REIGATE HUNDRED 



BETCHWORTH 



west of Betchworth village, is picturesque and flourish- 

 ing. The church, built on land given by Mr. Hope 

 of Deepdene, is of I 3th-century style, of stone, with a 

 central tower and spire. 



Brockham Warren is the residence of Sir Benjamin 

 Brodie, bart. ; Brockham Park of Mr. Robert Gordon, 

 J.P. ; Brockham Court of Mrs. Davidson ; Brockham 

 House of Mr. Henry Foley. Brockham Court was 

 built by a former Duke of Norfolk on the site of the 

 old manor-house, 4 having been separated from the 

 manor. Brockham Bridge over the Mole is repaired 

 by the county to the value of two-thirds, and the 

 remaining third by the district council, Brockham 

 being a contributory area. Brockham Home and 

 Industrial School was established in 1 859 by Mrs. Way 

 of Wonham Manor, Betchworth, for orphan girls from 

 eleven to sixteen, who are trained for domestic service 

 and afforded a home later when out of place. An 

 Infants' Home was added by Miss Way in 187*. 

 The two are under the management of the same com- 

 mittee of ladies. 



There is a Particular Baptist Chapel in Brockham. 



A school was built in 1830, and rebuilt in 1840.' 

 After the passingof the Education Act of 1 870 a School 

 Board was formed for Betchworth, and the present 

 provided school at Brockham was built in 1879 and 

 enlarged in 1901. 



At the time of the Domesday Survey, 

 MANORS Becesworde, which is probably E4ST 

 BETCHWORTH, was stated to be in 

 the hundred of Wotton ;" ' Richard de Ton bridge, lord 

 of Clare, himself held ' Becesworde ' in demesne.' It 

 was assessed for 2 hides and valued at 8. In King 

 Edward's time it had been held by Cola, when it was 

 assessed at 6 hides and worth 9." It subsequently 

 passed to the de Warennes, probably before 1 1 99, as 

 Earl Hamelin de Warenne and his wife held the church 

 in East Betchworth (q.v.) before that date. It is possible 

 that the manor had passed from Richard de Tonbridge 

 to William de Warenne when the latter was created 

 first Earl of Surrey by William II in 1088. It is 

 afterwards described as being, with the castle and 

 town of Reigate and manor of Dorking, 'parcel of the 

 county of Surrey,' ' and Dorking at least (q.v.) probably 

 formed part of the original endowment made at the 

 creation of the earldom of Surrey. 10 Betchworth was 

 held with Reigate by succeeding Earls of Warenne 

 and Surrey." The surrender of those manors to the 

 king in 1316 by John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, 

 their re-grant to the earl with remainder to his 

 illegitimate sons, and their final inheritance by Richard 

 Earl of Arundel, nephew and legitimate heir of John 

 de Warenne, is fully dealt with under Reigate (q.v.). 

 John de Warenne died in 1347," but it was not 

 until the death in 1361 of his widow, the Dowager 

 Countess of Surrey, that the Earl of Arundel succeeded 

 to his uncle's earldom." 



A settlement on the sons of Richard was made in 

 1366," and on his death his eldest son Richard 



succeeded to the manor and was seised of it at the 

 time of his disgrace and death in 1397, when his 

 estates became forfeit to the Crown. 16 His eldest son 

 Thomas, to whom his father's title and estates were 

 restored in 1400," died without issue in 1415, and 

 his lands were divided among his three sisters and 

 co-heirs, Elizabeth Duchess of Norfolk, then wife of 

 Sir Gerrard Osflete or Ufflete, kt., Joan de Beauchamp, 

 Lady Abergavenny, and Margaret wife of Sir Roland 

 Leynthale, kt. 17 The manor of East Betchworth 

 appears to have been assigned to his second sister, 

 Joan wife of William Lord Abergavenny. She died in 

 1434, and was succeeded by her son Richard, whose 

 daughter and heir Elizabeth married Edward Nevill, 

 son of Ralph, Earl of Westmorland. 18 Nevill received 

 the lands of his wife's inheritance, and afterwards took 

 the title of Lord Abergavenny. 19 He died seised of 

 the manor of East Betchworth in 1466, leaving his 

 son George as heir.* The manor remained in 

 possession of this family throughout the next century. 

 In the reign of Henry VIII, when a muster was made 

 of able men who, with wea- 

 pons and harness, were meet to 

 serve the king, it was stated 

 that Betchworth with Brock- 

 ham could contribute thirty- 

 seven men." In 1629 Henry, 

 ninth Lord Abergavenny," 

 conveyed the manor fori,o 80 

 to Sir Ralph Freeman," Mas- 

 ter of Requests. Freeman also 

 held other offices under the 

 Crown, being in 1629 Audi- 

 tor of the Imprests and 

 afterwards Master-Worker of 

 the Mint." He married 



Catherine Bret. 85 Of his two sons, George died in 

 1678, and Ralph held the manor in 1684." The 

 latter's sons Francis and George held courts in 1707 

 and 1715 respectively, but died without issue. 

 Elizabeth daughter and eventually sole heir to Ralph 

 Freeman carried the manor to the family of Bouverie 



NEVH.L, Lord Aber- 

 gavenny. Gules a sal- 

 tire argent vaith a rose 

 gules thereon. 



FREEMAN. Azurt BOUVERIE. Party 



three lozenges argent. fessewise or and argent 



an eagle sable ivith PWQ 

 heads and on his breast 

 a scutcheon gules with a 

 bend vair. 



by her marriage with Christopher, younger son of Sir 

 Edward Des Bouverie." Christopher Bouverie, after- 



4 Local information from Mr. J. R. 

 Corbett. 



' Return at Farnham. 



* y, ide supra. 



1 y.C.Ji. Surr. i, 321. 

 8 Ibid, i, 311 and note. 



Cal. Close, 1348-9, p. 316. 

 10 V.C.H. Surr. i, 298, note 2. 



Red Bk. of Excb. (Rolls Ser.), 561 ; 

 Ca/..PaM3oi-7,p.95; 1307-13^.531. 



11 Chan. Inq. p.m. 21 Edw. HI 

 (ist nos.), no. 58. 



18 G.E.C. Pwajr, &c. ; see under Surrey. 



14 Feet of F.Div.Co. 4.0 Edw. Ill, no. 17. 



** Chan. Inq. p.m. 21 Ric. II, no. 137, 

 m. I le ; Diet. Nat. Biog. 



18 Diet. Nat. Biog. 



17 Chan. Inq. p.m. 4 Hen. V, no. 54. 



18 G.E.C. Peerage. 

 " Ibid. 



I6 7 



" Chan. Inq. p.m. 16 Edw. IV, no. 65. 



n L. and P. Hen. fill, xiv (i), 294. 



M Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), cccxcii, 

 132; cccxcix, 157. 



88 Close, 5 Chas. I, pt, xxvi, m. 12. 



84 Dict.Nat.Biog.; HarlAoc.Publ. xv,29J. 



Ibid, i Feet of F. Surr. Mich. 1652. 



" Hart. Soc. Put!, xv, 295 i Feet of F. 

 Surr. East. 36 Chas. II. 



" Wotton, English Bar, iv, 150. 



