A HISTORY OF SURREY 



It is of three somewhat lofty lights, having ogee 

 trefoiled heads, and is a thin edition of the west 

 window of the tower at Cranleigh. In the apex of 

 the head of both windows are three cusped vesica- 

 shaped figures, and beneath these at Horley are six 

 irregular flamboyant piercings, the whole tracery 

 plane being recessed, within a moulded arch and 

 jambs, and a hood-moulding with returned ends 

 inclosing the head. 1 " In the north wall are four 

 windows, much shorter and of quite different tracery, 

 two on either side of the porch, which is about in 

 the centre of the wall ; and in the west wall, within 

 the space inclosed by the wooden tower, is another 

 window of the same design, but loftier. These win- 

 dows are of two ogee trefoiled lights, over which is a 

 spherical triangle inclosing . a trefoil with 'split 'or 

 ' curled ' cusps, and straight bars radiating to the 

 angles of the triangle. The hood-moulding of these 

 windows prior to 1881 used to terminate in the 

 carved heads above mentioned. The tracery belongs 

 to a type usually called 'flowing,' but its peculiar 

 interest lies in its partaking also of a local form, called 

 ' Kentish.' 1M The internal treatment of the splays is 

 also unusual, as instead of running out to a plain 

 angle, they are finished by a plain semi- octagonal 

 member, which receives the rear-arch of the head, a 

 very effective treatment. 



The north porch, also of c. 1315, has a plain outer 

 door with simply chamfered head and jambs, and in 

 its side walls are small lancets with pointed heads, 

 which in another situation might have been assigned 

 to an earlier date. These have very flat splays on 

 the inside, and below them are stone seats, apparently 

 coeval. The inner doorway is peculiar in many of 

 its details, and fortunately has not been touched in 

 the restoration. Its arch has a springing line about 

 8 in. below the level of the top of the capitals, and 

 as the outer order of mouldings is continuous, this 

 leads to slight distortion. The shafts to the inner 

 order are reduced to mere bead-mouldings, I in. in 

 diameter, but they have complete and delicately 

 moulded capitals and tiny bases very minutely worked. 

 The arch mouldings are very good, and the wide 

 hood-moulding terminated in carved heads now 

 defaced, while there is a characteristic stop to the 

 wave-moulding on the outer order of the jamb. The 

 inner arch and jambs are chamfered. 



The arcade of this aisle is of four slender arches, 

 on peculiarly graceful hexagonal columns with re- 

 sponds of semi-octagon plan. The arches, like that 

 of the doorway, are struck from a line well below 

 the level of the capitals, and are of two cham- 

 fered orders with well-moulded capitals and bases, 

 the latter, like the capitals, taking a hexagonal form, 

 but brought out to the square in a plinth course by 

 means of bold wave-like stops, similar to those in the 

 doorway. At the east end of this arcade is a tomb- 

 arch with pointed segmental head, between the 

 respond and the east wall of the aisle. It is cham- 

 fered in the same manner as the aisle windows, and 

 adjoining it in the aisle wall are the remains of an 

 image niche. 



At the west end of the north aisle, within the 

 walls and the last bay of the arcade, is the remarkably 

 massive wooden tower, standing upon great balks of 

 oak, which rest upon huge squared blocks, braced 

 together by arches of timber, above which is some 

 elaborate oak framework. A date in the 1 5th cen- 

 tury has been assigned to this tower, but there seems 

 no reason for doubting that it is coeval with the aisle, 

 i.e. about 1315. This supposition is strengthened by 

 the general resemblance of the work to the timber 

 tower of Rogate Church, Sussex, which is unques- 

 tionably of early 14th-century date. 



The roofs of the north aisle, nave, and chancel, are 

 in the main composed of the ancient timbers, of great 

 size and strength, the aisle roof being probably coeval 

 with the walls, and the others perhaps of I 5th-century 

 date. A beautiful and very perfect roof of c. 1315 re- 

 mains over the porch, formed of rafters and collars with 

 curved braces, which make a complete pointed arch. 



Before 1881-2 there existed the lower part of a par- 

 close screen, which inclosed the eastern end of the north 

 aisle, in which is the fine Salaman tomb. This 

 screen, which was of ijth-century date, had a return 

 end to the respond of the arcade, and showed ' traces 

 of its original colouring of red and green.' " 7 Also 

 there were a good number of the old seats, ' disguised 

 by the addition of a top-gallant bulwark to keep out 

 draughts and curiosity, and facilitate a quiet snooze. 

 One lofty pew with carved upper panels ' bore the 

 date 1654, and the initials i F, which may indicate 

 one of the Fenner family, who were people of some 

 importance in the parish. 134 No relic remains of 

 these old pews to which so much old parish history 

 clung : pitch pine seats have taken their place. 

 Galleries, which were comparatively modern, have 

 been swept away, and are hardly to be regretted, 

 especially one, ' handsomely painted to resemble 

 mahogany.' ' The communion table, rails, and a 

 wainscot against the east wall,' described as ' neat,' 

 which were ' given in 1710 by the Governors of 

 Christ's Hospital, the patrons of the living and lay 

 rectors,' have also been removed from the church, 

 together with a late 17th-century screen on the east 

 side of the timber tower. 



Remains of a simple pattern in red-brown, painted 

 on the east respond of the arcades, still exist, but other 

 traces of mural paintings uncovered in the chancel 

 were not preserved. The north doorway shows signs 

 of having been painted in black and other colours. 

 Some rare fragments of painted glass in the trefoil 

 figure of the tracery of the north aisle windows, after 

 a temporary disappearance, consequent upon the 

 restoration of 18812, have been recovered, and are 

 now to be seen in their old places. They have a 

 design of three fleurs de lis in rich flash-ruby glass, 

 radiating from a circle in which is framed a golden 

 leopard's head, the arms of the Salaman family. The 

 pattern in the spandrels was in black and white, with 

 a ribbon of light yellow beads inclosing a geometrical 

 tracery pattern." 9 These seem to have disappeared, 

 but there are other fragments such as roses, flaming 

 suns, &c., in the west window of the aisle. 



1M C/. the east window of Old Dorking 

 Church, illustrated in Surr. Arch. Coll. 

 xvi, I. 



1M Found at Chartham : but alo at 

 Winchelsea, Sussex, and as far afield as 

 Sandiacre, Derbyshire. The presumption 



is that a Kentish architect or masons, 

 imported from that county, had to do 

 with these windows. They are unlike 

 anything else of the period in Surrey. 



18 '~ Surr. Arch. Coll. viii, 241. 



188 Ibid, vii, 1 80. Major Heales gives 



206 



the date as 1656 in a drawing of the 

 lettering, and suggests that the initials are 

 those of Thomas Saunders's ton or de- 

 scendant, but they seem to be T r, not T s. 

 189 Surr. Arch. Coll. vii, 171; paper 

 by the late Major Heales, F.S.A. 



