The London Borough of Merton is a borough in south-west London, England. The borough was formed under the London Government Act 1963 in 1965 by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Mitcham, the Municipal Borough of Wimbledon and also the Merton and Morden Urban District, all formerly within Surrey. The borough derives its name from the historic parish of Merton, which was centred around the location now referred to as South Wimbledon. The local authority is Merton London Borough Council.
In accordance with population estimates made during 2014, the borough has a permanent population of around 203515 inhabitants. Merton is served by a wide array of National Rail stations across the borough, plus the southern tip of the London Underground's Northern line along with the District line around the Wimbledon branch. It's the only London Borough which has tube, rail and tram services.
The key industrial centres in Merton are Mitcham, Morden and Wimbledon, of which Wimbledon is the largest. Other smaller sized centres include Raynes Park, Colliers Wood, South Wimbledon, Wimbledon Park and Pollards Hill. Each year, Wimbledon, one of the four tennis Grand Slam tournaments, is held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Church Road Wimbledon. The event happens over a fortnight at the end of June and beginning of July and it is the largest annual sporting event to take place in the UK, attracting more than 200000 visitors through the Wimbledon fortnight.
