Page:The Victoria History of the County of Surrey Volume 3.djvu/141

 BLACKHEATH HUNDRED

��He settled the manor on his youngest son Richard," who in 1648 acquired Somersbury (see above), and the entire property descended to the Onslow family as already stated." A distinction of Baynards is that it has belonged at various times to the four leading families in Surrey since the year 1500, namely Bray, More, Evelyn, and Onslow. The second Sir Edward Bray who held it married Elizabeth Roper, grand- daughter of Sir Thomas More, whence the fact or legend that Sir Thomas More's skull was preserved at Baynards.

John Evelyn visiting it in 1657 describes the house as ' a very fair noble residence having one of the goodliest avenues of oaks up to it that ever I saw.' u

Later, however, the house ceased to be used as a gentleman's house, Arthur Onslow the Speaker, Lord Cranley, resided at Knowle, and Baynards was merely a farm-house. In 1 8 1 8 Lord Onslow sold Polling- fold and Baynards to John Smallpeice of Guildford. In 1824 Pollingfold was sold to Richard Gates, and in 1832 the estate was reunited by the Rev. Thomas Thurlow, son of the Bishop of Durham and nephew to the Lord Chancellor Thurlow. He added to and restored or rebuilt the house, under the direction of Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt, and made a fine collection of paintings, armour, furniture and tapestry, which remain in the house. He raised the roof of the original hall, turning one of the rooms over it into the present gallery at the end, and altered the entrance. Mr. Thurlow died in 1874, and was succeeded by his son Mr. Thomas Lyon Thurlow, who in 1889 sold Baynards and the manor of Pollingfold to Mr. T. J. Waller, the present owner. The house is mainly of brick, but the foundations are of Sussex marble and the roof of Horsham slates, both found in the neigh- bourhood. The house is very handsome, with an air of antiquity about it, and the grounds are picturesque. An avenue of Wellingtonias leads from the station towards the house.

The reputed manor of BREACH was probably a member of Gomshall Netley. 45 In the 1 6th century it was the property of John Agmondesham. 46 He mortgaged the manor to William Atlee and Nicholas Dendy, who disputed the division of the estates. Nicholas Dendy died during the dispute, but it was settled by compromise that his son John should have the northern half of the lands, i.e. North Breach." Finally, in 1594, William Atlee conveyed all his right to Ralph Dendy, probably the heir of John Dendy.' 9

��EWHURST

In 1630 Edward Dendy sold the manor to Walter Longhurst,' 9 whose descendants remained in possession for nearly a century and a half. Ralph Long- hurst and Richard Stening M were holding South Breach at the time of the Commonwealth. In 1 768-9 Richard Longhurst and his wife Anne sold the manor to John Vincent of Stoke by Guildford." His grandson and heir died leaving an only daughter," probably the Mary Hone, who joined with her hus- band, William Smith, in a sale of the manor, under the name of North Breach, to Samuel John Symons Trickey in 1803." It afterwards belonged to a family named Donithorne, from whom it was bought by Mrs. Fletcher Bennett about 1877. It is now in the hands of the Bennett trustees.

CONETHURST is situated on the rising ground north of the village and was in the possession of Ambrose Wolley in 1553, and probably formed a part of his manor of Somersbury. It was then sold by him to Sir Edward Bray, M who bequeathed it in 1558 to his son Edward on condition of paying off a mort- gage. 54 In 1593 it was in the possession of a certain Ralph Dalton, 66 to whose son, Richard, it descended in November 1 60 1," and from him it passed in 1615 to his two daughters, Joan and Elizabeth, who were then both minors. 69 Joan married Richard Bridger, and Elizabeth, Henry Matchwick. 49 In 1676 the whole manor was settled on Joan, 60 and descended from her to her nephew Henry Bridger. Henry died in 1695, and his cousin Richard covenanted with Edward Wood, who had married Elizabeth daughter to Henry, to levy a fine." In 1776 it was the property of Thomas Wood, 61 who died in 1779 leaving a son and heir Thomas, 6 * in whose family it continued.

POLLINGFOLD in Ewhurst extended into Cran- leigh parish and into Sussex. It was held of the lords of Gomshall, 6 ' and the first under-tenant of whom record has been found is John of Pollingfold, who lived in the time of Edward I. 65 From him the manor passed to Lettice wife of William Man, 66 who sold it in 133410 a certain Robert,' 7 who was perhaps a trustee for the Brocas family, for in 1345 Sir John Brocas had a grant of free warren there. 68 The manor was released by his widow to his son Sir Bernard with remainder to Sir Bernard's half-brother John, but, John having died, his brother Oliver succeeded to Pollingfold, where he took up his residence. 69 He granted it in 1397 to Sir Bernard's son Bernard,

��49 It was settled on him in tail male, but by a subsequent deed was entailed on him and hi heirs.

48 In 1648 Baynards, Somersbury, and Ewhurst Mill were settled on Mrs. Eliza- beth Evelyn, wife of Richard. She kept an interest till her death, 1692, and held a court in 1690, as lady of the manor of Pollingfold.

44 Evelyn's Diary (ed. W. Bray), 305.

45 Manning and Bray quote Ct. R. of Gomshall Netley, in which this manor U stated to be the property of John Amer- sham, and late of John of Breach (flat, of Surr. i, 503).

4 Feet of F. Sun. Trin. 29 Eliz. In August 1462 William Agmondesham had granted to Thomas Smallpeice the rents and service of lands called Hakkers in Ewhurst in the vill of Gomshall ; See Surr. Arch. Coll. xviii, 224.

Chan. Proc. (Eliz.) Aa, i*, 43 ; Dd,

��v, 53. John also claimed certain quit- rents in the whole manor.

48 Feet of F. Surr. Trin. 36 Eliz.

4 Ibid. Surr. Trin. 6 Chas. I.

60 Surr. Arch. Call, xyii, 88. Parlia- mentary Survey of Church Lands.

51 Feet of F. Surr. Mich. 9 Geo. III. The manor here seems to have included both North and South Breach, while the later deeds possibly also refer to both moieties under the name of North Breach.

w Feet of F. Surr. Mich. 3 Geo. III.

" Manning and Bray, Hist, of Surr. i, 5 03.

54 Feet of F. Surr. Mich. I Mary.

" P.C.C. 47 Welles.

M Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), ceil, 9.

W Ibid, cclxx, 1 44. "Ibid, ccclv, 87.

"See Feet of F. Surr. East. 13 Chas. I ; East. 14 Chas. I.

Ibid. Hil. 28 & 29 Chas. II.

Ibid. 9 Will, and Mary ; and deeds of the Wood family.

99

��"Ibid. Trin. 16 Geo. III.

68 Manning and Bray, op. cit. i, 503.

64 After its division into East and West Pollingfold the former was held of Gom- shall Netley and the latter of Gomshall Towerhill ; Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), ccilvii, 72, and Ct. R. quoted by Manning and Bray, i, 501.

MPlac. Abbrru. (Rec. Com.), 262.

68 Chan. Inq. p.m. 27 Edw. 1,45 ; John's grandson Robert of Pollingfold sued Lettice for the manor, but was unsuccesful as he had described it as lying entirely in Surrey, whereas loo acres of land and 2O>. rent were in Sussex (De Banco R. 281, m. 78).

W Feet of F. Surr. 8 Edw. Ill, 3. The surname of the purchaser is torn away in the conveyance. The initial letter appears to be a T.

68 Chart. R. 19 Edw. Ill, m. 8.

"Close, 4 Edw. Ill, 21 j Burrows. Family oj Brocas, 425 et seq.

�� �