A HISTORY OF SURREY 



The manor of PIRBRIGHT (Piri- 

 M4NOR fright, xiii cent.) does not seem to occur 

 earlier than the 1 3th century, when it was 

 reported to be held of the honour of Clare by Peter 

 de Pirbright. 1 John Trenchard died seised of it 

 under the Earl of Gloucester in 1301-2.' His heir 

 was Henry, aged 18 ; but in 1314 John Bishop of 

 Bath and Wells held it. 3 The overlordship passed 

 to Hugh le Despenser, who was holding in 1324.* 

 After Hugh le Despenser's forfeiture in 1326 the 

 manor was granted to Edmund, Earl of Kent,' who 

 not long afterwards was executed for treason and lost 

 his estates. 6 Sir John Mautravers in 1330 received 

 Pirbright from Edward III/ but this grant was prob- 

 ably only temporary, since Sir John's name does not 

 occur in a descent given less than a century later. 8 

 Edmund son of Edmund was restored in blood and 

 to all his lands in the same year in which his father had 

 been executed. He died a minor. His brother John 

 succeeded, and died in 1352 holding Pirbright.* His 

 wife Elizabeth had Pirbright in dower, 10 but subject to 

 her right of dower it passed to Joan, Princess of Wales, 

 John's sister, whose son by her first husband, Thomas 

 Holand, Earl of Kent, died seised of it in 1 397." 

 He was succeeded by his sons Thomas and Edmund 

 in turn, but they both died without issue," and from 



HOLAND. Gules 

 thru leopards or in * 

 herder argent. 



MORTIMER. Barry 

 or and axure a chief or 

 ivith two pales between 

 two gyrons azure therein 

 and a scutcheon argent 

 over all. 



them the manor passed into the family of Mortimer 

 by the marriage of their sister Eleanor with Roger 

 Mortimer, Earl of March. 13 Edmund, Earl of March, 

 son of Eleanor, died seised of the manor in 1425," 

 leaving three co-heirs : Richard, Duke of York, son of 

 his sister Anne, and his two surviving sisters, Joan 

 wife of Sir John Grey, and Joyce wife of Sir John 

 Tiptoft. 16 Probably some deed of partition was exe- 

 cuted by virtue of which this manor was assigned to 

 the Duke of York, for some years later it was held by 

 his widow Cecily as part of her dower ; 16 and passing 

 later to her son Edward IV, became merged in the 

 possessions of the Crown. Edward inclosed a great 

 part of the lands pertaining to the manor for a park, 

 and appointed Sir Thomas Bourchier first keeper. 17 

 There had been a park before, disparked under 

 Richard II." 



During the reign of Henry VIII the manor 



BROWNE, Viscount 

 Montagu. Sable three 

 lions passant bendiuays be- 

 tween two double cotiset 

 argent. 



changed hands several times. It formed part of the 

 marriage portion of Queen Katharine of Aragon," and 

 was later successively in the possession of Sir Thomas 

 Boleyn K and Sir William Fitz William." Finally it 

 was granted to Sir Anthony 

 Browne, afterwards Viscount 

 Montagu, 2 ' with whose family 

 it remained until the middle 

 of the next century. In 1677 

 Francis, Lord Montagu, great- 

 grandson of Sir Anthony, con- 

 veyed it to John Glynne ot 

 Henley Park. 83 At Mr. 

 Glynne's death the manor de- 

 scended to his daughter Doro- 

 thy, 24 who became the wife of 

 Sir Richard Child, afterwards 

 Earl Tylney of Castlemaine." 

 The earl sold Pirbright in 

 1739 to Solomon Dayrolles (see Henley), 16 who in 

 1784 disposed of it to Henry Halsey.' 7 The Halsey 

 family are still in possession. 



The church of ST. MICHAEL AND 

 CHURCH ALL ANGELS consists of chancel with 

 north vestry, organ bay and south chapel, 

 nave, north aisle with gallery extending also round 

 the west end, west tower, and south porch. The 

 building is of little architectural interest, being mostly 

 of 18th-century date or later, the chancel and tower 

 being of Heath stone and the nave of red brick with 

 a stone plinth. The chancel is in I Jth -century 

 style with an east window of three traceried lights, a 

 moulded arch and door on the north to the vestry 

 and organ bay, and a similar but wider arch to the 

 chapel on the south. The chancel arch is of 15th- 

 century style, and consists of two moulded orders, 

 which continue nearly to the ground. 



The north arcade is formed by three wooden 

 Tuscan columns carrying a panelled architrave. The 

 north aisle has three large round-headed windows, and 

 in the south wall of the nave are two like them, and 

 between them a round-headed brick doorway opening 

 to a simple but pleasing wooden porch. All internal 

 fittings, including the octagonal font by the south 

 door, are modern. 



The tower has a tall round-headed west doorway, 

 the upper part glazed, plain round-headed belfry lights, 

 and two circular lights in the second stage. It is finished 

 with a small shingled spire and battlements. On the 

 exterior of the south walls of the nave and tower, 

 which has been recently in part repaired, are various 

 initials and the date 1785. In the south aisle of the 

 chancel is a plain and ancient three-lock chest of oak. 



The six bells are modern, by Mears & Stainbank. 



The plate comprises a chalice made in 1654, w ' tn 

 LR pricked on the bowl, a small flat paten made in 



1739, a modern paten and modern flagon. There are 

 also two London pewter plates and a pewter flagon. 



1 Testa de Nevill (Rec. Com.), 219, 

 zzob. 



8 Chan. Inq. p.m. 30 Edw. I, 32. 



Ibid. 8 Edw. II, 68. 



4 Feet of F. SUIT. Trin. 17 Edw. II. 



Chart. R. I Edw. Ill, 82. 



G.E.C. Complete Peerage. 



1 Cal, Pat. 1327-30, p. 517. 



Chan. Inq. p.m. 4 Hen. VI, no. 36, 



Ibid. 26 Edw. Ill, 54. 



"> Close, 27 Edw. Ill, m. 25. 



11 Chan. Inq. p.m. 20 Ric. Ill, no. 30. 

 For connexion between Thomas and Ed- 

 mund see manor of Sutton in Woking. 



13 G.E.C. Complete Peerage. 

 " Ibid. 



14 Chan. Inq. p.m. 3 Hen. VI, no. 32. 



15 Ibid. 



" Cal. Pat. 1476-85, p. 278. 

 Ibid. 333. 



3 6 4 



" Harl. MS. 433, fol. 200. 

 "L.andP.Hen.ytII, i, 22. 

 80 Ibid. 373. Ibid, iii, 414. 



88 Pat. i & 2 Phil, and Mary, pt. irv. 

 83 Manning and Bray, Hist, Surr, i, 

 148. 



M Aubrey, Hist. Surr. iii, 215. 



85 G.E.C. Complete Peerage. 



26 Manning and Bray, Hist, Surr. i, 149. 



8 ? Feet of F. Surr. Hil. 25 Geo. III. 



