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107-712: Thames Ditton is a suburban village on the River Thames , in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey , England. Apart from a large inhabited island in the river, it lies on the southern bank, centred 12.2 miles (19.6 km) southwest of Charing Cross in central London. Thames Ditton is just outside Greater London but within the Greater London Urban Area as defined by the Office for National Statistics . Its clustered village centre and shopping area on

214-499: A township , but was so named as it had a chapel of ease (chapel) which was the community's official place of assembly in religious and secular matters. The fusion of these matters – principally tithes – was heavily tied to the main parish church. However, the medieval church's doctrine of subsidiarity when the congregation or sponsor was wealthy enough, supported their constitution into new parishes. Chapelries were first widespread in northern England and in larger parishes across

321-729: A Residents' Association, which was formed in 1934. The Residents' Association as at 2012 holds all three seats for the ward on Elmbridge Borough Council, and the Surrey County Council seat for the Dittons. A small United Reformed Church was added in the 19th century. Giggs Hill Green , and the Vera Fletcher Hall . The Vera Fletcher Hall "The Theatre in Thames Ditton" is on Embercourt Road, near Thames Ditton railway station . The old Victorian Village Hall

428-428: A further parish, Ealing, unusually so for a medieval town. From the outset the townspeople of New Brentford, founded around St Lawrence's Hospital in the manorial land of Boston Manor in 1179, were "to worship at Hanwell on the four principal feasts and to be buried there", except "the infirm, chaplains, and their servants". Offerings, tithes (but a smaller portion after c. 1660) and an annual donation of wax went from

535-594: A large part of south-eastern and a small part of western England; the river is fed by at least 50 named tributaries . The river contains over 80 islands . With its waters varying from freshwater to almost seawater, the Thames supports a variety of wildlife and has a number of adjoining Sites of Special Scientific Interest , with the largest being in the North Kent Marshes and covering 20.4 sq mi (5,289 ha). According to Mallory and Adams,

642-524: A leading architectural practice. During 1901 and 1908, John Ernest Hutton produced a motorcycle called Princeps at Thames Ditton. Between 1911 and 1984, the village was home to the AC Cars factory, first at Ferry Works and later in the High Street at a site since developed into a residential and office complex. Celestion manufactured for some years at Ferry Works and adjacent buildings, producing

749-494: A lesser rate than mission rooms, which were usually cheaply built and declined after the invention of different modes of private wheeled transport. The vestry , whether a joint board with the whole parish or dedicated in each chapelry, was empowered under an Act of Parliament in the reign of Henry VIII to collect rates to improve the roads, other general purposes, and administer the Poor Law (e.g. indoor and outdoor relief ,

856-621: A locality of the village marked on some maps, but within any official status such as wards , the main secondary parade of shops of the village is here, which also serves that part of Long Ditton on the riverside part of the Portsmouth Road. There is no hill here and its 8 acres (3.2 ha) were purchased in 1901 by the Esher and Dittons Urban District Council for its cricket green and remainder for its park benches and to allow picnics and informal sport. Thames Ditton railway station

963-508: A network of creeks. Lying below sea level, it is prone to flooding at exceptional tides, but has nevertheless been inhabited since Roman times. The usually quoted source of the Thames is at Thames Head (at grid reference ST980994 ). This is about 1.5 mi (2.4 km) north of the village of Kemble in southern Gloucestershire , near the town of Cirencester , in the Cotswolds . However, Seven Springs near Cheltenham , where

1070-429: A photographers and a post-office/convenience store. There are also a hairdressers, estate agents, two gift shops, a silversmith and jewellers , tennis and hockey equipment shop (the latter run by an Olympic gold-medallist), a small modern art gallery, two beauty salons and an undertaker. In nearby Summer Road there is a newsagents, convenience store, dry cleaners and a high end interior designer. There are six pubs in

1177-473: A school for girls was started thanks to wealthy people such as Baroness de Ros . Some form of National School for girls operated from September 1812, and boys were taught from 1818. At least 60 girls were being educated in 1816–17, some coming from Molesey and Tolworth . In the 1840s, there was a National School housed near St Nicholas' churchyard . In 1860, the Rev EH Rogers laid the first stone of

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1284-552: A small island in the Thames, which the frontage (mooring) overlooks, called Boyle Farm Island . The building is currently a nursing home run by a board of trustees. The ecclesiastical parish church (since the English Reformation , implying Church of England ) was built almost wholly in the early medieval period demonstrates fine architecture and is listed in the highest category of building. This triangular village green adjoins Portsmouth Road and gives its name to

1391-503: A strong association with Thames Ditton, with three residential roads indistinct as to at which point along them the boundary between the two lies, while other parts of the former parish of Thames Ditton, such as Hinchley Wood and Claygate, have taken on separate identities, and have become part of the Esher post town . The Giggs Hill area takes its name from Giggs Hill Green . 51°23′31″N 0°19′52″W  /  51.392°N 0.331°W  / 51.392; -0.331 Boyle Farm

1498-639: A summer venue for organised swimming, which is prohibited on safety grounds in a stretch centred on Central London . After the river took its present-day course, many of the banks of the Thames Estuary and the Thames Valley in London were partly covered in marshland , as was the adjoining Lower Lea Valley . Streams and rivers like the River Lea , Tyburn Brook and Bollo Brook drained into

1605-518: A three new hard courts at Esher College, and a weekend arrangement with Kingston Grammar School to use its courts as an overflow for the junior section. The Thames Ditton Squash Club is now housed at Colets' Health and Fitness Club. It is the strongest club in England, with several national club championships to its name as well as a strong record in the European championships. The same fitness club

1712-494: A while, Claigate (Claygate). From Domesday, the combined population of Thames Ditton (4), Long Ditton (11), Immeworth (2) and Weston (9) was some 26 households of villagers and smallholders. Later, the manors of both Dittons were reunited when Anne Gould inherited the manor of Thames Ditton and married Thomas Evelyn, who had inherited the manor of (Long) Ditton. By that time the manor of Thames Ditton amounted to little by way of land and, to all effects, Thames Ditton comprised mainly

1819-592: A winding High Street is surrounded by housing, schools and sports areas. Its riverside faces the Thames Path and Hampton Court Palace Gardens and golf course in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames . Its most commercial area is spread throughout its conservation area and contains restaurants, cafés, shops and businesses. Its railway station , one of two on the Hampton Court branch line ,

1926-430: Is 0.31 miles (500 m) from the riverside end of the village centre and the village of Weston Green that hived off from it in 1939. Thames Ditton joins Long Ditton and Weston Green in occupying the land between Surbiton , Esher and East Molesey . Although reduced to less than one square mile (2.6 km), it formerly covered more than four square miles (10 km). The first written record of Thames Ditton

2033-471: Is a landmark on the Boat Race course, while Glover's Island forms the centre of a view from Richmond Hill . Islands of historical interest include Magna Carta Island at Runnymede , Fry's Island at Reading, and Pharaoh's Island near Shepperton. In more recent times Platts Eyot at Hampton was the place where Motor Torpedo Boats (MTB)s were built, Tagg's Island near Molesey was associated with

2140-752: Is also the headquarters of a number of rugby and football teams of the Old Paulines ( St. Paul's School alumni) who own the grounds. In Weston Green there is the Old Cranleighan Rugby Football Club, as well as the Old Cranleighan Hockey Club . Having been formed in 1919 and 1921 respectively, the OCRFC and the OCHC moved to their new clubhouse in a secluded position off Portsmouth Road in 1928. The clubhouse

2247-402: Is an important water source, especially in the drier months, so maintaining its quality and quantity is extremely important. Groundwater is vulnerable to surface pollution, especially in highly urbanised areas. Brooks, canals and rivers, within an area of 3,842 sq mi (9,951 km ), combine to form 38 main tributaries feeding the Thames between its source and Teddington Lock . This

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2354-649: Is believed that Tamesubugus' name was derived from that of the river. Tamese was referred to as a place, not a river in the Ravenna Cosmography ( c.  AD 700 ). The river's name has always been pronounced with a simple t /t/ ; the Middle English spelling was typically Temese and the Brittonic form Tamesis . A similar spelling from 1210, "Tamisiam" (the accusative case of "Tamisia"; see Kingston upon Thames § Early history ),

2461-604: Is formed for much of its length for shipping and supplies: through the Port of London for international trade, internally along its length and by its connection to the British canal system. The river's position has put it at the centre of many events in British history, leading to it being described by John Burns as "liquid history". Two broad canals link the river to other rivers: the Kennet and Avon Canal ( Reading to Bath ) and

2568-697: Is found in Magna Carta . The Thames through Oxford is sometimes called the Isis . Historically, and especially in Victorian times, gazetteers and cartographers insisted that the entire river was correctly named the Isis from its source down to Dorchester on Thames and that only from this point, where the river meets the Thame and becomes the "Thame-isis" (supposedly subsequently abbreviated to Thames) should it be so called. Ordnance Survey maps still label

2675-632: Is in a charter dated 983 when King Æthelred the Unready granted to Æthelmær, his minister, nine hides ( cassati ) at Thames Ditton, Surrey. In The Cartulary of the Abbey of Eynsham Transaction , King Æthelred sent to Eynsham Abbey confirmation of the foundation (in 1005) by Æthelmær, the endowment including 20 hides at Esher, Surrey (granted by Beorhthelm, bishop, to Æthelweard, and bequeathed by Æthelweard to his son, Æthelmær); and land at Thames Ditton, Surrey, among several other items. Two Dittons appear in

2782-688: Is on the Hampton Court branch line from London Waterloo to Hampton Court . Rail services are provided by South Western Railway . Journey time to London Waterloo is 33 minutes (it is also possible to connect with faster trains at Surbiton ). Trains run every half hour from 05:56 to 23:26 to London Waterloo. Various buses run through Thames Ditton, including the 515 (Mon-Sat, hourly, Kingston-Surbiton-Thames Ditton-Esher-Hersham-Weybridge), 513 (Mon-Fri, twice daily, Kingston-Thames Ditton-Esher-Oxshott-Cobham), 514 (Mon-Sat, twice daily, Kingston-Surbiton-Thames Ditton-East and West Molesey-Fieldcommon-Hersham-Weybridge- Brooklands) and services 458 and 715 which run via

2889-531: Is outside of the boundaries but nearby, at Secondary School and Sixth Form College and Esher College . Preparatory and independent schools (private sector junior to 13 years and at senior levels) are outside of the boundaries but relatively nearby, including one in Weston Green. The village was partly hit by the Great Flood of 1968 when the rivers Ember and Mole burst their banks. The extent of

2996-452: Is responsible for managing the flow of water to help prevent and mitigate flooding, and providing for navigation: the volume and speed of water downstream is managed by adjusting the sluices at each of the weirs and, at peak high water, levels are generally dissipated over preferred flood plains adjacent to the river. Occasionally, flooding of inhabited areas is unavoidable and the agency issues flood warnings. Due to stiff penalties applicable on

3103-613: Is said to be in Kingston Hundred. Subsequent records assert not only Thames Ditton was in Kingston Hundred but remained part of its parish as a chapelry . Following the Normon Conquest, part of the land was granted to the monks of Merton Priory by Gilbert the Norman. A chapel – now the church – was built, the first recorded incumbent being in 1179. The chapelry of Thames Ditton was subordinate to Kingston Rectory until

3210-948: Is shared by many other river names in Britain, such as the River Tamar at the border of Devon and Cornwall , several rivers named Tame in the Midlands and North Yorkshire , the Tavy on Dartmoor , the Team of the North East, the Teifi and Teme of Wales , the Teviot in the Scottish Borders and a Thames tributary, the Thame . Kenneth H. Jackson proposed that the name of

3317-558: Is sometimes called the Isis), Reading , Henley-on-Thames and Windsor . The Thames also drains the whole of Greater London . The lower reaches of the river are called the Tideway , derived from its long tidal reach up to Teddington Lock . Its tidal section includes most of its London stretch and has a rise and fall of 23 ft (7 m). From Oxford to the estuary, the Thames drops by 55 metres (180 ft). Running through some of

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3424-404: Is the usual tidal limit ; however, high spring tides can raise the head water level in the reach above Teddington and can occasionally reverse the river flow for a short time. In these circumstances, tidal effects can be observed upstream to the next lock beside Molesey weir , which is visible from the towpath and bridge beside Hampton Court Palace . Before Teddington Lock was built in 1810–12,

3531-744: The River Isis , is a river that flows through southern England including London . At 215 miles (346 km), it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom , after the River Severn . The river rises at Thames Head in Gloucestershire and flows into the North Sea near Tilbury , Essex and Gravesend , Kent, via the Thames Estuary . From the west, it flows through Oxford (where it

3638-811: The Berwyn Mountains in North Wales . About 450,000 years ago, in the most extreme Ice Age of the Pleistocene , the Anglian , the furthest southern extent of the ice sheet reached Hornchurch in east London, the Vale of St Albans, and the Finchley Gap . It dammed the river in Hertfordshire , resulting in the formation of large ice lakes, which eventually burst their banks and caused

3745-541: The British Geological Survey from the banks of the tidal River Thames contain geochemical information and fossils which provide a 10,000-year record of sea-level change. Combined, this and other studies suggest that the Thames sea-level has risen more than 30 m during the Holocene at a rate of around 5–6 mm per year from 10,000 to 6,000 years ago. The rise of sea level dramatically reduced when

3852-662: The Cartulary notes that along with Esher, Eynsham appears to have lost Thames Ditton by the time of the Norman Conquest. The Domesday survey recorded that (before the Conquest) Ditton had been held by Earl Harald (subsequently King until 1066). In Domesday, Thames Ditton (as well as adjacent Long Ditton and 'Ember' or Immeworth, later Imber Court) is listed within Kingston Hundred; in Speed's map of Surrey (1611) it

3959-570: The Churn (which feeds into the Thames near Cricklade ) rises, is also sometimes quoted as the Thames' source, as this location is farthest from the mouth and adds some 14 mi (23 km) to the river's length. At Seven Springs above the source is a stone with the Latin hexameter inscription "Hic tuus o Tamesine pater septemgeminus fons", which means "Here, O Father Thames, [is] your sevenfold source". The springs at Seven Springs flow throughout

4066-663: The Domesday Book of 1086 as Ditone and Ditune . Under the Normans, the one now identified with Thames Ditton was held by Wadard from the Bishop of Bayeux . Its Domesday assets were: 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 hides ; part of a mill worth 1s 3d, 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 ploughs , 4 acres (1.6 ha) of meadow , woodland worth 20 hogs . It rendered £4. There were four households. Other manors that came to form part of Thames Ditton were those of Weston, Imworth (or Imber), and for

4173-684: The Grand Union Canal (London to the Midlands). The Grand Union effectively bypassed the earlier, narrow and winding Oxford Canal which remains open as a popular scenic recreational route. Three further cross-basin canals are disused but are in various stages of reconstruction: the Thames and Severn Canal (via Stroud ), which operated until 1927 (to the west coast of England), the Wey and Arun Canal to Littlehampton , which operated until 1871 (to

4280-489: The River Lea can be considered another boundary. Most of the local riverside was also marshland. The land was drained and became farmland; it was built on after the Industrial Revolution . Canvey Island in southern Essex (area 18.45 km , 7.12 sq mi; population 40,000 ) was once marshy, but is now a fully reclaimed island in the Thames estuary, separated from the mainland of south Essex by

4387-662: The Royal Academy , London , in 1785. They are now on show at the River and Rowing Museum in Henley). Richard Coates suggests that while the river was as a whole called the Thames, part of it, where it was too wide to ford, was called * (p)lowonida . This gave the name to a settlement on its banks, which became known as Londinium , from the Indo-European roots * pleu- "flow" and * -nedi "river" meaning something like

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4494-527: The Royal Shakespeare Company with their "Shakespeare Revue". Local drama and music groups present performances at the hall on a regular basis. The Rythe is a small river that bisected the southwest of the old parish in running almost along the Portsmouth Road and turns north near Ferry Road to drain into the Thames at which point it formed the old border with Long Ditton , which had a narrow riverside. Ye Olde Harrow, an historic inn

4601-735: The Speenhamland system and other wages systems) until the establishment of Poor Law Unions in the 19th century. The Poor Law Amendment Act 1867 declared that all areas that levied a separate rate should become civil parishes; thus their number approximately equalled the sum of ecclesiastical parishes and chapelries. Civil parishes have been abolished in many urban areas, removing the third tier of British local government. Pinner , Harrow and New Brentford , Hanwell were medieval-founded chapelries in Middlesex , constituted parishes in 1766 and 1660 respectively. Equally Old Brentford, as part of

4708-504: The Thames Barrier , which protects central London from flooding by storm surges . Below the barrier, the river passes Woolwich , Thamesmead , Dagenham , Erith , Purfleet , Dartford , West Thurrock , Northfleet , Tilbury and Gravesend before entering the Thames Estuary near Southend-on-Sea . The sea level in the Thames estuary is rising and the rate of rise is increasing. Sediment cores up to 10 m deep collected by

4815-549: The Thanetian stage of the late Palaeocene epoch. Until around 500,000 years ago, the Thames flowed on its existing course through what is now Oxfordshire , before turning to the north-east through Hertfordshire and East Anglia and reaching the North Sea near present-day Ipswich . At this time the river-system headwaters lay in the English West Midlands and may, at times, have received drainage from

4922-400: The advowson remained in the hands of the Hardinge family of Kingston until Nicholas Hardinge sold it, along with the advowson of Kingston and other subordinate chapelries, to King's College, Cambridge in 1781, subject to a long lease otherwise disposed of. The Hardinges retained the right of presentation for a period (then subsequently leased that too). Rev Henry Hardinge, Rector of Kingston,

5029-455: The "Ditton" range of loudspeakers. British Rola bought Celestion in 1947 and moved production to Thames Ditton a year later. The name of the company changed to Rola Celestion; with its products sold under the brand name "Celestion". (MPP, later a camera maker, was formed as a subsidiary during the war.) From its creation in 1933 to its dissolution in 1994 the Milk Marketing Board , a government agency to support milk production and distribution in

5136-439: The "curate/curacy" (dubbed sometimes the chaplain) to the rector, namely the parish priest, of Hanwell. Around 1660 New Brentford, already governed by its own vestry , was made a separate parish. In 1714 the rector of Hanwell managed to assert his right to the hay tithes from Boston manorial demesne but in 1744 he gave up the small tithes of New Brentford, all hay tithes except those from Boston demesne , and all offerings. In 1961

5243-433: The Corporation of Kingston. In 1965 the government had difficulty drawing the boundaries of Greater London satisfactorily to please various interests. In 1801, the population of Thames Ditton parish, which at that stage included Weston Green , Hinchley Wood and Claygate , was still small: 1,288 people living in 265 houses; 167 of the workers were occupied in agriculture and 87 in trade, manufacture and handicraft. Due to

5350-509: The Infants' School grounds and high street, shops and two houses close to the Thames. Thames Ditton Cricket Club is the oldest sports club in Thames Ditton. The first recorded match on Giggs Hill Green was in 1833, and the club remains with hundreds of members and a recently built brand new pavilion. They have three Saturday XI's, and one Sunday team. The club celebrated its 175th anniversary in 2008, and in 2009 contracted former West Indies cricket captain Richie Richardson to coach and play for

5457-408: The Metropolitan Police rather than the Surrey Police until the present millennium. Most other aspects of local administration in the Victorian era: roads, drains, gas, electricity, the Poor Union, were managed by Kingston until reform of local government led to the establishment of the Esher and the Dittons Urban District Council in 1894. But, Thames Ditton was always clearly outside the area governed by

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5564-411: The North Sea, and the Thames Barrier was built in the 1980s to protect London from this risk. The Nore is the sandbank that marks the mouth of the Thames Estuary , where the outflow from the Thames meets the North Sea . It is roughly halfway between Havengore Creek in Essex and Warden Point on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent. Until 1964 it marked the seaward limit of the Port of London Authority. As

5671-574: The Portsmouth Road to serve Walton, Staines, Cobham and Guildford. The 715 is diverted via Thames Ditton village on Sundays. From Thames Ditton, it is approximately five minutes by road to the A3 (eastbound) or ten minutes to A3 (both ways). It is some 15 minutes to the M3 and M25 and about 35 minutes to Heathrow airport, with typical traffic. Despite the further distance, it can take as little as 45 minutes to reach Gatwick airport. Occasionally, these times may be affected by racing at Kempton Park Racecourse and/or Sandown Park . For senior education this

5778-489: The River Thames on the Tideway include the rivers Crane , Brent , Wandle , Ravensbourne (the final part of which is called Deptford Creek ), Lea (the final part of which is called Bow Creek ), Roding (Barking Creek), Darent and Ingrebourne . In London, the water is slightly brackish with sea salt, being a mix of sea and fresh water. This part of the river is managed by the Port of London Authority . The flood threat here comes from high tides and strong winds from

5885-414: The T. S. Mercer Collection of parish records, Dittons Library). An Act of Parliament of 1769 enabled the parish to be formally established and to secede from the parish of All Saints', Kingston. Many significant residents of Thames Ditton were also senior figures in the administration of Kingston, and the courts of Kingston held jurisdiction over both Kingston and Elmbridge Hundreds. Thames Ditton came under

5992-416: The Thames Estuary), the river is subject to tidal activity from the North Sea . Before the lock was installed, the river was tidal as far as Staines, about 16 mi (26 km) upstream. London, capital of Roman Britain , was established on two hills, now known as Cornhill and Ludgate Hill . These provided a firm base for a trading centre at the lowest possible point on the Thames. A river crossing

6099-470: The Thames as "River Thames or Isis" down to Dorchester. Since the early 20th century this distinction has been lost in common usage outside of Oxford, and some historians suggest the name Isis is nothing more than a truncation of Tamesis , the Latin name for the Thames. Sculptures titled Tamesis and Isis by Anne Seymour Damer are located on the bridge at Henley-on-Thames , Oxfordshire (the original terracotta and plaster models were exhibited at

6206-439: The Thames is not Indo-European (and of unknown meaning), while Peter Kitson suggested that it is Indo-European but originated before the Britons and has a name indicating "muddiness" from a root *tā- , 'melt'. Early variants of the name include: Indirect evidence for the antiquity of the name "Thames" is provided by a Roman potsherd found at Oxford, bearing the inscription Tamesubugus fecit (Tamesubugus made [this]). It

6313-511: The Thames, from Middle English Temese , is derived from the Brittonic name for the river, Tamesas (from * tamēssa ), recorded in Latin as Tamesis and yielding modern Welsh Tafwys "Thames". The name element Tam may have meant "dark" and can be compared to other cognates such as Russian темно ( Proto-Slavic * tĭmĭnŭ ), Lithuanian tamsi "dark", Latvian tumsa "darkness", Sanskrit tamas and Welsh tywyll "darkness" and Middle Irish teimen "dark grey". The origin

6420-420: The United Kingdom, was headquartered at Giggs Hill Green in Thames Ditton. Its large site, already licensed for commercial use, was targeted by Tesco for a supermarket and garage in the early 1990s but local action secured it for a housing development with public tennis courts, a recreational area and two acres for community health purposes. In 1951 the civil parish had a population of 18,272. On 1 April 1974

6527-423: The case of the Colne ), and man-made distributaries such as the Longford River . Three canals intersect this stretch: the Oxford Canal , Kennet and Avon Canal and Wey Navigation . Its longest artificial secondary channel (cut), the Jubilee River , was built between Maidenhead and Windsor for flood relief and completed in 2002. The non-tidal section of the river is managed by the Environment Agency , which

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6634-411: The chapelry: typically an area roughly equal to the old extent of the manor or a new industrious area. The chapels, as opposed to mission churches or mission rooms, had a date of consecration, dedication to a saint or saints, and typically their own clergy. They were by and large upgraded, that is (re-)constituted, into parishes. A small minority fell redundant and were downgraded or closed, though at

6741-423: The confluence, the overall length of the Thames measured from Seven Springs, at 229 mi (369 km), is greater than the Severn's length of 220 mi (350 km). Thus, the "Churn/Thames" river may be regarded as the longest natural river in the United Kingdom. The stream from Seven Springs is joined at Coberley by a longer tributary which could further increase the length of the Thames, with its source in

6848-413: The convenience of Thames Ditton to London – two or three hours by horse or carriage; the cachet of nearby Hampton Court, Claremont and Esher Place, Royal Kingston with its market and coach service, and the still rural aspect of the village prompted many to make their main or second homes there. A richly diverse crop of residents both notable and less so resulted. During the 18th century, lawlessness grew in

6955-455: The convenience to London and boating attractions of the Thames helped to make Thames Ditton a destination of choice for weekenders including a sizeable community from the world of popular entertainment in London. Local life was completely changed by the expansion of London's suburbs , and in the period between the World Wars most of the farming fields were sold off for housing development, and the big landowners, now richer, decamped. Around 1812,

7062-421: The country which had populous outlying places. Except in cities, the entire coverage of the parishes (with very rare extra-parochial areas ) was fixed in medieval times by reference to a large or influential manor or a set of manors . A lord of the manor or other patron of an area, often the Diocese, would for prestige and public convenience set up an additional church of sorts, a chapel of ease which would serve

7169-468: The drier parts of mainland Britain and heavily abstracted for drinking water, the Thames' discharge is low considering its length and breadth: the Severn has a discharge almost twice as large on average despite having a smaller drainage basin . In Scotland , the Tay achieves more than double the Thames' average discharge from a drainage basin that is 60% smaller. Along its course are 45 navigation locks with accompanying weirs . Its catchment area covers

7276-444: The flooding reached from the western points of the Portsmouth Road to the River Thames and caused flood damage to many homes, including some in the west of Weston Green. The floodwaters did not subside for a number of days. On 30 November 2006, a 1,200-millimetre (47 in) diameter water pipe, believed to be over 150 years old, burst in a garden near the railway station. This caused flooding in two local streets. The floods reached

7383-412: The flowing river or the wide flowing unfordable river. The river gives its name to three informal areas: the Thames Valley , a region of England around the river between Oxford and West London; the Thames Gateway ; and the greatly overlapping Thames Estuary around the tidal Thames to the east of London and including the waterway itself. Thames Valley Police is a formal body that takes its name from

7490-403: The foundry was supreme in its field. It produced fine bronze statues exported worldwide, including the statue commonly known as Eros Piccadilly Circus , Victoria Memorial (London) and the giant Quadriga ( Wellington Arch ) at Hyde Park Corner . and the Captain James Cook statue in Hyde Park, Sydney . Nearby, at Ferry Works on the river bank, was the factory of Willans & Robinson who in

7597-533: The grounds of the National Star College at Ullenwood . The Thames flows through or alongside Ashton Keynes , Cricklade , Lechlade , Oxford , Abingdon-on-Thames , Wallingford , Goring-on-Thames and Streatley (at the Goring Gap ), Pangbourne and Whitchurch-on-Thames , Reading , Wargrave , Henley-on-Thames , Marlow , Maidenhead , Windsor and Eton , Staines-upon-Thames and Egham , Chertsey , Shepperton , Weybridge , Sunbury-on-Thames , Walton-on-Thames , Molesey and Thames Ditton . The river

7704-512: The ice melt nearly concluded over the past 4,000 years. Since the beginning of the 20th century, rates of sea level rise range from 1.22 mm per year to 2.14 mm per year. The Thames River Basin District, including the Medway catchment, covers an area of 6,229 sq mi (16,130 km ). The entire river basin is a mixture of urban and rural, with rural landscape predominating in

7811-640: The impresario Fred Karno and Eel Pie Island at Twickenham was the birthplace of the South East's R&B music scene. Westminster Abbey and the Palace of Westminster (commonly known today as the Houses of Parliament ) were built on Thorney Island , which used to be an eyot . Researchers have identified the River Thames as a discrete drainage line flowing as early as 58 million years ago, in

7918-518: The large number of mansions and estates in the area, there would have been many domestic and ancillary employees living in the village, some working at Hampton Court Palace . During the 19th century, the village continued to grow, with the arrival of the London and South Western Railway in 1849 and the building of the first school. Market gardens were established in the fields around the Church to supply

8025-480: The late 1700s. By Act of Parliament in 1769, Thames Ditton, which had from the early 1600s assumed the civilian vestry responsibilities of a parish, became a separate curacy and an ecclesiastical parish in its own right, subsuming Hinchley Wood, Claygate and Weston Green. (Long Ditton remained a separate parish, not within the Kingston Rectory, despite attempts during Cromwell's time to fuse the two). But,

8132-569: The late 19th century made a high-speed steam engine (the Willans engine ) used for early generation of electric power in places such as the Vienna State Opera . The works is preserved and in use by a number of commercial companies including a broadcast software developer, an international communications and information technology company serving government and commercial markets, a company specialising in numerically controlled machines and

8239-527: The manors of Imworth and of Weston, with some lands from Claygate, Long Ditton and even Kingston extending into the present-day boundaries of Thames Ditton and Weston Green. Thus it remained still in 1848, comprising "about 3,000 acres (12 km)". Under Eynsham Abbey, Thames Ditton had been parcelled with Esher. It was in the Saxon 's Elmbridge hundred , where its local aristocracy would convene for strategic and administrative purposes. Salter's introduction to

8346-569: The metropolis. By the end of the century, the population had almost doubled but was still fairly sparse. In 1913 a booklet of 'The Suburban and Provincial Development Association' noted: "the population of the district is only about two to the acre" and "some of the trains perform the journey to Waterloo in as little as 24 minutes." And another local booklet of that period commented that "Thames Ditton.....may be said generally to abound in pretty villas whose inhabitants seem to vie with each other in friendly rivugalry to beautify them." Either side of 1900

8453-426: The non-tidal river, which is a drinking water source before treatment, sanitary sewer overflow from the many sewage treatment plants covering the upper Thames basin should be rare in the non-tidal Thames. However, storm sewage overflows are still common in almost all the main tributaries of the Thames despite claims by Thames Water to the contrary. Below Teddington Lock (about 55 mi or 89 km upstream of

8560-432: The parish of St. Lawrence, New Brentford, was amalgamated with St. George's and St. Paul's, Old Brentford, to form the united parishes of Brentford in the Church of England. In Cornwall the parish of St Minver had chapelries of Porthilly and St Enodoc; Probus had chapelries of Cornelly and Merther and there were others. St Ives was a chapelry of Lelant before it was granted parochial status (until 1902 Towednack

8667-515: The parish was abolished. Thames Ditton railway station links Thames Ditton to London Waterloo , serving the large commuter population, local workforce and Esher college student population. Its High Street is a conservation area that has a mixture of residential housing, office and retail shops in about equal proportion. The village High Street retains a pharmacy , greengrocery , florist, coffee/ delicatessen shop, four restaurants (Chinese, Indian, Italian and Thai), sandwich/coffee shops,

8774-509: The region, and the roads around the village were plagued with highwaymen , in particular the turnpike to Portsmouth. Influential men began to band together to deal with crime. Following a meeting at the Harrow Inn on 26 January 1792, a group of some 80 local men (a significant percentage of the sparse population) formed a group for "the protection of persons and property". They made a list of crimes, fines and rewards (transcript of document in

8881-585: The river passes Pimlico and Vauxhall , and then forms one of the principal axes of the city, from the Palace of Westminster to the Tower of London . At this point, it historically formed the southern boundary of the medieval city, with Southwark , on the opposite bank, then being part of Surrey . Beyond central London, the river passes Bermondsey , Wapping , Shadwell , Limehouse , Rotherhithe , Millwall , Deptford , Greenwich , Cubitt Town , Blackwall , New Charlton and Silvertown , before flowing through

8988-477: The river to divert onto its present course through the area of present-day London. The ice lobe which stopped at present-day Finchley deposited about 14 metres of boulder clay there. Its torrent of meltwater gushed through the Finchley Gap and south towards the new course of the Thames, and proceeded to carve out the Brent Valley in the process. Chapelry A chapelry had a similar status to

9095-439: The river was tidal at peak spring tides as far as Staines upon Thames . In descending order, non-related tributaries of the non-tidal Thames, with river status, are the Churn , Leach , Cole , Ray , Coln , Windrush , Evenlode , Cherwell , Ock , Thame , Pang , Kennet , Loddon , Colne , Wey and Mole . In addition, there are occasional backwaters and artificial cuts that form islands, distributaries (most numerous in

9202-596: The river, covering three counties . In non-administrative use, the river's name is used in those of Thames Valley University , Thames Water , Thames Television , publishing company Thames & Hudson , Thameslink (north–south rail service passing through central London ) and South Thames College . An example of its use in the names of historic entities is the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company . Marks of human activity, in some cases dating back to Pre-Roman Britain , are visible at various points along

9309-456: The river, while some islands, e.g. Thorney Island , formed over the ages. The northern tip of the ancient parish of Lambeth , for example, was marshland known as Lambeth Marshe , but it was drained in the 18th century; the street names Lower Marsh and Upper Marsh preserve a memory. Until the middle of the Victorian era, malaria was commonplace beside the River Thames, even in London, and

9416-519: The river. These include a variety of structures connected with use of the river, such as navigations, bridges and watermills , as well as prehistoric burial mounds . The lower Thames in the Roman era was a shallow waterway winding through marshes. But centuries of human intervention have transformed it into a deep tidal canal flowing between 200 miles of solid walls; these defend a floodplain where 1.5 million people work and live. A major maritime route

9523-661: The sandbank was a major hazard for shipping coming in and out of London, in 1732 it received the world's first lightship . This became a major landmark, and was used as an assembly point for shipping. Today it is marked by Sea Reach No. 1 Buoy. The River Thames contains over 80 islands ranging from the large estuarial marshlands of the Isle of Sheppey and Canvey Island to small tree-covered islets like Rose Isle in Oxfordshire and Headpile Eyot in Berkshire. They are found all

9630-651: The schools at the end of Church Walk where generations of Thames Ditton children were educated. It was expanded in 1877. There had long been a wharf near the Swan Inn on the river and this became a site for local industry. A 'Melting House' between the churchyard and the river became the Thames Ditton Foundry , a skilled bronze foundry in 1874, and successively as Cox & Son (1874–1880), Drew & Sons (1880–1883), Moore & Co (1883–1897), Hollinshead & Burton (1897–1902) and A.B. Burton (1902–1939);

9737-541: The south coast), and the Wilts & Berks Canal . Rowing and sailing clubs are common along the Thames, which is navigable to such vessels. Kayaking and canoeing also take place. Major annual events include the Henley Royal Regatta and the Boat Race , while the Thames has been used during two Summer Olympic Games : 1908 ( rowing ) and 1948 ( rowing and canoeing ). Safe headwaters and reaches are

9844-413: The team for the following four years. The cricket club has enjoyed success in recent seasons, and in 2019 completed a "treble" of promotions, with the 1st XI (captained by Chris Dixon), the 2nd XI (captained by Amrik Natt) and the 3rd XI (captained by Chris Harding) all achieving promotion for their relevant divisions. Weston Green Road is the location of Thames Ditton Lawn Tennis Club (TDLTC). The club

9951-464: The village, two with riverside frontages. The George and Dragon on the corner of High Street and Station Road hosts Thames Ditton Farmers' Market every 4 th Saturday of the month from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. At Winters Bridge on the Portsmouth Road there is a small parade of shops that includes a nationally recognised patisserie and chocolatier . There is another off-licence, a pharmacy and newsagent on Thorkhill Road, formerly Workhouse Lane. The village has

10058-756: The way from Fiddler's Island in Oxfordshire to the Isle of Sheppey in Kent. Some of the largest inland islands, for example Formosa Island near Cookham and Andersey Island at Abingdon, were created naturally when the course of the river divided into separate streams. In the Oxford area the river splits into several streams across the floodplain ( Seacourt Stream , Castle Mill Stream , Bulstake Stream and others), creating several islands ( Fiddler's Island , Osney and others). Desborough Island , Ham Island at Old Windsor and Penton Hook Island were artificially created by lock cuts and navigation channels. Chiswick Eyot

10165-412: The western part. The area is among the driest in the United Kingdom. Water resources consist of groundwater from aquifers and water taken from the Thames and its tributaries, much of it stored in large bank-side reservoirs . The Thames itself provides two-thirds of London's drinking water, while groundwater supplies about 40 per cent of public water supplies in the overall catchment area. Groundwater

10272-580: The year, while those at Thames Head are seasonal (a winterbourne ). With a length of 215 mi (346 km), the Thames is the longest river entirely in England. (The longest river in the United Kingdom, the Severn , flows partly in Wales .) However, as the River Churn, sourced at Seven Springs, is 14 mi (23 km) longer than the section of the Thames from its traditional source at Thames Head to

10379-400: Was a base for the local militia in the days of highwaymen (see above) and subsequently hosted one of the oldest bowling greens in the county. It is to be demolished and several houses are to be built on the site. Further churches and facilities in the arguably independent, contiguous and inchoate locality of Weston Green which is termed by its residents association a 'village' but retains

10486-512: Was a useful crossing point across the River Thames from Surrey to the palace in Middlesex , before the bridge at Hampton Court was built in 1752–1753. Development in the village suffered greatly when Henry VIII acquired most of the lands and enclosed them within the deer Chase in the Honour of Hampton Court. Following his death, residents of the area successfully petitioned for it to be de-Chased, and normal activities resumed. From that time

10593-463: Was also the incumbent at St Nicholas for a brief and ill-starred time. Isolated on marshy wetlands, the village seems to have avoided the travails of Kingston (a strategic garrison town often pillaged). It remained a relatively insignificant settlement of farming Manors. The Chancery Rolls of 1212 do note that King John was entertained at Ditton by Geoffrey Fitz Pierre, the Chief Justice. This

10700-479: Was built at the site of London Bridge . London Bridge is now used as the basis for published tide tables giving the times of high tide . High tide reaches Putney about 30 minutes later than London Bridge, and Teddington about an hour later. The tidal stretch of the river is known as "the Tideway ". Tide tables are published by the Port of London Authority and are available online. Times of high and low tides are also posted on Twitter. The principal tributaries of

10807-538: Was built in 1887 to commemorate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee as a gift to the community from local benefactor Hannibal Speer (born Hannibal Sandys) Lord of the Manor of Weston. Over the years the village hall has been able to attract stars such as Petula Clark (who opened the hall), Dorothy Tutin , Denis Quilley , Janet Suzman , John Julius Norwich , Susannah York , the English National Opera and

10914-463: Was frequently lethal. Some cases continued to occur into the early 20th century. Draining of the marshes helped with its eradication, but the causes are complex and unclear. The East End of London , also known simply as the East End , was the area of London east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames, although it is not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries;

11021-412: Was most likely on the site of Imber Court. Another substantial house was on the site close to the chapel of ease, now the Church. Thames Ditton became more significant after Hampton Court Palace was built by Thomas Wolsey in the early 16th century. Once the palace was claimed by Henry VIII in 1525, palace officials and other workers took up residence in Thames Ditton. With Thames Ditton Island , it

11128-428: Was ravaged in the 1990s by a protracted legal battle with the owner of the site freehold, who wished to build executive homes on the site. Though TDLTC eventually won the case, it lost the rights to use three courts on the adjoining Esher College site, which were themselves subsequently sold to developers. However, the club still owns six grass and four hard courts, along with one short tennis court. It also has access to

11235-617: Was subject to minor redefining and widening of the main channel around Oxford, Abingdon and Marlow before 1850, when further cuts to ease navigation reduced distances further. Molesey faces Hampton , and in Greater London the Thames passes Hampton Court Palace , Surbiton , Kingston upon Thames , Teddington , Twickenham , Richmond (with a famous view of the Thames from Richmond Hill), Syon House , Kew , Brentford , Chiswick , Barnes , Hammersmith , Fulham , Putney , Wandsworth , Battersea and Chelsea . In central London ,

11342-714: Was substantially renovated and enlarged in 1993 and the club now has some of the best facilities for rugby and hockey in Surrey. OC Rugby started a Mini Rugby section in September 2011, which has been very successful in providing a fun and controlled introduction to rugby for local children on Sunday mornings. Metropolitan Police F.C. of the Southern Football League are based in Thames Ditton. River Thames The River Thames ( / t ɛ m z / TEMZ ), known alternatively in parts as

11449-616: Was the earlier name of the Home of Compassion , a wide range mansion care home by the River Thames formerly set among fields rather than private houses. The country house replaced the farmhouse of Forde's Farm in 1786 when built by the Honourable Charlotte Boyle Walsingham. Although the estate has been sold and divided into expensive building plots over the past century, some of the farm buildings and outhouses remain. It has river frontage and used to own

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