A HISTORY OF SURREY 



In 1619 Peter Quennell presented and again in 

 I647, 90 the lord of the manor having the alternate 

 presentation in 1639." The MSS. of the House of 

 Lords contain an application for an order for William 

 King to be instituted and inducted to the rectory of 

 Ashteadinl647. 91 He was a Puritan minister ejected 

 for nonconformity in 1662,'* when Elkanah Downes 

 was presented to the living by Downes, merchant." 

 He died in 1683, and the next presentation was by 

 Sir Robert Howard, kt., who had bought the advow- 

 son from Henry Duke of Norfolk. 95 



For nearly a century more it remained with the 

 Howard family, as lords of the manor. In 1782 and 

 1826 the bishop presented, and in 1822 the Hon. F. 

 Grenville. 96 The living is now in the gift of the 

 Rev. F. G. L. Lucas, the present incumbent. 



King Edward VI granted' to Sir Anthony Archer 

 one acre of land called ' Cotton Acre ' in the common 

 field, formerly applied to maintaining a lamp in Ash- 

 tead Church. 87 



There was in the parish church a perpetual 

 chantry of the value of 5 marks. 98 This was evidently 

 the chantry established in 1261, when the Prior of 

 Newark undertook to maintain three chaplains in the 

 ' chapel of Estede,' to pray for the soul of Henry de 



Mara, his ancestors and heirs." The keeping up of 

 the chantry was the occasion for continual litigation, 

 which went on from 1364 till 1493, between the 

 heirs of De Mara and successive Priors of Newark. 

 The dispute began on account of the original en- 

 dowment of a sum of 250 marks, which presumably 

 the Prior of Newark spent, so that the endow- 

 ment for chaplains was not forthcoming. 100 It would 

 seem that before 1364 there had been continual 

 irregularity in providing chantry priests, for Bishop 

 Edington had to ordain two in 1346 and two in 

 1347, which looks as if his predecessor had neglected 

 to fill up vacancies. 101 In 1493 the complainants, 

 John Aston and others, obtained a writ compelling 

 the prior to provide an endowment. 102 No chantry, 

 however, seems to have existed in Ashtead Church at 

 the time of the suppression of the chantries. 103 



Smith's Charity is distributed as in 

 CHARITIES other Surrey parishes. 



In 1712 Mrs. Sarah Bond left 500 

 for the relief of the poor. 



In 1733 Lady Diana Fielding left money for the 

 support of six poor widows, for whom a house was 

 built on the Epsom road. It has since been rebuilt 

 for the accommodation of eight poor widows. 



BANSTEAD 



Benestede (xi cent.), Banested (xii cent.), Benested 

 and Bansted (xiii cent.), Bendestede (xiv cent.), 

 Bansted (xviii cent.). 



Banstead is a village 3 J miles south of Sutton on the 

 east of the road to Reigate. The parish measures 6 

 miles from north to south, and varies in breadth from 

 3 miles to a few yards at the southern apex, where it 

 forms an acute angle between Kingswood and Walton. 

 The acreage is 5,552. The whole of Banstead is 

 situated upon the chalk downs, and with Walton and 

 Headley adjoins that row of parishes whose villages 

 lie at the northern front of the downs. The ground 

 rises in places to nearly 600 ft. above the sea level, 

 while much of it is over 400 ft. The soil is chalk, 

 with surface deposits of clay, gravel, and brick-earth. 



In 1086 the parish was counted in Wallington 

 Hundred, and it is so entered in the returns of 1316 

 and 1428. : In 1636 it was entered in Copthorne, 

 but Aubrey in 1718 placed it in Croydon Hundred. 



Banstead Downs are still a wide extent of open 

 land, though much reduced since the time when they 

 made one unbroken expanse with Epsom Downs, and 

 the old 4-mile race-course, marked on Norden's map, 

 ran from a point between Banstead village and the 

 railway station into the present ' straight ' of Epsom 

 race-course. 



The downs, now appropriated chiefly for golf, 

 formerly fed sheep in abundance. The old inn in 

 Banstead village, a building which may well date from 

 the 1 7th century, is called the ' Wool Pack,' a survival 



of a past trade. In 1 3 24 the Abbot of Chertsey im- 

 pleaded John de la Lane, bailiff to Isabella the Queen 

 at Banstead, and others, for taking 1,500 of his sheep 

 at Evesham (Epsom), driving them to Banstead and 

 imparking, or, as we say, impounding, them, till from 

 want of food some of them died. The bailiffanswered 

 that he took them on Banstead Down by way of 

 distress as the abbot had been impleaded for trespass 

 in the queen's manorial court at Banstead, but had 

 not answered. In the king's court, to which the 

 case was transferred, the abbot obtained damages.' 

 In 1338 it was ordered that the officers taking 

 wool for purveyance should exact none from the 

 queen's (Philippa's) manors of Witley and Banstead.* 

 The high quality of the wool is shown by a petition 

 of the Commons in 1454, in which they prayed that 

 a sack of wool of the growth of Banstead Down might 

 not be sold under loot., as the price of such wool 

 was greatly decayed. 4 The reputation of Banstead 

 Downs for sheep is referred to by Pope in the Imita- 

 tions of Horace, and by others. 



Historically Banstead Downs were the scene of 

 sport. When Holland's ill-contrived royalist rising 

 of 1648 took place at Kingston, the original plan 

 had included a muster of adherents, as for a horse 

 race, on Banstead Downs. Rumour was rife at the 

 time of such an assembly being formed, and that 

 Holland had marched thither from Kingston. But 

 in fact he had marched to Dorking, and Major 

 Andeley, who was on his track, went over Banstead 



> See Inst. Bks. P.R.O. 



91 See Recov. R. East. 15 Chas. I, 

 rot 38. 



92 Hiit. MSS. Com. Rcf. vi, App. 1770. 

 98 Manning and Bray, Surr. 11,63 5, note L 

 M See Inst. Bks. P.R.O. 



Feet of F. Surr. Mich. 32 Chas. II. 



96 See Inst. Bks. 



9 7 Pat. 3 Edw. VI, pt. iii, m. 29. 



98 Manning and Bray, Surr. ii, 634. 



99 Feet of F. Surr. 45 Hen. Ill, no. 1 58. 



100 j t was Peter de Montfort, who had 

 thrown up holy orders and married, 

 who first in 1364 betrayed anxiety about 

 the due provision of masses, after he had 

 arrived at seventy years of age. 



101 Winton Epis. Reg. Edington, ii, 

 Ord. A, F, and G. 



252 



102 De Banco R. 926, m. 427, Mich. 

 9 Hen. VII. 



103 Surr. Arch. Coll. xix, article on De 

 Mara Chantry. 



1 feudal Aids (1284-1431), v, no, 

 125. 



3 Abbrtv. Plac. (Rec. Com.), 346. 

 Cal. of Close, 1337-9, p. 496. 



4 Part. R. (Rec. Com.) v, 275, 1454. 



