of the Holy Family by Sutton Green. The Salvation Army have a centre in Benhill Avenue. Most recently, Hope Church Sutton was established in November 2015 and meets at Sutton Grammar School.
Sutton Synagogue is located on Cedar Road, south of the town centre.
Trinity United Reformed and Methodist Church
thumb|Trinity Church
The Grade II listed Trinity Church is in the Gothic style, with its exterior in Kent ragstone. Its tall, square tower is the most striking architectural feature and makes the building a landmark. Its "crown and lantern" spire is a very unusual feature, shared with two cathedrals — St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh and Newcastle Cathedral.
The present building, officially opened in 1907, was renamed Trinity Methodist Church following the Methodist Union in 1932. In 1972 the Congregational and Presbyterian Churches united, and the Congregational and Methodist congregations in Sutton also united, with Trinity becoming a joint United Reformed and Methodist church.
The church is noted within the borough for its contemporary brick design with long walls and concave sweeps in the moderne style. The windows are in simple clean lines, in a simplified Gothic style. The interior has much exposed brickwork and sweeping pointed arches, which are highlighted by the directions in which the bricks are laid.
St Nicholas Church
The Grade II listed St Nicholas Church is the oldest of the three town centre churches, and is surrounded by a small ancient graveyard, which is wooded. It is in ecumenical partnership with other denominations and in a Team Ministry with other Anglican churches.
Many of Sutton's notable historic residents are buried in the churchyard. These include Mr Horward Orme, the final owner of the manor house; Dorothy Mason, wife of Sir William Brownlow, 4th Baronet; William Talbot, 1st Earl Talbot; and 185 orphans from the Metropolitan District School. The orphans' graves are marked by a memorial put up by the church's Sunday school children in 1921. A large World War II bomb landed on the churchyard in 1940. It destroyed several graves, but the church building itself remained intact.
There is a historic churchyard around the church, which includes several significant tombs. It is wooded, including yew trees beside the path to the north porch.
English Heritage describe the church as "a very fine building in the decorated style of the early 14th century".
St. Barnabas Church
To the east of the town centre is St Barnabas Church, which was built between 1882 and 1884 by architects R H Carpenter and Benjamin Ingelow. Its purpose was to serve the Newtown area of Sutton, which was developed in the second half of the 19th century.
Architecturally, the church is a red brick building with stone dressings, and is in the Gothic Revival style. Its nave has five bays, and is supported inside by columns with clustered shafts and a timber scissors truss roof.
Christ Church
To the south of the town centre in Christchurch Park sits Christ Church, Sutton. It was built in 1888 by architects Newman & Jacques. Additions were made c. 1910 to 1912 by J D Round.
The church was built as part of the 19th century expansion of the town. With the growing population to the south of the parish church of St Nicholas in the town centre, the need was recognised for the people living in the south to have a more local church. The building was sited among the then lavender fields east of Brighton Road. The church has the largest auditorium in Sutton, and comprises a nave of five bays, a chancel, apse, north and south aisles, chapel, narthex and vestries.
Church of Our Lady of the Rosary and Church of the Holy Family
To the east of the town centre, on St Barnabas Road, is the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary. It was built and consecrated in 1892, before it was enlarged in 1912; in 1932 the church's current altar was consecrated by the then Roman Catholic Bishop of Southwark, Peter Amigo.
The Church of the Holy Family, though closer to the town centre, is more recent, starting as Holy Family Church Hall in the 1960s. The current church was built in 1988, two years after being given its own parish.
Culture
Sutton has a range of public art, a large library, a music venue and a cinema and theatre. It is a hub for filming in south-west London.
Sutton Central Library's Art Gallery Space
Sutton Central Library's Art Gallery aims to provide the London Borough of Sutton's residents with a wide range of contemporary art, heritage and history experiences. The gallery space is available for hire to professional artists, collectives and non-profit groups wishing to exhibit their work individually or as a group. Entrance to the gallery and access to the exhibition is free for all members of the public, except for specific events.
Imagine festival of arts
In 2006 the annual Imagine festival of arts was launched. It has since gained Arts Council England funding.
Public art
Sutton town centre contains six main works of public art, as well as several other works. Of the main works, three are murals and three are sculptures.
Sutton heritage mosaic
thumb|The Sutton Heritage Mosaic
There is a large town centre mosaic measuring high and wide covering the whole of a three-storey wall in the town square near the Waterstone's bookshop. One of the largest examples of wall art in Britain, it was commissioned by the London Borough of Sutton to celebrate the borough's heritage.
Created by artists Gary Drostle and Rob Turner, the mosaic was made from vitreous ceramic tesserae (small tiles made of glass and clay), and put in place in 1994.
A plaque describing the panels was installed in 2011, and unveiled by Councillor Graham Tope, who said: