A HISTORY OF SURREY 



by Butterfield, under whom the restoration of the 

 church, in 1845 and subsequently, was carried out. 

 The north and south transepts originally had lean-to 

 roofs, a continuation of those over the aisles, and only 

 projected about 5 ft. beyond the aisles. The northern 

 was known as the Vachery Chapel, the southern as 

 the Knowle or Knoll Chapel. There seems to have 

 been another chapel in the south aisle and probably 

 in the north aisle also. 



There is evidence of the existence of a church here 

 in 1244, and the short nave preserves the dimensions 

 of an early aisleless nave, which no doubt had a short 

 chancel occupying the area of the central part of the 

 crossing. This would give an internal dimension of 

 about 36ft. in length by 20 ft. in width, and these 

 sizes and proportions ' coincide with those of the 

 original church of Alfold. As early as the last 

 quarter of the 1 2th century, this church of Cranleigh 

 must have needed additional space. Aisles were 

 therefore thrown out on both sides in about 1 1 70, of 

 which the round columns and responds, or half-piers, 

 remain with characteristic mouldings and angle-spurs 

 to their bases, all executed in clunch. Also there has 

 been built into the pier of the arch from the north 

 aisle to the transept one of the peculiar cat's-head 

 corbels which were a common feature in the period. 

 It was a bold idea of the 1 2th-century architect to 

 divide the nave space into two arches, with a central 

 column and such short responds ; probably he was 

 led to it by the necessity of economizing the scarce 

 building materials at his disposal. But anyway, the 

 result seems to have been that the arches and capitals 

 of the arcades were crushed by the weight of wall 

 above them, being provided also with insufficient 

 abutment, so that before a century and a half had 

 expired it was found necessary when widening the 

 first aisles to renew the capitals of the columns and 

 responds, and to put new arches upon them. The 

 capitals are of an octagonal form, moulded in accor- 

 dance with their date, c. 1325. The first aisles were 

 probably not much more than 7 ft. wide. In about 

 1200-10 chapels were thrown out on either side of 

 the new chancel, the arches of which remain. In 

 the subsequent widening of the aisles, the arches lead- 

 ing from them into the transepts were rebuilt. That 

 in the south aisle has a corbel closely resembling one 

 in Albury Old Church, of about the same date. 



The main arch of the north transept is of two 

 orders with moulded imposts, of a section common in 

 the south of Sussex ; that to the south transept has 

 shafts of trefoil section under a capital with a circular 

 abacus. These are in chalk, and are exactly like the 

 shafts to an arch in the north transept at Godalming. 

 The wide and plain south doorway, approached 

 through a modern porch, and the windows and 

 buttresses of this aisle are all of about 1 300, though 

 so much re-tooled that they might be taken for modern 

 work. The two windows in the opposite wall, made 

 in clunch, are good examples of the plain square- 

 headed openings found in the aisles of this period. 

 They are of two lights, those in the eastern window 

 being much wider than those in the western, with 

 ogee trefoiled heads to the lights and cusping in the 

 spaces over. Internally they have oak lintels. The 

 three-light window in the west end of the north aisle 

 is modern, and a copy of that in the corresponding 

 position in the south aisle, the heads being filled with 

 reticulated tracery. 



A puzzling feature is the pair of piers, now carrying 

 nothing but image niches of doubtful antiquity with 

 modern statues, at the east end of what was the 

 original nave. There can be little doubt that they 

 were built as chancel-arch piers in about 1300, on the 

 site of the original but much narrower chancel arch, 

 and that when the work had got so far, the present 

 extended chancel was decided upon and the piers left 

 as built. The capitals are of the same section as those 

 put upon the older nave piers. The present chancel 

 arch and the chancel must have been built immediately 

 after, and may be dated at about 1300 by the fine 

 triple sedilia in the south wall. These have moulded 

 arches with a trefoiled inner order like those at Duns- 

 fold, but the shafts, with their capitals and bases, are 

 modern. The existing east window is modern, having 

 been refashioned on a larger scale by Butterfield, who 

 designed the elaborate reredos and tabernacle work ; 

 the side windows are modern and very bad, dating 

 from 1845 or before. The piscina and all other 

 features in the chancel are modern or modernized. 



The western tower has been practically left un- 

 touched by the mischievous ' restorations ' that have 

 so greatly injured the rest of the church. It dates 

 from about 1300, but the two windows in the ground 

 story would appear to be insertions of slightly later 

 date, the west window exhibiting flowing tracery of 

 about 1 340, in clunch, bearing such a strong re- 

 semblance to that of the east window in Witley 

 Church, that they must have been executed by the 

 same masons. Both are of three lights, with a cinque- 

 foil figure of flowing tracery in the head, the tracery- 

 plane at Cranleigh, and in the window of the south 

 wall also, being recessed by a hood and outer arch, as 

 well as by a deep hollow, which gives a rich effect of 

 shadow. The windows of the upper stories are short 

 lancets, single in the intermediate stage and coupled 

 in the bell-chamber. The original floor, of massive 

 timbers, remains above the ground story. The tower 

 arch, in clunch, has recessed chamfered orders with a 

 scroll-moulding for the hood. The west doorway, 

 which has continuous mouldings, a chamfer and a 

 wave moulding, with a scroll section for the hood, 

 retains its original oak door, hinges, and closing-ring. 

 The newel-stair is contained in an enormous buttress- 

 like projection, of curiously irregular plan, at the 

 north-west angle. 



The modern work of 1845 and 1862 is inharmo- 

 nious in character, and the extension of the transepts, 

 with high-pitched compass roofs and coped gables, has 

 quite altered the original aspect of this part of the 

 church and confused its architectural history. 



Of the roofs, that of the nave only is old, probably 

 dating from about 1 300. It is quite plain in character, 

 and the present skimpy tie-beams are modern. The 

 chancel roof is a pretentious hammer-beam construc- 

 tion in stained deal, and the aisle roofs are of the 

 meanest description. One of the parclose screens 

 remains, now spanning the archway of the Knowle 

 Chapel, but formerly in the main arch of the south 

 transept. It is heavily-built, and, of course, of late 

 design, having fourteen openings with ogee-cinque- 

 foiled heads, and dates from the middle of the ijth 

 century. The pulpit, at the 1 845 restoration, was 

 made out of the rich traceried panels, cornice, and 

 pinnacles of another ancient screen dating from about 

 the same period. On the chancel arch are the marks 

 of the rood screen, but no trace of the stair-turret, if 



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