Long Ditton
| Long Ditton | |
| Surrey | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ169664 |
| Location: | 51°23’6"N, 0°19’16"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 4,172 (2001) |
| Post town: | Surbiton |
| Postcode: | KT6-7 |
| Dialling code: | 020 8398 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Elmbridge |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Esher and Walton |
Long Ditton is a village in northern Surrey, close into the suburban belt and found beside its sister village, Thames Ditton to the west, and close to Surbiton, Tolworth and Chessington. Long Ditton and Thames Ditton are together referred to as "the Dittons", and of the two, Long Ditton is more closely integrated with the barely broken suburban sprawl.
History
Ditton (Dictun) was a village which, by Domesday Book of 1086 was already splitting between the riverside manor of Thames Ditton, and the more inland area which now forms Long Ditton. Two manors appear in the Domesday Book as Ditone or Ditune; Long Ditton (as it became) was held by Picot from Richard Fitz Gilbert while that which became known as Thames Ditton was held by Wadard from Bishop Odo. Long Ditton's Domesday assets were: 4 hides; 1 church, 1 mill worth 9s, 3½ ploughs, woodland worth 15 hogs, 1 house in Southwark paying 500 herrings. It rendered £2 10s 0d.[1]
Despite a mix of period properties and a community feel, there are few traces of Long Ditton's more distant past to be found around town. In the 16th century the manor fell into the hands of a George Evelyn, whose family took a dynastic hold over the village's prosperity. The Evelyns had the foresight, or good fortune, to be producing gunpowder during a rather explosive period of history. Gunpowder mills proliferated across Long Ditton and beyond to keep up with demand, and the Evelyns set about buying up much of the country that was busy blowing itself up with the family's finest powder.
George's grandson John Evelyn, who gained posthumous fame for his Diary, had to flee the country during the civil war as swathes of family land fell awkwardly between Royalist and Roundhead strongholds. It was John who gleaned further prestige for the family name with his assimilation into the Royal Court of Charles II. When St Mary's Church was re-built in 1880, and monuments erected to commemorate local dignitaries, there were few other Long Ditton celebrities to celebrate, and the place became something of an Evelyn shrine.
Burials in the churchyard include that of Terence Patrick O'Sullivan.
Recent years
In more recent years Long Ditton has become a dormitory town and is well regarded as one of the first leafy suburbs within easy reach of London. It teeters precariously between becoming a part of urban Surbiton and remaining a village of its own with its own character. Long Ditton has a cricket club which holds the heart of the town, the cricket club has been there for over 3 generations and is a beloved part of the community, bringing young and old together within the community.
Residents' Association
The Long Ditton Residents' Association (LDRA) is a subscription-based body whose aims are to preserve Long Ditton from over-development, maintain its character, improve its amenities and defend its surrounding Metropolitan Green Belt.[2]
References
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Long Ditton) |