page_title: Merton (parish)
section_title: 17th and 18th centuries
hierarchical_section_title: Merton (parish) / History / 17th and 18th centuries
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Kupferstich von Merton Place English: Merton Place, copperplate
context_page_description: Merton is an ancient parish which was first in Surrey but since 1965 has been in London, bounded by Wimbledon to the north, Mitcham to the east, Morden, Cheam and Cuddington to the south and Malden to the west. The 1871 Ordnance Survey map records its area as 1,764.7 acres.
  The parish was and is centred on the 12th-century parish church, St Mary's in Merton Park. The parish as a result of the disestablishment of the vestries became of two legal types and areas: religious and civil. It had in the late 19th century seen breakaway ecclesiastical parishes but the civic aspect in 1907 was transformed into Merton Urban District, this in turn was enlarged and empowered into the London Borough of Merton in 1965.
context_section_description: The River Wandle flowing north towards Wandsworth, had for centuries driven watermills and provided water for a number of industrial processes. In the 1660s a silk mill was in operation at Merton Abbey and the Jacob family was operating a fabric bleaching ground close by - a process requiring large quantities of water. The name remained associated with the locality as two hundred years later, Stanford's 1862 Library Map of London and its Suburbs, shows Jacob's Green at the junction of what are now Christchurch Road and Western Road.
  Textile production became the established industry in the area in the 18th century with calico printing beginning in the 1720s.
  In 1764, merchant Richard Hotham a member of the East India Company purchased Moat House Farm, a property to the south of Merton High Street. He began developing the property, enlarging the house and renaming it "Merton Place". He first leased then later sold the house to one of the partners in a local calico works, Charles Greaves.
  Hotham next built another house, to the north-west of the junction of Kingston Road and Morden Road. This he called "Hotham House" (later "Merton Grove") and it remained in his possession until his death in 1799.
caption: Merton Place, copperplate, 18th century
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