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New Malden
New Malden  New Malden shown within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ215685
London borough	Kingston
	Merton
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	NEW MALDEN
Postcode district	KT3
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Kingston and Surbiton
London Assembly	South West
	Merton and Wandsworth
List of places: UK • England • London

New Malden

New Malden was established entirely as a result of the arrival of the railway when Coombe for Malden railway station was opened on 1 December 1846 on the main line from Waterloo. However, when Queen Victoria visited distinguished residents in the Coombe Hill area, the royal train always continued to Norbiton station where the platform was at ground level.

Building started slowly in the area north of the station, gathering pace in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with two- and three-bedroom terraced houses. Further out are larger detached and semi-detached houses from the 1930s. The road up the hill to Coombe, Traps Lane, is thought to derive from a farm owned by a Mrs Trap.

Two miles (3 km) to the south is the former village of Old Malden from which it gets its name, whose origins go back to Anglo-Saxon times, the name being Saxon for Mael + duna = the cross on the hill.

Under the District Councils Act 1895, The Maldens & Coombe Urban District Council was created (the plural relating to Old Malden and New Malden). In 1936 Malden and Coombe was granted full Borough status, with its own Mayor, and had the rare distinction of a civic mace bearing the royal insignia of King Edward VIII. In 1965, the London Government Act 1963 came into force merging the boroughs of Malden & Coombe and Surbiton with Kingston-upon-Thames to form the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames.

At the end of the high street there is a roundabout known as the Fountain Roundabout because it has a fountain which was originally used for drinking water by horses. The Fountain Roundabout has The Fountain Public House on one corner. From the roundabout are four exits one to the high street, one to Kingston Upon Thames and two others which go to the main A3 London to Portsmouth Road which has been the main route from the south of England docks to Central London for several hundred years.

To the west: Kingston upon Thames, Norbiton.

To the south: Tolworth, Surbiton, Worcester Park, Old Malden

To the east: Raynes Park, Motspur Park

To the north: Coombe, Wimbledon, Richmond Park

New Malden has the largest expatriate community of South Koreans in Europe, and is the most densely populated area of Koreans outside South Korea. According to different sources, the Korean population in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is around 20,000, of whom around 8000 reside in the Kingston Borough portion of New Malden. In the 2001 census, some small areas of New Malden had "Other Asian/Chinese" (ie: other than of Indian sub-continental origin) populations of "over 25%", though no whole ward reached over 20%.^[1] New Malden functions as the shopping and cultural centre for a Korean population spread more widely across South-West London and the neighbouring counties. The area has around fifteen Korean cafes and restaurants, and many small supermarkets and other shops. The Anglo-Korean Cultural Institute can be found on Burlington Road, and churches of several denominations in the area have regular Korean services with associated Korean clergy.

The size of this community has been attributed^[2] to the former residence of the South Korean ambassador in Wimbledon. During the 1970s many Koreans came to the area following his example, but when house prices rose in Wimbledon, they moved to New Malden. Others^{[by whom?]} point to a joint-venture between what was then Decca, later Racal Avionics, now part of Thales Group, at Shannon Corner and a Korean chaebol in the 1950s as the start of the community. Samsung Electronics' UK division used to be based in New Malden, although it has now relocated its European headquarters to nearby Chertsey. A high proportion of the community are expatriate workers for Korean companies, who remain in the UK for a number of years before returning to Korea.^{[citation needed]} Many work in finance and banking in the City of London.^{[citation needed]}

New Malden has its own sports centre, the Malden Centre,^[3] which includes a swimming pool, gym and community facilities.

Beverley Park provides a football pitch, tennis courts, children's playground, allotments and open space.

Tudor Williams Ltd, established in 1913, is a family run department store in the High Street. The company also has shops in Cobham and Dorking and expanded by acquiring department stores Elphicks of Farnham in October 2004, and Knights of Reigate in September 2006. Sandy's Menswear is another long established family run business, specialising in menswear and hirewear in the High Street, having been opened originally in 1955 by the current owners father.

A monthly publication, The Village Voice,^[4] covers local history, news, topical articles and advertisements for businesses serving the community.

There is an annual Malden Fortnight, which is a parade showcasing all the local schools and community groups and various other activities.

Each Christmas the High Street is festooned with Christmas lights with its own switching-on ceremony.

For a small town it is more than proportionately blessed with winners of the Victoria Cross. Research recently published in the Village Voice revealed the existence of a previously unknown third medal winner – see Notable Residents below.

New Malden has its own youth theatre, the Green Theatre Company, established in 1986 in a converted cricket pavilion at Barton Green.Green Theatre Company

The area's last Cinema, the Odeon at Shannon Corner on the A3 has closed and been replaced by a large retail area including several large stores. The other Cinema in the High Street (corner of Sussex Road) burnt down on Boxing Day 1936.

Wimbledon Common

Richmond Park

Bushy Park

Beverley Park^[5]

Coombe Hill Golf Club

Graham Spicer Table Tennis Club

Kingsmeadow Sports Centre

Malden Centre

Malden Golf Club

Malden Wanderers Cricket Club - Runners up in the 2008 National Cockspur Club Cup^[6]. Notable former players include former England wicketkeeper Alec Stewart^[7].

Topnotch Fitness Centre

Coombe Boys Secondary School.

Holy Cross Secondary School.

Malden Manor Primary and Nursery School.

Richard Challoner Catholic School.

New Malden railway station has services provided by South West Trains to London Waterloo, Hampton Court, Kingston upon Thames, Richmond and Shepperton. The Old Malden area is well served by trains from Malden Manor railway station, travelling north to London and south to Chessington. Motspur Park railway station on the New Malden/Raynes Park borders also has rail connections to Chessington South, Epsom, Dorking and Guildford.

There are many bus routes going through New Malden, including the 213 route going from Kingston towards Sutton, the 131 route going through Kingston Town Centre and Tooting Broadway along with the X26 express bus to Croydon and Heathrow Airport. The town also has a series of local bus routes, including the K1 and K5.

Cyril Barton - posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross during World War II;

Ian Bazalgette - posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross during World War II;

Bernard Braden - TV personality, mainly of the 1960s;

Anthony Caro - sculptor;

Barbara Kelly - TV personality;

David Kynaston -author, historian;^[8]

John Martyn - singer-songwriter;

Diana Rigg - actress;

Matthew Smith - Muslim convert, Islamist and author of the award winning blog^[9] Indigo Jo Blogs,^[10];

Alec Stewart - England's most capped cricketer;

Dave Swarbrick - fiddler of Fairport Convention;

Max Wall - actor, comedian and entertainer;

In the BBC TV series The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, New Malden features twice in the list of excuses Perrin made to his boss for his late arrival at work; one of the claims made is that a badger ate the signal box there.^[11]

The house on the corner of Dukes Avenue/Howard Road featured in the 1970s ITV series Bless This House, which featured comedian Sidney James.

New Malden is the centre of the universe according to Monty Python.^{[citation needed]},

A fictional character Meera from Little Britain comes from New Malden.^{[citation needed]},

In 2004, Tesco reported that the New Malden store was the biggest consumer of fruit and veg in the Country, in relation to items of fruit purchased per customer. It is thought that the Korean diet contributes significantly to this.^[12]

Mentioned in a mid-1990s MasterCard advert – "New York? The furthest he's ever been is New Malden!"

Mentioned briefly on the radio traffic report in the BBC television series "Outnumbered".

Mentioned in Stephen Fry's autobiography 'Moab is my washpot'. "I suppose some rat faced weasel from New Malden will be interviewed at any minute to give the other side of the hunting debate" (page 45)

The Duke of Wellington pub, refurbished as Krispy Kremes (lease due to expire Dec 2009) was formerly owned by the Kray twins, the heavyweight boxer Sonny Liston attended the opening night. ^[13]