A HISTORY OF SURREY 



extended laterally and to the westward, the north 

 transept has been prolonged, and the north chancel 

 rebuilt on a larger plan, all within the 1 9th century 

 in 1840 and 1879. It consists therefore now of nave, 

 68 ft. 9 in. by 20 ft. 6 in. at the east end and 



1 9 ft. 5 in. at the west end ; aisles of different lengths, 



20 ft. wide; transepts about 12 ft. 3 in. wide and 

 originally 14 ft. 9 in. long ; central tower 16 ft. 6 in. 

 square ; chancel 40 ft. 5 in. long by 1 7 ft. 3 in. ; 

 and north and south chancel aisles, respectively 

 35 ft. 6 in. by 14 ft. 9 in. and 34 ft. 6 in. by 16 ft. 



We owe it to Mr. Ralph Nevill, F.S.A.' 80 (who, 

 with the late Sir Gilbert Scott, carried out the last 

 enlargements), and later to the painstaking and acute 

 observation of Mr. S. Welman," 1 that a very complete 

 architectural history of the building can be put 

 together. Probably there are at least twelve periods 

 of work to be traced in the walls of the present church. 

 The nucleus around which it has grown lies in the 

 centre, the eastern half of the nave representing the 

 simple aisleless nave of the pre-Conquest church, and 

 the central tower its short, square chancel. This 

 would give a nave of about 32 ft. by 20 ft. ; the chancel, 

 which had an inclination towards the north, being 

 1 6 ft. 6 in. wide and in length originally about a 

 foot longer. This Saxon church had walls averaging 

 3 ft. in thickness, and disproportionately lofty about 

 25 ft. as was commonly the case in work of this 

 period. Until 1879 the original chancel arch, a 

 plain circular-headed opening about 10 ft. wide, of 

 one order, with plain chamfered imposts, remained 

 as the western arch of the present central tower ; 

 but, against the wish of Mr. Nevill, this interesting 

 feature was then removed, and a wide and lofty 

 pointed opening put in its place. The outline of the 

 gable wall above this arch (upon which the west wall 

 of the tower had been subsequently raised), together 

 with the drip-stone or weathering of the pre-Conquest 

 chancel which abutted against its eastern face, was 

 noted by Mr. Nevill, and their true relationship to 

 the earliest structure finally established by Mr. Wei- 

 man's subsequent discovery of two curious eyelet holes 

 in the apex of this eastern gable of the nave. These 

 are double-splayed, their narrowest diameter being in 

 the heart of the wall, but the internal splay was pro- 

 tracted downward on the western face to throw the 

 light in that direction. Doubtless they lit a roof- 

 chamber over the nave. 



About the year 1 100 the primitive church received 

 its first enlargement, in the form of a long chancel 

 (about 33 ft. 3 in. by 17 ft. 3 in.), a low tower being 

 raised upon the gabled walls of the original chancel, 

 and the eastern wall thickened by about a foot on the 

 western side, an arch of two plain orders, with cham- 

 fered imposts, being pierced through it. This arch 

 still exists, but in 1 8 79 it was lifted up on higher 

 piers, the old imposts being left in position and new 

 added to mark the increased height. Earlier altera- 

 tions had brought to light the remains of six of 



the windows of this period, three in either side 

 wall of the chancel (lettered A on the plan), and the 

 base and part of the jamb of a priest's door at the 

 west end of the south wall : the east wall of this 

 chancel no longer exists, having been pulled down 

 and rebuilt farther eastward in the I4th century."* 

 There are traces of flat pilaster buttresses having been 

 added to strengthen the junction between the first and 

 second period work. This chancel also inclines to 

 the north. 



About 1 1 20 (third period) narrow transepts were 

 added, some of the windows of which can also be 

 traced, arches were pierced in the hitherto solid north 

 and south walls of what had been the first chancel 

 now the central tower and the latter was heightened 

 by an additional stage, which still retains in each 

 face the two round-headed openings that were then 

 formed, with a string-course of rounded section below 

 them. A small door of this period has been pre- 

 served in the rebuilt end of the north transept. 



In the last ten years of the 1 2th century, but perhaps 

 not quite at one and the same time, aisles were added 

 to the nave, two lofty pointed arches being pierced 

 in either wall, and smaller ones in the west walls of 

 the transepts. This may be called the fourth period. 

 At about the same date, but perhaps slightly earlier, 

 the arches to the transepts from the central tower 

 were altered to a pointed form, and perhaps widened. 



In the fifth period, c. 1 200, the chancel aisles, or 

 north and south chancels, were thrown out, their 

 arcades being pierced through the second-period walls, 

 leaving the original windows largely intact, but blocked 

 up. These chapels were lit by tall narrow lancets, 

 the south chapel having five in its southern wall 

 and three in its eastern, parts of which still remain 

 (lettered B on plan), although displaced by later 

 insertions."* 



For some reason this displacement began very soon, 

 for in about 1250 the curious grouped lancets, with 

 acutely pointed heads and inner-plane arcade, in the 

 south wall, took the place of two of the single lancets : 

 and in I 270 an early essay in bar tracery was inserted 

 in the east wall of the same chapel. This is of five 

 lights, the central wider and taller than the others, 

 with three circles above, having cinquefoil cusping on 

 a recessed plane, and the whole united by a pointed 

 inclosing arch and hood moulding. At some time 

 between 1 200 and 1300 the first spire, lower than the 

 present, and covered with oak shingles, replaced the 

 original squat cap of the 1 2th century. 2 " 



Period eight the 1 4th century produced fur- 

 ther changes, in the shape of the blocking up of 

 the plain lancets in the western part of this south 

 chapel, and the insertion of square-headed three-light 

 windows with cusped ogee tracery, this type of win- 

 dow being inserted also in the transepts and nave 

 aisles, and probably in the north chancel aisle. At 

 the same time the chancel was extended about 4 ft. 

 eastward, a large five-light window and diagonal 



"" Vide Mr. Ralph Nevill'i account of 

 discovcrk-s made in 1879, in Surr. Arch. 

 Coll. vii, 277 . 



a* 1 S. Welman, The Parhb and Church 

 of Godalmmy. 



Ma The angle stone of the original 

 foundation of the earliest eat wall may 

 be seen outside, where the south chantry 

 abuts on the chancel. 



" Mr. Welman points out that Richard 



de Chiddingfold, vicar, instituted by Sav- 

 aric Archdeacon of Northampton and 

 Treasurer of Salisbury, in or about 1200, 

 probably engineered the work of this period. 

 The sections of mouldings closely corre- 

 spond to those of the same date at Chidding- 

 fold Church. 



" 4 It is not easy to determine the date 

 of the parapet which at one time crowned 



38 



the tower and inclosed the base of the 

 spire. Its corbels, which alone remain, 

 are of various patterns and of more than 

 one date : and such parapets on corbel- 

 tables were not uncommon in 1 2th -century 

 towers, as at Witley, hard by, and at 

 Clymping and Yapton, Susser. Most 

 probably this parapet dates from the erec- 

 tion of the first spire. 



