Page:The Victoria History of the County of Surrey Volume 3.djvu/260

 A HISTORY OF SURREY

��from the early 1 7th century. The Rev. Peter Aubertin, rector in 1808, was the first resident rector for some time, and found the old rectory converted into two labourers' cottages. He recovered it for the proper use and spent money on repairs.* But in 1902, owing to its distance of 2 miles from the church, leave was obtained to sell it, and the present rectory was built. The Aubertin Memorial Church Hall was built in 1906, chiefly at the expense of Miss Aubertin, in memory of her father, the late rector.

Among the monuments in the church is one to the memory of Sir Edward Banks, who raised himself from the position of a labourer to become the builder of Waterloo, Southwark, and London Bridges. He is said to have first observed the pleasant situation of Chipstead when working as 9 labourer on the Merst- ham railway about 1803. He died in Sussex in 1835, and was buried at Chipstead by his own express direction. Alice Hooker, eldest daughter of the author of the Ecclesiastical Polity, was buried here in 1 649.

In 1 746 Mrs. Mary Stephens left a farm for teach- ing six poor children to read, providing them each with a Bible, and putting out such apprentices from among them as the trustees should think fit. This is the origin of the endowed school of Chipstead, now carried on according to a scheme under the Endowed Schools Acts, of 7 July 1874, in which year the present school was built.

��The manor of CHIPSTEAD, according M4NOR to Domesday, was held of King Edward by one Ulnode. At the time of the Sur- vey it was in the possession of Richard de Tonbridge,* and as part of the honour of Clare was held in chief by his descendants until the beginning of the 1 6th century. In 1290 Gilbert de Clare, having married as his second wife Joan of Acre, daughter of Edward I, surrendered all his estates in England and Ireland to the king, who in several grants restored them to him or his wife and heirs.' Amongst the places so surrendered mention is made of ' Chepestede in Kent,' but it seems certain that this is an error for the Surrey Chipstead, the mistake being made in the first grant and never corrected. This would appear to be the case from the fact that there is no further evidence at any other date of the Clares hav- ing had possession of the Kent Chipstead, which was held of the Archbishops of Canterbury. It is not mentioned in 1217 amongst the Kentish possessions for which Richard de Clare did homage at Otford," neither is it alluded to in any other documents than those referring to the lands of Gilbert de Clare, who at the time of his death was seised of the manor of Chipstead in Surrey,' and whose son, killed at Ban- nockburn, died seised of the same. 8 This Gilbert, the last Clare Earl of Gloucester and Hertford, left three sisters and co-heirs, and his peerage dignities passed to

���CHIPSTEAD CHURCH FROM THE SOUTH-WEST

��Before the Rev. Peter Aubertin be- came resident rector in 1808, Chipstead was served from Croydon. It is related that the dead used to be brought to the church and left there till the parson next came round. He used to give out the next meet of the hounds from the pulpit, and cricket matches were played on the

��church green just outside the church, while the church itself was used as a pavilion where beer and bread and cheese could be had by the players. It is said the matches were ' notched ' on the edge of the altar 1 (Information by Mrs.Watson, granddaugh- ter of Mr. Aubertin.)
 * V.C.H. Surr. i, 316.

I 9

��6 Cal. Chart. R. ii, 350; Cat. Pat. 1281-92, pp. 351, 360.

6 Chartul. of Cnristchurch, Canterbury, Stowe MS. 924, p. 233.

7 Doc. relating to Surr. MS. 6167, fol. 89.

8 Inq. p.m. 8 Edw. II, no. 68.

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