A HISTORY OF SURREY 



Richard Elliott died in 1785, leaving his moiety to 

 his nephew Thomas Smyth of Burgate. It came 

 eventually to his six daughters in 1837, and they sold 

 in 1838 to Mr. James Sadler, son of William Sadler 

 above. Mr. James Sadler of Cherfold, his descendant, 

 is now, therefore, lord of the whole manor. 



There are certain scattered lands in Chiddingfold 

 known as College Lands, which were granted by Sir 

 Thomas St. Leger, brother-in-law of Edward IV, for 

 the formation of his chantry in St. George's Chapel, 

 Windsor, 30 March 1481."" They were in the 

 hands of the chapter of Windsor and then of the 

 Ecclesiastical Commissioners, and were eventually sold 

 to Mr. Sadler, lord of Prestwick Manor. 



The church of ST. MARY, on slightly 

 CHURCH rising ground in the centre of the village, 

 stands in a beautifully shaded churchyard, 

 entered through a modern lich-gate. The ivy, with 

 which the whole church is overgrown, conceals many 

 features of archaeological interest. A few of the ojd 

 wooden ' bed-heads' are still to be seen in the church- 

 yard. 



The church is built of Bargate stone rubble, with 

 external dressings of the same stone, but the internal 

 masonry is chiefly in clunch and firestone. In Crack- 

 low's view (1823) and in pre-restoration photographs 

 the outside face is shown as covered with a thin coat 

 of plaster, which has been removed, together with 

 most of the ' healing ' of Horsham slabs which then 

 covered the greater part of the roofs, an edging only 

 being left at the eaves. 



In plan the building consists of nave 39 ft. by 

 T 9 ft. 9 in., having aisles 9 ft. 6 in. wide before the 

 restoration, but that on the north has been widened to 

 1 7 ft. 9 in., and lengthened a few feet to the west ; a 

 wide and shallow south porch, 8 ft. 6 in. by 8 ft. ; chancel 

 346. 3 in. by l6ft. gin., chapel on the north of 

 the same length, and 1 1 ft. wide ; and west tower 

 about 1 5 ft. square internally, with a modern heating 

 chamber on the north. Originally the nave and its 

 aisles (as at Alfold) made almost a square. 



Between the nave and its aisles are exceptionally lofty 

 arcades of four narrow arches. The chapel originally 

 opened into the chancel by two arches, and by a half 

 arch into the nave ; a third, with the intervening 

 pillar, was added to the west in 1870 in the course of 

 a 'restoration ' of an exceptionally destructive character. 

 A great deal of the external stonework seems to have 

 been renewed or re-tooled ; the chancel arch, an in- 

 teresting early 1 3th-century example, was taken down 

 and rebuilt with heightened piers, being made central 

 with the nave, instead of with the chancel, as before. 

 The north aisle was rebuilt on a much extended plan, 

 the windows in the north wall of the chapel were re- 

 newed to a different design and shifted. The ancient 

 east windows in the chancel and chapel and those in 

 the south aisle exceptionally valuable examples of 

 early tracery were largely renewed in Bath stone, the 

 former being shortened ; and the quaint and charac- 

 teristic 17th-century tower was raised some 146., 

 the whole being dressed up to imitate 1 3th-century 

 work. 



There is some possibility that the nave occupies 

 the same area as a pre-Conquest original, and that 



portions of its quoins remain in the piers at the angles. 

 This would account for the extraordinary loftiness of the 

 arcade walls which are no less than 23 ft. in height, 

 the measurement to the top of the capitals of the 

 octagonal pillars being about 146. Sin. These 

 pillars, which are I ft. 10 in. in diameter, have an 

 unpleasantly drawn-out appearance, resembling in 

 this the somewhat similar late nave arcades of Oxted 

 Church. They have octagonal capitals and bases, 

 flatly moulded, and the arches of two orders, a hollow 

 and a chamfer, are slightly four-centred. There is 

 reason to believe that they are as late as the end of 

 the I Jth or the beginning of the 1 6th century, and 

 that they superseded much earlier arcades of normal 

 proportions, with, perhaps, a row of clearstory win- 

 dows over them, which would be very necessary for 

 the lighting of the nave under the older arrangement. 

 Most probably, with the rebuilding of the arcades, 

 dormer windows were introduced in the nave roof. 

 It seems clear that the southern arcade was shifted 

 2 ft. to the southward in rebuilding." 



The early church would appear to have remained 

 till the end of the 1 2th century, when aisles were 

 added to the nave, and the forerunners of the 

 present arcades were pierced through the older walls. 

 These had pillars spaced as the later ones, and 

 probably circular. The old stones greenish fire- 

 stone were reworked and used again with the 

 clunch employed for the new work, and the keel- 

 moulding between quirked hollows that formed the 

 outer order of the first arcades was re-used in part in 

 the northern arches. Part of what may have been 

 one of the earlier capitals was lying loose in the tower 

 some years ago. It was decorated with foliage. 



The aisles were probably quite narrow as first built 

 not more than about 6 ft. 6 in. in width. The west 

 window of the south aisle remains in its original 

 position, and is a narrow lancet only 7 in. wide. 

 In the early part of the I4th century the outer walls 

 were rebuilt so as to add another 3 ft. to the width, 

 the inner and outer doorways of the porch being 

 moved outwards and rebuilt in the new work. The 

 outer doorway has a pointed arch, with hood-mould- 

 ing, and shafts having moulded capitals, the abacus 

 of which is prolonged. 



Before restoration the porch retained a foliated 

 barge-board and a string-course of 14th-century date. 

 The inner doorway is of plainer character, and a small 

 holy-water stoup of 1 4th or 15th-century date is in 

 the angle adjoining. To the eastward in the south 

 wall is a square-headed three-light window, which, 

 together with one to the west of the porch, and that 

 in the east end of this aisle, dates from the recon- 

 struction of the aisle in about 1330 ; the last two, 

 however, had been deprived of their tracery, which 

 has been restored. In the three-light window this 

 was of a net pattern, which is somewhat unusual in 

 conjunction with a square head." Two shallow 

 tomb-recesses remain in the outer face of the eastern 

 part of this wall. They have segmental-arched heads 

 with mouldings of 14th-century character. 



The chancel in its rebuilding, about 1230, was 

 probably greatly extended. It is spacious and lofty, 

 with a stately row of five lancets and a priest's door in 



65s Cat. Pat. 1476-85, p. 269 



" These early examples of the quare ham, Fetcham, Cobham, Dorking (before 



L.. i , 1470-05, p. 209. nese early examples ot tne square nam, l<etcham, Uobham, Dorking (before 



86 This would give a width of 1 7 ft. 9 in. head in tracery windows are exceptionally rebuilding), and Godalming are other in- 

 r the original nave. numerous in Surrey and Sussex. Bislev. stances in Siirrrv wh*r* tM fir** nf 



for the original nave. 



numerous in Surrey and Sussex. Bisley, 

 Wanborough, St. Mary's Guildford, Ock- 



14 



stances in Surrey where this type of 

 window occurs. 



