At the time of the Domesday Book, the area was called Michelham. It became a popular area for rich people wanting to have houses away from the centre of London. Queen Elizabeth I visited Mitcham on a number of occasions to stay with various notables. In the 17th and 18th centuries it was a centre for the printing trade. It was added to the London tram network in the 1880s, which led to considerable residential development as commuters moved into the area. Mitcham Common was preserved by an Act of Parliament in 1891 and covers about 460 acres.

The most desirable houses are those overlooking Mitcham Common. There are a small Victorian terraced houses in Commonside East which runs right along the north side of the Common. The Cricket Green Conservation Area is just east of London Road, with roads off Cricket Green itself such as Birches Close and Kingsleigh Place. There were pockets of new houses built in the late 20th century in the streets towards Streatham. The biggest new development in the area was the development of former playing fields between Lavender Avenue and Western Road. The streets surrounding Pollard’s Hill, mainly named after it but also including streets such as Ena Road and Beech Road, contain detached houses built in the 1920s and 1930s. The former sewage works off Beddington Lane have been converted into environmentally-friendly flats and houses. (You can see why that might have been an issue.)