Ditton, Thames (St. Nicholas)
DITTON, THAMES (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union of Kingston, partly in the Second division of the hundred of Kingston, E. division, and partly in the Second division of the hundred of Elmbridge, W. division, of Surrey, 2¼ miles (S. W. by W.) from Kingston; containing, with the hamlet of Ember with Weston, and the manor of Cleygate, 2196 inhabitants. This place is much resorted to by anglers, from its proximity to the Thames, on the south bank of which it is very agreeably situated: the London and Guildford road, and the South-Western railway, on which there is a station at Ditton-Marsh, pass through it. The parish comprises about 3000 acres: the surface is partly hilly and partly level; the soil is chiefly a strong clay, producing good corn, and the pastures are luxuriant. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of King's College, Cambridge: the great tithes have been commuted for £192, and those of the incumbent for £246. The church was formerly a chapel of ease to Kingston, and was made parochial, by act of parliament, in 1769; it is near the bank of the Thames, with a low tower and wooden spire, covered with lead, at the west end, and contains many ancient monuments and sepulchral brasses. There is a place of worship for Independents. A national school is endowed with £50 per annum and a house, the bequest of Robert Taylor, Esq. An almshouse for four widows, with a small endowment, was founded about 1630, by Elizabeth Hill; and in 1720, Henry Bridges bequeathed a rent-charge of £30 to endow an almshouse containing tenements for six men or women.
Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.