Many classic County histories are now accessible in digital format from Google Books or Internet Archive. Although research has moved on over the centuries since they were published, they are still valuable resources. But do remember that not everything in them is accurate. For example, some statements about Morden in fact refer to Steeple Morden in Cambridgeshire, not Morden, Surrey.
Click on the links below to explore the County volumes:
John Aubrey: The Natural History and Antiquities of the County of Surrey I (1718) – includes Merton.
John Aubrey: The Natural History and Antiquities of the County of Surrey II (1718) – includes Morden and Mitcham
John Aubrey: The Natural History and Antiquities of the County of Surrey III (1718)
John Aubrey: The Natural History and Antiquities of the County of Surrey IV (1718)
John Aubrey: The Natural History and Antiquities of the County of Surrey V (1718)
N Salmon: Antiquities of Surrey (1736)
Daniel Lysons: The Environs of London I – Surrey (1792). As well as individual entries for our parishes in the main book, there is additional information on Merton and on Mitcham in the Appendix
Ambulator: or, a pocket companion in a tour round London, within the circuit of twenty-five miles (1800)
Dr Hughson’s Descriptions of London vol 5 (1808) – Mitcham pp.289-291; Merton pp.291-3, Morden pp.293-4, includes engravings of Merton Place, Merton Church, and Abraham Goldsmid’s house at Morden.
Manning & Bray: The history and antiquities of the County of Surrey II (1809) – includes Morden and Mitcham
At present Manning & Bray: The history and antiquities of the County of Surrey I (1804) is not available online so we have scanned the Merton extracts
At present Manning & Bray: The history and antiquities of the County of Surrey III (1815), which includes Additions and Corrections, is not available online so we have scanned the local extracts
John Hassell: Picturesque Rides and Walks, with Excursions by Water, Thirty Miles Round the British Metropolis ; Illustrated in a Series of Engravings, Volume 1 (1817) – includes Merton, Morden and Mitcham
Thomas Allen: A History of Surrey I (1831) – includes Merton
Thomas Allen: A History of Surrey II (1831) – includes Morden and Mitcham
Brayley E W: A Topographical History of Surrey III (1850) – includes Merton
Brayley E W: A Topographical History of Surrey IV (1850) – includes Morden and Mitcham. References to Sir William Clayton at Morden Park are in error for Marden Park in Woldingham.
Edward Walford: Greater London II (1895) – includes Morden, Merton and Mitcham
Malden H E: A History of Surrey (1900)
VCH Surrey I (1902) – includes Natural History, Early history and Domesday Book entries
VCH Surrey II (1905) – includes Merton Priory
VCH Surrey III (1911)
VCH Surrey IV (1912), which includes Merton, Mitcham and Morden, is not available on Internet Archive.
However, digital text versions of volumes 2, 3 and 4 are also available from British History Online:
VCH Surrey II (1905)
VCH Surrey III (1911)
VCH Surrey IV (1912)
Also worth investigating
James Malcolm: A Compendium of Modern Agriculture: Surrey I (1805)
James Malcolm: A Compendium of Modern Agriculture: Surrey II (1805)
James Malcolm: A Compendium of Modern Agriculture: Surrey III (1805)
William Stevenson: General View of the Agriculture of the County of Surrey (1809)
R Garraway Rice ‘On the Parish Registers of SS. Peter and Paul, Mitcham, Surrey (from A.D. 1565 to 1679)’Part 1 in The Reliquary and Illustrated Archaeologist 18 (July 1877)
R Garraway Rice ‘On the Parish Registers of SS. Peter and Paul, Mitcham, Surrey (from A.D. 1565 to 1679)’Part 2 in The Reliquary and Illustrated Archaeologist 18 (January 1878)
R Garraway Rice ‘On the Parish Registers of SS. Peter and Paul, Mitcham, Surrey (from A.D. 1565 to 1679)’Part 3 in The Reliquary and Illustrated Archaeologist 19 (July 1878)
R Garraway Rice ‘On the Parish Registers of SS. Peter and Paul, Mitcham, Surrey (from A.D. 1565 to 1679)’Part 4 in The Reliquary and Illustrated Archaeologist 19 (April 1879)
R Garraway Rice ‘On the Parish Registers of SS. Peter and Paul, Mitcham, Surrey (from A.D. 1565 to 1679)’Part 5 in The Reliquary and Illustrated Archaeologist 20 (July 1879)
Some 19th and 20th Trade Directories covering Surrey are available on the University of Leicester Digital Collections site
There are many articles relating to our three ancient parishes in past volumes of Surrey Archaeological Collections accessible from the Archaeology Data Service, in Surrey Archaeological Society’s Bulletin. and in many editions of Surrey History.
MERTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY