THAMES DITTON CHURCH.
BY ARTHUR J. STYLE, A.R.I.B.A.
THIS church, which is dedicated to St. Nicholas, was formerly one of the chapels belonging to the parish of Kingston, and although the date of its foundation is not known, it is probable that there was a chapel here in the early part of the 12th century, as Gilbert Norman, Sheriff of Surrey, the founder of Merton Priory, who died in 1125[1] or in 1130, presented the advowson of Kingston,[2] with the chapelries of Thames Ditton, Bast Molesey, Shene, and Petersham, to the prior and brethren, and they retained the patronage until the suppression of the priory in 1538.
The church at "Ditune," mentioned in the Domesday book,[3] in the return of the land held by Richard de Tonbridge, was doubtless at Long Ditton, which was a separate parish.
The present church at Thames Ditton must have originally consisted of the nave, the chancel, and the tower, the walls of which and the north wall of the chancel are probably the only portions now existing.
In the chancel wall there is a plain lancet window with a semicircular inner arch, and there are similar arches inside the tower windows, but the external jambs of these have been replaced by brickwork.
The earliest addition to the church seems to have been the small chapel on the north side of the chancel, opening into it by an arch to the west of the lancet window.
