Page:The Victoria History of the County of Surrey Volume 3.djvu/324

 A HISTORY OF SURREY

��been refaced with Bath stone by Sir Gilbert Scott, who found the original Reigate stone much weathered and coated with brown cement ; but the original mouldings and other features were reproduced with painstaking exactitude, even to a singular group of grotesques upon the wall-surface on the north side. The tower is in four stages, the two lower open to the ceiling, and including a good tracery window of four lights and a large west doorway. In the topmost stage are tall two-light openings under pointed arches, with tracery in the heads, and transoms. The stage below has a small square-headed window. There is a pair of buttresses at each angle, save on the east side, which stop at the string-course below the top stage, and from the north-west angle rises an octagonal stair turret, formerly capped by a lead cupola, which was removed at the restoration, its place being taken by a spirelet and vane. In the cornice beneath the battlements carved paterae are introduced, and the hood-mouldings of the windows have square stops, not very common in Surrey. They occur in a window of this period in the south wall of the nave at Chelsham, Surrey.

The vestry is entered by a doorway in the north wall of the north chancel, over which is a brass plate with a Latin inscription, which may be translated as follows :

' Be it remembered that in the year 1513 John Skinner, gent., as well as with I o given for the soul of Richard Knight, 40.;. for the soul of William Laker, Esq., with 1 8/. 6d. for the soul of Alike Holmenden, also with 1 3/. ifd. for the soul of George Longeville, left to be disposed of by the aforesaid John Skinner, as well as with IO3/. and 4</. of his own money for the souls of his own parents, hath for the honour of God caused this porch to be built. On all whose souls God have mercy. Amen.' * This ' porch ' or vestry is of two stories, the upper being fitted up to contain the valuable parish library, established in 1701 by Mr. Andrew Cranston, then vicar both of Reigate and Newdigate, the vicar himself being librarian. It was founded for the use of the clergy of the old rural deanery of Ewell and of the parishioners, and the books now number about 2,300 volumes, a large proportion of which were contributed by all the neighbouring gentry during the first year of the library's existence. The names of Sir John Parsons, Mr. Speaker Onslow, the Evelyns, Mr. Jordan of Gatwick, Scawens and Thurlands are found among the donors. The lesser folk of the town contributed after their fashion to the upkeep of the library and its contents, for, according to the register, Russell the blacksmith gave the bar and fastenings to the window ; and Ward, the Reigate carrier, ' cheerfully carried all parcels gratis from London to the library.' There are a few MSS., and some early printed books, but perhaps the most interesting item is the first Lord Howard of Effing- ham's Prayer Book, the Psalms at the end of the prayers bearing date 1566. The book appears to have been retained till about the middle of the l/th century in the use of a member of the Howard family, for an old metrical version of the Psalms, printed in 1637, is inserted at the end. The coat of arms impressed on the original covers is that of the Howard family, quartering Brotherton, Warren, and Bigod ; the initials W.H., the encircling garter, and the old Howard motto, Sola Virtus invicta, indicate the

��first possessor of the book. The volumes are chiefly standard theology of the 1 7th and 1 8th cen- turies including such controversial works as Bugg's Quakerism Droofing ; but also including history, clas- sical authors, travels and literature in general. There are a few curious MSS., such as Stephen Birchington's Historical Collections, c. 1382, with the satirical homily on Scottish affairs. This was presented by Mr. Jordan of Gatwick, and presumably came out of Reigate Priory originally, whence also a MS. Vul- gate may have come. The library is open for reference or consultation of books on the spot on application to the vicar. In this upper room, as already mentioned, are deposited many architectural fragments found in 1845 and 1877, ancient keys and other curiosities. The door to this vestry from the north chancel has a good pierced tracery lock, with chiselled straps having square rosette bolt-heads coeval with the vestry. Most of the external stonework, which is in the soft local stone, seems to have been renewed, but the three-light window, with square heads and shields as label terminations, and iron stanchions and cross-bars, and the adjoining ogee-headed doorway in the east wall of the lower story, appear to be original features.

The roofs have been greatly interfered with in the successive igth-century alterations, but the chancel roof, now concealed by an arched and panelled ceiling of wood and plaster, dating from 1845, is ancient (c. 1380) and of massive construction, there being between each pair of rafters a plank of oak with the remains on the whole of decoration in vermilion. Its original tie-beams have been removed and iron tie- rods substituted. The south chapel roof is of early 14th-century date, but is concealed by modern boarding, leaving the heavy cambered tie-beam and king-post visible, the latter having a capital and base, moulded in a peculiar fashion. The roof of the north chapel is modern, as are also those of the aisles and the greater part of the nave roof ; but the original timbers of late 14th-century date in the latter have been grouped together at the western end. All the tie-beams are modern, the old ones having been sawn off early in the igth century, much to the injury of the fabric. The three screens extending across the openings to the chancel and chapels are good examples of ijth- century woodwork although much restored. They are of oak, heavily moulded with traceried and boarded lower parts, and tracery in the heads of the square upper panels. The moulded and nail-studded oak doors in the west doorway are original.

The church must have been rich in painted decoration, on walls, roofs, and fittings, but nothing of this is now visible. A record has fortunately been preserved of the original decoration upon the stone reredos and the adjoining niches,"* giving the chief colours as blue, vermilion, and green, with powderings of stars, rosettes, and fleurs de lis in gold and silver. ' The centre niche is coloured vermilion, powdered with silver stars. The thirteen pedestals are green ornamented with rosettes of gold. The niches on each side ' of the centre '. . . are coloured vermilion, but without stars.' The groined canopies were coloured blue, the bosses being gilt. 'The back- ground above the niches is filled with a flowing pattern of great elegance upon a slate-coloured ground, grey stalks, and grey and red flowers ; a sash of red

��Chu

��Rev. J. W. Pickance, ' Reigate ch and Monuments,' Surr. Arch.

��Coll. xi, 194. tion.

��Corrected from the injcrip- 242

��M4 Brit. Arch. Asset. Con. vol., 1845, p. 256.

��Wincheiter

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