A HISTORY OF SURREY 



the 1 2 80 period. Owing to the rise in the ground 

 outside, there are now three steps down into the aisle. 

 In the eastern part of this south wall there are 

 indications of a blocked piscina. 



The transeptal chapel, which opens by a modern 

 or greatly modernized arch, with a screen in it, into 

 the aisle, is apparently only a little later than the 

 aisle. It has two buttresses at either angle, and the 

 setting of a large ancient window filled with modern 

 tracery, and in its east wall are two windows of two 

 lights worked in chalk, which appear to be ancient ; 

 the sub-arches are simply pointed, and there is no 

 cusping in the head. Under the southern of these is 

 an ancient piscina. This transept, which has been 

 incongruously roofed with slate, was restored and 

 richly decorated in colour, from the designs of 

 Mr. Pugin, as a mortuary chapel for the Drummond 



ALBURY OLD CHURCH : THE PORCH 



family, whose motto, ' Gang warily,' with the initial 

 D, is powdered on the walls, roof, and screens inside. 

 All the windows are filled with stained glass. Be- 

 tween the two eastern windows is a modern niche, 

 containing a carving of the Crucifixion, with our Lady 

 and St. John ; and against the south wall, on a raised 

 platform, is an altar-tomb to Mr. Drummond, mem- 

 bers of whose family are commemorated by slabs with 

 brass crosses in the floor below. 



The roofs over the nave and aisle, much patched, 

 and covered with lath and plaster, are ancient. The 



floors are paved with old stone slabs, and some ancient 

 tiles remain in the aisle. 



One of the most interesting features of the building is 

 the beautiful timber porch on the north side of the nave. 

 The north doorway, to which it conducts (which retains 

 its original oak door and strap-hinges, oak lock-case, and 

 a key over a foot long), is a century and a half earlier 

 (c. 1330), the porch dating from about 1480. A 

 curious point is that it is nearly a foot longer on its 

 eastern side (9 ft. 6 in.) than on its western. The 

 openings in the sides are square-headed and delicately 

 moulded, 61 with a moulded cornice on the inside and 

 a richly traceried and carved barge-board, in which 

 are pierced quatrefoils with rosettes in their centres. 

 The wide outer opening has a flat four-centred head, 

 with roses in the spandrels. 



This porch door the principal entrance from the 

 old village commands a view of a remarkable 

 painting of St. Christopher, over the opposite 

 door in the south wall of the aisle, which was 

 brought to light during some repairs a few years 

 ago. The details (such as the pleated shirt worn 

 by the saint) fix the date of the painting at 

 about 1480, the same as the porch. On the 

 east wall of the aisle is a fragment of earlier 

 painting, probably nearly two centuries older, 

 and there are traces of colour on the columns 

 and elsewhere. Probably the nave and arcade 

 walls would yield other subjects if carefully 

 searched. 



The early font has been carried off to the 

 new parish church, but its base block, a great 

 circular drum of Bargate stone, remains close to 

 the western column of the arcade. 



In the floor of the aisle is a slab of blue 

 marble, slightly tapering, 6 ft. 3 in. long by 

 2 ft. I in. at the head, with a very worn in- 

 scription, which appears to read as follows : 



WILLEMVM : TERNVM : DE : WESTONE : SVSCIPE : 

 CIST (for CHRISTE) : LVMEN : ETERNVM : 

 QVEM : DEPRIMIT : Hie : LAPIS : ISTE : 



From the character of the lettering, which 

 appears to have been filled with a black sub- 

 stance, this may be the tomb slab of the founder 

 of the western aisle or chantry towards the end 

 of the i 3th century. 



Westward of this is another marble slab in the 

 pavement, bearing the brass of John Weston of 

 Weston, who died in 1440. He is represented in 

 complete plate armour. Above the head is the 

 matrix of a shield, set diagonally, and over it 

 there may have been a helm and crest. It is somewhat 

 singular that, point for point, down to the minutest 

 detail, this brass agrees with that of Sir John Throck- 

 morton, dated 1445, in Fladbury Church, Worcester- 

 shire. Each shows a small spring pin passing through 

 a ring, or staple, on the left side of the breastplate, 

 and another on the left elbow-piece both connected 

 with extra defences to the left, or bridle, arm. 5 * The 

 ground on which the feet stand is covered with 

 flowers. Beneath is the inscription : Hicjacet Johis 

 Weston de Weston Armiger qui obijt xxiii die : 



M The mouldings and plain square- 53 Although this type of military brass 



headed openings are exactly like those of is a fairly common one, the detail referred 



the chapel screen of Croydon Palace, and 

 also a parclose screen in Wonersh Church, 

 near Albury. 



to is very seldom met with. It occurs 

 also on the brass of a knight of the De 



7 6 



Cuttles family, in Arkesden Church, Essex, 

 c. 144.0. These three brasses may well 

 have been executed by the same engraver 

 in London. 



