Malden Green
Malden Green, Kingston/Sutton
A little-used name for the eastern end of Old Malden, nowadays increasingly considered to be part of Worcester Park
The green that gives the locality its name lies north-west of Worcester Park station and was also known as Lower Green. Like many village greens, this was common land that was progressively whittled away until a central fragment was saved in perpetuity.
By the 19th century, the local authority was vigilantly guarding the green’s integrity. William Baker, a Cheam tea dealer, was found guilty of enclosing a quarter-acre in 1844 and told to remove his fence or pay a £20 fine.
But in 1859 Worcester Park station was built on the common land and the railway line split the green in two.
In 1908 Parliament passed an act authorising the Metropolitan Commons (Malden Green) Scheme, which gave permanent protection to the five-acre common. Nevertheless, encroachment by various householders continued to cause problems and a local butcher had a hut forcibly removed from the green in 1925.
The part of the green east of the railway line is now a sports ground, which was brought entirely under the authority of Sutton council in 1995.
Malden Green Farm is a Grade II listed farmhouse that juts into the green. The farm’s remaining land recently disappeared beneath Barratt’s Hollybrook development of 50 executive-style houses.