REIGATE HUNDRED 



MERSTHAM 



pointed arch a slightly horse-shoed form. This arch 

 is of two orders with unequal chamfers, and retains a 

 good deal of its original colour decoration in patterns. 

 The capitals are very curious, being of an irregular 

 outline, not semicircular on plan, but waved in form 

 and having a tall bell, upon which are three separate 

 sprays of peculiar foliage resembling the classical 

 acanthus. These so closely resemble the carving on 

 the stone seat-elbows in the chancel of Chipstead 

 Church and a scallop-shell ornament on the chancel 

 arch piers at Letherhead both works of the same 

 date as to render it almost certain that all were 

 carved by the same hand. Taken with the palm- 

 branch foliage at Reigate hard by, they point to the 

 influence of Eastern art through the Crusades. In the 

 chancel itself the only traces of the work of this 1200 

 period are the partly destroyed blind arcades in the 

 eastern part of the south wall and the beautiful double 

 piscina. The wall arcades are lofty, with plainly 

 chamfered arches, and resemble those in the chancel 

 of Merton Church, and a group of other examples in 

 Surrey and Kent. One capital of the shafts between 

 the blank arches remains on the south side, circular 

 in form and of good moulded section. 80 The piscina, 

 which is certainly one of the best remaining of an 

 early series in Surrey, 81 has a ' shouldered ' head, 

 boldly moulded, a credence shelf, and two drains in 

 the form of projecting bowls beautifully carved in 

 undercut foliage of a somewhat uncommon type. 

 The small plain piscina in the south chapel, with pro- 

 jecting chamfered sill, is of the same period. It is 

 almost triangular, with arched sides, measuring I z in. 

 wide by 7 in. and 4 in. deep. Part of a lancet win- 

 dow of this date remains in the west wall of the north 

 aisle, beneath a modern two-light opening. The 

 corresponding two-light opening in the south aisle is 

 an insertion of c. 1 340. 



The two-light window, inserted perhaps in the 

 place of an earlier lancet, in the wall-arch on the 

 south side of the chancel, with cusped heads and a 

 pointed quatrefoil under an inclosing arch, dates from 

 about 1340, and is the only other feature of that 

 period. To c. 1 390 the porch in the end bay of 

 the south aisle may be ascribed. It has a lofty outer 

 archway of pointed form under a square label, with 

 plain heater-shaped shields within quatrefoils in the 

 spandrels, the jambs having a shaft with capital and 

 base and good mouldings, repeated on the inner side. 

 The doorway within is a plain example of the same 

 date, and in the side walls, set very low down, are 

 quatrefoil windows. The porch would appear to 

 have been higher originally, and perhaps had a parvise 

 over it. An image niche over the entrance is blocked 

 by a sundial. This porch should be compared with 

 the south porch of Oxted Church. 



Slightly later, about 1450, the north and south 

 aisles were remodelled if not rebuilt on a wider plan, 



and to this date may be ascribed the windows and 

 other features. The south aisle has square-headed 

 two-light windows in its south wall, while those in 

 the north aisle are of three lights under pointed seg- 

 mental heads. The north chapel, perhaps dedicated 

 to St. Mary Magdalen, was probably also built at this 

 time, and has similar windows to those in the north 

 aisle. In its north wall is the arched tomb recess of 

 John Elinebrygge (Elingbridge), i473. M To the same 

 period belongs the very large and handsome east window 

 of the chancel. It is of five lights, doubled in the head, 

 in which two quatrefoils of the width of the lower 

 lights are placed. The arches dividing the north 

 chapel from the chancel are of very unequal spans and 

 coarse design. The south chapel, which appertained 

 to the manor of Alderstead, and is dedicated to 

 St. Katherine, dates from c. 1500. It is faced exter- 

 nally with ashlar, has a small priest's door in the south 

 wall, with four-centred arch, the jambs and head of 

 which stand out from the wall in an unusual manner ; 

 and right and left tall two-light windows with moulded 

 jambs and square heads, having four-centred arches to 

 the lights. Its east window of three lights under a 

 pointed head is of more ordinary type. On the east 

 wall to the left inside are the remains of an image 

 niche with a good deal of ancient red colour, and 

 there are other indications that this wall was richly 

 decorated with a reredos of carved stonework, and 

 coloured and gilt. The arches between the south 

 chapel and chancel are of the same period, and are 

 more elaborate than those on the opposite side ; the 

 pier and respond have attached shafts, quatrefoil 

 fashion, alternating with hollows, the capitals, bases 

 and arches being characteristically moulded. The 

 same inequality of span is observable in these as in 

 those opposite, the smaller arch to the west being 

 doubtless reduced in span in order to minimize the 

 thrust upon the east wall of the nave. The arches at 

 the east end of the aisles opening into these chapels 

 are of four-centred form, set very high up on moulded 

 corbels, and belong to the dates of the chapels respec- 

 tively ; that to the north having two hollow-cham- 

 fered orders and the southern plain chamfers. 



The aisle roofs are modern, but those of the nave, 

 chapels, and chancel are mainly composed of the old 

 timbers, the chancel roof being ceiled with plaster 

 over the timbers, but showing one tie-beam and 

 moulded wall-plates as evidence of antiquity. The 

 north chapel has a roof with tie-beams, and octagonal 

 king-posts having curved braces to the principal and 

 ridge. The porch roof has trussed rafters of good 

 design. Except in the aisles, which are covered with 

 lead, the pitches of the roof are somewhat steep. Oak 

 parclose screens of ijth or early 16th-century date 

 have been destroyed within the last fifty years, but 

 fragments of one have been made into a lobby to 

 the priest's door. 81 All the seating in the body of the 



~* For illustrations of all three see 

 y.C.H. Surr. i, 451. 



80 Ibid. 453. These lofty blind wall- 

 arches, as part of the wall construction, 

 are not to be confounded with ordinary 

 wall arcades of a more or less decorative 

 character, and usually about 5 ft. or 6 ft. 

 high. They occur at the following Surrey 

 churches : Blechingley, Chaldon, Chad- 

 wood, Merstham, Merton, and Coulsdon 

 the last being later (c. 1260), and all the 

 others quite early in the ijth century. 

 The late Mr. G. E. Street first drew 

 attention to the connexion of some of 



these Surrey churches with a group in 

 Kent, where the same blind arches occur, 

 as at Cliffe-at-Hoo and Brasted, and the 

 writer has discovered other examples at 

 Hartlip, St. Mary Cray, Horton Kirby, 

 Dartford, Rainham, Upchurch, Newington 

 and Sittingbourne, also in work of the 

 early part of the I3th century. 



81 Good double piscinas of the period, 

 c. 1190-1220, occur at Carshalton, Cob- 

 ham, Ockham, and Okewood Chapel ; and 

 single-drain examples at Fetcham, Chip- 

 stead, Chiddingfold, and Godalming. 



83 His grandson, Thomas Elinerugge or 



219 



Elyngbrigge (he is called by both names 

 on his brass, post), directed by his will 

 that he should be buried in the 'North 

 Chauncell w< in the church of Meryshm 

 afore the pictur of Mary Magdalen.' He 

 bequeaths to the ' high aultar of or lady 

 of Merysthfn, jt. $d. and to the repacTSn 

 of the church, io.' This It dated 1507, 

 and may assist in fixing the time when 

 St. Katherine's Chapel was built. 



88 The screen between the north aisle 

 and the north chapel is said to have been 

 even later than these perhaps of 17th- 

 century date, like that at Wotton. 



