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 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 called South Wimbledon. The local authority is Merton London Borough Council.
In line with population estimates made in the middle of 2014, the borough has a permanent population of around 203515 individuals. Merton is served by a wide range of National Rail stations across the borough, along with the southern tip of the London Underground's Northern line as well as the District line on the Wimbledon branch. It's the only London Borough which has tube, rail and tram services.
The principle industrial centres in Merton are Mitcham, Morden and Wimbledon, of which Wimbledon is the largest. Other smaller centres consist of Raynes Park, Colliers Wood, South Wimbledon, Wimbledon Park and Pollards Hill. Each year, Wimbledon, one of the 4 tennis Grand Slam tournaments, is held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Church Road Wimbledon. The occasion takes place over a fortnight at the end of June and beginning of July and it is the biggest annual sporting event to take place in the UK, attracting more than 200000 guests in the course of the Wimbledon fortnight.