Morden (Londres)

Morden is a district and town in south London, England, within the London Borough of Merton, in the ceremonial county of Greater London. It adjoins Merton Park and Wimbledon to the north, Mitcham to the east, Sutton to the south and Worcester Park to the west, and is around south-southwest of Charing Cross. Prior to the creation of Greater London in 1965, for local government purposes, Morden was in the administrative and historic county of Surrey. At the 2011 Census, Morden had a population of 48,233, including the wards of Cannon Hill, Lower Morden, Merton Park, Ravensbury and St Helier. Morden Hall Park, a National Trust park on the banks of the River Wandle adjacent to the town centre, is a key feature of the area. Morden's name may be derived from the Common Brittonic words Mawr (great or large) and Dun (fort), or possibly "The Town on the Moor". Human activity in Morden dates back to the Iron Age period when Celtic tribes are known to have occupied areas around Wimbledon, but the first significant development in Morden was the construction of the Roman road called Stane Street from Chichester to London. The route of Stane Street through Morden followed the current A24, London Road up Stonecot Hill from the south west crossing Morden Park to the west of the current dual carriageway road and passing through the pitch and putt golf course and the grounds of St Lawrence's Church. The road then descended the other side of the hill towards the town centre passing west of the Underground station and crossing the north corner of Morden Hall Park heading in the direction of Colliers Wood and Tooting. Small Roman artifacts, mainly coins and pottery, have been found at various locations within the area although there is no evidence of any settlement. Ethelstan the Etheling, son of Ethelred the Unready, left "land at Mordune" to the abbey of Christ and St. Peter in his will of 1015, which became the site of the first Saxon parish church of St Lawrence. In 1086, the Domesday Book recorded the manor as Mordone, part of Wallington Hundred.