BOROUGH OF GUILDFORD 



heir was entrusted to the custody of Ralph de Broc 

 by King Henry III. 1 " Richard Testard was holding 

 at the time of the Testa de Nevi//. 1 " A list of tenants 

 holding land of him is given. In 1254 Thomas de 

 la Puille held a serjeancy in Guildford by grant from 

 Richard Testard " 5 ; this had formerly been held by 

 the service of looking after the washerwomen of the 

 king's court, but at this date was held by annual rent 

 of 25/., and was valued at loo/." 6 In 1299 Walter 

 de la Poyle died seized of what was then definitely 

 styled the manor of Poyle."' The inquisition taken 



POYLE. Gulit a taltirt 

 urgent in a border argent 

 with roundels azure there- 



GAYNEJFORD. Argent 

 a cheveron gules between 

 three running greyhounds 

 table "with golden collars. 



at his death seems to justify the identification of this 

 manor with the entire holding of the Testard family, 

 for several of the families given here are represented 

 in the earlier list of tenants." 8 



From this date the manor followed the descent of 

 Poyle in Tongham for some years. In 1410 John de 

 la Poyle conveyed the reversion after his death to 

 Robert Warner, John Gaynesford, and others." 9 John 

 de la Poyle died in 1423." In 1437-8 Richard 

 Wakeryng, clerk, conveyed Poyle in Guildford, &c. 

 (not Tongham), to Robert Warner and his heirs, John 

 Gaynesford and John his son. 1 " Robert Warner died 

 seised of it in 1439. There were then two corn- 

 mills and two fulling-mills under one roof in the 

 manor, view of frankpledge and court baron. 1 " John 

 Gaynesford was heir of Robert Warner. The Gaynes- 

 ford family held it till 1 49 1 , when Richard Battenor, 

 clerk, acquired it by common recovery from John 

 Gaynesford and Alice his wife. 183 The lands were 

 then as before in Guildford, Stoke, Chiddingfold, and 

 Slyfield, and the patronage of the hospital of St. Thomas 

 at Guildford was included. Thereafter there is a long 

 gap. In 1595 John Eversfield died in possession. 1 " 

 In 1624 the widow of his son Sir Thomas, and Sir 

 Thomas her son, conveyed it to Harry Smith, and he 

 in 1627 settled it on trustees for his well-known 

 charitable foundation." 5 



In the time of Symmes (circa 1670) the court leet 

 and court baron were still held. 116 



The church of ST. MARY consists 



CHURCHES of a chancel, central tower, north 



chapel and south chapel with apsidal 



ends flanking the tower and half the chancel, nave, 



north and south aisles, and north porch. 1 * 7 



The tower alone survives from the church of the 

 1 1 th century, which probably consisted only of 

 chancel and western tower. There is no trace of an 

 early nave, but one may have existed. The north and 

 south transepts were added about 1 1 20. About 

 twenty years later the chancel was rebuilt on a larger 

 scale and, forty to fifty years later still, narrow aisles 

 were added, and the nave was added or rebuilt if 

 already existing, and the two chapels added, their 

 width being governed by the earlier transepts. 



Early in the I3th century the passages between the 

 chapels and the sanctuary may have been cut. The 

 stair-turret between the chancel and the south chapel 

 was probably built at the same time. About the 

 same date the vaulting of the chancel was made, the 

 unequal width of the east and west bays being 

 governed by that of the side arches. 



About 1260 the side walls of the aisles were 

 brought out to the line of the chapel walls, and wider 

 arches were inserted between the aisles and the 

 chapels. 



In the 1 4th century a large number of windows 

 were inserted ; and possibly at the same time the 

 floor line of the church was altered from an east-to- 

 west slope to an easier slope, with flights of steps 

 leading to the chapels and chancel. 



The 1 5th-century alterations include some of the 

 windows and the re-roofing of the church throughout. 

 Modern restoration is responsible for the refacing of 

 the whole church, except the tower and the east end, 

 and the replacing of almost all the exterior stonework 

 of the windows. 



The chancel has a I ^th-century east window of 

 five cinquefoiled lights with tracery over, in a four- 

 centred head. Below the window on the interior 

 is a scroll-moulded string. On the north and south 

 are to be seen the eastern jambs and part of the heads 

 of two early 12th-century lights, blocked by the 

 building of the chapel apses. The openings of the 

 skew passages from the chapels are between these and 

 the east wall. That on the north has a pointed arch 

 at the north end and is roughly rounded at the chance' 

 end. The proximity of the vice narrows the southern 

 skew passage, which is pointed throughout. The 

 north chapel opens to the chancel by an arch with 

 responds which have been flattened to receive a. 

 wooden screen. The capitals are scalloped, and 

 the abaci grooved and chamfered. The pointed 

 arch is of a simple square order with a grooved and 

 chamfered label on each face. The corresponding 

 arch on the south has square jambs with small engaged 

 half-round shafts, having moulded bases and moulded 

 bell capitals with grooved and hollow-chamfered abaci 

 The arch is two-centred. A small round-headed squint 

 from the western half of the south chapel pierces 

 the west jamb and part of the shaft. 



The chancel vault is of two bays, the eastern being 

 about 2 ft. narrower than the western ; the trans- 

 verse arch is of a single order, with edge rolls spring- 



" Testa de Netiill (Rec. Com.), 225. 



""Ibid. 228. 



116 Richard Testard granted lands in 

 Guildford to Thomas de la Poyle in 

 1252 (Feet of F. Surr. 37 Hen. Ill, no. 



"'Assize R. 872, m. 24 d. 

 "7 Chan. Inq. p.m. 27 Edw. I, no. 44. 

 118 e.g. Fairchild, Gomme, Gerard, Gil- 

 bert Marshall in the Testa and John Fitz 



Gilbert Marshall in the Injuisitio. The 

 state of the inquisition makes it difficult 

 to identify a large number of names. 



119 Close, 2 Hen. VI, m. IO. 



120 Chan. Inq. p.m. 2 Hen. VI, no. 26 ; 

 (.',)/. Pat. 1422-9, p. 164. 



' Feet of F. Surr. 16 Hen. VI, no. 215. 

 lm Chan. Inq. p.m. 17 Hen. VI, no. 12. 

 > De Banco R. East. 6 Hen. VII, m. 



152. 



563 



144 Manning and Bray, Surr. I, 17. 



la5 Smith'. Char. D. 



1M Add. MS. 6167, foL 189. 



"< Dimensions : Chancel, 23 ft. 5 in. by 



16 ft. 6 in. ; tower, 12 ft. 10 in. by 



14 ft. 4 in. ; north chapel, 26 ft. 8 in. by 



1 5 ft. 9 in. ; south chapel, 26 ft. 8 in. by 



17 ft. II in.; nave, 46 ft. 4 in. by 17ft. 4 in.; 

 north aisle, 14 ft. 9 in. wide ; south aisle 

 17 ft. 10 in. wide. 



