This small, largely unspoilt and photogenic riverside settlement lies in a steep wooded valley on the banks of the River Dart, approximately two miles upstream from Dartmouth, well-sheltered from the prevailing south westerly winds.
Despite its small population Dittisham still boasts a restaurant and two pubs, one of which also now home to the post office, village library and stores.
The village itself remains known for its plum orchards, and July and August witness an influx of visitors coming to buy the ripened fruit. Ferries still run across the river to Greenway and downstream to Dartmouth. However the school closed in 1968. As a result, children now have to travel to Blackawton, Totnes or Dartmouth for their education.
A popular place to retire or have a second home, property prices are out of the reach of all but the most well-heeled locals.
The village is believed to be named after Deedas, a Saxon chief, who probably settled here soon after the Saxon invasion of Devon in about AD 660, although the County was only finally overrun by the Saxons around one hundred years later in 755, when the last of the original Celtic tribes was finally conquered or driven out. The Domesday Book records the village as Didashim, meaning the homestead of Deedas.
In 1349 the Black Death was first reported in Devon, seriously depleting the population. Large numbers were buried in the area, a known burial ground for a thousand years, and it is believed as many as 18,000 people were interred around the village.
During the sixteenth century Sir Walter Raleigh is said to have experimented with the cultivation of potatoes in the grounds of Hamlyn’s Coombe, just to the south of Dittisham, overlooking the Dart.
At the start of the 1870’s John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales declared Dittisham “is noted for fine scenery and for plums”.
At the beginning of the twentieth century cattle were regularly driven down Manor Street to be taken on the horse ferry to Greenway Quay, to be driven to the Tuesday market in Galmpton. The horse ferry was originally a float propelled by two extra long oars and very strong men. In later years this was replaced by a float capable of carrying two cars, pushed by a launch, which in turn was superseded by a water jet ferry carrying six cars. That ferry finally finished in 1974, to be succeeded by a passenger ferry, traditionally still summoned by ringing the bell.
Until the Second World War the village supported such craftsmen as carpenters, tailors, stonemason and coffin-maker. Others were employed as farm labourers or as shipyard workers at the Noss Shipyard, some two miles down river. Even as late as the early 1950s as many as thirty village men were taken by boat to the shipyard each morning. But, in not much more than a decade, shipbuilding declined and farms became mechanised. Many young people were forced to leave in search of work.
The last two centuries have shown a noticeable decline in the population of the village, from 639 in 1801 to 549 in 1901, falling again to 424 at the time of the 2001 census.
Also during the 1950s as many as six tripper boats, from Torbay and Teignmouth used to tie up, three abreast against the pier. Tourism boomed, and there were three large and two small cafes to cope with the flood of visitors. However towards the end of the decade the pier was sold privately, and no landing is now permitted.
In recent years the coming of the car has brought commuters, while the village has also become a popular place to retire or have a second home.
The fourteenth century church of St George’s Church was restored and reconstructed between 1328 and 1333, and dedicated on 4 October 1333, replacing its Norman predecessor, comprising only a chancel and nave. The carved and painted stone Wineglass Pulpit dates from the fifteenth century, as does the screen, the groining and canopy of which were restored during the 1950s.
