The epitomy of leafy suburbia, Sutton is a green borough on the southern side of London, stretching down to the North Downs. It has over 1000 acres of open space and claims to be the London Borough with the most trees. The area has been inhabited since the Bronze age, perhaps due to its many springs and ponds. Later, the River Wandle was an effective source for 13 mills, some operating from 1086.

Sutton’s greatest claim to fame was the magnificent Tudor Palace of Nonsuch at Cheam, which was totally dismantled, and rediscovered in an important archaeological excavation. But perhaps the image of Sutton can perhaps be best summed up by the ironic references to Cheam, by the late comedian, Tony Hancock.

Sutton grew to importance as traffic increased on the old London to Brighton coaching road in the 1750s. The communities which make up modern Sutton include Cheam, Beddington, Carshalton and Wallington and include the postcodes of SM1, SM2, SM3, SM4, SM5, SM6 and KT4