Wimbledon, London

Wimbledon
Wimbledon town centre
Wimbledon Location within Greater London
Population	68,187 (2011 Census)
OS grid reference	TQ239709
London borough	Merton
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	SW19, SW20
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
UK Parliament	Wimbledon
London Assembly	Merton and Wandsworth
List of places UK England London 51°25′19″N 0°12′29″W / 51.422°N 0.208°W / 51.422; -0.208

Wimbledon (/ˈwɪmbəldən/) is a district and town of south-west London, England, 7.0 miles (11.3 km) southwest of the centre of London at Charing Cross; it is the main commercial centre of the London Borough of Merton. Wimbledon had a population of 68,187 in 2011 which includes the electoral wards of Abbey, Wimbledon Town and Dundonald, Hillside, Wandle, Village, Raynes Park and Wimbledon Park.^[1]

It is home to the Wimbledon Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas of common land in London. The residential and retail area is split into two sections known as the "village" and the "town", with the High Street being the rebuilding of the original medieval village, and the "town" having first developed gradually after the building of the railway station in 1838.

Wimbledon has been inhabited since at least the Iron Age when the hill fort on Wimbledon Common is thought to have been constructed. In 1086 when the Domesday Book was compiled, Wimbledon was part of the manor of Mortlake. The ownership of the manor of Wimbledon changed between various wealthy families many times during its history, and the area also attracted other wealthy families who built large houses such as Eagle House, Wimbledon Manor House and Warren House.

The village developed with a stable rural population coexisting with nobility and wealthy merchants from the city. In the 18th century the Dog and Fox public house became a stop on the stagecoach run from London to Portsmouth, then in 1838 the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) opened a station to the southeast of the village at the bottom of Wimbledon Hill. The location of the station shifted the focus of the town's subsequent growth away from the original village centre.

Wimbledon was a municipal borough in the county of Surrey from 1905 to 1965,^[2] when it became part of the London Borough of Merton as part of the creation of Greater London.

Wimbledon has established minority groups; among the prominent ones being British Asians (mainly British Pakistanis and British Sri Lankans), British Ghanaians, Poles and Irish people.