Wimbledon, London
People are known to have lived in Wimbledon since the Iron Age when the hill fort on Wimbledon Common was built. At the time the Domesday Book was written (about 1087), Wimbledon belonged to the lord of the manor of Mortlake. The ownership of the manor of Wimbledon changed between various rich families many times during its history, and the area also attracted other wealthy families who built large houses such as Eagle House, Wimbledon House and Warren House. The people in the village were either poor people who worked on the land or they were rich and important people. The rich and poor people lived together happily. In the 18th century the Dog and Fox public house became a stop on the stagecoach run from London to Portsmouth, then in 1838 the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) opened a station to the south east of the village at the bottom of Wimbledon hill. After the station was built, new houses were built near to it, and many people began living near the station. In the second half of the 19th century the number of people living in Wimbledon grew quickly. At the start of the 19th century there were about 1,000 people living in Wimbledon; then in 1911 there were about 55,000 people. During this time large numbers of villas and terraced houses were built out along the roads from the centre towards neighbouring Putney, Merton Park and Raynes Park.