Page:The Victoria History of the County of Surrey Volume 3.djvu/48

 A HISTORY OF SURREY

��Richard Elliott died in 1785, leaving his moiety to his nephew Thomas Smyth of Burgate. It came eventually to his six daughters in 1837, and they sold in 1838 to Mr. James Sadler, son of William Sadler above. Mr. James Sadler of Cherfold, his descendant, is now, therefore, lord of the whole manor.

There are certain scattered lands in Chiddingfold known as College Lands, which were granted by Sir Thomas St. Leger, brother-in-law of Edward IV, for the formation of his chantry in St. George's Chapel, Windsor, 30 March 1481."" They were in the hands of the chapter of Windsor and then of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, and were eventually sold to Mr. Sadler, lord of Prestwick Manor.

The church of ST. MARY, on slightly CHURCH rising ground in the centre of the village, stands in a beautifully shaded churchyard, entered through a modern lich-gate. The ivy, with which the whole church is overgrown, conceals many features of archaeological interest. A few of the ojd wooden ' bed-heads' are still to be seen in the church- yard.

The church is built of Bargate stone rubble, with external dressings of the same stone, but the internal masonry is chiefly in clunch and firestone. In Crack- low's view (1823) and in pre-restoration photographs the outside face is shown as covered with a thin coat of plaster, which has been removed, together with most of the ' healing ' of Horsham slabs which then covered the greater part of the roofs, an edging only being left at the eaves.

In plan the building consists of nave 39 ft. by T 9 ft. 9 in., having aisles 9 ft. 6 in. wide before the restoration, but that on the north has been widened to 1 7 ft. 9 in., and lengthened a few feet to the west; a wide and shallow south porch, 8 ft. 6 in. by 8 ft.; chancel 346. 3 in. by l6ft. gin., chapel on the north of the same length, and 1 1 ft. wide; and west tower about 1 5 ft. square internally, with a modern heating chamber on the north. Originally the nave and its aisles (as at Alfold) made almost a square.

Between the nave and its aisles are exceptionally lofty arcades of four narrow arches. The chapel originally opened into the chancel by two arches, and by a half arch into the nave; a third, with the intervening pillar, was added to the west in 1870 in the course of a 'restoration ' of an exceptionally destructive character. A great deal of the external stonework seems to have been renewed or re-tooled; the chancel arch, an in- teresting early 1 3th-century example, was taken down and rebuilt with heightened piers, being made central with the nave, instead of with the chancel, as before. The north aisle was rebuilt on a much extended plan, the windows in the north wall of the chapel were re- newed to a different design and shifted. The ancient east windows in the chancel and chapel and those in the south aisle exceptionally valuable examples of early tracery were largely renewed in Bath stone, the former being shortened; and the quaint and charac- teristic 17th-century tower was raised some 146., the whole being dressed up to imitate 1 3th-century work.

There is some possibility that the nave occupies the same area as a pre-Conquest original, and that

��portions of its quoins remain in the piers at the angles. This would account for the extraordinary loftiness of the arcade walls which are no less than 23 ft. in height, the measurement to the top of the capitals of the octagonal pillars being about 146. Sin. These pillars, which are I ft. 10 in. in diameter, have an unpleasantly drawn-out appearance, resembling in this the somewhat similar late nave arcades of Oxted Church. They have octagonal capitals and bases, flatly moulded, and the arches of two orders, a hollow and a chamfer, are slightly four-centred. There is reason to believe that they are as late as the end of the I Jth or the beginning of the 1 6th century, and that they superseded much earlier arcades of normal proportions, with, perhaps, a row of clearstory win- dows over them, which would be very necessary for the lighting of the nave under the older arrangement. Most probably, with the rebuilding of the arcades, dormer windows were introduced in the nave roof. It seems clear that the southern arcade was shifted 2 ft. to the southward in rebuilding."

The early church would appear to have remained till the end of the 1 2th century, when aisles were added to the nave, and the forerunners of the present arcades were pierced through the older walls. These had pillars spaced as the later ones, and probably circular. The old stones greenish fire- stone were reworked and used again with the clunch employed for the new work, and the keel- moulding between quirked hollows that formed the outer order of the first arcades was re-used in part in the northern arches. Part of what may have been one of the earlier capitals was lying loose in the tower some years ago. It was decorated with foliage.

The aisles were probably quite narrow as first built not more than about 6 ft. 6 in. in width. The west window of the south aisle remains in its original position, and is a narrow lancet only 7 in. wide. In the early part of the I4th century the outer walls were rebuilt so as to add another 3 ft. to the width, the inner and outer doorways of the porch being moved outwards and rebuilt in the new work. The outer doorway has a pointed arch, with hood-mould- ing, and shafts having moulded capitals, the abacus of which is prolonged.

Before restoration the porch retained a foliated barge-board and a string-course of 14th-century date. The inner doorway is of plainer character, and a small holy-water stoup of 1 4th or 15th-century date is in the angle adjoining. To the eastward in the south wall is a square-headed three-light window, which, together with one to the west of the porch, and that in the east end of this aisle, dates from the recon- struction of the aisle in about 1330; the last two, however, had been deprived of their tracery, which has been restored. In the three-light window this was of a net pattern, which is somewhat unusual in conjunction with a square head." Two shallow tomb-recesses remain in the outer face of the eastern part of this wall. They have segmental-arched heads with mouldings of 14th-century character.

The chancel in its rebuilding, about 1230, was probably greatly extended. It is spacious and lofty, with a stately row of five lancets and a priest's door in

��65s Cat. Pat. 1476-85, p. 269

��" These early examples of the quare ham, Fetcham, Cobham, Dorking (before

��L.. i, 1470-05, p. 209. nese early examples ot the square nam, l<etcham, Uobham, Dorking (before

86 This would give a width of 1 7 ft. 9 in. head in tracery windows are exceptionally rebuilding), and Godalming are other in- r the original nave. numerous in Surrey and Sussex. Bislev. stances in Siirrrv wh*r* tM fir** nf

��for the original nave.

��numerous in Surrey and Sussex. Bisley, Wanborough, St. Mary's Guildford, Ock-

14

��stances in Surrey where this type of window occurs.

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