Thames Ditton
| Thames Ditton, Surrey | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 Location of the Parent Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey |
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| Basic data | ||||
| status | Village | |||
| region | South East England | |||
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Ceremony County / administrative county |
Surrey | |||
| Administrative headquarters |
Borough Elmbridge , seat in Esher |
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| surface | ||||
| population | approx. 5863 (2001) | |||
| Website | www.elmbridge.gov.uk | |||
Thames Ditton is a village in the north of the county of Surrey , England , which borders directly on Greater London and the Thames . Administratively it belongs to Borough Elmbridge and forms its northeastern end.
Location and population
The place is about 20 kilometers southwest of central London between the cities of Kingston upon Thames , Surbiton , Esher and East Molesey . In addition to the Thames in the north, the Mole and Ember rivers form further borders in the west. The river The Rythe flows into the Thames in the village. The population was in 2001 - the year of the last census - 5863. Despite its location on the outskirts of the suburbs of Greater London, Thames Ditton has retained its village character with numerous green spaces and parks in the vicinity to this day.
history
Thames Ditton is first mentioned in 983 AD, when King Æthelred gave his minister Æthelmær nine "hides" ( cassati = 'units') of land in Thames Ditton, Surrey. Another mention is found in the "Chartularium of the Abbey of Eynsham Transaction " ( The Cartulary of the Abbey of Eynsham Transaction ); In it, King Æthelred of Eynsham Abbey confirms the establishment of Æthelmærs, endowed with 20 "hides" of land in Esher, Surrey (which he inherited from his father Æthelweard, who had previously received it from Bishop Beorhthelm) and land in Thames Ditton, Surrey.
In the Lehnsurkunde Domesday Book of 1086 Thames Ditton appears as Ditone and Ditune , managed by Wadard for Odo of Bayeux . Following the Norman Conquest , the land was transferred to the monks of the Merton Priory and a church was built, the office of which was occupied for the first time in 1179. Thames Ditton is also mentioned in Speed's map of Surrey from 1611.
The village remained - isolated by marshy wetland - until the construction of Hampton Court Palace by statesman and Cardinal Thomas Wolsey on the opposite side of the Thames in the early 16th century. After Henry VIII of England ousted Wolsey and claimed the palace for himself in 1525, Thames Ditton began to grow with the influx of court servants and other workers. In addition, the place gained importance because Thames Ditton Island developed into the major crossing of the Thames from Surrey to Hampton Court Palace in Middlesex .
During the 18th century, highwaymen made the area around the place unsafe, so that influential voices in the community - in vain - called for organized police forces. The result was the formation of a vigilante group by around 80 locals following a meeting on January 26, 1792.
In 1801 the number of inhabitants in Thames Ditton was still small: 1288 inhabitants lived in 265 buildings; 167 workers were employed in agriculture, 87 in trade, production and handicrafts. Due to the large number of mansions and mansions in the area, many local residents worked as domestic servants and laborers, some at Hampton Court Palace.
In the 19th century the village grew steadily, especially with the rail connection to London in 1849 by the London and South Western Railway and the construction of the first schools. The greatest change brought the expansion of the neighboring London suburbs.
Wealthy people like Charlotte FitzGerald-de Ros - the 21st Baroness de Ros - made it possible for the first state school for girls to start operating in Thames Ditton in 1812, some of whom came from neighboring Molesey and Tolworth . A first college for boys was established in Thames Ditton in 1818. Other schools followed, the most important being Esher College , a Sixth Form College with currently around 1500 students between 16 and 19 years of age.
The most important area for industry and commerce is the Ferry Works in the immediate vicinity of the Thames. The Willans and Robinson company was based there at the end of the 19th century. Their high-speed steam engines not only supplied electricity for their own production, but also for the other neighboring industrial and commercial operations; one of these so-called Willans Engines enabled the first power supply in the Vienna Opera House, for example. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Burton foundry was also located in this industrial park , which at the time was a leader in its field and cast the bronze statue of Eros for Piccadilly Circus , the Quadriga on Wellington Arch and many other large statues that are still in the United Kingdom and the previous colonies are located.
From 1911 to 1984, Thames Ditton (many years in some of the Ferry Works ) headquarters of the automobile - manufacturer AC Cars climb, the temporary largest in the late 1920s in England's automakers before it was hit hard by the global economic crisis 1930th Numerous record drives and race wins on the neighboring Brooklands circuit had made the brand famous in the United Kingdom. In the 1950s and 1960s, the family business experienced new economic and sporting heydays with the AC Ace sports car and the legendary AC Cobra , a joint development with Carroll Shelby and Ford . AC Cars ended its own vehicle production in Thames Ditton with the AC 3000ME model in 1984, ending a tradition of 73 years of automobile production, including the last 54 years under the management of the Hurlock family.
From 1948 to 1968, Rola / Celestion , a speaker manufacturer that had a market share of over 50% in Great Britain in the 1950s, had its headquarters in part of the Ferry Works in Thames Ditton. A popular series of speakers was called Ditton . Today a large television production company and a machine manufacturer are located at this location.
The Milk Marketing Board , a government agency promoting milk production and marketing in the United Kingdom, was headquartered in Thames Ditton from its inception in 1933 until its dissolution in 1994; it provided many jobs, long sponsored the local cricket club and financially supported many areas of the local cultural life.
In 1968 Thames Ditton experienced a flood of the century when the rivers Mole and Ember - dammed back by the Thames - overflowed their banks for several days.
Todays situation
The center of the village is the High Street with a mixture of residential, office and commercial buildings. Politically, Thames Ditton is traditionally conservative. Sights and cultural centers are the Church of St. Nicholas , the Giggs Hill Green and the Vera Fletcher Hall .
Due to its proximity to London and good rail and road connections, Thames Ditton is now a popular small commuter town surrounded by parks and green spaces; many also commute from outside to Thames Ditton, for example to the extensive industrial estates or to Esher College . Thames Ditton station is on the London Waterloo - Hampton Court railway line . The journey time from Thames Ditton to London Waterloo is approximately 35 minutes (there is a faster connection from Surbiton).
The social life of Thames Ditton is strongly influenced by the numerous sports clubs, such as the Cricket Club (founded in 1833), the Thames Ditton Lawn Tennis Club , the Thames Ditton Squash Club (which often won the national club championship as well as successes at the European championships) and several rugby , Soccer and hockey teams. Major sporting events are the Hampton Court and Dittons Regatta rowing competitions and the Dittons Skiff and Punting Club founded in 1923 on the Thames.
Persons connected to Thames Ditton
Historical people who lived in Thames Ditton for a long time
- Lord Henry FitzGerald (1761-1829), politician
- Charlotte FitzGerald-de Ros, 21st Baroness de Ros (1769–1831), noblewoman, wife of the aforementioned
- Arthur Onslow (1691–1768), politician, official and dignitary
- George Onslow, 1st Earl of Onslow (1731–1814), politician, nobleman
- Edward Sugden, 1st Baron St. Leonards (1781–1875), lawyer, judge and politician
- Hewett Watson (1804–1881), botanist, physician, and phrenologist
Other personalities related to Thames Ditton
- Christian de Duve (born October 2, 1917 in Thames Ditton; † May 4, 2013), Belgian biochemist and Nobel Prize winner
- William Hartnell (born January 8, 1908, St. Pancras, London, † April 23, 1975, Marden, Kent), English theater and film actor (" Doctor Who "), lived for many years in Thames Ditton
- Laurence Naismith (born December 14, 1908 in Thames Ditton, † June 5, 1992 in Southport, Queensland, Australia), British actor
- Douglas Reeman (* 1924 in Thames Ditton; † January 23, 2017), British author, known for naval war novels (partly under the pseudonym Alexander Kent)
- Pat Moss (born December 27, 1934 in Thames Ditton, † October 14, 2008 in Tring), British rally driver
- Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (born March 27, 1972 in Paramaribo, Suriname), former Dutch football player, lived in Thames Ditton during his professional career at Chelsea FC (2000-2004)
- Ronan Keating (born March 3, 1977 in Dublin), Irish pop singer ( Boyzone ), lived at the beginning of his career in Thames Ditton
- Keira Knightley (born March 26, 1985 in Teddington, London), British actress, graduate of Esher College
literature
- John Aubrey, John W. Brown: Aubrey's History of Thames Ditton . Local History Reprints, 1997, ISBN 978-1-85699-153-7 (English).
Web links
- Residents' Association (English)
- Thames Ditton Virtual Village (English)
- History of Boyle Farm by Rowland Baker, Surrey Historian
- Photos from the Conservation Areas Thames Ditton and Giggs Hill Green, Fall 2008
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b neighborhood.statistics.gov.uk data from the last census
- ^ P. Burchett: A Historical Sketch of Thames Ditton . Basing Press, 1985 (English)
Coordinates: 51 ° 23 ′ N , 0 ° 20 ′ W