Merton and Sutton Joint Cemetery

Morden Common was ancient commonland situated in the south-west of the parish of Morden, which reputedly was commonland from Saxon times until the early C20th. The common became part of the Manor of Morden, and, probably prior to the Norman Conquest, was given to Westminster Abbey along with the Manor. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries both Manor and Common passed out of the hands of the Abbey and into the ownership of the Garth family. In the Tithe Award of 1839 Morden Common is shown as comprising 83 acres. It was a somewhat remote, long narrow strip of land separated from the village of Morden by the Pyl Brook; access was provided by an ancient bridge by Epsom Road in the east and later by another bridge at Green Lane in the west. Enclosures gradually took place on the common; in 1805 a piece of land was granted to the Revd George Whatley of Wokingham and Ann Whatley, but shortly afterwards this transferred to Jonathan Acres, a carpenter of an old Morden family, who was succeeded by his son Henry William in 1827. In 1861 this land was conveyed back to Richard Garth, the Lord of the Manor. The Hatfeild family succeeded the Garths as Lords of Morden Manor and by 1885 they owned 40 acres in the south west of the common. In 1885 the remainder of Morden Common was put up for sale in 2 lots: Lot 1 was the former Acres property, described as 10 acres of 'freehold land, being a productive market garden, well stocked with thriving fruit trees, with a brick and timber dwelling-house of seven rooms, with stabling and sheds'. Lot 2 was the remainder of the Common, which was a brickfield of over 24 acres. Owned by Trendell Bros., this was in operation until 1918. ln the 1920s suburban development came to this area although Morden Common remained open land until 1926 when the local council purchased land for the Merton Morden and Carshalton Cemetery, later purchasing more land for the Garth Road Refuse Disposal Depot. The remainder was purchased by developers for housing.

Initially called Carshalton and Merton and Morden Cemetery, Merton and Sutton Joint Cemetery opened in 1947, with the future site of the cemetery marked as 'Morden Common' on the OS 1st Edition Map,1865, at 6 ins to the mile (Surrey Sheet XIII). The OS 25" map of 1894 (Surrey XIII.6) shows Battersea New Cemetery, now Morden Cemetery and North East Surrey Crematorium (q.v.) built on land to the north of Green Lane; the Brick and Tile Works is shown south of the cemetery site, later the Refuse Destructor for Merton and Morden UDC, and now Garth Road Refuse & Recycling Centre.

The cemetery was laid out with paths in a grid format. Initially the area to the south of the central cross path was unused for burial, and is shown as Allotment gardens on the OS Maps 1:1250 surveyed 1953 and 1971 (TQ2366NW-B). An Air Photo Mosaic at 1:1250 taken in January 1946 shows the cemetery under construction, with main paths laid out but the chapel as yet unbuilt. From the entrance a wide drive led up to the central brick chapel, designed by Albert Thomas (1875-1964) and completed in 1955. The OS Map 1:1250 of 1971 shows the chapel and also the cemetery now named Merton and Sutton Joint Cemetery. The entrance is through imposing gates with stone gate piers surmounted by urns, with a plain brick lodge to the left of the entrance, a smaller building to the right. Either side of the main drive and along some of the paths were planted with avenues of ornamental trees, with trees on the boundaries and some scattered evergreens and shrubs among the graves. 

The cemetery is multi-faith and multi-cultural, catering for Church of England, Roman Catholic, Muslim, Ahmadiyya Muslim, African Caribbean, Jewish, non conformist and humanist burials.