Booklets – MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY

A History of Lord Nelson’s Merton Place

The author in his introduction gives generous credit to the late John Wallace upon whose notes this useful booklet is largely reliant. Between them they have extended our knowledge of Nelson’s Merton estate. The booklet (of 47 pages including index) takes us back to the late 17th century when the land was unbuilt. By 1753 there was a substantial building on the land and this was developed by Sir Richard Hotham, the ‘founder’ of modern day Bognor Regis in West Sussex.

A Priory Founded: Sheriff Gilbert at Merton

The first complete translation of the contemporary account of the founding of Merton Priory by Gilbert, sheriff of Surrey, together with an introductory essay.

Copper Milling on the Wandle

Whereas the establishment of copper mills at various locations throughout the Wandle Valley during the late 17th and early 18th centuries occasionally finds a brief mention in the respective parish histories, the phenomenon overall has so far attracted only passing comment and, rather surprisingly, appears not to have stimulated any detailed study by industrial historians.

Daughter Houses of Merton Priory

Profusely illustrated with plans, photographs, drawings and tables, the book traces the spread of Merton’s influence in England, Scotland and Normandy, through the setting up Augustinian communities at Taunton, Plympton, Canterbury, Bodmin, Edinburgh, Cirencester, St Lô, Dover and Christchurch within 33 years of the foundation of Merton Priory beside the Wandle.

Mitcham Gardens and Gardeners of the 18th Century

In Mitcham Gardens the author explores the surprisingly rich history of 18th-century horticulture in Mitcham, manifested by plantations, shrubberies, walled gardens, glasshouses and gravel walks, as local gentlemen vied with each other in this fashionable craze.

Moated Sites in Merton, Mitcham and Morden

In this study, produced to accompany a display and short talk contributed to a seminar on ‘Moated Sites & Churches in the Landscape’ organised by Surrey Archaeological Society’s Medieval Studies Forum in March 2015, Peter Hopkins examines the evidence for nine local sites where the present or former existence of a medieval moat has been suggested.

Morden Hall

In this booklet Bill Rudd recounts the history over more than 400 years of the building and the two principal families connected with it, the Garths and the Hatfeilds. Illustrated with drawings, maps and a family tree.

On the Wandle

On the Wandle is a reprint from the May 1889 edition of The English Illustrated Magazine of an illustrated article by the American artist Dewey Bates (1851–1898). It also includes extensively researched technical and biographical notes by David and Katharina Haunton.

Some Memories of Merton

“It was on a fine Sunday evening in the early autumn of 1884 that I first saw Merton”. Thus began the reminiscences of an anonymous lady, first published in the parish magazine of St Mary’s Church, Merton, in 1941, and reproduced here by permission.

The ‘Amery Mills’ of Merton Priory, the Copper Mills and the Board Mills

This booklet covers the history from 1086 to the 1990s of the site whose principal feature today is a Sainsbury’s superstore. Situated on the Wandle, it was used successively for the production of flour, dyestuffs, copper and paper.

The Bridges and Roads of Mitcham

Bridges and Roads deals first with the construction and maintenance over the centuries of Mitcham’s bridges over the Wandle and the Graveney, and then with the history of its turnpike highways and its parish roads. The last section looks at some of the more romantic aspects of road travel in the past.

The Influence of Merton Priory

In this study Richard Chellew uses key documents relating to Merton priory to explore its reputation for piety, its roles as a training ground for saints and as a centre of learning, its political influence and its key role in helping to shape the English legal system. This booklet is illustrated by full-colour copies of the splendid facsimiles of the original documents specially prepared by a calligrapher from the College of Arms.

The Life of Guy of Merton

The first parallel edition and translation of the contemporary account of the life of Guy of Merton, one of the earliest canons of Merton and later founding prior of first Taunton and then Bodmin, together with an introductory essay.

The Railways of Merton

In The Railways of Merton Lionel Green sorts out the tangle of the Borough of Merton’s railways. He gives dates, names of companies, and which later amalgamated with what. The book includes a very clear map and illustrations.