However, the General Post Office had already established an independent system for defining the UK's Postcode Areas to ensure efficient mail sorting.

[25][26] Jose Glover, who was Rector of Sutton from 1628 to 1636, became a pioneer of printing in the English colonies of North America and one of the people instrumental in establishing Harvard College in the 1630s.

Freemasons have met there since its foundation, apart during World War II when the military requisitioned it and it served as a shelter for displaced people.

[41] In 1959 a local resident, George Edgar Alcock, started a campaign to preserve a unique avenue of copper beech trees.

Of architectural interest because of its particularly varied style is the Victorian residential quarter east of the high street known as Newtown, where no single developer was in overall charge.

Smith had his initials GS put on the façade of the red-brick building, which was designed by Frederick Wheeler in an Arts and Crafts style.

Its parish was created in 1863, and the foundation stone of the Grade II* listed building was laid in the same year, designed by Samuel Sanders Teulon in the Gothic Revival style.

The church has the largest auditorium in Sutton, and comprises a nave of five bays, a chancel, apse, north and south aisles, chapel, narthex and vestries.

[73] It was commissioned by the owner of a cleaning firm keen to promote local art, and depicts an image of Erykah Badu, the American singer-songwriter.

The twin towns mural is a set of seven individual paintings inset within seven mock window frames on the side of a Victorian commercial building at the junction of the High Street with Sutton Court Road.

The paintings depict scenes of the London Borough of Sutton and its four European twins:[74] Gagny, a suburb of Paris; Gladsaxe in Copenhagen; Minden in Germany; and Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf in Berlin.

[85][86] The design, location and dimensions of Transpose 2002 all combine to make it a significant landmark for those entering Sutton town centre from an easterly direction along Carshalton Road.

[91] A bench dedicated to female victims of male violence was unveiled in Trinity Square in Sutton town centre in March 2022, created by local artists Samia Tossio and Hana Horack, following the murders in 2021 of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa.

Having a brightly coloured mosaic surface themed with hearts and stars, the inscription reads, "Never commit, excuse or remain silent" (words used by the White Ribbon Campaign) and "Remembering women who died from male violence".

Plans for the bench were conceived by the Reclaim Sutton's Streets campaign group, following a vigil for Sabina Nessa in the same location in 2021 held around a "tree of remembrance" decorated with yarn-bombing.

[112][113] The Sound Lounge, a grassroots concert venue, opened in December 2020 in Sutton High Street in the former premises of Royal Bank of Scotland.

[114][115][116] Following the easing of lockdown, it had a limited reopening in April 2021 for outdoor food and drink consumption and vinyl record sales at the Union Music Store within.

[119][120][121] It was at the pub that Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman, on 23 January 1963, became permanent members of the band:[122] January 23, 1963: Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman become permanent members of the Rolling Stones with this day's gig at the Red Lion Pub in Sutton, Surrey.In 2011, the Winning Post was added to a list of buildings and structures of local significance.

[133] The then Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, visited the facility that year, and lent his support to the plans for what would be the world's second biggest cancer research campus.

[134] In December 2014, the Institute was named in The Times Higher Education league table the country's leading university, ahead of Oxford and Cambridge, in recognition of its contribution to society.

Prince William said: "As President of The Royal Marsden, I am delighted to be here with you today to celebrate the opening of a remarkable treatment and research facility, that will transform the lives of cancer patients.

"[136][137] In February 2016, further plans for the site were released: the "London Cancer Hub", a partnership between the Institute of Cancer Research, the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and the London Borough of Sutton, will bring together 10,000 scientists, and clinical and support staff and provide space for biotech and pharma companies to carry our research and development.

[147] In October 2021, the Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery, sited in a new 7,300 square metre building costing £75 million, was opened by Princess Anne.

Construction of the £90 million scheme was awarded by the developer CNM Estates to the building firm Ardmore Group, and was due for completion in December 2018.

[156] In September 2015 the council appointed a design team led by Bilfinger GVA to produce plans covering the next 15 years for the central area of the town.

[159] Over the next ten years, the St Nicholas Centre will be replaced with higher-quality buildings featuring shops, restaurants, bars, new council offices, a library, and a community hub.

The oldest retail business currently operating in Sutton, Pearson Cycles, dates from the 1860s – it was originally a blacksmith shop, but in the 1890s changed to bicycle making and repair.

Sutton's range of restaurants has expanded in recent years, and now includes examples of French, Lebanese, British, vegan, Malaysian, Thai, Pakistani, Portuguese, Turkish, Sri Lankan and Japanese cuisine, in addition to the more longstanding Italian, Indian and Chinese establishments.

[175][176] In August and September the high street hosts the outdoor "Sunset Cinema," where films are shown in the evening to an audience seated in deckchairs.

It helps to offset the carbon footprint, lowers the heat island effect of the urban area and reduces smog from traffic fumes.