A HISTORY OF SURREY 



Heneage Finch, first Earl of Aylesford, Solicitor- 

 General to Charles II, who presented to the church in 

 1691," and was in possession 

 of the manor in the latter part 

 of the 1 7th century." His 

 son the second earl lived at 

 Albury. The fourth earl sold 

 the manor to his brother, Cap- 

 tain William Clement Finch, 15 

 of whom Samuel Thornton, 

 Governor of the Bank of Eng- 

 land, bought it in 1800. He 

 made it his residence.** In 

 1 8 1 1 John Thornton and his 

 wife Eliza sold the rent from the 

 manor to Charles Wall," who 



FINCH, Earl of Ayles- 

 ford. Argent a che-veron 

 between three griffins 

 passant sable. 



appears to have sold in 1819 to Henry Drummond, 

 M.P. for West Surrey from 1847 to 1860, an enthu- 

 siastic supporter of Irving. The ' little prophetic 

 parliament ' which originated the Catholic Apostolic 

 Church met at his house at Albury, and at a later date 

 he built a church for the community near his park.' 8 

 From Henry Drummond the manor descended through 

 his daughter Louisa to her son the present Duke of 

 Northumberland. 19 



An engraving of 1645 gives a clear idea of the 

 ancient house that then stood upon the site of the 

 present building. This shows an irregular elevation of 

 half-timber gables, backed by a long ridge of roof with 

 many chimneys, and flanked by a square-topped wing 

 on the right, the whole inclosed within a walled court- 

 yard, in which is an arched gateway. This picturesque 

 and rambling structure, which must have had many 

 points of resemblance to the old house of the Evelyns 

 at Wotton, judging by John Evelyn's drawing of the 

 latter, was burnt down in Queen Anne's reign and 

 rebuilt by the Earl of Aylesford. Mr. Samuel Thorn- 

 ton, M.P., owner from 1800 to 181 1, altered it again. 

 It was remodelled in red brick and stone by Pugin 

 during Mr. Drummond's ownership. Perhaps the 

 most interesting of its treasures is the fine collection of 

 old paintings formed here by Mr. Drummond, which 

 include a portrait of Melanchthon by Holbein, Cor- 

 nelius Schall's ' Four Doctors,' and portraits of many 

 royal and noble personages connected with the 

 Northumberland family. 



WESTON M4NOR, known in the 1 7th and i8th 

 centuries as Weston Gomshall, possibly to distinguish it 

 from the~*second Weston, is situated about the village 

 now called Albury, but formerly known as Weston 

 Street. It gave its name to an ancient Surrey family 

 who occur as lords of many manors, and now hold 

 West Horsley. Early in the 1 3th century David son of 

 Nicholas was dealing with land in Weston. 30 In 1254-5 

 John of Weston granted a messuage, mill, and a caru- 

 cate of land in Weston to Thomas of Weston to held 



WESTON of Weston. 

 Sable a cheveron or be- 

 tween three lions' heads 

 razed argent. 



of him and his heirs. 31 Early in the next century John 



D'Abernon unjustly dispossessed Thomas of Weston 



of his common of pasture in 



Albury. 3 * He seems to have 



been succeeded by William of 



Weston, who obtained licence 



to hear service in the chapels 



of his manors of Weston and 



West Clandon. 3 ' In 1335 



this William of Weston was in 



possession. The manor was 



to revert at his death to his 



grandson William. 54 Margery 



widow of the William Weston 



of Weston and Clandon died 



seised of a tenement in Albury 



called Weston in 1361 ; 3S and John Weston of Weston 



died in 1440, leaving a son who died without issue 



and three daughters, of whom the one, Anne, married 



Thomas Slyfield ; 38 another, Joan, Thomas Pope ; and 



the third, Margaret, William Wells. 



Thomas Slyfield and his son John granted the 

 manor to Richard Eliot," whose son Richard mort- 

 gaged and finally sold it to George Holman of Lon- 

 don. 38 He conveyed to George Duncombe of Shal- 

 ford in l6lo-u. 39 Sir Richard Onslow and his son 

 Arthur seem to have had some 

 claim on the manor from 1644 

 to 1 677," but it remained in 

 the possession of the Dun- 

 combe family, for in 1693 

 George Duncombe was deal- 

 ing with it, 41 and his daugh- 

 ters Hester Woodroffe and 

 Anne Sturt sold it in 1724 

 to Abel Alleyne, 4 ' after whose 

 death it was sold to Sir Robert 

 Godschall. He died in 1 742, 

 and it descended to Nicholas 

 Godschall. 43 His only daugh- 

 ter and heiress Sarah married 

 William Man, F.R.S., 44 who 



took the name of Godschall and lived at Weston.* 5 

 His son, the Rev. Samuel Man Godschall, succeeded. 

 After his death it was sold to Henry Drummond, 

 then lord of Albury, 46 since when its history has been 

 coincident with that of Albury. 



There was a second Weston Manor near the par- 

 sonage house of Albury, but lying in a detached part 

 of Shere parish, and called Weston in Shere. 47 



Alderbrook, the seat of Mr. Pandeli Ralli, is pos- 

 sibly the site of ' Aldrebrook,' sold in 1 3 74-5 by 

 Roger Libbesofte and Joan his wife to Robert Brown. 43 

 The old church of Sr. PETER and 

 CHURCHES ST. PAUL lies close to the stream, 

 and within a short distance of the 



DUNCOMBE. Party 



chciieronivise and en- 

 grailed gules and argent 

 three talbotf heads razed 

 countertoloured. 



23 Inst. Bks. (P.R.O.), B. 6. 



* Aubrey, Nat. Hist, and Antiq. ofSurr. 

 iv, 65. 



25 Gent. Mag. liii, 576. 



ffi Manning and HT3y,Hist.ofSurr.ti,i2;. 



1 Add. Chart. (B.M.) 40623. Mrs. Wall 

 lived there in 1816 (old print). 



28 Diet. Nat. Biog. nvi, 29. 



29 Gent. Mag. (new ser.), viii, 41 3. 



80 Feet of F. Surr. 1 3 Hen. Ill, 23 



81 Ibid. 38 & 39 Hen. Ill, 17. 



8a Assize quoted by Symmes ; Add. MS. 

 (B.M.), 6167, fol. 24. 



88 Egerton MS. 203 1, foUi 13 ; 2032, fol. 



90. The first grant was between 1305 and 

 1316, the second between 1 3 33 and 1345. 



84 Feet of F. Surr. 9 Edw. Ill, 9. 



85 Chan. Inq. p.m. 36 Edw. Ill, pt. ii 

 (ist nos.), no. 75. 



86 Chan. Inq. p.m. 19 Hen. VI, no. 5. 

 8 " Chan. Proc. (Ser. 2), bdle. 41, no. 



1 2,where it is thus stated, but Manning and 

 Bray (op. cit. ii, 126) quote an enfeoftment 

 of Henry Slyfield son of Thomas, and say 

 that he joined in a sale of the manor to 

 Richard Eliot in 1521. 



83 Close, 42 Eliz. pt. viii ; ibid. 42 Eliz. 

 pt xxiv. 



74 



89 Close, 8 Jas. I, pt. viii. 



* Recov. R. Mich. 29 Chas. I, m. 240; 

 ibid. Mich. 1650, m. 19 ; ibid. Hil. 28 & 

 29 Chas. II, m. 57. 



Feet of F. Surr. Hil. 4 & 5 Will, 

 and Mary. 



Ibid. Hil. 10 Geo. I. 



43 Feet of F. Surr. Hil. 16 Geo. II. 



44 Gent. Mag. xxii, 432. 



45 Ibid. Uxii, 1169. 



46 Braj-ley, To fog. Hist, of Surr. v, 1 60. 



4 7 For its history see under Shere. 



Feet of F. Surr. 48 Edw. Ill, 

 115. 



