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 as well as the Merton and Morden Urban District, all formerly inside Surrey. The borough derives its name from the historic parish of Merton, which was centred on the area now referred to as South Wimbledon. The local authority is Merton London Borough Council.
As outlined by population estimates made during 2014, the borough features a permanent population of about 203515 individuals. Merton is served by a wide selection of National Rail stations across the borough, as well as the southern tip of the London Underground's Northern line plus the District line on 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 biggest. Other smaller sized centres include Raynes Park, Colliers Wood, South Wimbledon, Wimbledon Park and Pollards Hill. Each year, Wimbledon, one of the 4 tennis Grand Slam tournaments, takes place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Church Road Wimbledon. The event takes place over a fortnight at the end of June and beginning of July and it's the largest annual sporting event to take place in the United Kingdom, attracting more than 200000 visitors through the Wimbledon fortnight.