REIGATE HUNDRED 



GATTON 



he obtained licence to inclose the manor, 360 acres of 

 land, 40 acres of meadow, and land at Merstham, to- 

 gether with a grant of free warren there. 7 * It has 

 already been stated that the Copleys lived for some 

 time at Gatton. Aubrey, writing late in the 1 7th 

 century, mentions a fine manor-house there, and states 

 that it was built on the site of a former castle ; but of 

 this there is no proof." The house, then known as 

 Gatton Place, was the residence of Dr. George New- 

 land. 78 The present Gatton Park is a very fine 

 example of the Italian style of house. It seems to 

 have been begun by Sir Mark Wood, owner in 1808, 

 whose predecessor, Mr. Petrie, had pulled down 

 part of the older house. 7 ' The house of Sir Mark 

 Wood was a good deal reconstructed, if not quite re- 

 built on a grander scale, by Lord Monson, for what 

 are known as Sir Mark Wood's cellars are outside the 

 wall of the present house. Lord Monson, who died in 

 1841, left it unfinished, and it was completed by his 

 successor. The Marble Hall, entirely lined by Italian 

 marbles, is very fine, and there was a good collection 

 of pictures and statuary. 



UPPER G4TTON was the property of Samuel Ow- 

 field, afterwards Sir Samuel, who represented Gatton in 

 every Parliament from 1623 till his death in I644- 80 

 He acquired the neighbouring manor of Chipstead 

 (q.v.), and Upper Gatton was the seat of the lords 

 of that manor and descended with it till after the 

 death of the Rev. James Tattersall in 1 784, when 

 Chipstead was sold to William Jolliffe, and Upper 

 Gatton to Lord Newhaven, owner of Lower Gatton, 

 with which it has remained united. The house of 

 Upper Gatton is surrounded now by a park of loo 

 acres in the parishes of Gatton and Chipstead. 81 



The church of ST. ANDREW has a 

 CHURCH chancel 1 2 ft. 4 in. deep by 1 2 ft. wide, 

 nave 48 ft. 6 in. by 4oft., small north 

 and south transepts, the latter containing the vestry, a 

 north-west porch, and a west tower 8 ft. square. The 

 general appearance is that of an early 19th-century 

 Gothic building, almost every trace of antiquity being 

 absent. There is, however, a piscina in the chancel 

 which seems to be of late 13th-century date, and the 

 east window of the north transept may be of 15th- 

 century date, and a good part of the walling of the 

 nave and chancel is probably ancient. The font at 

 the west end under the tower has a band of good 1 3th- 

 century foliage below the bowl, though it is otherwise 

 much altered. The most noteworthy part of the 

 building is the woodwork, which was brought together 

 and presented to the church by the late Lord Monson 

 in 1834. 



The altar table and pulpit came from Nuremberg. 

 The latter is carved with the Descent from the Cross, 

 in three panels ; it projects from a gallery over the 

 vestry in the south transept, from which it is entered, 

 and is finished with a pendant below. On the altar 

 table is another part of the same scene, showing the 

 women at the foot of the cross. The chancel is lined 

 with oak panelling, the framing, cornice, &c. of which 

 are modern, but the panels, for the most part old, of 

 late French Gothic work : there are three ranges of 



twelve panels on each side, the lowest being plain 

 linen panels, the middle ones also linen panels but of 

 a much more elaborate character, while the top panels 

 have very rich tracery of various designs, containing 

 lilies, crowned U's, diaper pattern, passion emblems, &c. ; 

 two have AO and another IHS. 



The nave is seated quirewise : there are three rows 

 of seats on each side, the highest being a set of sixteen 

 stalls backed by panelling and a canopy, and divided 

 by arms carved with cherubs' heads; they are fitted with 

 misericordes carved somewhat plainly in foliage and 

 faces ; the second row is divided into three blocks, the 

 two western of which have stalls like those of the back 

 row ; and the front row has plain open benches. The 

 panelling behind the stalls, brought from Belgium, has 

 traceried heads of elaborate and delicate character ; 

 and the cornice has a moulded top member in which 

 is an inscription in Gothic lettering bearing the date 

 1515. At the west end of the nave is a screen below 

 the organ gallery ; it is divided into five bays, the 

 middle one with a pair of doors ; each bay is sub- 

 divided into four openings with cinquefoiled heads 

 and tracery. 



The front of the organ gallery over is modern, but 

 a high screen rising above it contains some old tracery 

 of the same character as the rest. The north transept 

 is used as a private pew to the hall adjoining, and 

 contains some panelling with 17th-century strapwork 

 carving ; and the door of the vestry in the south 

 transept space is made up with some elaborate linen 

 panelling. Beside the altar table there are two chairs 

 in the sanctuary, with carving like that of the sur- 

 rounding panelling, and the altar rails are carved and 

 traceried ; they are said to have been brought from 

 Tongres. The church also possesses some good early 

 16th-century glass, brought from a religious house at 

 Aerschot near Louvain. There are two bells ; the 

 smaller only is rung, and was made by William Eld- 

 ridge in 1665. The other is used as a clock bell and 

 is hung high up in the wooden spire. 



The plate is all of modern date and includes a cup 

 of 1825,3 standing paten of 1835, an almsdish of 

 the same date, and a small flagon of 1870. 



The registers date from 1599. 



There is a clump of fir-trees in the churchyard 

 screening the church from the hall adjoining. Part 

 of the churchyard was destroyed by Sir George Cole- 

 brooke, brother and successor to Sir James Colebrooke, 

 to improve the access to the house, close by which the 

 church stands. 



A church at Gatton is mentioned 

 ADVOWSON in the Domesday Survey. 81 The 

 advowson evidently belonged to 

 Herfrey as lord of the manor, for he granted it to the 

 priory of St. Pancras founded at Lewes by Wil- 

 liam de Warenne. 83 The gift was confirmed by 

 the successive lords of Gatton in the 1 3th century. 84 

 In 1291 the church was valued at 10," and a yearly 

 pension of 30*. was due from it to the priory.* 



The advowson apparently remained vested in the 

 prior until the surrender of his house in November 

 I537, 87 and in February 1537-8 it was among the 



76 Chart. R. 27-39 Hen - VI > no - +' 

 H Hist, and An [if. of Surr. iv, 217. 



78 Private Act, 24 Geo. HI, cap. 39. 



79 Manning and Bray, op. cit. ii, 233, 

 ay that one Moffatt, who did not buy the 

 estate, began to pull down the house. 



80 It was possibly divided from the 



original manor when the Copley estates 

 were sequestrated for recusancy in the 

 early 171)1 century. 



91 From deeds of Lord Hylton commu- 

 nicated by him. M f.C.H. Surr. i, 30317. 



m Anct. Chart. (Pipe R. Soc.), 13 ; 

 cf. r.C.H. Su,,. ii, 64. 



199 



M Cott. MS. Vesp. F. iv, 173-4. 



K Pofe Nick. Tax. (Rec. Com.), 208. 



M Cott. MS. Vep. F. xv, 174, 198; 

 Valor Eecl. (Rec. Com.), ii, 46. 



87 Egerton MSS. 2033,^1.99; 2034, 

 fol. 16, 53, and 87 ; V.C.H. Sun. ii, 

 69- 



