New Malden
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
New Malden is a town and shopping centre in the south-western London suburbs, mostly within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and partly in the London Borough of Merton, and is situated 9.4 miles (15.1 km) from Charing Cross.
New Malden's centre was developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with two- and three-bedroom terraced houses. Further out are larger detached and semi-detached houses from the 1930s. The recent settlement grew up around the station on the main line from Waterloo. The road up the hill to Coombe, Traps Lane, is thought to derive from a farm owned by a Mrs Trap.
Two miles (3km) to the south is the former village of Old Malden from which it gets its name, whose origins go back to Anglo-Saxon times. The name being saxon for Mael + duna = the cross on the hill.
Both locations have been swallowed up into the Greater London conurbation.
New Malden is bounded to the north by the affluent Coombe Hill and to the south and east by Raynes Park, Worcester Park and Tolworth. New Malden includes Motspur Park, home to the training ground of Fulham Football Club. To the west, New Malden merges with Kingston upon Thames.
The busy A3 trunk road runs through part of New Malden. A minor tributary of the River Thames, Beverley Brook, flows through the east of the town, while its western boundary is along the Hogsmill, another Thames tributary.
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[edit] Korea Town
New Malden has the largest expatriate community of South Koreans in Europe. According to different sources, the Korean population in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is around 20,000, mostly residing in New Malden. The area has at least 20 Korean cafes and restaurants.
Samsung Electronics' UK division used to be based in New Malden but has now relocated its European headquarters to nearby Chertsey.
[edit] Amenities
New Malden has its own youth theatre, the Green Theatre Company, established in 1986 in a converted cricket pavilion at Barton Green. [1]
The area's only Cinema, the Odeon at Shannon Corner on the A3 has closed and been replaced by a large retail area including several large stores.
[edit] Famous residents
The most famous past residents are probably the cricketer Alec Stewart, singer-songwriter John Martyn, fiddler Dave Swarbrick of Fairport Convention, sculptor Anthony Caro and actor, comedian and entertainer Max Wall also lived there. It is also home to the infamous Mr. Woo who famously appeared as the 'stickman' in Nike commercials.
The Victorian artist John Sargent Noble lived in a house in Poplar Grove at the turn of the last century.
Two young New Malden residents, who both attended Beverley School (now renamed Coombe Boys School) Ian Bazalgette and Cyril Barton were both awarded the VC during World War II. These two posthumous awards are arguably for some of the greatest acts of heroism for which a VC has ever been awarded. Bazalgette Gardens and Barton Green were named in their honour.
Cyril Stevens lived at "Mitchley" in Traps Lane and was the S in BKS Air Transport [2] an airline of the 50's and 60's that became part of British Airways. His son is Lord Stevens.
[edit] Nearby places
- To the west: Kingston upon Thames, Norbiton.
- To the south: Tolworth, Surbiton, Worcester Park, Old Malden
- To the east: Raynes Park, Motspur Park
- To the north: Coombe, Wimbledon, Richmond Park
[edit] Some local amenities
Tudor Williams Ltd a family run department store in the heart of the High Street since 1913, offers a range of merchandise including: cosmetics, accessories, cookshop, gifts, stationery, menswear, linens, fashions,underwear, a Coffee Shop, beds & furniture, toys, hobby, wool and craft. The company also has separate bed and linen shops in Cobham and Dorking and expanded by acquiring department stores Elphicks of Farnham in October 2004 and Knights of Reigate in September 2006.
[edit] Notable open spaces close by
[edit] For recreation
- Topnotch Fitness Centre, Blagdon Road
- Malden Centre, Blagdon Road
- Kingsmeadow Sports Centre, Kingston Road
[edit] Trivia
- New Malden features twice in the list of excuses Reginald Perrin made to his boss for his late arrival at work; one of the claims made is that a badger hit the junction box there [2].
- The house on the corner of Dukes Avenue/Howard Road featured in the 1970s television series "Bless This House" which featured comedian Sidney James.
[edit] External links
- New Malden Small Group
- New Malden Baptist Church
- New Malden Evangelical Free Church
- New Malden Woodcraft Folk
- New Malden blogger
[edit] References
1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2006/06/08/south_korea_feature.shtml
2 http://website.lineone.net/~biggles200/
