A HISTORY OF SURREY 



been refaced with Bath stone by Sir Gilbert Scott, 

 who found the original Reigate stone much weathered 

 and coated with brown cement ; but the original 

 mouldings and other features were reproduced with 

 painstaking exactitude, even to a singular group of 

 grotesques upon the wall-surface on the north side. 

 The tower is in four stages, the two lower open to the 

 ceiling, and including a good tracery window of four 

 lights and a large west doorway. In the topmost stage 

 are tall two-light openings under pointed arches, with 

 tracery in the heads, and transoms. The stage below 

 has a small square-headed window. There is a pair of 

 buttresses at each angle, save on the east side, which 

 stop at the string-course below the top stage, and from 

 the north-west angle rises an octagonal stair turret, 

 formerly capped by a lead cupola, which was removed 

 at the restoration, its place being taken by a spirelet and 

 vane. In the cornice beneath the battlements carved 

 paterae are introduced, and the hood-mouldings of the 

 windows have square stops, not very common in 

 Surrey. They occur in a window of this period in 

 the south wall of the nave at Chelsham, Surrey. 



The vestry is entered by a doorway in the north 

 wall of the north chancel, over which is a brass plate 

 with a Latin inscription, which may be translated as 

 follows : 



' Be it remembered that in the year 1513 John 

 Skinner, gent., as well as with I o given for the soul of 

 Richard Knight, 40.;. for the soul of William Laker, 

 Esq., with 1 8/. 6d. for the soul of Alike Holmenden, 

 also with 1 3/. ifd. for the soul of George Longeville, 

 left to be disposed of by the aforesaid John Skinner, as 

 well as with IO3/. and 4</. of his own money for the 

 souls of his own parents, hath for the honour of God 

 caused this porch to be built. On all whose souls God 

 have mercy. Amen.' * This ' porch ' or vestry is of 

 two stories, the upper being fitted up to contain the 

 valuable parish library, established in 1701 by Mr. 

 Andrew Cranston, then vicar both of Reigate and 

 Newdigate, the vicar himself being librarian. It was 

 founded for the use of the clergy of the old rural 

 deanery of Ewell and of the parishioners, and the books 

 now number about 2,300 volumes, a large proportion 

 of which were contributed by all the neighbouring 

 gentry during the first year of the library's existence. 

 The names of Sir John Parsons, Mr. Speaker Onslow, 

 the Evelyns, Mr. Jordan of Gatwick, Scawens and 

 Thurlands are found among the donors. The lesser 

 folk of the town contributed after their fashion to the 

 upkeep of the library and its contents, for, according 

 to the register, Russell the blacksmith gave the bar 

 and fastenings to the window ; and Ward, the Reigate 

 carrier, ' cheerfully carried all parcels gratis from 

 London to the library.' There are a few MSS., and 

 some early printed books, but perhaps the most 

 interesting item is the first Lord Howard of Effing- 

 ham's Prayer Book, the Psalms at the end of the 

 prayers bearing date 1566. The book appears to have 

 been retained till about the middle of the l/th 

 century in the use of a member of the Howard 

 family, for an old metrical version of the Psalms, 

 printed in 1637, is inserted at the end. The coat of 

 arms impressed on the original covers is that of the 

 Howard family, quartering Brotherton, Warren, and 

 Bigod ; the initials W.H., the encircling garter, and 

 the old Howard motto, Sola Virtus invicta, indicate the 



first possessor of the book. The volumes are chiefly 

 standard theology of the 1 7th and 1 8th cen- 

 turies including such controversial works as Bugg's 

 Quakerism Droofing ; but also including history, clas- 

 sical authors, travels and literature in general. There 

 are a few curious MSS., such as Stephen Birchington's 

 Historical Collections, c. 1382, with the satirical 

 homily on Scottish affairs. This was presented by 

 Mr. Jordan of Gatwick, and presumably came out of 

 Reigate Priory originally, whence also a MS. Vul- 

 gate may have come. The library is open for reference 

 or consultation of books on the spot on application to 

 the vicar. In this upper room, as already mentioned, are 

 deposited many architectural fragments found in 1845 

 and 1877, ancient keys and other curiosities. The door 

 to this vestry from the north chancel has a good 

 pierced tracery lock, with chiselled straps having 

 square rosette bolt-heads coeval with the vestry. 

 Most of the external stonework, which is in the soft 

 local stone, seems to have been renewed, but the 

 three-light window, with square heads and shields as 

 label terminations, and iron stanchions and cross-bars, 

 and the adjoining ogee-headed doorway in the east 

 wall of the lower story, appear to be original features. 



The roofs have been greatly interfered with in the 

 successive igth-century alterations, but the chancel 

 roof, now concealed by an arched and panelled ceiling 

 of wood and plaster, dating from 1845, is ancient (c. 

 1380) and of massive construction, there being 

 between each pair of rafters a plank of oak with the 

 remains on the whole of decoration in vermilion. Its 

 original tie-beams have been removed and iron tie- 

 rods substituted. The south chapel roof is of early 

 14th-century date, but is concealed by modern 

 boarding, leaving the heavy cambered tie-beam and 

 king-post visible, the latter having a capital and base, 

 moulded in a peculiar fashion. The roof of the north 

 chapel is modern, as are also those of the aisles and 

 the greater part of the nave roof ; but the original 

 timbers of late 14th-century date in the latter have 

 been grouped together at the western end. All the 

 tie-beams are modern, the old ones having been sawn 

 off early in the igth century, much to the injury of the 

 fabric. The three screens extending across the openings 

 to the chancel and chapels are good examples of ijth- 

 century woodwork although much restored. They are 

 of oak, heavily moulded with traceried and boarded 

 lower parts, and tracery in the heads of the square 

 upper panels. The moulded and nail-studded oak 

 doors in the west doorway are original. 



The church must have been rich in painted 

 decoration, on walls, roofs, and fittings, but nothing 

 of this is now visible. A record has fortunately been 

 preserved of the original decoration upon the stone 

 reredos and the adjoining niches,"* giving the chief 

 colours as blue, vermilion, and green, with powderings 

 of stars, rosettes, and fleurs de lis in gold and silver. 

 ' The centre niche is coloured vermilion, powdered 

 with silver stars. The thirteen pedestals are green 

 ornamented with rosettes of gold. The niches on 

 each side ' of the centre '. . . are coloured vermilion, 

 but without stars.' The groined canopies were 

 coloured blue, the bosses being gilt. 'The back- 

 ground above the niches is filled with a flowing 

 pattern of great elegance upon a slate-coloured ground, 

 grey stalks, and grey and red flowers ; a sash of red 



Chu 



Rev. J. W. Pickance, ' Reigate 

 ch and Monuments,' Surr. Arch. 



Coll. xi, 194. 

 tion. 



Corrected from the injcrip- 

 242 



M4 Brit. Arch. Asset. 

 Con. vol., 1845, p. 256. 



Wincheiter 



