Tooting Graveney
Tooting Graveney is about 6 miles south-south-west of the centre of London. It was in the Brixton hundred of the historic county of Surrey until it became part of Greater London in the local government re-organisation of 1965. It was originally an area of swampy gravel and clay meadow land with watercourses draining into the River Wandle, which itself flows into the river Thames at Wandsworth. It remained a distinct country village until the mid 19th century. The historic parish of Tooting Graveney was bounded by those of Wandsworth to the north, Streatham to east and Mitcham to the south and west, with some of the latter boundary defined by the River Graveney, before its course was altered.
The name 'Tooting' is thought to originate in Saxon times and derive from 'Toot', meaning to look out, and 'ing', meaning meadow. The look out may have arisen from its location at the crossing (now Tooting Broadway) of two historic routes, between Clapham and Merton Abbey, part of the Roman Stane Street from London Bridge (Londinium) to Chichester (Noviomagus Reginorum), and between Wandsworth and Mitcham (now the A24 and A217 respectively). An alternative theory is that it meant the people of Tota, a Saxon warlord. In olden times, spellings often varied between records, including 'Totinge', 'Totyng', 'Towting', 'Tutin' and 'Tootting'.
'Graveney' derives from the name of the (de) Gravenel family, which had large land holdings in the area in the 12th and 13th centuries following the Norman Conquest. Tooting Graveney was used to distinguish that manor from Tooting Bec, named after the monks of St Mary de Bec to whom the latter manor was given. These manors probably dated from before the Norman Conquest, with the one later called Graveney belonging to Chertsey Abbey and Bec belonging to Streatham. A third manor was probably joined afterwards to one of the other two, which was held by Swain for King Edward then passed to Earl Wallef on Edward's death, who sold it to a Londoner Alnod, who gave it to Westminster Abbey.
Tooting Hall, around 1786, from The History of Tooting-Graveney
Hill House, around 1784, from The History of Tooting-Graveney
St Nicholas Church
Worship in the area is recorded from the 7th century. St Nicholas church is named after the bishop of Mycra in Lycia (now in southern Turkey), who is also the patron saint of Russia. The church was mentioned in the Domesday book of 1086 and evolved with a mixture of Romano-British, Saxon and Norman styles with a round tower and a shingled steeple.
When the population grew too large to be accommodated by 1814 consideration was given to extending it, but it was replaced instead by a new church built nearby and consecrated in 1833. The exact location of the original church is not known but it is described in The Environs of London (see references below) and was drawn (see image alongside and art history). The new church was extended several times over the period 1873-1889. Further relief was provided by All Saints Church, consecrated in 1907, which is grade II listed.
The parish of St Nicholas transferred from the diocese of Winchester to the diocese of London in 1846. It transferred again to the Diocese of Rochester in 1877 and is now in the Diocese of Southwark.
The old St Nicholas Church, from The History of Tooting-Graveney
Chronology of Tooting Graveney
| Date | Event |
| 666 | Charters of the Abbey of Chertsey refer to the area as Getinges. |
| 10th century | Three manors were held by the Abbey of Chertsey (later Tooting Graveney), by Streatham (later Tooting Bec) and by King Edward, Earl Wallef, Alnod then Westminster Abbey. |
| 1086 | The Domesday book refers to three manors in the Brixton hundred (county sub-division) with the name Totinge. The manor of Tooting Graveney, assessed as 6 hides (90-180 modern acres or 36-72 hectares depending on its fertility), was held by Haimo, Sherriff of Surrey, for the Abbot of Chertsey, containing a church (St Nicholas). The manor of Tooting Bec was given by Richard de Tonbridge to the monks of St Mary de Bec. One manor, assessed as 4 hides (60-120 modern acres or 24-48 hectares), was held by Odbert for the Abbot of St Peter's, Westminster. This was joined afterwards to one of the other two manors. |
| 1157-1189 | Hamo de Gravanel, descendent of Haimo, gave church land in the manor of Tooting Graveney to the Priory of St Marie Overie, under the protection of the Bishop of Winchester. |
| 1216 | King John gave De Gravenell land to his chaplain, Denis, but it was later restored. |
| 1314 | The manor of Tooting Graveney was held by the de Lodelowe family. |
| 1394 | The manor of Tooting Graveney passed by marriage to the Dymocke family, which held it for around 200 years. |
| 16th century | Court records refer to the extraction of gravel and loam, the removal of furze (gorse, presumably the source of the name 'Furzedown') and the grazing of cattle on two commons (now Tooting Bec Common and Tooting Graveney Common). |
| 1536-1541 | Although not described in the references, presumably King Henry VIII confiscated the manors in the ownership of the church during the dissolution of the monasteries. |
| 1555 | Parish registers started in 1555, with originals available from 1603. |
| 1593-1600 | Queen Elizabeth I granted the manor of Tooting Graveney to James Harrington then Henry Maynard (later Sir Henry), secretary to Lord Burghley. In about 1600, Queen Elizabeth visited and an avenue of trees was planted on Tooting Common (perhaps near Dr Johnson Avenue). |
| 1688 | Protestant dissenters founded the non-conformist congregational church. Daniel Foe, later Defoe (author of Robinson Crusoe), and a leading non-conformist was reputed to be a prime mover and to have lived in Tooting shortly after his marriage in 1684 while hiding during the 'English Revolution'. However, no record of his living in the parish has been found. Rumours that he lived in Hill House are unlikely to be correct, since it was not built until 1784, after Defoe's death in 1731. The congregational church was incorporated into the Presbyterian Church of England in 1881. The site on Tooting High Street now has shops like Superdrug. |
| 1694 | The manor of Tooting Graveney was held by Sir Paul Whichcote, who obtained a private Act of Parliament allowing the grant of leases on the manor land. |
| 1700 | By now, land ownership was set out more clearly, distinguishing land held of the manor and land owned outright, not as tenants. |
| 1714-1725 | The manor of Tooting Graveney was sold several times, to Sir James Bateman, Alderman of London, Abraham Atkins, Percival Lewis of Putney and Morgan Rice. |
| 1744 | Court records refer to the sign of The Mitre. There were four inns: The Mitre (on Mitcham Road), The Castle (on Tooting High Street), The Angel, which was demolished in 1889, and The Rising Sun, which burned down in the late 19th century. |
| 1752 | Percival Lewis split the land of Tooting Graveney manor, selling some to Joseph Salvador. |
| 1767 | The manor was purchased by Morgan Rice, a distiller, for £770 and then passed down through his family. |
| 1784 | Hill House was built on the manor land (see drawing below). |
| 1802-1861 | The manor was sold several times. |
| 1833 | A new church was built nearby and consecrated in 1833 to replace the old St Nicholas church when the population outgrew it. The new church was extended several times over the period 1873-1889. |
| 1846 | The parish of St Nicholas transferred from the diocese of Winchester to the diocese of London in 1846. It transferred again to the diocese of Rochester in 1877 and is now in the diocese of Southwark. |
| 1861 | W James Thompson, who lived at Tooting Lodge, bought the manor for amounts variously recorded as about £2,000 and £3,650. It now had 22½ acres of land. He sold the manorial rights to the Metropolitan Board of Works. When he attempted to enclose parts of the common, local land owners took legal action, which was found in their favour in 1869. The common was held in trust by the County Council to preserve it as a common from 1872. |
| 1868 | The original Tooting Junction station opened on the Tooting, Merton and Wimbledon Railway, west of the present station site. |
| 1887 | St Joseph's Roman Catholic College was opened on the St Benedicts site of the old manor house, Hill House. |
| 1890 | The London Tramways horse-drawn tram was extended from Clapham to Tooting then electrified in 1902. |
| 1893 | Pressure from nearby land owners prevented erection of a proposed fever hospital. |
| 1894 | The replacement Tooting Junction station opened on the Tooting, Merton and Wimbledon Railway, on the present station site, renamed Tooting station in 1938 after the Merton branch closed to passengers in 1929. |
| 1897 | The college became Tooting Home for the Aged and Infirm, with Hill House as nurses' accommodation. |
| 1902 | The London Tramways tramwas electrified. |
| 1902-06 | Tooting Library was opened and extended. |
| 1906 | Tooting Bec Lido opened. |
| 1914-23 | The home became Tooting Military Hospital during and after World War I. |
| 1926 | The London Underground Northern Line extension opened from Clapham Common through Tooting to Morden. |
| 1930 | Tooting Market was established. |
| 1930-31 | The derelict hospital was renovated and re-opened as St Benedicts Hospital, joining the NHS in 1948. |
| 1931 | Granada cinema opened in Tooting. |
| 1936 | Broadway Market was established. |
| c 1937-50 | Electric trolleybuses replaced electric trams. |
| 1954 | St George's Hospital started to relocate from Hyde Park Corner to Tooting, where the former Grove Fever and Fountain Hospitals were. |
| 1960s | Diesel buses replaced electric trolleybuses. |
| 1981 | St Benedicts Hospital closed and Laing Homes bought the site for residential development, reportedly for about £2.2 million. |
| 2005 | A crater on Mars was named after Tooting, mapped (PDF, 474kb) in 2015 by the US Geological Survey. |
References
- The History of Tooting-Graveney, Surrey – William Edward Morden – 1897 (from which the drawings on this page are reproduced)
- The Environs of London: Volume 1, County of Surrey – T Cadell and W Davies – 1792, freely available from British History with rights reserved
Text © 2011-2024 Kevin Herrmann, with acknowledgement.
