Carshalton is a suburb of the London Borough of Sutton and resides in the parliamentary constituency of Carshalton and Wallington. Carshalton
Carshalton is located in the valley of the River Wandle, a source of which is Carshalton Ponds sited in the centre of the village. Carshalton was mentioned in the Doomsday Book as 'Aultone' meaning 'settlement at the source of a stream'. It was later known as Creshalton possibly because of all the water cress beds along the banks of the river, however, it has been called Carshalton for the past 200 years.
Anne Boleyn's Well is adjacent to Carshalton's All Saints Church. Rumour has it that the spring was to have burst from the ground when Anne's horse kicked against a stone during her journey from Carew Manor to Nonsuch Palace. However, this is highly unlikely as she had been executed in 1536, two years before before Nonsuch Palce was built. It's possible that the name derived from 'Bolonia' or 'Boulogne' who was Lord of the Manor of Carshalton in the 12th century.
Strawberry Lodge was built around 1685 for Josias Dewey, a gunpowder maker who operated water mills downstream where the Beddington and Carshalton sources of the River Wandle meet. He also owned a much larger house called Bacons which was situated on the other side of Strawberry Lane. Strawberry Lodge was small but elegantly built with definite social pretensions, and in the early 19th century considered a 'small country house' with its 44 acres of land. Dewey continued to live at Bacons and is thought that Strawberry Lodge was built purely as an investment. By the 1980's the house was in such bad repair it was in danger of demolition, however, it has since been full restored by the Baptist Church and is now used as venues for conferences, training and meeting rooms.
Carshalton Ponds are a key part of the Carshalton Village Conservation Area and surrounded by attractive and interesting buildings including the Honeywood Heritage Centre and the Water Tower both of which are open to the public. Not of natural origin, the site of the present Lower Pond seems to have been wet ground, which was crossed by small streams running from a line of springs in front of the Church and thought to have been created in the 1730's for local Thomas Scawen.The Upper Pond in front of the 'chalk and flint' Honeywood building is said to have been made in the 1630s for the Earl of Arundel.
There are many fine period buildings and properties of historical interest in Carshalton. Today Carshalton Village has its own busy parade of shops pubs and restaurants framed to the west by the ponds that adds to the unique village feel to this area. Roads with their Victorian and Edwardian terraces and semis lie off the High Street, and Pond Street's rows of clapboard sixteenth century cottages exude an abundance of character. Being a short distance to London there are excellent rail connections to London Bridge and Victoria.
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