At first glance, this neighbourhood is the commuter’s paradise: the train station of Thames Ditton is reachable by foot from most of the area, and connections to London Waterloo take just 33 minutes. There are numerous private side streets in this neighbourhood, which are home to modest detached and semi-detached houses, surrounded by gorgeous landscapes, made possible by the various water features and the Thames. However, looking more carefully, one can notice that this area is more than just a perfect example of suburbia. There is for instance Thames Ditton Island, a completely pedestrian isle that can only be accessed through a suspension bridge, which offers wonderful sceneries that were portrayed by J. K. Jerome in “Three Men in a Boat”. There are also two ultra-centenary cricket teams in the neighbourhood, Winchmore Hill Cricket Club, playing on Old Paulin sports ground since 1880, and Thames Ditton Cricket Club, playing on Giggs Hill Green since 1833. Last but not least, the neighbourhood also includes St Nicholas Church, a grade I-listed building, that still has some of the original 12th century structures.

As proven by the finding of a prehistoric canoe and bronze artefacts, the area close to the river has been inhabited since the bronze age. In the 17th and 18th century, the area around Portsmouth Road and the surrounding commons were notoriously dangerous. There was a serious risk of being stopped by footpads (i.e. unmounted robbers) and highwaymen (i.e. robbers on horses). Various robbers were also hanged during this period for banditry on Portsmouth Road. In more recent times, the milk marketing board used to be based in the area from 1939, until the board was disbanded in 1994.

There is a mystery surrounding the name of Green hill green as there is no hill in the park. Instead, the “hill” might actually refer to a maypole that used to be placed in the centre of the park. From 1948 until 1975, Celestion produced their loudspeakers here, one model in particular was called Ditton in honour of their new location.

Keira Knightley attended the local Esher College for one year, before she decided to drop out and focus on acting. As did actor Finn Cole and singer Jamie T.

The high street lacks any kind of amenities, such as cinemas, theatres, or even restaurants. Considering the limited public transport, this means that it is necessary to own a car in order to access these amenities in the surrounding areas.

The village vibe, maintained in part by the work of the local Residents’ Association who hold all three seats on the ward’s borough council, means that large developments to the neighbourhood are a rarity. However, a couple of smaller building projects are underway with Long Acre providing an additional 11 4-bed homes, and Sigma Homes have recently purchased a plot of land for an £18m redisential development, as yet of unknown scale. Overall as part of the brownfield-targetting residential development plans for the local authorities of Elmbridge and Surrey, there will be an additional 685 homes spread out accross Thames Ditton and the neighbouring towns of Long Ditton, Hinchley Wood and Weston Green, which is bound to bring some new faces to the area over the next 15 years. Further in the future Thames Ditton will be part of the Crossrail 2 rail project which will reduce journey times into central London. While the projet is expected to bring new investment to the area it is unlikely that construction will begin properly until around 2030.