The district was historically known as West Barnes and formed part of the traditional county of Surrey. It was rural up to the end of the nineteenth century due to its lack of a railway station . Two roads hark back to this rural time, West Barnes Lane and Blakes Lane and are marked on the oldest maps. The barns referred to were those at the western end of Merton Abbey's estates and were just north of West Barnes Lane's junction with the modern Crossway.