page_title: Sutton High Street
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Sutton High Street / History
caption_attribution_description: English: The grand and decorative London and Provincial Bank building (now home to Barclays Bank), which was built overlooking the historic crossroads in Sutton town centre in 1894. It is four storeys tall and forms a prominent landmark when arriving in the town centre. There is a series of arches at ground level, and the main entrance is on the corner where the two roads meet, rounded in shape and surrounded by an ornate architrave and segmental pediment.
context_page_description: Sutton High Street is a high street running north–south through the town of Sutton in the London Borough of Sutton.
  The High Street area constitutes the sixth most important retail centre in London, and is home to many restaurants and major retail names. It is pedestrianised for most of its length, and a conservation area runs down a three hundred yard section. There are three examples of public art in the street, and parks at either end of it. In 2017 the High Street gained Heritage Action Zone status, the first in London to do so.
context_section_description: The section of road that is now Sutton High Street dates from the Middle Ages, and developed into part of the main road from London to Brighton. By the 18th century Brighton's popularity as a coastal resort was growing, and the route was well used, but not yet regularly maintained. This was put right in 1755 when the enacting of turnpike legislation provided a means for the road's better maintenance. This, combined with its intersection with the east-west Carshalton/Cheam Road, led to the development of a small settlement around the tollhouse in what is now the centre of the town. By the beginning of the 19th century Sutton had become a fully-fledged village, and the road was dotted with a number of houses, pubs and shops from Sutton Green southwards up to the Cock crossroads. The road was used frequently by the Prince Regent to access Sutton Lodge on Brighton Road, and, being the main route to Epsom Downs, it was also heavily used by visitors to The Derby. In 1801 the population of the town stood at 579, at that point lower than the other settlements in the borough. However, by 1861 it had risen enough to make Sutton the largest settlement in the borough.
  Their position on the London to Brighton turnpike provided the village's two large coaching inns, the Cock and the Greyhound, with trade serving coaches travelling through the village. The Cock Hotel's sign straddled the Brighton road, and its proprietor was the champion pugilist, "Gentleman" Jackson.  The building was demolished in 1898, shortly after a new Cock Hotel had been constructed on a directly adjacent site to the north.  Twenty horse and carts passed up and down this stretch in a day.  Regular contact beyond the town brought both expansion and sophistication. Small businesses opened up, at first directly related to travellers on the turnpike – bakers and brewers to feed visitors, seamstresses to provide running repairs, leather workers to make or mend harnesses – and then to provide trade goods for neighbouring communities.
  When the railway arrived, Sutton's people had become travellers themselves. The population of Sutton grew and the village turned into a town.  The High Street near the top was known as Cock Hill until the 1880s – the shops on the east side were built in 1880, ten years later than those on the west side.
  A notatable building to appear around this time was the grand and decorative 1894 London and Provincial Bank building (now home to Barclays Bank), which stands over the historic crossroads.  It is four storeys tall and forms a prominent landmark when arriving in the town centre from a westerly direction. There is a series of arches at ground level, and the main entrance is on the corner where the two roads meet, rounded in shape and surrounded by an ornate architrave and segmental pediment.
  By 1900 the High Street had become heavily built up. By the late 1930s the shops had altered, but the buildings above remained much the same.  One new building at this time was Ernest Shinner's new department store, which replaced a Baptist church that had been built in 1886. This later became Allders.
  The oldest retail business currently operating in Sutton dates back to the 1860s – Pearson Cycles was originally a blacksmith shop, but in the 1890s changed to bicycle making and repair. The Pearsons have run the cycle business from the same High Street location ever since.  It has been recognised by Guinness World Records as the oldest bicycle shop in the world.
caption: The Barclays Bank building
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