Cheam
Encyclopedia
Cheam is a large suburban village close to Sutton
in the London Borough of Sutton
, England, and is located close to the southern boundary between Greater London and Surrey
. It is divided into two main areas: North Cheam and Cheam Village. North Cheam includes more retail shops and supermarket
s, whilst Cheam Village and the south of Cheam are more residential. It is bordered by Worcester Park (to the north-west), Morden (to the north-east), Sutton (to the east), Ewell (to the west) as well as Banstead and Belmont to the South. Cheam is one of the southernmost areas in Outer London under the control of a Greater London Authority (The London Borough of Sutton) as opposed to Surrey County Council, which controls bordering towns to the South and West including Banstead and Ewell. It is located in London Travelcard Zone 5, and the area is served by Cheam railway station
.
administrative division of Wallington
hundred
.
Cheam's roots can be dated back as far as 1018, when Chertsey Abbey
owned the area. In the Domesday Book
, the Bishop was holding Cheam to cater for the monks.
Cheam appears in Domesday Book
as Ceiham. It was held by Archbishop Lanfranc of Canterbury
. Its Domesday assets were: 4 hide
s; 1 church, 17 plough
s, 1 acres (4,046.9 m²) of meadow
, woodland
worth 25 hogs. It rendered £14.
In the Middle Ages
, Cheam was known for its potteries , and recent excavations have been carried out by archaeologists. In 1538, part of Cheam was handed over to Henry VIII
. The same year, Henry began work on Nonsuch Palace
, which he decorated fantastically. This was later sold and demolished. In 1801, the time of the first census, Cheam had a population of 616.
Cheam was the original home of Cheam School
which was formed in Whitehall in 1645 and later occupied Tabor Court from 1719 until 1934 when the school moved to Berkshire. Prince Philip attended the school in Cheam in the years immediately preceding its move.
. Too small to be used for regular worship it is open to visitors with the key being held by nearby properties.
and weatherboarded house in the centre of Cheam Village. It was originally built in about 1500 as a wattle and daub
yeoman
farmer's house but has been much extended. The external weatherboarded appearance dates from the 18th century. In the garden there is a medieval well
which served an earlier building on the site.
The building is open to the public on Wednesday, Thursday & Friday 2-5pm; Saturday 10 am - 5 pm, Sunday & Bank Holiday Monday 2-5 pm. There is an admission charge, and an audio guide. There is a programme of events and changing exhibitions in the house, which also has displays about the history of the house and its inhabitants, nearby Cheam School, and Henry VIII's Nonsuch Palace.
North Cheam is situated at the main cross roads between Sutton and Central London. There are well established bus services serving the area, including services 213 (Sutton to Kingston), 151 (Wallington to Worcester Park), 93 (North Cheam to Putney Bridge) and the less frequent X26 express service between Heathrow and Croydon. The nearest tube station is in Morden
.
Victoria Junction is the centre of North Cheam. The area consists of a Sainsbury's supermarket, a neighboring park, numerous independent shops and restaurants, a post office and several banks. The North Cheam branch of Woolworths, which had been in existence since the 1950s, closed on 30 December 2008.
St. Anthony's Hospital is a large private hospital which exists on the London Road in North Cheam.
Cheam Leisure Centre, on Malden Road, offers facilities including a swimming pool (30m x 12m), squash courts and fitness gym.
, also home to a chicken pen, drinking fountain, ice cream shop, and car park. Cheam Park backs onto Nonsuch Park, with many facilities such as tennis courts, football pitches and a children's playground.
, a grammar school
for girls and Cheam High School
, a mixed comprehensive which is considerably above average. There are also a number of primary schools in the area such as Cuddington Croft, St Cecilias Catholic Primary School, Cheam Fields Primary, Cheam Common Primary, Cheam Park Farm Nursery and Infants School, Cheam Park Farm Juniors, Nonsuch Primary and St. Dunstans Church of England Primary.
, Tony Hancock
lived in the fictional road Railway Cuttings, in fictional East Cheam.
British stand-up comedian and actor Eddie Izzard
mentions Cheam in the 'Death Star Canteen' act of his 2000 tour Circle
, using it jokingly as the birth place of Darth Vader:
"... Sir Lord Vader? Sir Lord Vader of Cheam?"
British stand-up comedian Tim Vine mentions Cheam in his act.
Sutton, London
Sutton is a large suburban town in southwest London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Sutton. It is located south-southwest of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. The town was connected to central London by...
in the London Borough of Sutton
London Borough of Sutton
The London Borough of Sutton is a London borough in South London, England and forms part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the 80th largest local authority in England by population. It is one of the southernmost boroughs of London...
, England, and is located close to the southern boundary between Greater London and Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. It is divided into two main areas: North Cheam and Cheam Village. North Cheam includes more retail shops and supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
s, whilst Cheam Village and the south of Cheam are more residential. It is bordered by Worcester Park (to the north-west), Morden (to the north-east), Sutton (to the east), Ewell (to the west) as well as Banstead and Belmont to the South. Cheam is one of the southernmost areas in Outer London under the control of a Greater London Authority (The London Borough of Sutton) as opposed to Surrey County Council, which controls bordering towns to the South and West including Banstead and Ewell. It is located in London Travelcard Zone 5, and the area is served by Cheam railway station
Cheam railway station
Cheam railway station serves Cheam in the London Borough of Sutton. It is located on the Sutton & Mole Valley Lines section from Sutton to Epsom with trains to London Victoria and London Bridge both via Mitcham Junction and West Croydon.-History:...
.
History
The village lay within the Anglo-SaxonAnglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
administrative division of Wallington
Wallington (hundred)
Wallington was an ancient hundred in the north east of the county of Surrey, England. The majority of its area has been absorbed by the growth of London; with its name currently referring to the district of Wallington...
hundred
Hundred (division)
A hundred is a geographic division formerly used in England, Wales, Denmark, South Australia, some parts of the United States, Germany , Sweden, Finland and Norway, which historically was used to divide a larger region into smaller administrative divisions...
.
Cheam's roots can be dated back as far as 1018, when Chertsey Abbey
Chertsey Abbey
Chertsey Abbey, dedicated to St Peter, was a Benedictine monastery located at Chertsey in the English county of Surrey.It was founded by Saint Erkenwald, later Bishop of London, in 666 AD and he became the first abbot. In the 9th century it was sacked by the Danes and refounded from Abingdon Abbey...
owned the area. In the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
, the Bishop was holding Cheam to cater for the monks.
Cheam appears in Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
as Ceiham. It was held by Archbishop Lanfranc of Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
. Its Domesday assets were: 4 hide
Hide (unit)
The hide was originally an amount of land sufficient to support a household, but later in Anglo-Saxon England became a unit used in assessing land for liability to "geld", or land tax. The geld would be collected at a stated rate per hide...
s; 1 church, 17 plough
Plough
The plough or plow is a tool used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed or planting. It has been a basic instrument for most of recorded history, and represents one of the major advances in agriculture...
s, 1 acres (4,046.9 m²) of meadow
Meadow
A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...
, woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
worth 25 hogs. It rendered £14.
In the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, Cheam was known for its potteries , and recent excavations have been carried out by archaeologists. In 1538, part of Cheam was handed over to Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
. The same year, Henry began work on Nonsuch Palace
Nonsuch Palace
Nonsuch Palace was a Tudor royal palace, built by Henry VIII in Surrey, England; it stood from 1538 to 1682–3. Its ruins are in Nonsuch Park.- Background :Nonsuch Palace in Surrey was perhaps the grandest of Henry VIII's building projects...
, which he decorated fantastically. This was later sold and demolished. In 1801, the time of the first census, Cheam had a population of 616.
Cheam was the original home of Cheam School
Cheam School
Cheam School is a preparatory school in Headley in the civil parish of Ashford Hill with Headley in the English county of Hampshire. It was founded in 1645 by the Reverend George Aldrich in Cheam, Surrey and has been in operation ever since....
which was formed in Whitehall in 1645 and later occupied Tabor Court from 1719 until 1934 when the school moved to Berkshire. Prince Philip attended the school in Cheam in the years immediately preceding its move.
Lumley Chapel
Situated next to St Dunstan's church, it is the oldest standing building in the London Borough of Sutton. It contains many notable monuments to local families and is in the care of a national charity the Churches Conservation TrustChurches Conservation Trust
The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk, those that have been made redundant by the Church of England. The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968...
. Too small to be used for regular worship it is open to visitors with the key being held by nearby properties.
Whitehall
Whitehall is a timber framedTimber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
and weatherboarded house in the centre of Cheam Village. It was originally built in about 1500 as a wattle and daub
Wattle and daub
Wattle and daub is a composite building material used for making walls, in which a woven lattice of wooden strips called wattle is daubed with a sticky material usually made of some combination of wet soil, clay, sand, animal dung and straw...
yeoman
Yeoman
Yeoman refers chiefly to a free man owning his own farm, especially from the Elizabethan era to the 17th century. Work requiring a great deal of effort or labor, such as would be done by a yeoman farmer, came to be described as "yeoman's work"...
farmer's house but has been much extended. The external weatherboarded appearance dates from the 18th century. In the garden there is a medieval well
Water well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
which served an earlier building on the site.
The building is open to the public on Wednesday, Thursday & Friday 2-5pm; Saturday 10 am - 5 pm, Sunday & Bank Holiday Monday 2-5 pm. There is an admission charge, and an audio guide. There is a programme of events and changing exhibitions in the house, which also has displays about the history of the house and its inhabitants, nearby Cheam School, and Henry VIII's Nonsuch Palace.
Nonsuch Mansion
A Gothic revival mansion within Nonsuch Park built in 1802-6. The service wing is occasionally open to the public. A popular place for wedding receptions, as it is available for hire.The Old Rectory
A large part timber-framed house, built in Tudor period, but extended and remodelled in the Eighteenth Century. Occasionally open to the public.The Old Farmhouse
A large timber-framed and weatherboarded Yeoman farmers house, forming part of the Cheam Conservation Area with St Dunstan's Church, Whitehall, The Old Rectory and the Lumley Chapel. The Old Farmhouse has a crown post roof and large Tudor axial chimney stack in the centre with large fireplaces. The earliest part of the house is 15th Century, with several building stages extending the house in the 16th and 17th centuries, creating a Baffle House design popular in the 17th Century. Many original features remain including oak doors and hinges, window shutters and fireplaces. Much of the timber framing is exposed throughout the house. Recent excavation and ground imaging uncovered a large Tudor kitchen underneath the house with a Tudor hearth and hood visible. Access to the cellar kitchen was by a staircase going north to south, which is now under the floor of the current owners kitchen. A file of text and images relating to the house is available in the Conservation Archive in Sutton Library.North Cheam
Morden
Morden is a district in the London Borough of Merton. It is located approximately South-southwest of central London between Merton Park , Mitcham , Sutton and Worcester Park .- Origin of name :...
.
Victoria Junction is the centre of North Cheam. The area consists of a Sainsbury's supermarket, a neighboring park, numerous independent shops and restaurants, a post office and several banks. The North Cheam branch of Woolworths, which had been in existence since the 1950s, closed on 30 December 2008.
St. Anthony's Hospital is a large private hospital which exists on the London Road in North Cheam.
Cheam Leisure Centre, on Malden Road, offers facilities including a swimming pool (30m x 12m), squash courts and fitness gym.
Parks and gardens
Today Cheam is mainly built up, but still retains Nonsuch ParkNonsuch Park
Nonsuch Park is a public park between Stoneleigh, North Cheam, Cheam, and Ewell and the last surviving part of the Little Park of Nonsuch, a deer hunting park established by Henry VIII of England surrounding the former Nonsuch Palace...
, also home to a chicken pen, drinking fountain, ice cream shop, and car park. Cheam Park backs onto Nonsuch Park, with many facilities such as tennis courts, football pitches and a children's playground.
Schools
There are a number of schools in Cheam, most notably Nonsuch High SchoolNonsuch High School
Nonsuch High School is an all-girls' grammar school located in Cheam, South London, England, standing in of grounds on the edge of Nonsuch Park. The school holds Specialist Science College and Specialist language status.-Awards:...
, a grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
for girls and Cheam High School
Cheam High School
Cheam High School is a mixed gender comprehensive school located in Cheam, Greater London, England. It consists of a lower school, for those aged between 11-16, and a sixth form for 17-18.The school holds dual Specialist Language College and Arts College status...
, a mixed comprehensive which is considerably above average. There are also a number of primary schools in the area such as Cuddington Croft, St Cecilias Catholic Primary School, Cheam Fields Primary, Cheam Common Primary, Cheam Park Farm Nursery and Infants School, Cheam Park Farm Juniors, Nonsuch Primary and St. Dunstans Church of England Primary.
Cultural references
In most series of the comedy show Hancock's Half HourHancock's Half Hour
Hancock's Half Hour was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy, series of the 1950s and 60s written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock, with Sid James; the radio version also co-starred, at various times, Moira Lister, Andrée Melly, Hattie Jacques, Bill Kerr...
, Tony Hancock
Tony Hancock
Anthony John "Tony" Hancock was an English actor and comedian.-Early life and career:Hancock was born in Southam Road, Hall Green, Birmingham, England, but from the age of three was brought up in Bournemouth, where his father, John Hancock, who ran the Railway Hotel in...
lived in the fictional road Railway Cuttings, in fictional East Cheam.
British stand-up comedian and actor Eddie Izzard
Eddie Izzard
Edward John "Eddie" Izzard is a British stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy style takes the form of rambling, whimsical monologue and self-referential pantomime...
mentions Cheam in the 'Death Star Canteen' act of his 2000 tour Circle
Circle (Eddie Izzard)
Circle is the name of a stand-up tour by the comedian Eddie Izzard in 2000.It was released on VHS and DVD in the United Kingdom on 18 November 2002...
, using it jokingly as the birth place of Darth Vader:
"... Sir Lord Vader? Sir Lord Vader of Cheam?"
British stand-up comedian Tim Vine mentions Cheam in his act.
Notable people
- Harry SecombeHarry SecombeSir Harry Donald Secombe CBE was a Welsh entertainer with a talent for comedy and a noted fine tenor singing voice. He is best known for playing Neddie Seagoon, the central character in the BBC radio comedy series The Goon Show...
once lived in Cheam - David BellamyDavid BellamyDavid James Bellamy OBE is a British author, broadcaster, environmental campaigner and botanist. He has lived in County Durham since 1960.-Career:...
attended Cheam Fields Primary School - Tim VineTim VineTimothy "Tim" Mark Vine is an English actor, writer and comedian. He has released a number of DVDs of his stand-up comedy, as well as starring in the successful series Not Going Out with Lee Mack on the BBC...
was born in Cheam - Jeremy VineJeremy VineJeremy Guy Vine is a British author, journalist and news presenter for the BBC. He is known for his direct interview style and exclusive reporting from war-torn areas throughout Africa...
grew up in Cheam - Paul GreengrassPaul GreengrassPaul Greengrass is an English film director, screenwriter and former journalist. He specialises in dramatisations of real-life events and is known for his signature use of hand-held cameras.-Life and career:...
was born in Cheam - Mark WorrallMark WorrallMark Worrall is a British author born in London in 1961 who is mainly associated with football literature, and more specifically Chelsea Football Club....
resides in Cheam - Alec StewartAlec StewartAlec James Stewart OBE is a retired English cricketer, a right-handed batsman-wicketkeeper and former captain of the England cricket team...
(ex-England cricketer) lived in South Cheam - Peter ManleyPeter ManleyPeter David Manley is an English professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. He is nicknamed One Dart as he is known for hitting doubles with his first dart...
was born in Cheam - Koop ArponenKoop ArponenKoop Juho Alexander Arponen is a Finnish singer and the winner of the fourth series of the Idols in 2008.-Biography:...
, a winner in the Finnish version of Pop Idol attended Cheam High SchoolCheam High SchoolCheam High School is a mixed gender comprehensive school located in Cheam, Greater London, England. It consists of a lower school, for those aged between 11-16, and a sixth form for 17-18.The school holds dual Specialist Language College and Arts College status... - Carrie QuinlanCarrie QuinlanCarrie Quinlan is a British actress, comedy writer and journalist. She mainly works in satire for BBC radio comedy, writing material for satirical comedies such as The Now Show. She is also a regular panellist on The News Quiz. She is the youngest child of Mary and Michael Quinlan.-History:Quinlan...
lived in Cheam and attended Nonsuch High School - Jimmy Mann resides in Cheam, attended Cheam Fields primary school
Film locations
- St. Dunstan's Church was used in an episode of The I.T. Crowd Series 2.
- Peep ShowPeep Show (TV series)Peep Show is a British sitcom starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb. The television programme is written by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, with additional material by Mitchell and Webb themselves, amongst others. It has been broadcast on Channel 4 since 2003. The show's seventh series makes it...
used Cheam Park for a location shoot. - An episode of Terry and JuneTerry and JuneTerry and June is a British sitcom that was broadcast on BBC1 from 1979 to 1987. The programme is largely a continuation of Happy Ever After, and stars Terry Scott and June Whitfield as a middle-class suburban couple, Terry and June Medford...
features the walkway between the library car park and St. Dunstans Church. - The Village crossroads was used in a police chase on The BillThe BillThe Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
. - South Drive and the houses within, where used for a soap opera during the mid-90's.
- The Old Rectory was used as a location for the rap group N-DubzN-DubzN-Dubz are a British hip hop group from Camden Town, London. The group consists of members Dappy, Tulisa Contostavlos and Fazer.N-Dubz were previously signed to Polydor Records before joining All Around the World Records...
in the group's earlier videos - The Bill used the Nonsuch Manor House in Nonsuch Park in one of its episodes.
Nearby places
- BelmontBelmont, SuttonBelmont is a village in the London Borough of Sutton in southwest Greater London, England. It is located off the A217 road and near to Banstead Downs in Surrey. It is a suburban development situated 10.8 miles south-southwest of Charing Cross....
- EwellEwellEwell is a village in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, close to the southern boundary of Greater London. It is located 14 miles south-south-west of Charing Cross and forms part of the suburbia that surrounds Greater London. Despite its growing population it is still referred to as a...
- MordenMordenMorden is a district in the London Borough of Merton. It is located approximately South-southwest of central London between Merton Park , Mitcham , Sutton and Worcester Park .- Origin of name :...
- SuttonSutton, LondonSutton is a large suburban town in southwest London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Sutton. It is located south-southwest of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. The town was connected to central London by...
- Worcester ParkWorcester ParkWorcester Park is a suburb of London, England covering both the extreme north west of the London Borough of Sutton in Greater London , part of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey and The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. The area is south west of Charing Cross...
- StoneleighStoneleighStoneleigh may mean the following places:* Stoneleigh, Queensland, Australia* Stoneleigh, Surrey, England* Stoneleigh, Virginia, Stanleytown, Virginia, USA* Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, England...
- EpsomEpsomEpsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England. Small parts of Epsom are in the Borough of Reigate and Banstead. The town is located south-south-west of Charing Cross, within the Greater London Urban Area. The town lies on the chalk downland of Epsom Downs.-History:Epsom lies...
External links
- Hancock's Legacy David McKieDavid McKieDavid McKie is a British journalist and historian. He was deputy editor of The Guardian and continued to write a weekly column for that paper until 4 October 2007, with the byline "Elsewhere". Until 10 September 2005, he also wrote a second weekly column, under the pseudonym "Smallweed"...
in The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, November 30, 2006. - Cheam Rangers http://www.cheamrangers.co.uk