BLACKHEATH HUNDRED 



He settled the manor on his youngest son Richard," 

 who in 1648 acquired Somersbury (see above), and 

 the entire property descended to the Onslow family 

 as already stated." A distinction of Baynards is that 

 it has belonged at various times to the four leading 

 families in Surrey since the year 1500, namely Bray, 

 More, Evelyn, and Onslow. The second Sir Edward 

 Bray who held it married Elizabeth Roper, grand- 

 daughter of Sir Thomas More, whence the fact or 

 legend that Sir Thomas More's skull was preserved at 

 Baynards. 



John Evelyn visiting it in 1657 describes the house 

 as ' a very fair noble residence having one of the 

 goodliest avenues of oaks up to it that ever I saw.' u 



Later, however, the house ceased to be used as a 

 gentleman's house, Arthur Onslow the Speaker, Lord 

 Cranley, resided at Knowle, and Baynards was merely 

 a farm-house. In 1 8 1 8 Lord Onslow sold Polling- 

 fold and Baynards to John Smallpeice of Guildford. 

 In 1824 Pollingfold was sold to Richard Gates, and 

 in 1832 the estate was reunited by the Rev. Thomas 

 Thurlow, son of the Bishop of Durham and nephew 

 to the Lord Chancellor Thurlow. He added to and 

 restored or rebuilt the house, under the direction of 

 Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt, and made a fine collection 

 of paintings, armour, furniture and tapestry, which 

 remain in the house. He raised the roof of the 

 original hall, turning one of the rooms over it into the 

 present gallery at the end, and altered the entrance. 

 Mr. Thurlow died in 1874, and was succeeded by his 

 son Mr. Thomas Lyon Thurlow, who in 1889 sold 

 Baynards and the manor of Pollingfold to Mr. T. J. 

 Waller, the present owner. The house is mainly of 

 brick, but the foundations are of Sussex marble and 

 the roof of Horsham slates, both found in the neigh- 

 bourhood. The house is very handsome, with an air 

 of antiquity about it, and the grounds are picturesque. 

 An avenue of Wellingtonias leads from the station 

 towards the house. 



The reputed manor of BREACH was probably a 

 member of Gomshall Netley. 45 In the 1 6th century 

 it was the property of John Agmondesham. 46 He 

 mortgaged the manor to William Atlee and Nicholas 

 Dendy, who disputed the division of the estates. 

 Nicholas Dendy died during the dispute, but it was 

 settled by compromise that his son John should have 

 the northern half of the lands, i.e. North Breach." 

 Finally, in 1594, William Atlee conveyed all his right 

 to Ralph Dendy, probably the heir of John Dendy.' 9 



EWHURST 



In 1630 Edward Dendy sold the manor to Walter 

 Longhurst,' 9 whose descendants remained in possession 

 for nearly a century and a half. Ralph Long- 

 hurst and Richard Stening M were holding South 

 Breach at the time of the Commonwealth. In 

 1 768-9 Richard Longhurst and his wife Anne sold 

 the manor to John Vincent of Stoke by Guildford." 

 His grandson and heir died leaving an only daughter," 

 probably the Mary Hone, who joined with her hus- 

 band, William Smith, in a sale of the manor, under 

 the name of North Breach, to Samuel John Symons 

 Trickey in 1803." It afterwards belonged to a family 

 named Donithorne, from whom it was bought by 

 Mrs. Fletcher Bennett about 1877. It is now in 

 the hands of the Bennett trustees. 



CONETHURST is situated on the rising ground 

 north of the village and was in the possession of 

 Ambrose Wolley in 1553, and probably formed a part 

 of his manor of Somersbury. It was then sold by him 

 to Sir Edward Bray, M who bequeathed it in 1558 to 

 his son Edward on condition of paying off a mort- 

 gage. 54 In 1593 it was in the possession of a certain 

 Ralph Dalton, 66 to whose son, Richard, it descended 

 in November 1 60 1," and from him it passed in 1615 

 to his two daughters, Joan and Elizabeth, who were 

 then both minors. 69 Joan married Richard Bridger, 

 and Elizabeth, Henry Matchwick. 49 In 1676 the 

 whole manor was settled on Joan, 60 and descended 

 from her to her nephew Henry Bridger. Henry died 

 in 1695, and his cousin Richard covenanted with 

 Edward Wood, who had married Elizabeth daughter 

 to Henry, to levy a fine." In 1776 it was the 

 property of Thomas Wood, 61 who died in 1779 

 leaving a son and heir Thomas, 6 * in whose family it 

 continued. 



POLLINGFOLD in Ewhurst extended into Cran- 

 leigh parish and into Sussex. It was held of the 

 lords of Gomshall, 6 ' and the first under-tenant of whom 

 record has been found is John of Pollingfold, who 

 lived in the time of Edward I. 65 From him the 

 manor passed to Lettice wife of William Man, 66 who 

 sold it in 133410 a certain Robert,' 7 who was perhaps 

 a trustee for the Brocas family, for in 1345 Sir John 

 Brocas had a grant of free warren there. 68 The manor 

 was released by his widow to his son Sir Bernard with 

 remainder to Sir Bernard's half-brother John, but, 

 John having died, his brother Oliver succeeded to 

 Pollingfold, where he took up his residence. 69 He 

 granted it in 1397 to Sir Bernard's son Bernard, 



49 It was settled on him in tail male, but 

 by a subsequent deed was entailed on 

 him and hi heirs. 



48 In 1648 Baynards, Somersbury, and 

 Ewhurst Mill were settled on Mrs. Eliza- 

 beth Evelyn, wife of Richard. She kept 

 an interest till her death, 1692, and held 

 a court in 1690, as lady of the manor of 

 Pollingfold. 



44 Evelyn's Diary (ed. W. Bray), 305. 



45 Manning and Bray quote Ct. R. of 

 Gomshall Netley, in which this manor U 

 stated to be the property of John Amer- 

 sham, and late of John of Breach (flat, 

 of Surr. i, 503). 



4 Feet of F. Sun. Trin. 29 Eliz. In August 

 1462 William Agmondesham had granted 

 to Thomas Smallpeice the rents and service 

 of lands called Hakkers in Ewhurst in the 

 vill of Gomshall ; See Surr. Arch. Coll. 

 xviii, 224. 



Chan. Proc. (Eliz.) Aa, i*, 43 ; Dd, 



v, 53. John also claimed certain quit- 

 rents in the whole manor. 



48 Feet of F. Surr. Trin. 36 Eliz. 



4 Ibid. Surr. Trin. 6 Chas. I. 



60 Surr. Arch. Call, xyii, 88. Parlia- 

 mentary Survey of Church Lands. 



51 Feet of F. Surr. Mich. 9 Geo. III. 

 The manor here seems to have included 

 both North and South Breach, while the 

 later deeds possibly also refer to both 

 moieties under the name of North Breach. 



w Feet of F. Surr. Mich. 3 Geo. III. 



" Manning and Bray, Hist, of Surr. i, 5 03. 



54 Feet of F. Surr. Mich. I Mary. 



" P.C.C. 47 Welles. 



M Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), ceil, 9. 



W Ibid, cclxx, 1 44. "Ibid, ccclv, 87. 



"See Feet of F. Surr. East. 13 Chas. I ; 

 East. 14 Chas. I. 



Ibid. Hil. 28 & 29 Chas. II. 



Ibid. 9 Will, and Mary ; and deeds of 

 the Wood family. 



99 



"Ibid. Trin. 16 Geo. III. 



68 Manning and Bray, op. cit. i, 503. 



64 After its division into East and West 

 Pollingfold the former was held of Gom- 

 shall Netley and the latter of Gomshall 

 Towerhill ; Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), 

 ccilvii, 72, and Ct. R. quoted by Manning 

 and Bray, i, 501. 



MPlac. Abbrru. (Rec. Com.), 262. 



68 Chan. Inq. p.m. 27 Edw. 1,45 ; John's 

 grandson Robert of Pollingfold sued Lettice 

 for the manor, but was unsuccesful as he 

 had described it as lying entirely in Surrey, 

 whereas loo acres of land and 2O>. rent 

 were in Sussex (De Banco R. 281, m. 78). 



W Feet of F. Surr. 8 Edw. Ill, 3. The 

 surname of the purchaser is torn away in 

 the conveyance. The initial letter appears 

 to be a T. 



68 Chart. R. 19 Edw. Ill, m. 8. 



"Close, 4 Edw. Ill, 21 j Burrows. 

 Family oj Brocas, 425 et seq. 



