Page:The Victoria History of the County of Surrey Volume 3.djvu/132

 A HISTORY OF SURREY

��by Butterfield, under whom the restoration of the church, in 1845 and subsequently, was carried out. The north and south transepts originally had lean-to roofs, a continuation of those over the aisles, and only projected about 5 ft. beyond the aisles. The northern was known as the Vachery Chapel, the southern as the Knowle or Knoll Chapel. There seems to have been another chapel in the south aisle and probably in the north aisle also.

There is evidence of the existence of a church here in 1244, and the short nave preserves the dimensions of an early aisleless nave, which no doubt had a short chancel occupying the area of the central part of the crossing. This would give an internal dimension of about 36ft. in length by 20 ft. in width, and these sizes and proportions ' coincide with those of the original church of Alfold. As early as the last quarter of the 1 2th century, this church of Cranleigh must have needed additional space. Aisles were therefore thrown out on both sides in about 1 1 70, of which the round columns and responds, or half-piers, remain with characteristic mouldings and angle-spurs to their bases, all executed in clunch. Also there has been built into the pier of the arch from the north aisle to the transept one of the peculiar cat's-head corbels which were a common feature in the period. It was a bold idea of the 1 2th-century architect to divide the nave space into two arches, with a central column and such short responds ; probably he was led to it by the necessity of economizing the scarce building materials at his disposal. But anyway, the result seems to have been that the arches and capitals of the arcades were crushed by the weight of wall above them, being provided also with insufficient abutment, so that before a century and a half had expired it was found necessary when widening the first aisles to renew the capitals of the columns and responds, and to put new arches upon them. The capitals are of an octagonal form, moulded in accor- dance with their date, c. 1325. The first aisles were probably not much more than 7 ft. wide. In about 1200-10 chapels were thrown out on either side of the new chancel, the arches of which remain. In the subsequent widening of the aisles, the arches lead- ing from them into the transepts were rebuilt. That in the south aisle has a corbel closely resembling one in Albury Old Church, of about the same date.

The main arch of the north transept is of two orders with moulded imposts, of a section common in the south of Sussex ; that to the south transept has shafts of trefoil section under a capital with a circular abacus. These are in chalk, and are exactly like the shafts to an arch in the north transept at Godalming. The wide and plain south doorway, approached through a modern porch, and the windows and buttresses of this aisle are all of about 1 300, though so much re-tooled that they might be taken for modern work. The two windows in the opposite wall, made in clunch, are good examples of the plain square- headed openings found in the aisles of this period. They are of two lights, those in the eastern window being much wider than those in the western, with ogee trefoiled heads to the lights and cusping in the spaces over. Internally they have oak lintels. The three-light window in the west end of the north aisle is modern, and a copy of that in the corresponding position in the south aisle, the heads being filled with reticulated tracery.

��A puzzling feature is the pair of piers, now carrying nothing but image niches of doubtful antiquity with modern statues, at the east end of what was the original nave. There can be little doubt that they were built as chancel-arch piers in about 1300, on the site of the original but much narrower chancel arch, and that when the work had got so far, the present extended chancel was decided upon and the piers left as built. The capitals are of the same section as those put upon the older nave piers. The present chancel arch and the chancel must have been built immediately after, and may be dated at about 1300 by the fine triple sedilia in the south wall. These have moulded arches with a trefoiled inner order like those at Duns- fold, but the shafts, with their capitals and bases, are modern. The existing east window is modern, having been refashioned on a larger scale by Butterfield, who designed the elaborate reredos and tabernacle work ; the side windows are modern and very bad, dating from 1845 or before. The piscina and all other features in the chancel are modern or modernized.

The western tower has been practically left un- touched by the mischievous ' restorations ' that have so greatly injured the rest of the church. It dates from about 1300, but the two windows in the ground story would appear to be insertions of slightly later date, the west window exhibiting flowing tracery of about 1 340, in clunch, bearing such a strong re- semblance to that of the east window in Witley Church, that they must have been executed by the same masons. Both are of three lights, with a cinque- foil figure of flowing tracery in the head, the tracery- plane at Cranleigh, and in the window of the south wall also, being recessed by a hood and outer arch, as well as by a deep hollow, which gives a rich effect of shadow. The windows of the upper stories are short lancets, single in the intermediate stage and coupled in the bell-chamber. The original floor, of massive timbers, remains above the ground story. The tower arch, in clunch, has recessed chamfered orders with a scroll-moulding for the hood. The west doorway, which has continuous mouldings, a chamfer and a wave moulding, with a scroll section for the hood, retains its original oak door, hinges, and closing-ring. The newel-stair is contained in an enormous buttress- like projection, of curiously irregular plan, at the north-west angle.

The modern work of 1845 and 1862 is inharmo- nious in character, and the extension of the transepts, with high-pitched compass roofs and coped gables, has quite altered the original aspect of this part of the church and confused its architectural history.

Of the roofs, that of the nave only is old, probably dating from about 1 300. It is quite plain in character, and the present skimpy tie-beams are modern. The chancel roof is a pretentious hammer-beam construc- tion in stained deal, and the aisle roofs are of the meanest description. One of the parclose screens remains, now spanning the archway of the Knowle Chapel, but formerly in the main arch of the south transept. It is heavily-built, and, of course, of late design, having fourteen openings with ogee-cinque- foiled heads, and dates from the middle of the ijth century. The pulpit, at the 1 845 restoration, was made out of the rich traceried panels, cornice, and pinnacles of another ancient screen dating from about the same period. On the chancel arch are the marks of the rood screen, but no trace of the stair-turret, if

��90

�� �� �