England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Thames Ditton St Nicholas

The Parish

The parish of Thames Ditton lies in northern Surrey forming a stretch of the county's border , here formed by the Thames, with neighbouring Middlesex. Thames Ditton is located just over 2 miles southwest of the town of Kingston upon Thames and stands a half mile west of the A307 road which links Kingston with Esher. At the time of this transcript Thames Ditton was still rural, early maps show a distinct presence on the Thames with the Swan Inn and Summer Road already prominent, most properties line the lane headed south from there, today's High Street. Thames Ditton's economy was based largely on farming at this time, a mixture of riverside pastures for cattle and arable land used for both traditional crops such as cereals and also for market gardening to supply the capital. The Thames was a highway and Thames Ditton has its share of the trade being a popular spot for leisure boating and fishing as well for the carriage of goods. Thames Ditton stands directly opposite the grounds of Hampton Court Palace an obvious attraction being its inns and restaurants. It was the modern development sparked by the arrival of the railway which allowed London's elite to take a rural residence, caused substantial commuter development and faciliated the opening of a bronze foundry (famous for the creation of Piccadilly Circus' statue of Eros). The inter-war years saw most of the fields disappear beneath endless urban sprawl making Thames Ditton contiguous with Greater London and leaving only the course of the River Ember as a  green corridor separating it from East Molesey. Despite all of the modern development the core of the town remains around the Swan Inn and the High Street. Thames Ditton is drained eastwards by the Thames which passes through the capital to the North Sea through its large estuary. Thames Ditton is sited entirely below 10 metres above the sea, land rises southwards only gently such that one passes Esher before crossing the 30 metre contour. Thames Ditton parish covered around 3,000 acres and would have supported a population growing from around 2,200 parishioners at the end of the transcript period to today's over 9,000 residents. In Domesday times Thames Ditton was a tiny manor of just 8 households, held by Bishop Odo of Bayeux it offered some meadows & woodland and had a mill, no ploughs were recorded but there was potential for 2.

The Church

St Nicholas' church sits west of the High Street behind the fronting buildings and accessed by the footway of Church Walk which crosses the area to Speer Road. There is a little doubt over the exact age of the earliest fabric which is that of the western tower, Pevsner commits only to place it as either 12th or 13th century, there are round-headed openings which tend to support the earlier date but they have been altered and may not be definitive. The rower carries a weatherboarded top stage and a spike. Of more certain dating is the chancel which is 13th century Early English Gothic structure complete with the characteristic lancet windows . Much of the nave has been altered by later developments, the arcade between the nave and the northern aisle is late Perpendicular in style possibly 16th century whilst much of the southern side was rebuilt by the Victorians. Later developments include the 16th century northern chancel chapel and the 17th century former burial vault which was converted to a vestry in 1781. There were at least 2 phases of restoration, the first in the Georgian period in 1826 rebuilt the outer northern wall in a yellow brick whilst the more substantial Victorian effort is responsible for the southern arcade, southern aisle, southern porch and southern chapel during a major rebuild. There are some short-stay spaces on the High Street but it may be better to park further away and approach of foot. Church Walk has a white sign pointing the way through the fronting properties to the churchyard, the church sits within a substantial churchyard which has a few trees but these are relatively easy to avoid by the photographer.