There was a mill on the River Wandle at Colliers Wood continuously from the time of the Domesday Book, until the last mill was replaced by a hypermarket in the late 1980s.
The hypermarket adjoins the site of Merton Priory, which was built in the 12th century and was the place at which St Thomas Becket was educated.
Merton Priory gives its name to Merton College, Oxford: its founder, Walter de Merton was educated at Merton Priory c. 1230.
Admiral Lord Nelson bought a house - Merton Place- in the area now known as Colliers Wood . He lived here with Emma Hamilton prior to the Battle of Trafalgar.
William Morris had his studios at Merton Abbey Mills (now in the Colliers Wood locality) in the late 19th Century
The "Colliers" referred to in Colliers Wood were charcoal burners, in the days when the area had a few more trees.