Coordinates: 51°24′00″N 0°15′07″W / 51.40°N 0.252°W / 51.40; -0.252
New Malden is a small town and shopping centre in the south-western London suburbs, mostly within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and partly in the London Borough of Merton, and is situated 9.4 miles (15.1 km) from Charing Cross. Nearby towns are Kingston upon Thames, Raynes Park, Surbiton, Berrylands, Tolworth and Worcester Park.
New Malden was established entirely as a result of the arrival of the railway when what is now called New Malden railway station was opened on 1 December 1846 on the main line from Waterloo. However, when Queen Victoria visited distinguished residents in the Coombe Hill area, the royal train always continued to Norbiton station where the platform was at ground level.
Building started slowly in the area north of the station, gathering pace in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with two- and three-bedroom terraced houses. Further out are larger detached and semi-detached houses from the 1930s. The road up the hill to Coombe, Traps Lane, is thought to derive from a farm owned by a Mrs Trap.