Old Malden

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Old Malden
Surrey

Plough Pond
Location
Grid reference: TQ215685
Location: 51°23’17"N, 0°15’22"W
Data
Population: 9,012  (2001)
Post town: Worcester Park
Postcode: KT4
Dialling code: 020
Local Government
Council: Kingston-upon-Thames
Parliamentary
constituency:
Kingston and Surbiton

Old Malden is an old village in Surrey, now largely subsumed within the metropolitan growth of the north-east of the county, and of Old Malden's daughter town, New Malden. Old Malden was originally named 'Malden' but the creation of New Malden required it to take a distinctive name.

The Hogsmill River flows through the west of the village, on its way to the Thames at Kingston to the west.

The old heart of the village is designated a conservation area, which includes the church, Plough Green, a village green with a pond, a 15th-century public house, and a picturesque group of mainly 19th century cottages.

Along with Coombe and Kingston Vale, Old Malden forms a belt of affluence in the townscape.

History

The name of Malden is from the Old English mæl duna, meaning 'the cross on the hill'.[1]

Malden appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Meldone, held partly by William de Wateville and partly by Robert de Wateville. Its Domesday assets were: 4 hides and 3 virgates; 1 chapel, 1 mill worth 12s, 6½ ploughs, 5 acres of meadow, woodland worth 1 hog out of 7 hogs. It rendered £7 12s 0d.

Malden became Old Malden in 1870, when New Malden was developed two miles to the north.

Parish church

The Parish Church of Old Malden is St John the Baptist.[2], close to the Hogsmill River, dates back to Saxon times. There was a church building here at the time of the Domesday Book.

In 1611 the chancel's old flint walls were repaired and the nave and the tower rebuilt in brick. In 1875 a new nave and chancel were added, and in 2004 a two-storey extension was completed.

About the village

Malden Road, joining the green and Worcester Park station, was flanked by two rows of over forty mature poplar trees until 2010, when most were felled as a safety measure due to internal rotting. Replacement oaks were planted later that year.

The Grade II listed Manor House, next to St John's, is also mentioned in the Domesday Book; in 1264 Walter de Merton, Bishop of Rochester, founded a college here that was later moved to Oxford as Merton College. The house was later used as a court in the reign of Henry VIII, and in the mid-18th century the house was the home of Captain Cook. In 1852 the Hogsmill River was the setting for the background of Ophelia painted by John Everett Millais.[1]

St John the Baptist Church, showing 2004 extension
The Plough
The A Roma restaurant (closed for redevelopment in 2018)
Old Malden Library

At the heart of Old Malden is Plough Green[3], a traditional village green, surrounded by:

  • The Plough, a 15th-century public house;[4]
  • a small parade of shops, which includes the Plough Bakery, Persian, Japanese and Italian restaurants, a hairdresser, a barber, a dentist and two convenience stores
  • Plough Pond

Plough Green is used in the summer to hold two fetes; one for St John the Baptist Church and the other for the local Scouts.

To the west of Plough Green is Old Malden Library.[5]

Old Malden is served by Malden Manor station to the north and Worcester Park station to the south, both 25 minutes from Waterloo.

Outside links

References