My father was born in Tooting.

 

So it is interesting to know something about the history of Tooting.

 

Tooting has been settled since pre-Saxon times.

 

The name is of Anglo-Saxon origin but the meaning is disputed. It could mean the people of Tota where Tota may have been a local Anglo-Saxon chieftain. Alternatively it could be derived from an old meaning of the verb to tout, to look out. There may have been a watchtower here on the road to London and hence the people of the look-out post.

 

Tooting has been known by various spellings including:Totinges, Totynge, Toting, Tootting and Towting.

 

It has certainly been known as Tooting since 1767.

 

There are a number of theories as to how Tooting got it's name, including:It was a part of an ancient Ley LineIt was a hamlet where Roman slaves were lodgedIt was named after a Saxon Tribe called Totas or TotingasIt was based on a variation of a name that meant 'lookout place'It was a trading post.

 

According to Black's guide of Surrey published in 1880 the name of Tooting derives from an ancient Saxon Tribe called the Totingas. Tota was their chief and the word 'ingas' means people. Eric Overton, who wrote a detailed account of Tooting Graveney, concurs with this theory.Others however claim that Toot is derived from the word "Theou" meaning slave plus the word "ing" meaning dwelling (i.e. place where Roman slave lived).

 

It is most probable that some people lived in the area during Roman times as the Road from London to Chicester (Thane Street) which passed along the current Tooting High Street, had to cross the river Graveney, the place would have been ideal spot for locals to farm and sell refreshments to travellers on the road.

 

In fairness to the lookout theory, the Oxford Dictionary gives:TOUT:A thieves lookout man; a person who solicits trade, or a verb meaning to keep a sharp lookoutING:A middle English word meaning a meadow, place, location or .

 

The Romans built a road, which was later named Stane Street by the English, from London (Londinium) to Chichester (Noviomagus Regnorum), and which passed through Tooting. Tooting High Street is built on this road.

 

In Saxon times, Tooting and Streatham (then Toting-cum-Stretham) was given to the Abbey of Chertsey. Later, Suene (Sweyn), believed to be a Viking, may have been given all or part of the land.

 

In 933, King Athelstan of England is thought to have confirmed lands including Totinge (Tooting) to Chertsey Abbey. 

 

Tooting appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Totinges. Lower Tooting was held from Chertsey Abbey by Haimo the Sheriff (of Kent). Its domesday assets were 1 church, 2½ ploughs, 5 acres (20,000 m2) of meadow. It rendered £4. Later in the Norman period it came into the possession of the De Gravenel family, after whom it was named Tooting Graveney. Upper Tooting, or Tooting Bec, appears as a distinct area and was held by the Abbey of Hellouin Bec, in Normandy, thus acquiring the "Bec" in its name. Its domesday assets were 5 hides. It had 5½ ploughs, 13 acres (53,000 m2). It rendered £7.

 

As with many of South London's suburbs, Tooting developed during the late Victorian period.

Some development occurred in the Edwardian era but another large spurt in growth happened during the 1920s and '30s.

 

1906 - Tooting Bec Lido opened.

1954 - St George's Hospital begins to relocate to Tooting from Hyde Park Corner, taking over the old Grove Fever and Fountain Hospitals

2003 - Redevelopment of St George's Hospital buildings completed.

 

The 1977-80 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-wearing Communist, founder of fictional revolutionary political organisation, the Tooting Popular Front.

 

In 2005, a 28 km diameter crater on Mars was named after Tooting. A geologic map of Tooting Crater is under preparation, and will be published by the U.S. Geological Survey in the United States.

 

The Kitchens of Distinction (who formed in the area) recorded "On Tooting Broadway Station" on their 1992 album The Death of Cool.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 number 1 on 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.

 

The phrase "Ting Tong from Tooting" is associated with the character Ting Tong from the UK comedy sketch show Little Britain.

 

A large open area, popularly known as the Tooting Commons, lies at the northern end of Tooting. Historically this was two separate open spaces: Tooting Graveney Common nearer to Tooting, and Tooting Bec Common towards Streatham.

 

The commons are home to Tooting Bec Lido, which is 90 metres long and 30 metres wide.Tooting shares a football club with nearby Mitcham: Tooting and Mitcham FC One of London's few greyhound racing tracks, the Wimbledon Stadium, is located in Tooting.

 

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. It also has good bus links, with routes to and from Central London, Croydon and Sutton amongst others.