Description

There has been a church here since at least the C13th, and Church Road Cemetery opened in 1559. The current church of St Peter and St Paul, to the south-west of Mitcham village centre, was built in 1819-21 by George Smith. It was repainted in the 1990s as part of a Challenge Anneke television programme. The churchyard is on the site of an old Saxon burial ground; it was expanded in 1855 and 1880 to the north, and again in 1909 when it took over the former 'Vicar's Field'. 

Practical Information

Previously known as Mitcham Parish Church; Church Road Burial Ground; Church Road Cemetery
Site location Church Road/Miles Road/Love Lane, Mitcham
Postcode CR4 3BE
What3Words ///began.serve.youth
Type of Site Churchyard
Borough Merton
Open to Public Yes
Opening Times unrestricted
Public Transport Tramlink: Belgrave Walk. Bus: 200
Research Updated 27 November 2025
Last Updated 18 October 2026

Full description

There has been a church here since at least the C13th. The current Mitcham Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul to the south-west of Mitcham village centre was built in 1819-22 by local builder John Chart, designed in Gothic Revivalist, Perpendicular style by architect George Smith. Smith was architect to the Mercer's Company and the churches he designed show varying historical styles. Some of the fabric of the earlier medieval church remained in the base of the tower. The church was repainted in the 1990s as part of a Challenge Anneke television programme.

The churchyard dates from at least 1559 and is on the site of an old Saxon burial ground; the 'Ancient Churchyard' was to the north of the church. The burial ground was expanded in 1855 and 1880 to the north, becoming known as Church Road Cemetery or Church Road Burial Ground, and again in 1909 when it took over the former 'Vicar's Field'. A mortuary and mortuary chapel were built in the north west of the cemetery, marked on the OS Map of 1910 and the cemetery layout comprises a grid of paths, with a relatively sparse scattering of trees throughout marked on the OS Map 1:1250 of 1972 (TQ2768NW - B). Among those buried in the churchyard are Anne Hall (d.1740); Thomas Stanley (d.1811); and the Revd. Richard Cranmer (d.1828) whose tombs are among those listed, and all located near the church. Richard Cranmer was vicar of the church and Lord of the Manor of Mitcham Canons, and descended from the Archbishop Thomas Cranmer family. The Cranmer family and their descendants the Simpsons owned the Canons (q.v.) estate until 1939. The  Cranmer table tomb is a Portland stone monument with fluted corner pilasters on a stepped plinth and bears the inscription commemorating Richard Cranmer, his daughter Esther Mary Louise who died in 1841 at the age of 17, and his widow Elisabeth Mary (d.1845). A map of the layout of the cemetery produced by Merton Council marks out the original 'Ancient Churchyard',  the 'Addition to Churchyard 1855' and the current extent of the cemetery.

Church Road Cemetery is run and maintained by London Borough of Merton, whose cemetery office has the records from 1883 to date. Records prior to 1883 are held with the Surrey History Centre.

Further Information

Grid Reference TQ270687
Size in hectares 2.22
Site Ownership Diocese of Southwark
Site Management LB Merton Community and Cultural Services, Facilities and Technical Group
Dates C13th onwards
Listed Structures LBII*: St Peter and St Paul's Church. LBII: Tomb of Anne Hall; Tomb of Thomas Stanley; Tomb of Richard Cranmer; Table Tomb west of Richard Cranmer Tomb; Vicarage
On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens No
Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 No
Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 No
Local Authority Merton
In Conservation Area Yes
Conservation Area Name Mitcham Cricket Green
Tree Preservation Order Not known
Nature Conservation Area Yes - Local Importance
Green Belt No
Metropolitan Open Land No
Special Policy Area Yes - Archaeological Priority Zone
Other LA Designation Green Corridor

Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.

Nearby parks and gardens

  • Merton
  • 0.3 miles away

Glebe Court Estate, including Glebe Square Estate

Glebe Court Estate was a post-war development by Mitcham Borough Council providing high quality social housing. It has been praised for its good landscaping, with green space on the road frontage as a buffer to the main road, and landscaped areas between and behind the buildings. The estate has long had an active Residents' Association, which in 1998 set up Glebe Court Management Organisation that continues to manage the estate, including gardening and caretaking. It has been active in a campaign against loss of trees on the estate. Glebe Square Estate, built by Mitcham Borough Council by 1956 on land to the west of Glebe Court Estate and providing 36 properties with a central green space, is also managed by Glebe Court Management Organisation.
Glebe Court, March 2021. Photograph courtesy of Mitcham Cricket Green Community & Heritage.
  • Merton
  • 0.3 miles away

Mitcham Greens (Fair Green, Three Kings Piece, Cranmer Green/Piece, Cricket Green, Lower Green West, Vestry Hall Green)

Mitcham Greens are remnants of a series of village greens around the old village of Mitcham, which were part of Mitcham Common until 1924. They had been vested in the Board of Mitcham Common Conservators in 1891 and were taken over by Mitcham UDC following a private Act in 1923. Upper Green was the central green of the village of Upper Mitcham, which attracted industrial development due to its position on the Wandle River. A short row of lime trees on the south side may be remains of more extensive formal planting from the late C19th. Cricket Green includes the oldest cricket ground in the world where the game has been played every year since 1685.
  • Merton
  • 0.4 miles away

Mary Tate's Almshouses

Mary Tate's Almshouses overlook Cricket Green and were established to accommodate 12 poor widows or spinsters of the parish of Mitcham. They were built in 1829 on the site of a large C18th house owned by Miss Mary Tate whose family had lived in Mitcham for over a century. Designed by architect J C Buckler, the single storey almshouses form 3 sides of a square around a communal front garden, and are constructed in stock brick with central and end gables. A memorial to 'Mrs Tate', 1821 by sculptor Sir Richard Westmacott is in St Peter and St Paul's Church. The rear garden area was originally provided for the use of residents, but later informally rented out as allotments. It now serves as a private green space.
Mary Tate's Almshouses, 2021. Photograph courtesy of Mitcham Cricket Green Community & Heritage.