Long Ditton is a residential suburb in the borough of Elmbridge, Surrey, England on the boundary with the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, London. In medieval times it was a village, occupying a narrow strip of land. Neighbouring settlements include Hinchley Wood, Thames Ditton and Surbiton.

Its northernmost part is south-west of central Kingston upon Thames, 11.3 miles from Charing Cross, and north-east of Guildford. It is divided in two by the South West Main Line and is bordered by a straight east–west spur road to meet the A3 in a cutting to the south. The old Portsmouth Road passes by the River Thames in the northern end of the village, and the riverbank here is privately owned.

In both local economy and public transport, the high street and railway stations at Hinchley Wood and Surbiton are the nearest such amenities.

History

thumb|left|St Mary's Church was built in 1880

Ditton was a Saxon settlement which, by the Domesday Book, was a single ecclesiastical parish but split in two, as it remains. This split was between the riverside manor and parish of Thames Ditton, and the longer, eastern area, Long Ditton, which is a long rectangle of land extending from developed land by the River Thames to Ditton Hill. Nowadays Ditton Hill reaches beyond the wide A3 and A309 as far as Woodstock Lane South, much of which is in Claygate parish (and has an Esher postal address).

Two Dittons appear in the Domesday Book of 1086 and were written as Ditone and Ditune. The one that became known as Long Ditton was held by Robert Picot from (i.e. under) Richard Fitz Gilbert. The one that became known as Thames Ditton was held by Wadard under Bishop Odo. Long Ditton's Domesday assets were: 4 hides; 1 church, 1 mill worth 9s, 3½ ploughs, woodland for 15 hogs, 1 house in Southwark paying 500 herrings. It rendered £2 10s 0d.

Henry I granted all four chapelries neighbouring Kingston to Merton Priory, therefore it is uncertain whether the manor had a church or chapel at Long Ditton in that period. Until the early 20th century the parish had two non-contiguous parts, Long Ditton proper and an exclave in Tolworth. A strip of Kingston parish, its hamlet of Hook, lay between the two parts. The western portion, Long Ditton proper, had and had near-identical boundaries to today's ecclesiastical parish.

In 1565 the manor was bought by George Evelyn, whose family produced gunpowder here for several generations, with gunpowder mills proliferating across Long Ditton and beyond. The Evelyns bought up much of the country that was heavily involved in the English Civil War, using the profits from gunpowder. On 1 April 1974 the parish was abolished.

St Mary's Church

The original church dated in part from the 12th century, with the earliest recorded rector being in 1166. By the 18th century the church had fallen into a bad state of decay and in 1778 a replacement was built on the same site, of a small Greek cross plan, built of brick. Remains of the 18th-century church can be seen in the churchyard's garden of rest which contains church floor memorials to the Evelyn family, with only one of its memorials moved to the present church building. Both the current and the remains of the 18th-century church are Grade II listed.

By the early 20th century the rectory had become derelict and was demolished. Its greater part was half-timber; it is pictured in Malden's A History of the County of Surrey, and probably dated from the 16th century. and John Wimble architect.

Demography

A small part of the electoral ward, Long Ditton, was in the 2000s exchanged, including adding to Hinchley Wood (south of Hinchley Wood railway station).

The Long Ditton ward's population at the 2011 census was 6,343 living in 2,504 households. The total area was unchanged from ten years before at and the density had increased to 27.2 to 29.6 persons per hectare.

Demography and housing

{| class="wikitable"

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|+ 2011 Census Homes

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!Output area !!Detached !!Semi-detached!!Terraced!!Flats and apartments!!Caravans/temporary/mobile homes!!Shared between households

  • Sydney Camm (1893–1966), aeronautical engineer and aeroplane designer

Notes and references

References

  • St Mary's Church website
  • Long Ditton Residents' Association website