DUNSFOLD
Duntesfaud and Dunterfeld (xiii cent.); Dunttesfold (xiv cent.).
Dunsfold is a small parish bounded on the west by
Chiddingfold and Godalming, on the north by
Hascombe and Bramley, on the east by Hascombe
and Alfold, on the south by the county of Sussex.
It contains 4,028 acres of land and 11 of water.
The parish is roughly a parallelogram of 3 miles
from north to south and 2 miles from east to west.
An outlying portion to the north, between the
parishes of Bramley and Wonersh, is now the ecclesiastical parish of Graffham, and is included in the
civil parish of Bramley, to which it was transferred
with Brookwell in 1884; at the same time High
Billinghurst was transferred from Bramley to Dunsfold. The parishes hereabouts were formerly very
much intermixed, portions of various manors being
included parochially in the parish where the caput
manerii lay. Dunsfold, not named in Domesday, was
probably in 1086 uninhabited woodland belonging to the manor of Bramley. It is mentioned
in the Taxation of Pope Nicholas, 1291, but is not
separately assessed in the early Subsidy Rolls of
Edward III. (fn. 1)
Dunsfold is still one of the most completely rural
and sequestered parishes of the county. The northern
part of the consolidated parish just touches the Atherfield Clay at the foot of the escarpment of the Greensand hills, but the main part of it is on the Wealden
Clay. There is a patch of sand and gravel on
Dunsfold Common. The parish is still thickly
wooded, and the oak trees are very numerous.
There were iron forges, or furnaces, in the 16th
century in the parish. Thomas Gratwyck and
Richard March owned three in Dunsfold, and
Thomas Glyde one at Durfold, which is in the
parish. (fn. 2)
In 1653 the Dunsfold forges were still at work, (fn. 3)
and as late as 1758 in a list of militia William
Gardiner, 'furnaceman' of Dunsfold appears. (fn. 4) Burningfold (fn. 5) Wood and Furnace Bridge preserve the
names of places of charcoal-burning and iron-founding.
Norden's Surveyor says that the woods at Burningfold
were destroyed by the ironworks; but in the 18th
century charcoal was being made for the government
gunpowder mills just over the Sussex border close to
Burningfold, and the woods exist still. Bricks and
tiles are now made in the parish. The disused Wey
and Arun Canal skirts the eastern side of the parish.
Dunsfold village consists chiefly of small houses
and cottages scattered round a very large green. The
cottages are highly picturesque and a feature is the
number of well-designed chimneys. One of these
cottages has an unglazed window with wooden
stanchions and shutter, such as were the rule in
houses before glass came into general use. Mr
Ralph Nevill (fn. 5a) notes the common occurrence of
slabs of Sussex or Petworth marble for steps and
paving-stones, and occasionally in mantel-pieces, in
these cottages and houses—a fact due to its having
been dug in the neighbourhood of the church until
within the memory of persons now living. (fn. 6)
At Burningfold is a fine old house of timber
framework. The two gables of the front are covered
with tile-hanging, but in the central space on ground
and first floors the original construction is exposed
and exhibits some square and circle patterns in the
framing, bearing considerable resemblance to the
work at Great Tangley. There are some good
mullioned windows with lead glazing, and the interior retains a little oak panelling.
The Baptist chapel was erected in 1883, and the
elementary school in 1839.
MANORS
BURNINGFOLD
BURNINGFOLD Manor seems originally to have been a member of Bramley. (fn. 7)
There is record of Stephen 'de Brunfeld' in a suit against the Abbot of Westminster in
1199. (fn. 8) In 1233–4 John de Fay, lord of Bramley,
sued Richard of Burningfold for customary service in
Bramley. (fn. 9) In 1229 John de Fay gave to Roger de
Bydon land in the woods of Burningfold and Witherfold; (fn. 10) and in 1235–6 Roger granted the land to
Sandon Hospital to be held of him. (fn. 11) The Witherfold
lands reverted to the Crown and were granted to
Ralph Camoys of Wotton. (fn. 12)
Richard of Burningfold and his wife Isabel were
dealing with land in Dunsfold in 1271–2, (fn. 13) and he was
one of the tenants who in 1280 paid rent due from
Bramley Manor to the Prior of Carisbrook in accordance with a grant of Ralph de Fay. (fn. 14) In 1386–7
Robert Adam and his wife Elizabeth sold to Robert
March certain lands in Dunsfold with the reversion of
one-third of a quarter of a house which Joan widow
of John of Burningfold was holding in dower. (fn. 15) Two
centuries later Burningfold was in the possession of
William March and of John his son, (fn. 16) and in 1569 of
John's son Richard March, (fn. 17) who was succeeded in 1584
by his son William. (fn. 18) In 1604 William March sold the
manor, all manorial rights, and the ironworks there (fn. 18a) to
George Duncombe for £886. (fn. 18b) But John Middleton,
Richard Wyatt of Hall Place, Shackleford, and Thomas
Burdett, also had claims on the estate, (fn. 19) and Duncombe sold his rights to the other three in 1608. (fn. 20)
Middleton seems to have purchased those of Burdett,
for in 1619 Henry Wyatt inherited one-third of the
manor at his father's death, (fn. 21) John Middleton conveyed two-thirds to Arthur Middleton in 1622, (fn. 22) and
finally Henry Wyatt sold his rights in the manor to
Arthur Middleton, (fn. 23) whose two youngest sons succeeded
to the manor. (fn. 24) They sold it
in 1657 to Henry, afterwards
Sir Henry Goring, bart., whose
direct descendant, Sir Harry
Goring of Horsham, conveyed
the manor to John Tanner in
1722. (fn. 25) He died in 1751,
and his executors sold it
about 1756 to Viscount Montagu (who died in 1767), (fn. 26)
and Manning and Bray incorrectly state that his son Anthony
Joseph sold it by auction to
Edmund Woods in 1768; (fn. 27) but
Montagu mortgaged the estate to Robert and Henry
Drummond, (fn. 28) of Drummond's Bank, in 1781, and his
son sold it to Edmund Woods jun. in 1790. (fn. 29)
Goring, Baronet. Argent a cheveron between three rings gules.
Mr. Woods died in 1833, (fn. 30) his daughter Katherine
succeeded. She was succeeded by her sister Charlotte
Woods, who built and endowed the school on the
Green in 1850. (fn. 31)
It now belongs to Mr. Samuel Barrow.
FIELD PLACE
FIELD PLACE, a farm in the south of the parish,
is a reputed manor. (fn. 32) In the 15th century it was
the property of William Cranley and his wife Margaret. (fn. 33) It descended to their son William and from
him to his son Henry. (fn. 34) Henry Cranley leased
the manor to his younger son John for forty years
after his own death with remainder to his eldest son
Emery. (fn. 35) From him it descended in moieties to his
daughters, Alice wife of Peter Quenell, (fn. 36) and Jane wife
of George Stoughton. (fn. 37) The whole manor descended
to Peter Quenell, son of Alice and Peter. (fn. 38) He sold
it to William Yalden in 1651. (fn. 39) In 1677 William
Yalden and Mary Yalden, widow, conveyed the
manor to William Sadler. (fn. 40) In 1808 it was the
property of William, nephew of Thomas Sadler, (fn. 41)
and in 1850 of James Sadler of Chiddingfold. (fn. 42)
Land in Chiddingfold, of this manor, was held by
Giles Covert, who died in 1556, holding of the Dean
and Chapter of Windsor. (fn. 43)
Field Place, a small manor-house, shows a most
delightful collection of roofs of all sorts of pitches and
dispositions, and two good chimneys, one of which
has crow-steps to the breast below. Part of the house
is built of brick and stone.
GRAFFHAM GRANGE
GRAFFHAM GRANGE was an old house held by
the abbey of Waverley of Roger de Clare, c. 1238, and
inhabited by a family who took their name from it.
About that year Walter Giffard, Abbot of Waverley,
(1236–51), granted all the rights of the abbey in
Graffham to Walter de Graffham for a rent of 16s. a
year, still paid to Markwick, a former possession of the
abbey, in 1808. (fn. 44)
Elias of Graffham owned a mill in Shalford in the
13th century. (fn. 45) About 1325 Eleanor widow of
John of Graffham signed a bond at Graffham. (fn. 46) In
1367 John of Graffham resigned Graffham to his son
Hugh. (fn. 47) Thomas of Graffham, 10 July 1445, granted
all his land in Dunsfold and elsewhere to John Provys
and Thomas George. (fn. 48) John Elliot died seised of a
messuage called 'Graffam' in 1640. (fn. 49) It passed from
the Elliots to the Mellersh family, from whom
Mr. Richard Eager bought it in 1803. He sold it to
Mr. James Stedman of Guildford in 1832. Mr. J. C.
McAndrew was the late owner,
and it now belongs to Mr. F. A.
Shepherd.
Hull. Argent a cheveron azure between three demi-lions passant gules with three bezants on the cheveron and a chief sable with two piles argent therein.
HIGH LOXLEY
HIGH LOXLEY, a farm
near Park Hatch, in Hascombe, was in the possession
of the Hull family in the 16th
and 17th centuries. (fn. 50) Thomas
Hull conveyed it to John
Machell, who sold it in 1682
to John Child; (fn. 51) his grandson Charles Child is said to
have succeeded to it and to
have left it to his niece Martha
Searle (see Tangley, in Wonersh). It was purchased in 1770 by Peter Flutter,
whose daughter carried it in marriage to John
Martyr. (fn. 52)
SMITHBROOK
SMITHBROOK Manor was a possession of the
Knights of St. John, (fn. 53) and was an appurtenance of
their preceptory of Poling, co. Sussex. (fn. 54) Queen
Elizabeth granted the manor to Edward Wymarke, (fn. 55)
who appears to have sold it to George Austen of
Shalford. (fn. 56) George Austen died seised of it in 1621. (fn. 57)
From that time it descended with the rectory manor
of Shalford (q.v.).
CHURCHES
The church of ST. MARY AND
ALL SAINTS stands remote from
the village on a hillock well elevated
above the surrounding country. To the east of the
church is the rectory-house, a picturesque gabled and
tile-hung structure, probably dating from the 15th
century.
The churchyard, approached from the east, is large,
and has been extended down the slope of the hill to
the south during recent years. Besides other trees it
contains two yews, one of which, with a hollow trunk,
close by the south porch, is probably one of the most
ancient trees in the county.
The walls are constructed of Bargate stone rubble,
of a bright yellow colour in places, with dressings of
the same stone, and the mortar joints of the walling
are galleted with chips of ironstone in parts; but this,
although an ancient local fashion, may only date from
recent restorations, when large parts of the walls were
re-faced or re-pointed and some rebuilt. In Cracklow's view they appear as plastered externally. A
border of Horsham slabs, with which the entire
church was roofed originally, remains on the nave and
north transept roofs, but they have mostly been replaced by tiles. The timber bell-turret, at the west
end, and its square spire, are covered with oak
shingles.
Its cruciform plan follows a favourite local type,
Cranley, Ewhurst, Witley, Godalming, and St. Martha's
chapel being neighbouring examples of cross churches.
But in these cases the plan seems to have grown to the
cruciform shape, whereas here it would appear to have
been designed from the first. The nave is 47 ft. long
by 20 ft. 9 in., the chancel (the axis of which inclines
to the north) 31 ft. 6 in. by 16 ft. 3 in., and the
transepts, which vary in width between 12 ft. 2 in.
and 12 ft. 10 in., have the shallow projection of 8 ft.
internally. There is a spacious porch on the south
of the nave coeval with the church; and on the north
of the chancel vestries and an organ-chamber have
been built in modern times. There are original
buttresses, two at each angle, except on the east side of
the transepts. The west respond of the south transept
arch is an entire octagonal column, the obvious
assumption being that the intention of the builders—abandoned during the progress of the work—was to
build an aisle on this side instead of a transept. The
timber turret at the west end is carried on four huge
oak baulks with arched braces, and is probably a
15th-century addition.
The date of the entire church is between 1270
and 1290, and it is remarkable for being practically
all in the one style. If there were an earlier building—the place itself is not named in Domesday—no
trace of it remains in the stonework. About 1304
the advowson, which was (as it now is) in the hands
of the Crown, was given by Edward I to the hospital
of St. Mary at Spital without Bishopsgate, and to this
circumstance is doubtless due the erection of the
church, and the exceptional beauty and regularity of
the work. (fn. 58)
The chancel is of two bays, each with a two-light
window, in which the lights have trefoiled cusping
with a circle over containing a pointed trefoil; the
whole within a pointed inclosing arch, and worked
with mouldings on three planes, some parts being
exceptionally delicate and rich for country work. This
design is repeated in the two remaining windows in
the side walls of the nave (there were two others in the
western bay, filled up when the timber tower was
built), and in the opposite walls of the transepts, the
only variation in the design being that the two western
windows of the chancel were prolonged downwards,
after the manner of a certain class of low side windows. The east window of each transept is of a
different design, smaller and plainer, consisting of two
trefoiled lights with a quatrefoil over, the whole
worked on one plane, with chamfers instead of
mouldings, and without an inclosing arch. The east
window of the chancel is large and of three trefoiled
lights, with three cinquefoiled circles above within a
moulded inclosing arch, but without a hood. There
is a quatrefoil panel in the apex of the gable, originally
an opening pierced for ventilation, but reproduced in
this meaningless form at the 1882 restoration, when
also the east window was raised in the wall and a
transom with blank panels inserted beneath it—a very
unwarrantable tampering with the fine design. The
west window of the nave has interlacing tracery in
three lights, the centre cinquefoiled and the others
trefoiled, with pointed trefoils and quatrefoils in the
spaces above. This window has a hood-mould—the
only one used externally—and its mouldings and
character are so far different from the others as to
suggest that it is an insertion of slightly later date
(c. 1300).
Dunsfold Church from the South-east
The south porch is remarkable for its exceptional antiquity, the main timbers, including the
trefoiled bargeboard (which has a curious 'halved'
joint at the apex) being coeval with the church.
Early in the 16th century, however, the original
doorway was removed and the present one, with fourcentred head and Tudor roses in the spandrels, put in
its place. The rafters and boarding of the roof still
retain scroll patterns painted c. 1280.
Besides the priest's door in the south wall of the
chancel, there is a small doorway in the north wall of
the north transept and the usual south door in the
nave, all having engaged shafts with capitals and bases,
delicate hollow stop-chamfers to the jambs, and
moulded arches and labels. The nave doorway retains
its original oak door, with coeval wrought-iron hinges,
strap-work, closing ring, scutcheon, and a large solid
oak lock-case. This doorway has a pointed segmental
head on the inside, moulded and having a moulded
hood which is made to die into the string-course of
plain circular section which runs almost entirely round
the church on the inside.
The chancel and transept arches are doubly hollow
chamfered, and the former has no capitals. Those of
the transept arches are boldly moulded, of differing
sections, corresponding to those in the door-shafts.
The chancel arch was, most reprehensibly, heightened
and widened, a hood-moulding being added in the
restoration of 1882, and in this way a squint and
image-niche on the northern side of the arch were
displaced. Both transepts retain their piscinae, that
in the south transept having grooves for the oak shelf.
The northern one is in the north wall, i.e. on the
gospel side of the altar, a somewhat unusual position.
Part of what may have been a piscina belonging to
one of the nave altars is preserved in the vestry. The
triple sedilia and piscina in the chancel are a most
beautiful composition, the four arches having undercut
hood-mouldings dying into the circular string-course
over them. The arches have a wave-moulding as the
outer order, as in the windows and doors, and a
hollow for the inner, which is worked into a light and
graceful trefoil. The mouldings of the capitals and
bases of the sedilia are also peculiarly good, and the
two centre ones are of Sussex marble, together with
their shafts. The seat levels are stepped up, and the
piscina has a credence shelf and an elegantly moulded
bowl with two circular basins. (fn. 59)
Plan of Dunsfold Church
Ancient roofs, no doubt coeval with the walls,
remain in the nave and transepts, but that of the
chancel is of modern deal. Perhaps the most interesting feature in the church is the 13th-century
seating in the nave, in an almost perfect state. The
design of the standards, which is nearly alike in the
dozen or so ancient benches, is quaint—resembling a
pair of cows'-horns with balls on the tips; and round
the edges is worked a hollow chamfer. These benches
had a narrow plank for seat—lately widened—and a
thick rail to rest the back against, the space between
it and the seat being filled with a thin plank. They
stood upon a continuous oak plate or curb, which has
lately been done away with, and a separate block put
under each standard. (fn. 60) In the vestry is preserved part
of the very graceful fleur-de-lys termination of the
quire stalls of the same date—the only fragment
remaining. It resembles others of like pattern at
Merrow, Effingham, and Great Bookham in this
county. An Elizabethan or Jacobean altar-table is
also preserved in the vestry.
The walls of the church appear to have been
painted at about the time of the completion of the
work with a series of very small subjects, of which
copies made at the time they were discovered have
been framed and hung up in the nave. They seem
to have been executed chiefly in red outline, and on
the south wall of the nave, immediately westward of
the transept arch, 'the scheme of human redemption
was probably set forth, commencing with the Fall of
Man, and ending with the Coronation of the Blessed
Virgin—the last within a quatrefoil . . . A band
of interlacing, or chain-work, is said to have run
round the whole of the nave under the stringcourse.' (fn. 61) On the east wall of the nave and transepts
the remains of a hunting-scene, with a hare and stag,
suggested the mediaeval allegory of The Three Dead
and the Three Living—of which subject there is a
painting in existence at Charlwood Church, Surrey. (fn. 62)
St. Christopher and St. George appear to have been
painted on the north wall of the nave, probably in the
15th century, and an undecipherable painting of this
later period still remains within the space occupied by
the timber tower, on the south wall of the nave.
Some grisail'e quarries, coeval with the windows,
still remain in the chancel, and the bordering of the
modern glass in the east window is copied from the
old. The font with small circular bowl in Sussex
marble is of uncertain date, but probably late 13th-century, although some authorities have placed it as
late as the latter part of the 17th century. The only
mediaeval monument now visible is a stone slab dug
up in the nave and now placed in the south transept,
which has moulded edges, and probably once bore a
cross. It is a monumental slab and not a coffin-lid.
Aubrey mentions a gravestone
in the chancel to 'John Shipsay, Dr. of Divinity, Rector of
the Parsonage of Dunsfold,'
who was 'chaplayn to King
Charles the First,' and died in
1665, but this is no longer to
be seen.
The registers commence in
1628. The first volume, which
ends in 1653, is partly transcribed in volume two, which
contains baptisms to 1810,
burials to 1812, marriages to
1752. The registers of baptisms and marriages are completed in volumes three and
four. They contain, among
other items of interest, a record
that Sarah Pick, on 18 March
1665, 'did penance in a white
sheet,' with the remarkable addendum that 'She was exmcated eoe die': and another notice of the penance in
private of one 'J. Bames and An his wife' in 1667.
There is a silver cup of 1566 and a ewer of 1578
among the church plate; also an old pewter tankardshaped flagon, no longer used.
Of the six bells three are modern, added in 1892.
One, recast in 1893, was by William Knight of
Reading, 1583, inscribed multis annis resonet campana
Johannis. Another bears the date 1621, and the
inscription 'Our hope is in the Lorde': and a third
of 1649 is by Bryan Eldridge.
ADVOWSONS
The advowson of the parish
church was at first in the hands
of the king, who granted it with
that of Shalford to St. Mary Spital without Bishopsgate in 1304–5; (fn. 63) it followed the history of Shalford
Rectory until the suppression of the priory, from
which time the church has been in the gift of the
Crown. (fn. 64)
The church of St. Andrew Graffham, built in 1861
of the local sandstone, is in 14th-century style, with
a bell-turret containing two bells surmounted by a
spire.
The ecclesiastical district of Grafham or Graffham
was formed in 1863 out of the civil parishes of Bramley and Dunsfold. The living is in the gift of the
vicar.
CHARITIES
The parish benefits from Henry
Smith's charity and from Wyatt's
Hospital in Godalming.