Page:The Victoria History of the County of Surrey Volume 3.djvu/164

 A HISTORY OF SURREY

��impost, and the capitals carved with early stiff-leaf foliage. All the remainder is delicately wrought in clunch, both orders of the arch displaying an enriched cheveron on the face, with a roll moulding on the angle, and a plain cheveron on the soffits. The en- riched cheverons have foliage patterns within them. The hood-moulding has a small half-moon sinking carried as a pattern round its outer member, and at- the top a head, now defaced, is inserted. The masonry is fine-jointed and fine-axed, both marks of the date. The dials and other scratchings on the stonework are noted later. On the inside is a plain circular arch, much loftier than that of the outer opening. There must have been a doorway or an arch of this same enriched cheveron pattern at Merstham Church, abouf 1 5 miles to the eastward along the same road, judging from the voussoirs now lying loose in the north chapel. 1 * 7

The next period is that of about 1200, when the aisle was thrown out on the south of the nave, and an arch pierced in what had been the west wall of the south transept or chancel aisle. The three flat buttresses, of three stages, at the west end of the aisle, belong to this date. The west doorway of the nave is of the same period, and has a richly-moulded arch of two orders, acutely pointed, with Sussex or Purbeck marble capitals and shafts to the outer order. The inner order of the jambs is square on plan, with a square capital, this and the other having square abaci and crochet foliage. The arch at the east end of the aisle has two orders, richly moulded, with similar capitals, and among the mouldings of both is the keel-shaped moulding. The jambs, with their delicate shafts, bases, and capitals, are entirely of marble, four shafts to each side. The light and fragile character of this arch gives a clue to the entire disappearance of the corresponding arcade, which has been replaced by the three existing ugly pointed arches on octagonal piers. They are cased all over in plaster, both piers and arches (as was also the arch at the end of the aisle), and possibly the remains of the original work are still in existence beneath the plaster. Three of the lancets of this date remain, two in the aisle and one in the west wall of the nave. They are in Bargate stone, with broad chamfers to the outside opening. A lancet and a curious pointed arched recess " 8 in the north wall of the nave, at its eastern end, are of about the same date. A pair of lancets in the western bay of the chancel aisle, broad openings with flat internal arches, would appear to be later c. 1250.

At the eastern end of the south chancel south wall is a two-light tracery window of graceful and some- what unusual design. It is of two trefoiled lights, with a small trefoil in the head, the tracery and arch being worked on three distinct planes : externally there is a hood-moulding of scroll and bead section. The east window of the same south chancel is of similar character and has three trefoil-headed lights, the central wider than the others, the spaces over

��being occupied by two irregular trefoils and four small quatrefoils within a large circle. There are two coeval buttresses at the south-east angle of the rectangular east end of the south chancel. Probably this square-ended chapel, which is referred to in wills as the Lady Chapel, superseded the apse about 1 300, at which date it became necessary to rebuild the tower arches, an additional archway being pierced between the new square-ended chapel and the chancel. The lofty octagonal timber spire 57 ft. in height from the nave floor a magnificent piece of mediaeval car- pentry, was also probably added then or soon after- wards. It would appear to have been covered with lead originally, and retained a part of the ancient lead work until the middle of the last century, together with oak shingles.

These extensive alterations were probably under- taken at the instance of the rich abbey of Netley, to whom the advowson of Shere was sold by Roger de Clare in 1243. To Netley Abbey, therefore, is probably due the rebuilding of the chancel in its present form, with its beautiful tracery windows executed in hard chalk, between 1300 and I32O. 1IS The details of the work show that it was begun shortly after the square east end of the Lady Chapel, and the new windows of the chancel were made to harmonize with the recently completed tracery win- dows of the chapel. This is very noticeable in the case of the great east window, which, with minor variations, is almost a replica of that in the east wall of the Lady Chapel. Its central light is of ogee form, cinquefoiled, and the side lights have rather ugly flat trefoiled heads with a cinquefoiled figure above, but the same circle, filled with four quatrefoils, which is the chief feature in the other, appears in this window also. The diagonal buttresses of the east wall and the buttress on the north side are of this date. The side windows, of two lights, have tracery of the ordinary net type. A piscina of this date, with ogee trefoiled head and credence shelf, remains in the south wall. In the western bay of the north wall are two curious squints, one with a quatrefoil aperture and the other, close by to the eastward, a square opening. Both communicated with an anchorite's cell, or a sacristy, whichever it may have been, which stood on this side, and was probably built at the same time as the chancel. Its roof was a lean-to, but its area is uncertain. 1 * The oblique squint with the square head must have been used, in any case, for commanding a view of the high altar ; while the quatrefoil may have served the purpose of communicating the recluse.

Slightly later again, in c. 1330, the north transept was shortened and brought to its present form of a mere recess between the enlarged buttresses of the tower, which at this time superseded the flat buttresses of c. ii 50. The beautiful four-light window, of flowing tracery, executed in hard chalk, which has weathered admirably, has no hood-moulding exter- nally, unlike the others, and bears other traces of

��"7 At at Canterbury Cathedral (the Aquae Cattellum of the monastery), the arched recesses in the east wall of the nave at Barfreston Church, and the chapel in Dover Castle. In the last-named the same stiff-leaf capitals, of somewhat French cha- racter, occur. Cf. also the capitals in the wooden screen at Compton Church, Surrey.

��las This recess and its little window were probably made for the double pur- pose of inclosing a tomb and giving space for an altar flanking the earlier west arch of the tower.

129 It is possible, however, that the chancel had been rebuilt in the I jth century, and that the monks of Netley

118

��only remodelled it and put in tracery windows.

180 Other possible anchorites' cells, which may have been either sacristies or chambers for the display of relics to the Canterbury pilgrims in some cases, ex- isted, or can be traced, at Blechingley, Chessington, Compton, and Letherhead.

�� �