BANSTEAD
Benestede (xi cent.), Banested (xii cent.), Benested
and Bansted (xiii cent.), Bendestede (xiv cent.),
Bansted (xviii cent.).
Banstead is a village 3½ miles south of Sutton on the
east of the road to Reigate. The parish measures 6
miles from north to south, and varies in breadth from
3 miles to a few yards at the southern apex, where it
forms an acute angle between Kingswood and Walton.
The acreage is 5,552. The whole of Banstead is
situated upon the chalk downs, and with Walton and
Headley adjoins that row of parishes whose villages
lie at the northern front of the downs. The ground
rises in places to nearly 600 ft. above the sea level,
while much of it is over 400 ft. The soil is chalk,
with surface deposits of clay, gravel, and brick-earth.
In 1086 the parish was counted in Wallington
Hundred, and it is so entered in the returns of 1316
and 1428. (fn. 1) In 1636 it was entered in Copthorne,
but Aubrey in 1718 placed it in Croydon Hundred.
Banstead Downs are still a wide extent of open
land, though much reduced since the time when they
made one unbroken expanse with Epsom Downs, and
the old 4-mile race-course, marked on Norden's map,
ran from a point between Banstead village and the
railway station into the present 'straight' of Epsom
race-course.
The downs, now appropriated chiefly for golf,
formerly fed sheep in abundance. The old inn in
Banstead village, a building which may well date from
the 17th century, is called the 'Wool Pack,' a survival
of a past trade. In 1324 the Abbot of Chertsey impleaded John de la Lane, bailiff to Isabella the Queen
at Banstead, and others, for taking 1,500 of his sheep
at Evesham (Epsom), driving them to Banstead and
imparking, or, as we say, impounding, them, till from
want of food some of them died. The bailiff answered
that he took them on Banstead Down by way of
distress as the abbot had been impleaded for trespass
in the queen's manorial court at Banstead, but had
not answered. In the king's court, to which the
case was transferred, the abbot obtained damages. (fn. 2)
In 1338 it was ordered that the officers taking
wool for purveyance should exact none from the
queen's (Philippa's) manors of Witley and Banstead. (fn. 3)
The high quality of the wool is shown by a petition
of the Commons in 1454, in which they prayed that
a sack of wool of the growth of Banstead Down might
not be sold under 100s., as the price of such wool
was greatly decayed. (fn. 4) The reputation of Banstead
Downs for sheep is referred to by Pope in the Imitations of Horace, and by others.
Historically Banstead Downs were the scene of
sport. When Holland's ill-contrived royalist rising
of 1648 took place at Kingston, the original plan
had included a muster of adherents, as for a horse
race, on Banstead Downs. Rumour was rife at the
time of such an assembly being formed, and that
Holland had marched thither from Kingston. But
in fact he had marched to Dorking, and Major
Audeley, who was on his track, went over Banstead
Downs without finding him or the assembly. The
rising had in fact exploded prematurely. (fn. 5)
There is evidence of races at Banstead as early as
1625, (fn. 6) but the subject more properly belongs to
Epsom. When the great question of the exclusion
of the Duke of York from the succession was before
the House of Lords, in 1678, the Duke of Ormonde
wrote to Colonel Cooke that he tried to delay the
first reading by pointing out the thinness of the
House owing to a Dog Match at Hampton Court,
and a Horse Match on Banstead Downs. He himself did not attend the Horse Match, where 12 horses
ran for 3 plates, 'owners up,' (fn. 7) apparently, but he sent
a description of it. Two horses fell, one nearly
killing his jockey, and 'the Duke of Monmouth
escaped narrowly,' so apparently he also was riding.
Hares and partridges were also preserved on the
downs. Henry Saunders was made keeper of a
portion of the downs at £30 a year under the Protectorate, as a reward for trying to seize a highwayman, (fn. 8)
and in 1668 a gamekeeper was appointed by the
Duchy of Lancaster, at the same salary, to preserve
hares and partridges. (fn. 9) In 1669 the king was hawking
there, it not being then the custom to shoot
partridges. (fn. 10)
The downs were also used as a muster-place for
the Surrey Militia in 1670, when an inspection of
the troops was made by the King and Prince Rupert.
The formation of a camp of the regular army under
the Duke of York or the Duke of Monmouth was
discussed in 1678, but it is uncertain whether the
plan was carried out. (fn. 11)
The parish is now agricultural, with a considerable
number of new small houses in it. The road from
Sutton to Reigate, the old Brighton road, passes
through the parish, traversing Burgh Heath. The
Sutton and Epsom Downs branch of the London,
Brighton, and South Coast Railway has a station at
Banstead, on the downs; and the Tattenham Corner
branch of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway
cuts through the middle of the parish. Tattenham
Corner station, opened in 1901, is on the borders of
Banstead.
From its position on the hills Banstead can never
have been well watered. There are no streams in
the higher and larger part of the parish. The
primitive water supply must have depended entirely
upon rain and dew-ponds, and the later supply was dependent on wells. The village well is said to be 350 ft.
deep. The Domesday Mill was no doubt at Beddington, where there was a mill called Vielmille held
of the manor of Banstead in 1318. (fn. 12) Similarly the
Woodmansterne Mill was at Carshalton. But the
absence of a good water supply did not hinder settlement, possibly even very ancient, on the high ground
near Banstead. At Great Burgh many neolithic flint
implements have been found; and on Banstead Heath,
knives, two saws, a borer, an axe-head, seven arrow-heads, and other implements and flakes, implying a
considerable settlement. (fn. 13) Banstead Downs have been
much disturbed by digging for gravel in the brick-earth,
by the making of the Epsom Downs railway, and by the
laying out of golf links. But to the west of the road to
Sutton, north of the railway bridge, were three barrows,
one of which has recently been nearly destroyed.
Others are said to have existed, and the remains of
one seem to exist close to the railway bridge. An
old map, reproduced by Manning and Bray, shows a
great many barrows and a long bank about Preston
Downs (which are now inclosed), the bank continuing on to the now inclosed Ewell Downs. 'Tumble
Beacon,' a large mound crowned with Scotch firs near
Nork Park, is an unmistakable barrow, and one of the
largest in the county. It used to be the site of a fire
beacon, and at the manor court a man was appointed
to keep the beacon ready for use. Traces of hut-circles
are reported to have been observed on Banstead Downs,
but have never been explored and verified. One
trace of a more remote antiquity still is undoubted,
a fossil oyster shell which the writer himself picked
up where the ground had been disturbed. John
Evelyn reported that he heard from the Shepherds that near Sir Christopher Buckle's house,
that is near West Burgh, 'divers medals have been
found both copper and silver, with foundations of
houses, wells, &c. Here indeed anciently stood a
city of the Romans.' (fn. 14)
In 1903 mediaeval remains were discovered south
of Banstead Church, consisting of tiles, broken glass,
and carved chalk. They are in the St. John's Gate,
Clerkenwell, Collection, owing to a supposed connexion with a house of the Hospitallers, who had
lands near the church, (fn. 15) but possibly they belonged to
the manor-house.
At Burgh in this parish there was a church to
which rectors were instituted in the 14th and 15th
centuries, (fn. 16) but there is no evidence of its having been
a separate parish from Banstead after 1414. An
entry in Wykeham's Register (fn. 17) in 1379 speaks of the
poverty of the benefice and the ruinous character of the
buildings. Aubrey says that the church at Burgh
existed in his time, (fn. 18–20) and that there had been a chapel
of St. Leonard at Preston, mentioned in deeds, which
had quite disappeared. Salmon, in 1736, said that
the Burgh chapel existed, turned into a barn. The
return to Bishop Willis's visitation, 1725, described
it as in ruins, no service having been held there within
living memory. The ruins of St. Leonard's chapel
do, however, still exist, in spite of Aubrey's assertion, in Chapel Copse near Preston, with which
manor it was conveyed in 1440. Bergh or Burgh
Church was between Little Burgh House and Church
Lane, where the foundations remained supporting a
barn till about 1880.
Tadworth is a hamlet on the Reigate road, included
now in the ecclesiastical district of Kingswood.
Tadworth Court was built by Mr. Leonard Wessells
in 1700 (see manor).
The land to the north of the village on the edge
of the downs was common field as late as 1841. (fn. 21)
No Inclosure Act is known, but a great deal of open
heath and down has been inclosed.
From 1850 to 1890 the common rights of most
of the tenants of Banstead Manor in Leigh and
Horley, called Walda, i.e. the Weald, in the Survey
of 1325, were bought out by private arrangement.
There are a considerable number of gentlemen's
houses. Court House is the residence of Mr. B.
A. Goad; Banstead Hall of Mr. D. V. James; The
Larches of Mr. H. Lambert, C.B.; Tadworth Court
of Mr. C. D. Morton; Banstead Place of Mr.
Justice Neville.
There were two private schools in 1725 in
which reading and writing were taught. In 1837
Lady Arden of Nork endowed a Church school at
Burgh Heath with £205; it was rebuilt in 1885,
and enlarged in 1901. In 1857 a school, now
County Council, was built in the village, and enlarged
in 1906. In 1874 a School Board was formed for
Banstead, Tadworth, and Kingswood, and in 1875
Tadworth and Kingswood School was opened by the
Board. A Wesleyan school was built at Burgh Heath
in 1880. The Kensington and Chelsea Pauper
Children's School, built in 1880, is in Banstead. It
is in a fine position, arranged in 23 separate Homes,
with chapel, swimming bath, workshop, laundry,
gymnasium, &c. The Boys' Surgical Home was
opened in 1895. There is a Church Institute, which
was opened in 1906.
A great feature of Banstead is the London County
Lunatic Asylum on Banstead Downs, originally
opened in 1877. It now consists of nineteen blocks
of buildings, with a chapel, and houses for the
attendants, and will hold 2,240 patients. It is built
of white brick.
There is a Baptist mission room in the village,
and a Baptist chapel at Tadworth.
MANORS
The earliest records of BANSTEAD
refer to gifts of land there, the first
being a grant, in 680, from Caedwalla,
King of Wessex, to Bishop Wilfrid; (fn. 22) the second, a
grant made by Frithwald, subregulus of Surrey, and
Bishop Erkenwald to Chertsey Monastery, in augmentation of the lands given at the foundation of the abbey,
the lands mentioned in this second gift being 'xx
mansas apud Benesteda cum Suthmaresfelda,' (fn. 23) of
which confirmation was afterwards made by King
Edgar. (fn. 24) It does not appear, however, that the
monastery held land at Banstead in later times.
Banstead Manor was held, prior to the Conquest,
by Alnod, very possibly indentical with 'Alnod Cild,'
who was one of the largest landowners in Surrey in
the time of King Edward. (fn. 25) In 1086 Banstead, in
Wallington Hundred, was held by Richard of Odo,
Bishop of Bayeux. (fn. 26) Among the appurtenances of the
manor was a house in Southwark worth 40d. (fn. 27) Alnod,
when he had held the manor, had had a demesne house
in London, which Adam son of Hubert held of
Odo. (fn. 28) In the time of Henry I Tirel del Maniers
gave the church to the monastery of St. Mary
Overy, (fn. 29) but there is no other proof that he was lord
of the manor. It was held in 1169–70 by Nigel de
Mowbray, whose wife Mabel had received it from
her father as her marriage portion. (fn. 30) She seems to
have been the daughter of Roger, Earl of Clare; it
is therefore possible that the Richard of 1086 was
the great Richard of Tonbridge himself. (fn. 30a)
William de Mowbray son of Nigel was one of the
barons who opposed King John in 1215; he was
among the twenty-five who were appointed executors
of the great charter, and as such was excommunicated
by the pope. He was afterwards taken prisoner at
the battle of Lincoln, but, by promising to give
Banstead to Hubert de Burgh, lord chief justice, he
redeemed his other lands before the general restoration later in the year. (fn. 31)
De Burgh. Gules seven lozenges vair.
In 1226–7, after William's
death, Nigel de Mowbray his
son quitclaimed all right in
the manor to Hubert. (fn. 32) The
master and brethren of the
Knights Templars were given
seisin of the manor in 1233,
to hold as security for the debts
which Hubert de Burgh owed
them. (fn. 33) He seems, however,
to have recovered the manor,
as he died at Banstead in
1243, (fn. 34) and, after the death of his widow Margaret,
his son John de Burgh held the manor, (fn. 35) receiving a
grant of free warren there in 1260. (fn. 36)
In 1272 John de Burgh alienated Banstead without
royal licence to William de Appeltrefeld, (fn. 37) who was
ordered to hold until the king's return to England. (fn. 38)
The next year John de Burgh granted the manor
to the king and his heirs, with the exception of
lands to the value of 100s. given to Anselm de
Gyse. (fn. 39) Pending the completion of the conveyances
Appeltrefeld was allowed to hold, (fn. 40) but John de
Burgh finally quitclaimed his right in 1274. (fn. 41) Appeltrefeld later surrendered all claim in it, for which
remission the king pardoned him 1,000 marks, in
which he was bound in the King's Jewry. (fn. 42) The
king seems to have visited the manor soon after he
acquired it. In 1276 the reeve of Banstead rendered
account of his expenses there, which included
67s. 11d. for repairs in the hall, kitchen, and other
rooms 'against the coming of the king'; money
spent on tiling and carpentering and on the carriage
of materials was also accounted for, and 33s. 4d. was
spent in making glass windows for the hall. (fn. 43) The
manor-house was probably close to Banstead Church.
On the east of the churchyard there used to be a pit
called traditionally the cellars of Hubert de Burgh; but
the remains referred to above, which must have belonged
to a considerable house, were found south of the church.
In October 1275 the manor was assigned as dower
to the king's consort, Eleanor of Castile. (fn. 44) In 1299
it formed a portion of the dowry granted to Margaret
of France on her marriage with the king, (fn. 45) and she
held until her death. (fn. 46) Edward II and Edward III
subsequently granted Banstead to their queens as
dower. (fn. 47) In 1378 Richard II confirmed to Nicholas
Carew a grant of Banstead made to him in 1376 for
life, 'saving to the Prior of Merton the term granted
to him.' (fn. 48) This latter grant, made evidently after
the death of Queen Philippa, was not, presumably, of
long duration, as in 1378–9 Carew was tenant of the
manor and was ordered to pay 100s. yearly out of
the issues of the manor to Stephen de Haddele,
yeoman of the chamber to the late queen. (fn. 49) In 1390,
after the death of Carew, the manor and park of Banstead were granted for life to Sir Reginald Braybrooke;
if, however, the issues exceeded 40 marks annually,
the surplus was to be paid to the Exchequer. (fn. 50)
In 1399 confirmation was made of a grant of
1397 to Sir William de Arundel and Agnes his wife
of the same manor, (fn. 51) and on their death shortly
after without issue, the grant was extended to Sir
Richard de Arundel, brother of William, for life, (fn. 52)
and on his death to his widow Alice, (fn. 53) who died in
1436. (fn. 54) The king in the following year demised the
manor to Sir Ralph Rochefort. (fn. 55) The reversion was
granted in November 1437 to John Merston and Rose
his wife in survivorship, (fn. 56) and Rochefort quitclaimed
his life interest to them in 1438. (fn. 57) In 1448 Henry VI
granted the reversion, after the death of John
Merston, Rose being already dead, to his new foundation of Eton College. (fn. 58) This grant was, however, cancelled by Edward IV, and the manor was
resumed in 1464. (fn. 59) His queen
received the manor as dower in
1466; (fn. 60) in 1471 it was given
to George, Duke of Clarence, (fn. 61)
after whose death it remained
in the Crown until Henry
VIII, in the first year of his
reign, assigned it to Queen
Katharine. (fn. 62) She continued
to hold after her divorce, and
in 1532 leased the manor to
Sir Nicholas Carew for ninetynine years, should she live so
long. (fn. 63) This deed seems to have been made at the
king's desire, as two months later he granted the reversion of the manor, after Katharine's death, to Sir
Nicholas Carew in fee. (fn. 64) When it came to the Crown
on the attainder of Carew the manor was annexed to
the honour of Hampton Court. (fn. 65) It was given back to
Sir Francis Carew on the reversal of the attainder in
1549, and continued to be held by this family with their
manor of Beddington until 1762, when Sir Nicholas
Hacket Carew died. (fn. 66) By the terms of his will the
manor of Banstead was sold, according to a previous
agreement, to Rowland Frye of Beddington, (fn. 67) who died
in 1777, when his brother and heir William inherited
the manor. (fn. 68) It passed in 1795 to their nephew Rowland Frye, and on his death in 1801 to the latter's
nephew, William Morris Newton, who took the name
of Frye, (fn. 69) and was lord of the manor in 1808. (fn. 70) At
his death in 1820 it passed to his daughter, wife of
Captain Spencer, and she held in 1841. (fn. 71) The
property was subsequently sold before 1874 to Sir
William Craddock-Hartopp, who held until after
1882. It passed soon after to mortgagees, the trustees
of Lady Lavinia Bickersteth, the present lady of the
manor. The manor of Banstead included extensive
holdings in Horley and Leigh. Sir William Craddock-Hartopp between 1874 and 1878 paid over £13,000
to buy up rights over Banstead Wastes from the
following lands: Part of Leigh Place, Dunshott,
Flatguns, Sawyers and Skeats, in Leigh, and Horshill,
part of Christmas Farm, West Green, Tylers, Fethe-ridge, Watts, Gawlers, Axes, Crutchfield, Flanchford,
Rydens and Banfield, in Horley, (fn. 72) a total of 720 acres.
Woolvers Farm, Stumblehole, Collendean Farm, and
Duxhurst were also in Banstead Manor. (fn. 73)
Carew. Or three lions passant sable.
The first mention of the PARK of Banstead occurs
in 1299, (fn. 74) when it was included with the manor in
the grant made to Margaret of France by the Crown.
It was probably imparked after Banstead had been
granted to the king by John de Burgh in 1274. An
action for trespass in the queen's park was brought in
1305. (fn. 75) In 1348 and 1349, when Queen Philippa
held the manor, a writ of aid for one year was granted
to the clerk of the great wardrobe to enable him to
have timber brought to her wardrobe in La Rioll,
London, from her park at Banstead. (fn. 76) In 1439 John
Merston and Rose, then holding Banstead, received
licence to inclose the park, stated to be in great need
of repair, with paling and hedge, and to cause trees
and oaks required for the purpose to be felled both
within and without the park, under the survey of the
Prior of Merton. (fn. 77) The park was included in the
grant in fee made to Carew in 1532. (fn. 78) In 1623
John Lambert received a lease of the part of the
park called Banstead Old Park. (fn. 79) The manor-house,
which succeeded the older manor-house near the
church stood in the park; it is now the bailiff's
house. The new house called Banstead Wood was
built by the Hon. Francis Baring in 1884–90, and is
now owned together with the park by Mr. Charles
Garton. (fn. 79a)
At the time of the Domesday Survey the manor of
BURGH or GREAT BURGH (Berge, xi cent.;
Bergh, Burgh, Barewe, Berewe, xiii cent.; West
Bergh, Great Bergh, xiv. cent.; Borowe, Westborowe,
Westburgh, xvii cent.; Burrowe, Westburgh,
xviii cent.) was held of Odo of Bayeux by his vassal
Hugh de Port for 2½ hides. (fn. 80) Before the Conquest
three freemen had held it and could seek what lord
they pleased, the assessment then being for 5 hides. (fn. 81)
The three manors were held as one in 1086. (fn. 82) The
holders of Burgh during the 12th century do not
appear. Possibly the Mowbrays had it with Banstead, and enfeoffed one of the family of de Bures, as,
between the years 1216 and 1243, John de Bures
held a knight's fee in Burgh or Barewe of Hubert de
Burgh as of the honour of Mowbray. (fn. 83) In 1276
John de Bures died seised of the whole land of Burgh
which he held for the service of one knight's fee and
for which he paid 12s. castle ward to Rochester. (fn. 84)
His son John succeeded him. In 1325 an extent of
the manor of Banstead included a messuage and a
carucate of land at Burgh held by de Bures for the
service and rent above mentioned and, in addition,
for an annual rent of 2s. and suit at the court of
Banstead. (fn. 85) His son inherited in 1332, (fn. 86) dying in
1345, when the extent of the tenement at Burgh
included a capital messuage and a garden newly
planted. (fn. 87) The next John de Bures seems to have
become involved in debt to Robert Boteler. In
1346–7 the king pardoned the latter for acquiring
for life without licence land of John de Bures at
Burgh consisting of a messuage, 240 acres of land,
32 acres of wood, and 12s. rent, (fn. 88) and, by an extent
for debt taken on de Bures' lands in 1357, Boteler
was found to hold a part of those in Burgh. (fn. 89) The
reversion, after the death of Boteler, was granted
by de Bures, called John de Bures of Surrey, kt., to
John de Bures of London, citizen and fishmonger. (fn. 90)
The grant was made before 1362, in which year,
Boteler being dead, de Bures of London entered the
premises without licence, but was permitted to retain
them, (fn. 91) the licence being extended to his heirs in
1368–9. (fn. 92) In 1384 his son (fn. 93) conveyed the manor
by means of trustees to Thomas Hayton, (fn. 94) who in
1428 was said to hold the 'half-fee in Berewe which
Robert Boteler formerly held of the king in the said
vill,' (fn. 95) and in 1432 he died seised of 'the manor of
Westbergh.' Agnes, then wife of John Exham or
Hexham, was his daughter and heir. (fn. 96) She seems to
have afterwards married Thomas Sayer, as in 1450
they conveyed lands in Westbergh, held in the right
of Agnes, and identical in extent with those mentioned in 1346, to Richard Ford and Mercy his
wife, William Sander and Joan his wife, and John
Collard. (fn. 97) Mercy and Joan were daughters of
Agnes by her first husband, Thomas Carew. (fn. 98) These
parties released the property in 1466 to Henry
Merland and others. (fn. 99)
Richard son and heir of Henry Merland died in
1506, having left the lands to his wife Elizabeth for
life with remainder to his brother Nicholas. (fn. 100)
Nicholas survived and died seised of the manor in
1524, Edward being his son and heir. (fn. 101) Edward
married Frances Leigh, and in 1543 settled the
manor on her with remainder to their sons. (fn. 102) After
his death his widow married Robert Moys; her son
William Merland inherited at her death in 1596, her
elder sons Arthur and Matthew having predeceased
her. (fn. 103) In 1614 Merland, with other members of
his family, conveyed to Christopher Buckle, (fn. 104) whose
family continued to hold this manor with others in
Burgh until the middle of the 19th century. (fn. 105)
Christopher Buckle, 1684–1759, built Nork House,
where his son, Admiral Matthew Buckle, died. The
property descended in the direct line until the
death without issue, in 1816, of Christopher Buckle,
the fifth of that name to hold Burgh, (fn. 106) when it
passed to his sister, wife of Captain Crowe. (fn. 107) A
year later it went to the Rev. William Buckle, a
cousin, representing the younger branch of the family,
and he held until his death in 1832. (fn. 108) His son, the
Rev. William Lewis Buckle, held this manor, with
others in Banstead and with the church, until 1847,
when it became the property of the Earl of Egmont. (fn. 109)
From his successor, the fourth earl, it passed (about
1900) to Mr. F. E. Colman, and Mrs. Colman now
holds it. Dr. Burton, author of the Iter Surriense, in
Greek, in 1752 stayed at Nork House, and describes
at length the ingenious waterworks by which water
was raised from a very deep well and distributed over
the slopes of a dry down.
Buckle. Sable a cheveron between three chaplets argent.
Perceval, Earl of Egmont. Argent a chief indented gules with three crosses formy or therein.
Record is found of a capital messuage at Burgh in
1345. (fn. 110) In 1432 Beatrice widow of Thomas
Hayton held part of the site of the manor as dower,
her portion including two high rooms and two low
ones in the south part of the hall (aula), a third part
of the kitchen, of the 'Baggehous' and of the oven,
two gerners, a barn, a stable covered with tiles, parts
of buildings called the 'Sidyrhous,' the 'Wrengehows,' and the 'Wellehous,' with a third of the
garden opposite the hall and various other inclosures. (fn. 111)
The later house was probably built by William
Merland, who held the manor from 1598 to 1614.
It is said to have been a Jacobean house. In the
windows were the arms of the Buckles. It was pulled
down by the late Lord Egmont about twenty-five
years ago.
A manor called LITTLE BARROW
(fn. 112) was held
in demesne as of fee by Thomas Barowe in the 15th
century. (fn. 113) By his will Katherine, a daughter of
William Broke, was to receive the issues and profits
of the manor for 28 years after his death, or, if she
married, they were to be delivered to her husband.
Barowe enfeoffed Thomas Wode to carry out these
provisions. Katherine married James Warner, who
received all issues from 1473 until 1486, when, by
agreement, he sold them to John son and heir of
Thomas Barowe. (fn. 114) John then brought a suit against
Thomas Wode, who refused to be party to the transaction, (fn. 115) but the result is not apparent. Manning
states that a rental of 1531 gives Richard Covert as
lord of this manor, his son George afterwards holding.
According to the same authority, Christopher Buckle
of Burgh held in 1661. (fn. 116) The manor of Little
Barrow afterwards descended
with Burgh (q.v.), with which
it is at present held.
Lambert. Gules three sexfoils argent.
The manor of PERROTTS
in this parish belonged in the
16th century to the family of
Charlwood. The earliest court
of which record exists was held
in 1447. (fn. 117) In 1515 Nicholas
Charlwood sold it to John Lambert of Woodmansterne, who
possibly was connected with the
family of Lampet, Lomputte, or
Lampert, who were settled in Banstead in the 14th
century. (fn. 118) It descended from John Lambert, the purchaser, to Roger his second son, who married Katherine Causton. Roger, the eldest son of Roger, sold the
manor to the second son John, the quit-claim being
made in 1573. (fn. 119) John the eldest son of this John
married Katherine Moys of Canons (q.v.). He was
Marshal of the Hall to King James I, and fought for
King Charles. To escape sequestration of his estates
he conveyed Perrotts to a younger brother Edward. (fn. 120)
It afterwards passed to the latter's fifth son Daniel,
who purchased it from his elder brother Nicholas. (fn. 121)
Thomas eldest son of Daniel sold the manor to his
brother Daniel, the third son, who was Lord Mayor
of London in 1741, and was knighted in 1743. (fn. 122)
He died without issue in 1750, leaving Perrotts to his
nephew, also named Daniel, who died in 1765. (fn. 123) The
manor is still in possession of this family. Mr. Daniel
Henry Lambert, son of the late Benjamin Lambert,
of Well House, at present holds. The last court was
held about 1866, the last copyhold tenant, Mr. Bonsor,
M.P., enfranchised not long since; only a bare seignory
therefore remains to the lord. (fn. 124) The manor-house
mentioned in a deed of 1680 as having been recently
rebuilt stood on the slope facing Rydon Hill. It was
pulled down about 1760, when the family moved to
the Well House in Banstead.
The first mention of the manor of PRESTON
occurs in 1316–17, when John de Chetwode, sen.,
settled it on himself for life
with remainder to his son John
and Lucy his wife and their
heirs. (fn. 125) Almost a century previously a Ralph de Chetwode
had held 10s. rent in Burgh,
so it is probable that the family
had long been holding land in
Banstead. (fn. 126) In 1346 Sir John
de Chetwode, kt., and Lucy
his wife, settled the manor on
Nicholas, apparently their son,
and Elizabeth his wife. (fn. 127) In
1384 John de Bures was said to
hold a cottage at Burgh of Thomas Hayton as of the
manor of Preston. (fn. 128) Hayton, however, who afterwards held Burgh (q.v.), did not die seised of Preston; (fn. 129) probably, therefore, he was a trustee for the
Chetwode family, or held the manor for a term of
years only, as, according to Manning, Sir Thomas
Chetwode, grandson of Nicholas, afterwards held the
manor, and in 1473 his sister and heir Elizabeth,
then wife of William Woodhall, released it to Richard
Illyngworth and others, trustees for Henry Merland. (fn. 130)
Richard son of Henry Merland died seised of the
manor in 1506, holding also that of Burgh, (fn. 131) and the
two manors have since been held together. (fn. 132)
Chetwode. Quarterly argent and gules with four crosses formy counter-coloured.
William de Braose, lord of Bramber, held Tadorne
NORTH TADWORTH in 1086 as half a hide, Halsart
being his tenant; Godtovi had held it of King Harold
and could seek what lord he pleased. (fn. 133) In the early
13th century William Haunsard held a fee in Book-ham and Tadworth of the honour of Brembre
(Bramber). (fn. 134) Later in the century, but before 1243, he
was stated to hold two fees in Tadworth of Hubert
de Burgh, of the honour of Mowbray. (fn. 135) In 1273
John and James, sons of William Haunsard, gave a
carucate of land, 2 acres of pasture, 12 acres of wood,
and 20s. rent in North Tadworth and Little Bookham to the Prior of St. Mary Overy. (fn. 136) The priory
continued to hold North Tadworth as a manor until
the Dissolution. In 1524 it was demised with the
rectory of Banstead to William Coltson and Richard
Moys and Elizabeth his wife for a term of forty
years. (fn. 137) After the Dissolution the manor was granted
by the Crown to Thomas Walsingham and Robert son
and heir of Richard Moys in fee; (fn. 138) Walsingham
soon after released to Moys, (fn. 139) who died in 1596
leaving a son Philip. (fn. 140) John son of Philip died
without issue, (fn. 141) and Henry, another son, held in
1648. (fn. 142) At Henry's death the manor passed to his
five sisters and co-heirs. (fn. 143) In 1659 Sir Henry Hatton
and Elizabeth his wife, daughter and heir of Robert
Hazard and Ann, a sister of Henry Moys, (fn. 144) John
Ireland son of another sister, John Kyme son of
Mary, a third sister, and Paul Tracey son of Margaret, a fourth, (fn. 145) conveyed four-fifths of the manor of
North Tadworth to Christopher Buckle of Burgh. (fn. 146)
In 1663 Christopher Buckle acquired the remaining
fifth from John Bushell and Joyce his wife, (fn. 147) daughter and heir of Edward Lambert, who was the son of
John Lambert and Catherine, the fifth sister of Henry
Moys. (fn. 148) Since that time North Tadworth has been
held with the manor of Burgh (q.v.).
In 1086 Ralph held Tadeorde, probably SOUTH
TADWORTH, of Odo of Bayeux for 1½ hides;
before the Conquest two brothers had held it of King
Edward for 5 hides. (fn. 149) Its value had decreased from
40s. to 30s., (fn. 150) and it was still taxed for the latter
sum in 1291 when the Prior of Merton held the
land. (fn. 151) It is not evident how the prior acquired it,
but possibly it had been granted him by the lord of
Banstead, as the prior held the land of that manor. (fn. 152)
South Tadworth was certainly held by Merton before
1274, as in that year the Prior of Southwark brought
a plea of novel disseisin against the Prior of Merton
for common pasture in Banstead, North Tadworth,
and South Tadworth. (fn. 153) In 1428 the Prior of
Merton held a quarter of a knight's fee here. (fn. 154) The
manor remained in possession of the priory until the
Dissolution, (fn. 155) after which, on coming to the Crown,
it was annexed to the honour of Hampton Court. (fn. 156)
In 1553 Edward VI made a grant in fee to Edward
Harendon or Herrenden. (fn. 157) The manor was settled
in 1569 on his son Henry, who married Mary
Digby. (fn. 158) In 1587, after the death of Millicent
Herendon, widow, Edmund was stated to be her son
and heir. (fn. 159) He, with Henry Herendon, senior and
junior, levied a fine of the manor in the same year. (fn. 160)
The deed was possibly a surrender of Henry's claim,
as Edmund still held in 1618. (fn. 161) In 1620 John
Herendon conveyed to Thomas Hawes. (fn. 162) From the
latter the manor passed in 1631–2 to Thomas
Grymes or Crymes, (fn. 163) who died seised in 1644. (fn. 164)
His son, Sir George Grymes, kt., inherited, (fn. 165) but
before 1650 the manor had come into the possession
of Robert Wilson and Katherine his wife. (fn. 166) The
Wilsons conveyed in 1694 to Leonard Wessel, (fn. 167)
who still held in 1704. Leonard Wessel, about
1700, built the house there known as Tadworth
Court. (fn. 168)
By 1724 the manor was the property of John Fleet-wood, who died in 1725 having devised to his sons
John and Gerard Dutton Fleetwood in tail male
with reversion to his daughter Anne Maria wife of
William Bury, or his sons' daughters. (fn. 169) The
second John Fleetwood died in 1752 leaving an
only child Emilia, wife of Giuseppe Calenda. The
Calendas and the Burys in 1755–6 conveyed
their interest to Gerard Dutton Fleetwood, who
was unmarried, (fn. 170) and he in 1756 procured an Act of
Parliament enabling him to sell the manor to William
Mabbot. (fn. 171) Mabbot died at Tadworth Court in
1764, (fn. 172) having devised his property to his wife, Lady
Rhoda Delves, with reversion to her daughter Rhoda
wife of Philip Carteret Webb. (fn. 173) The daughter afterwards married Edward Beaver, (fn. 174) and in 1773, after
the mother's death, they, with William Wright and
Charles Scrase, executors, conveyed the manor to Sir
Henry Harpur. (fn. 175) It passed soon after to Robert
Hudson, who held in 1808, (fn. 176) his son and his son's
widow holding after his death; Mrs. Hudson was
lady of the manor in 1841, (fn. 177) and seems to have held
until after 1860. Before the end of the 19th century
Sir Charles Russell, afterwards Lord Russell of Killowen,
bought the manor, which is now in the possession
of his widow, Lady Russell of Killowen. The house
which Leonard Wessel built is now owned by
Mr. C. D. Morton.
RECTORY MANOR, alias SOUTHMERFIELD, alias CANONS.
The Prior and canons of St. Mary
Overy were possessed, as early
as the 12th century, of a considerable amount of land in
Southmerfield in Banstead. In
1194 Mabel de Mowbray,
after the death of Nigel, claimed against the prior two caru-cates of land in Southmerfield,
as well as the advowson of
the church, as having been
given her by her father as her
marriage portion. (fn. 178) The prior
said that no lord had previously
intermeddled with the church
there, but she was finally allowed to hold three parts of the land for life; the
rest she quitclaimed to the prior. (fn. 179) In the first year
of King John's reign Sewel son of Robert of Southmerfield quitclaimed to the prior and his successors
two virgates in Southmerfield, with the house belonging, which he had previously demised to the
prior for a term of four years. (fn. 180)
Priory of St. Mary Overy. Argent a cross indented gules with a lozenge gules in the quarter.
In 1269 (fn. 181) John de Burgh, then lord of Banstead,
released the prior and his successors from the customary
rent, services, and suit at court by which the priory
lands in Banstead Manor were held. A rental of the
priory in the reign of Edward I shows that its lands
in Banstead amounted to nearly two hundred acres. (fn. 182)
Of these, 17 acres were held of the gift of John de
Burgh, 16 of the fee of John de Bures for the rent of
2s. and a rose, and 7 acres of the fee of Robert
Walton for the rent of 12d. (fn. 183) The land belonging to
the Waltons lay in Southmerfield. (fn. 184) In 1317–18
Juliana widow of Robert de Walton received licence
to have divine service celebrated at a portable altar in
her houses of Holeghe (in Coulsdon) and Southmerfield. (fn. 185)
In 1524 the rectory, with
the house in Southmerfield,
was demised to William Coltson and Richard Moys and
Elizabeth, together with the
priory's manor of North Tadworth. (fn. 186) In 1549, after the
surrender of the priory, these
lands were granted to Robert
son and heir of Richard Moys
and Thomas Walsingham, the
latter releasing his share soon
after. (fn. 187) The deed of 1549 refers to the lands as the manors
of North Tadworth and Southmerfield and the rectory
and church of Banstead. They passed successively to
Philip, John, and Henry Moys, and finally to the
five sisters and co-heirs of Henry. (fn. 188) In 1661 the descendants of four of these sisters conveyed four-fifths
of the rectory to Francis Beard. (fn. 189) According to
Manning this portion passed from Beard in 1663 to
Frances Moys widow of John Moys, and she, out of
her share of the impropriation, endowed the vicarage
with an annuity of £20. (fn. 190) By 1702 Henry Read
held four-fifths of the rectory, (fn. 191) and he still held in
1724. (fn. 192) In 1726 he and Lydia his wife, with Christopher Buckle, levied a fine of four-fifths of the manor
of Southmerfield and of the rectory and advowson. (fn. 193) This was probably part of a conveyance of the
rectory from the Reads to Buckle, as he afterwards
held both this and the advowson (q.v.). The remaining fifths of the rectory and advowson, the portion of
Henry Moys's sister Katherine Lambert, passed to her
daughter and heir Joyce, (fn. 194) who, with her husband,
John Bushell, conveyed in 1663 to trustees of Richard
Parr and Elizabeth his wife, widow of Henry Moys. (fn. 195)
Parr and his trustees sold in 1668 to Robert Wayth. (fn. 196)
In 1732 Edward Fulham, son and heir of Anne
daughter and eventually heir of Robert Wayth, sold
his fifth to Christopher Buckle. (fn. 197) After this time
the entire rectory descended with the advowson, and
the Earl of Egmont is the present impropriator of the
great tithes with the exception of those in South
Tadworth, which apparently passed out of the hands
of the owner of the rectory in 1551. (fn. 198)
Moys of Canons. Ermine a pale between two roses gules with a Calvary cross or on the pale.
The house in Southmerfield, acquired in 1199–1200
by the prior and convent, (fn. 199) evidently became the site
of the rectory manor, as in 1203 record is found of
the prior's house in Southmerfield, where his bailiff
collected or paid rent. (fn. 200) After the Dissolution, this
house, called the capital messuage of the rectory, was
known by the name of Canons or Southmerfield. (fn. 201)
It descended with the rectory. Land called Canon's
Hatch belonging to the priory is mentioned in the late
13th century. (fn. 202) A farm, Canhatch, was afterwards
held by the Moys family with the church lands. (fn. 203)
GARRATTS HALL
GARRATTS HALL
(fn. 203a) (Gerardes, Garades) represents a tenement held of the manor of Banstead,
apparently according to the custom of borough English. It preserves the name of a family settled in
Banstead in the 15th century. Their estate passed to
the Calcokes of Chipstead, and descended from Richard
Calcoke to his youngest son Alan, who joined with
his mother in conveying it to Jeffery Lambert of
Woodmansterne in 1534. From this latter it passed
to the youngest son of his nineteen children, Samuel,
and after Samuel's death it descended to his son John,
born in 1638, who left one daughter, Elizabeth, the
wife of Sir Robert Wilmot, Lord Mayor of London.
John Lambert rebuilt the mansion-house and conveyed the property to his nephew Thomas, a
merchant of London, son of his elder brother Samuel.
Thomas Lambert died in 1704, and his son, John
Lambert, sold Garratts to his cousin, John Ludlow,
whose son Lambert Ludlow died without issue,
leaving three sisters and co-heirs. These ladies conveyed to Isaac Hughes of London, merchant, who
married a Buckle of Burgh, and left a son John.
The estate passed shortly afterwards to the Ladbrokes,
and then to the Clowes, from whom it was bought
back by Thomas Lambert of Banstead (see Perrotts)
about 1850. He gave the property to his brother,
John Lambert, an active magistrate and great bene-factor to the parish, who left one son, Wilmot Lambert, after whose death his trustees sold it to the late
Mr. F. Lambert. His son, Colonel F. A. H. Lambert,
is the present owner. The house has a handsome
Queen Anne staircase and some Jacobean panelling. In
the chapel is a 15th-century triptych, an ancient
crucifix, and some pictures. The house is occupied
by Mrs. Davies, and used for a girls' school.
BANSTEAD PLACE
BANSTEAD PLACE (formerly Carpenters) was
an estate of the Wilmots early in the 17th century.
It passed through an heiress to Elizabeth wife of
Gabriel Bestman, and afterwards to her niece, Hannah
Wilmot, who married Sir Samuel Prime, a well-known lawyer in the reign of George III. The
property passed later to the Westons, and then to
John Motteux, of Beachamwell and Sandringham,
co. Norfolk, whose trustees sold it to W. S. H. Fitz
Roy, from whom it was acquired by John Lambert of
Garratts Hall. Is is now the property of the Hon.
Mr. Justice Neville.
The WELL HOUSE was a farm which came into
the possession of the Lambert family through the
marriage of Mary, daughter and co-heir of John
Wilmot, with Sir Daniel Lambert. The latter built
the present dining and drawing-room, leaving the old
house, an early 16th-century building, practically intact. It is now the residence of the Hon. Mrs. Arthur.
NEWLANDS
NEWLANDS belonged in the 17th century to the
family of Harris, who were connected with Winchester. Richard Harris, M.D., of Newlands, married a
sister of Sir Edward Bysshe, of Smallfield Place, in
Burstow, and left a son, Thomas Harris, a secondary
of the Court of Exchequer, who married Anne, sister
of Sir Timothy Thornhill, bart., and widow of John
Wilmot. He died in 1727, and his son John twenty
years later. The property subsequently came into
the possession of the Aubertins, a Huguenot family,
one of whom, the Rev. Peter Aubertin, rector of
Chipstead, married a daughter of Mr. Lambert of
Banstead. His son, Peter Aubertin, also rector of
Chipstead, sold Newlands to Mr. Nisbet Robertson,
whose widow is the present owner.
Plan of Banstead Church
CHURCHES
ALL SAINTS' church is a fine building consisting of a chancel 33 ft. 7 in.
by 13 ft. 4 in. with a north chapel 21 ft.
6 in. by 13 ft. and a south chapel 21 ft. by 13 ft. 2in.,
a nave 37 ft. 10 in. by 16 ft. 8 in. with a north aisle
10 ft. 9 in. wide and a south aisle 11 ft. 2 in. wide, a
west tower 14 ft. 4 in. by 14 ft., and to the north of it
a vestry. The north and south entrances have porches.
The church has been over-restored, but is still of
very great interest, the nave and chancel arcades
being of a very uncommon type. The nave, as usual,
probably retains the plan of a building considerably
earlier than any detail now existing, the great height
and comparative thinness of its walls suggesting a
possible pre-Conquest origin. The arches of the nave
arcades and the west arch of the north chapel show
distinctive late 12th-century tooling, and are the
oldest features to which a date can now be given, and
the church must have been brought to its present
plan, except as regards the aisles and north-west
vestry, somewhere between the years 1190 and 1220.
The north aisle seems to have been widened in the
15th century, the south aisle has been rebuilt in
modern times, and the vestry is also modern. The
south chapel was rebuilt in 1837, and brought to its
present form in 1868, and both porches are modern.
Cracklow mentions that the chancel was repaired in
1631, and the church beautified by subscription in
1716, and again repaired at a later date.
An old cork model of the church in the vestry
shows a 13th-century lancet and a 15th-century
three-light window in the north wall of the north
chapel, and the east
and south chancel windows as of 15th-century date with three
cinquefoiled lights.
At present there
are three modern lancets in the east wall
of the chancel, two in
the north wall, partly
old, and shown in
Cracklow's drawing,
and two entirely modern in the south wall.
The arcade between
the chancel and north
chapel is of two bays
with a very interesting and unusual octagonal central column,
the faces of which are
sunk and hollowed alternately, leaving fillets
about an inch wide
on either side of
each angle. The base is roll-moulded and is now
below the floor line, and the bell capital is also
moulded and has scrolls of 13th-century foliage at the
four cardinal angles curving outwards from the bell
of the capital. The responds are quite plain and
have simple moulded abaci, and the arches are two-centred of one order with slightly chamfered edges,
and with plain labels on both sides.
The opposite arcade is similar, but the faces of the
central column are not recessed; it has a watermoulded base and an octagonal moulded capital without foliage, and the arches have no labels. Just above
the capital on the chancel side can be traced one of
the consecration crosses.
The chancel arch has jambs of two chamfered
orders which continue round the arch with a moulded
abacus at the springing. It is of early 13th-century
date, and the wall in which it is set is square with
the chancel and not with the nave. The east window
of the north chapel is of 15th-century date, and has
three cinquefoiled lights under a four-centred head
with a moulded label. On either side of it are stones
bearing the outlines of image-brackets which have
been cut back to the wall face.
In the north wall are three lancet windows, the
eastern of which may be in part old, while the other
two replace a 15th-century three-light window. The
rear arches are chamfered, and that of the middle
window springs from small moulded corbels.
The arch from this chapel into the north aisle has
plain square jambs and a pointed arch; the stone is
darker than that used in the rest of the building, and
the 12th-century diagonal tooling on it is very distinct.
The south chapel dates only from the rebuilding of
1837, and its windows from 1868; the opening from
it to the south aisle has a modern pointed arch on
old jambs, attached to each of which is a small
modern shaft and moulded base with good foliate
capitals of 13th-century date.
The nave arcades are of two bays with narrow
arched openings in the east responds. It is to be
noted that the setting out of the arcade follows the
line of the east wall of the nave, which is not square
with the side walls, so that the arches are not opposite
to one another. The arches and inner order of the
jambs of the narrow eastern openings are modern, but
the openings themselves seem to be old, and may have
been made to give more room for nave altars, like the
recesses which are often found in the walls of aisleless
naves in this position.
The arcades are finely proportioned with tall octagonal columns and water-moulded bases or square subbases with angle spurs. The capitals are square with
moulded abaci, beneath the projecting angles of which
are volutes springing from the necking, of very plain
detail, only one being carved into leaves.
The responds are plain and have moulded abaci at
the springing, while the arches are of a single square
order and are two-centred, the diagonal tooling of the
masonry being well preserved. The two north windows of the north aisle are modern, the first having
three lights and the second two, all with trefoiled
heads, while the west window, now looking into the
vestry, is 15th-century work of two lights. The
north doorway is also of 15th-century date, and has a
large hollow chamfer in the jambs which changes to a
double ogee moulding in the four-centred arch.
The porch is modern, built of timber on low flint
and stone walls.
From the west end of the aisle a plain modern
doorway leads to the vestry, which is lighted by a
three-light window of the same design as those in the
north wall of the adjacent aisle. The south aisle and
porch are entirely modern.
Banstead Church Capital of Nave Arcade.
The tower arch is two-centred, of three chamfered
orders continued from the jambs with splayed bases
and moulded abaci, all of early 13th-century date;
and above it is a blocked doorway which opened from
the first floor of the tower. All the walls of the
tower are extraordinarily thick, being doubtless intended to be carried up to a greater height than they
now are. The west wall measures 6 ft. 5 in., and in
it is a modern two-light window.
The tower is of two stages, and has a low-pitched
roof from which rises a small octagonal spire, covered
with oak shingles. In the upper stage are lancets on
the north, west, and south aisles, old within, but with
their outer stonework renewed, and on the east side
is a modern window of two trefoiled lights under a
square head.
The roofs are tiled, the timbers of the chancel,
north chapel, and nave being old, and the former
having a deep moulded cornice, while the south
chapel has a modern panelled ceiling, and the aisles
modern lean-to roofs.
All the internal fittings are modern except the font,
which has a 14th-century octagonal bowl on modern
round stem and base. The top and bottom of the
bowl are moulded, and each of the sides has a panel
filled with tracery of a different pattern. The effect
is not very successful, but a fair number of similar
fonts exist up and down the country—Chipstead is a
neighbouring example.
In the lower part of the east window of the north
thapel are some remains of 17th-century glass, one
piece bearing the date 1619. It came from Great
Burgh, and has some modern heraldic glass set with it.
There are many monuments in the church, of
which the following are the oldest or most noteworthy.
In the vestry a quaint little marble wall-tablet to
Paul Tracy, 1618, son of Paul and Margaret Tracy
and grandson of Sir Paul Tracy of Stanway, Gloucestershire. At the foot is his figure in low relief in a
chrism robe. Another, a black marble tablet in an alabaster frame, is to Robert Smyth, fourth son of Richard
Smyth of Backton, Suffolk, 1603; and in the north
aisle is a wooden panel to Ruth (Lambert) wife of
George Brett, citizen and goldsmith of London, 1647,
with a set of twelve couplets of somewhat extravagant
eulogy, and a shield with the arms—Argent a cheveron
azure with three bezants thereon, impaling Gules
three sexfoils (narcissi) argent.
In the south chapel are several monuments of the
Lambert family, including one to Mrs. Judith Lambert, daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth Lambert, 1725;
and one on the south wall of the aisle to Sir Daniel
Lambert, Lord Mayor of London 1741, died 1750.
There are eight bells hung on a modern iron
frame: the treble and second by Warner 1892, the
third by Bryan Eldridge 1638, the fourth by William
Carter 1613, the fifth by Thomas Mears 1791, the
sixth by Lester & Pack 1756, the seventh by Robert
Mot 1585, and the tenor by William Eldridge 1651.
The communion plate is a silver-gilt set of 1788
given by Richard Ladbroke in 1789, and comprising a
cup, paten, almsdish, and a large helmet-shaped flagon.
The first book of the registers contains baptisms,
marriages, and burials from 1547 to 1618, the second
baptisms from 1616 to 1783, and burials from 1663
to 1783, third baptisms and burials 1663 to 1712,
and marriages 1663 to 1711, fourth marriages 1754
to 1772, fifth marriages 1773 to 1811, sixth baptisms
1784 to 1812, seventh burials 1789 to 1812, and
eighth marriages 1811 to 1837.
The church of ST. MARY at BURGH HEATH,
successor of the ancient church, was begun in April
1908 and opened in 1909. It is built of flint and
stone, and has a chancel, nave, two aisles, vestry, &c.
ADVOWSONS
There was a church in existence
at Banstead in 1086. (fn. 204) Tirel del
Maniers granted the advowson to the
Prior and convent of St. Mary Overy during the
reign of Henry I, (fn. 205) and this grant was afterwards
confirmed by Nigel de Mowbray, lord of Banstead. (fn. 206)
After his death his widow Mabel seems to have
claimed the advowson against the prior, (fn. 207) but without
success (see under Banstead Manor), and the prior
continued to hold it. (fn. 208) A vicarage was ordained
before the end of the 13th century. (fn. 209) In 1549, after
the Dissolution, the advowson was granted, with the
rectory (q.v.), to Robert Moys, (fn. 210) whose descendants
held until 1661, when four co-heirs (fn. 211) conveyed four-fifths of the advowson to Francis Beard. (fn. 212) Frances
Moys presented to the church in 1663, (fn. 213) and, according to Manning, she had acquired the four-fifths held
by Beard and conveyed them soon after to her
brother Christopher Buckle. (fn. 214) His grandson presented to the church in 1714, (fn. 215) and held four-fifths of
the advowson in 1726, (fn. 216) obtaining the remaining fifth
both of rectory and advowson in 1732. (fn. 217) The rectory
and advowson remained in possession of the Buckles (fn. 218)
until 1855–6, when they passed to the Earl of Egmont, the present earl being patron of the vicarage.
Nigel de Mowbray, at the close of the 12th century, granted the advowson of the church of Burgh to
the priory of St. Mary Overy, (fn. 219) presentation being
made to the church by the prior and convent during
the 14th and 15th centuries. (fn. 220) After the Dissolution
it became the property of the lords of the manor of
Burgh, being held by the Merlands and afterwards
by the Buckles, (fn. 221) but no incumbents were instituted
after the 15th century.
A chapel dedicated to St. Leonard was attached to
the manor of Preston in the 15th century. (fn. 222) The
advowson was held with the manor, the last record of
it being, apparently, in the conveyance from the
Merlands to Christopher Buckle. (fn. 223)
CHARITIES
These are recorded in the church
as follows:—
1693. Mr. Samuel Wilmot left £50 for 5 poor men and 5 poor widows.
1699. Mr. Robert Wilmot gave £35.
1725. Mrs. Judith Lambert left £10 for 10 poor housekeepers, at the town end of the parish.
1741. Simon Wilmot, merchant, left £100 forthe poor.
1750. Sir Daniel Lambert left £100 for 16 poor people not receiving parish relief.
1770. Dame Mary Lambert, his widow, left £50 for the same purpose.
1785. Mr. Edward Lambert left £100 for the same purpose.
1793. Mr. J. Motteux left £100 for bread on the first Sunday in February.
1805. Mrs. Lucy Burr gave £5 a year for the poor on the first Monday in Advent.
1814. Mr. John Hewitt, £100.
1815. Mr. Wilmot Lambert, £50.
1818. Mr. Richard Pairy, £100.
1822. Rev. J. E. Francis (vicar), £100.
1823. Mrs. Katherine Motteux, £150 for bread on the first Sunday in December.
1824. Mrs. Lucy Motteux, £150 for bread on the second Sunday in the year.
1829. Mrs. Martha Jones, late wife of Mr. W. Lambert, £100.
1833. Mr. Thomas Lambert, £100.
In 1725 £30 a year from a Mr. Lambert was
returned to Bishop Willis, but is not in this table.
Smith's Charity is distributed as in other Surrey
parishes.