Tooting
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Tooting is a suburb in the London Borough of Wandsworth in south London. It is 5 miles (8.1 km) south south-west of Charing Cross.
History
Tooting has been settled since pre-Saxon times, and its name means "the dwelling of the sons of Totas". The Romans built Stane Street from London (Londinium) to Chichester (Regnum), which passed through Tooting. Tooting High Street is built on this road. The following timeline sets out some crucial moments in the town's history:
- 666 AD - Tooting and Streatham (then Toting-cum-Stretham) given to the Abbey of Chertsey.
- 900 AD - Suene (Sweyn), believed to be a Viking, given the Land by Edward the Confessor.
- 933 AD - King Athelstan of England gave lands including Totinge (Tooting) to the family of Chertsey Minster.
- 1086 AD - Tooting Bec and Tooting Graveney appear on the Domesday survey as two distinct areas, Upper and Lower Tooting.
- 1703 AD - Citizen Daniel Defoe was a Tooting Presbyterian Minister in hiding.
Cultural references
The BBC comedy series Citizen Smith was set in Tooting and popularised the cry "Freedom for Tooting!". Star of the series Wolfie Smith (played by Robert Lindsay) was a beret-hatted Communist "leftie" type, founder of fictional revolutionary political organisation, the Tooting Popular Front.
In 2005, a 28-km diameter crater on Mars was named after Tooting [link] [link]. A geologic map of Tooting Crater is under preparation, and will be published by the U.S. Geological Survey in the United States.
British TV police drama 'The Bill' is frequently filmed in and around Tooting.
Scottish singer-songwriter Sandi Thom found fame after she webcast 21 performances from her basement flat in Tooting between February and March 2006. Her track 'I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers In My Hair)' reached No1 in the UK charts on 2 June 2006.
Tooting Bec appears in the book The Meaning of Liff, defined as the situation in which a driver sounds his or her horn at a car in front, only to discover that the car in front is parked.
Politics
The Member of Parliament for Tooting is Sadiq Khan, first elected at the 2005 General Election to represent the parliamentary constituency of Tooting.
Councillors for Tooting Ward (May 2006) are Susan Richards (Conservative), Alex Jacob (Conservative) and Dr Nick Bowes (Labour).
Open spaces
The large open area of Tooting Bec common lies at the northern end of Tooting. The common includes Tooting Bec Lido, the largest open air pool in Europe, which is 90 metres long.
Sport
Tooting shares a football club with nearby Mitcham: Tooting & Mitcham United F.C..
Snooker legend Jimmy White comes from Tooting and sometimes plays snooker in the Mayfair snooker hall.
Darren Bent who plays football for Charlton Atheltic comes from Tooting.
One of London's few greyhound racing tracks is found in Tooting.
Transport
Tooting is positioned on the Northern Line — with stations at the top and the bottom of the hill that slopes down the High Street, Tooting Bec and Tooting Broadway.
Nearest places
Nearest tube stations
(North to South on Northern Line)- Balham tube station
- Tooting Bec tube station
- Tooting Broadway tube station
- Colliers Wood tube station
- South Wimbledon tube station
Nearest railway stations
- Tooting railway station
- Balham railway station
- Wandsworth Common railway station
- Haydons Road railway station
External links
- [Tooting Web Site]
- [Tooting Library]
- [TootingLife — Tooting Town Partnership site]
- [Indian Curries for Tooting]
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