FETCHAM
Feecham (xi cent.); Fecham (xiii cent.); Feecham
(xiv cent.); Fetcham, 1499.
Fetcham is a small parish and village, the latter a
mile from Letherhead. It measures nearly 4 miles
from north to south, and under 2 miles from east to
west, tapering to the south, and includes 1,817 acres
of land and 22 of water. Roreing House Farm, a
small detached portion of Great Bookham, was transferred to Fetcham under the Act of 1882. The
Mole forms part of the eastern and northern boundary.
The village lies on the Woolwich Beds at the foot of
the chalk, but the greater part of the parish to the
south is upon the chalk hills, and the northern part
and eastern fringe are upon the London Clay and the
alluvium of the Mole. It is a purely agricultural
parish. The mill, close to Letherhead, is worked by
the overflow of a pond formed by several strong
springs rising in it, which runs into the Mole in the
course of a few yards. The springs do not seem to
be connected with the swallows in the bed of the
Mole, as they are unaffected by the rising or falling
of the river. Fetcham Downs were a large tract of
open chalk down, of which much has been inclosed,
cultivated, or planted. The road from Letherhead
to Guildford passes through the parish, and also the
South-Western Railway from Effingham Junction to
Letherhead. The London, Brighton, and South
Coast Railway line to Dorking also just touches the
parish.
Fetcham is rich in prehistoric antiquities. Anglo-Saxon burial has already been noticed (fn. 1) at Hawkshill in Fetcham. Since the publication of the earlier
volume, however, additional remains have come to
light. The earliest record is the finding of some twenty
skeletons in 1758 when the road from Letherhead to
Guildford was being first made as a really passable
driving road. A small pike-head and some blades of
knives were found with them. The remains were
probably Anglo-Saxon. Other skeletons were found
on the inclosing of the Common Fields in 1803. (fn. 2)
Subsequent discoveries have been made which confirm these, but also show more ancient remains at
and about Hawkshill. In the year 1900 two hut
circles were excavated on the lawn of Hawkshill
House, under the supervision of Mr. Reginald Smith
of the British Museum. The discoveries included
bones of animals, fragments of hand-made pottery,
burnt grains of wheat, oats, and barley, and loom
weights of burnt clay. The pottery corresponded to
fragments found elsewhere of the late Celtic period.
Other pits seem to exist, and a larger ring was
excavated in the meadow, but the ground had been
ploughed formerly, and though traces of fire and a
bone were found, the remains here had been scattered.
When the house was built twenty years earlier some
remains were found, but not properly observed or recorded. (fn. 3) On the downs in the neighbourhood are
some deep holes which seem to be collapsed dene-holes,
as on Ranmore Common, but though in the neighbourhood they are outside Fetcham parish. There used to
be a barrow on Standard Hill near the Guildford road. (fn. 4)
These late Celtic remains, of a period rather before
the Roman Conquest, are distinct from the Anglo-Saxon burials, which indicate a considerable settlement
in the neighbourhood. In these a bronze wheel-shaped ornament, an inlaid glass bead, a coin of Constantine, several small iron knives, and a small handmade black vase were found. Many skeletons were
unearthed when the house was built, others have since
been discovered, and in laying down pipes by the
road six more were found in 1906. The bodies lay
with heads to west-by-south and south-west, and
Mr. Smith attributes the burials to the 5th or 6th
century. (fn. 5)
The neighbourhood was probably continuously
occupied, for subsequent in date to the Celtic huts
there are Roman bricks in considerable quantities in
Fetcham Church, remains of Anglo-Saxon architecture
in the church, and a road coming from the north and
crossing the Mole by a ford, which passes close by the
small rectangular camp or inclosure near Pachevesham
Farm in Letherhead, close by which Roman coins
and bricks have been found. It may be noticed, however, that Deadwoman's Lane, near Hawkshill, was
named from a recent suicide, and that the skeleton
found in a coffin farther along the road towards
Bookham is recent, probably that of a criminal or
suicide. Gallows Bush Shot was the name of a field
abutting on the Guildford road. (fn. 6)
There were large common fields at Fetcham inclosed in 1801. (fn. 7) There were then found to be 316
acres of common arable, 26 of common meadow, and
330 waste. All was inclosed except part of the waste.
(The award seems to be wrongly dated in Sir John
Brunner's Return as in 1813. It was carried out in
1803.)
Fetcham Park, adjoining the church, is the seat of
Mr. J. B. Hankey, J.P., lord of the manor; Ballands
Hall of Lieut.-Col. Sir F. S. Graham Moon, bart.,
son of the late rector, the Rev. Sir Edward Graham
Moon; and Hawkshill of Sir E. E. Blake, K.C.M.G.
Fetcham School was founded as a Church school in
1854, and passed under a School Board in 1883.
The building was enlarged in 1886. There is also
a reading-room in the village.
MANORS
FETCHAM is mentioned in the
Domesday Survey, when it was held as
three manors by the king, Odo of Bayeux,
and Oswold the Thegn. (fn. 8) The manor which the
king held in 1086 had been the property of Edith
widow of Edward the Confessor, (fn. 9) and in 1088–9
was bestowed upon William de Warenne with the
rest of her late possessions. (fn. 10) In the 13th century a
knight's fee in Fetcham is found to be held of the
honour of Warenne. (fn. 11) The holding was in the
hands of John d'Abernon, a minor in ward of John
de Gatesden, and the bishop's fee in Fetcham was in
the same hands (see below). The two were considered as one manor, and parts were said to be held
of different lords. In the 15th century a fourth
part of the manor was held of the Earls of Warenne
and Surrey, and through Elizabeth, sister and co-heir
of Thomas Earl of Surrey, (fn. 12) the lordship passed to
the Dukes of Norfolk. In 1476 John Duke of Norfolk died seised of this fee, (fn. 13) and in 1553 this part of
the manor is said to be held of Thomas Duke of Norfolk, Edward Earl of Derby, and Henry Nevill first
Lord Abergavenny (fn. 14) (to whom the Norfolk estates
had come by partition) as of their manor of Reigate.
The second manor had been held by Biga of
Edward the Confessor, and in 1086 was in the hands
of Odo of Bayeux, the Conqueror's half-brother, of
whom it was held by Richard de Tonbridge, lord of
Clare, and ancestor of the Earls of Gloucester. (fn. 15) In
the 13th century a fee in Fetcham is said to be held
of the honour of Clare by John d'Abernon, (fn. 16) and in
1314 the manor is included among the fees held of
the same honour. (fn. 17) In the
15th century three parts of
the manor are said to be held
of the honour of Clare, (fn. 18) as
a part of which it apparently
became merged in the Crown
on the accession of Edward
IV.
D'Abernon. Azure a cheveron or.
At an early period the two
manors appear to have been included in the estates of the
d'Abernon family, and the
bishop's manor was one of the
four knights' fees in Surrey held by the Earl of Gloucester of which Ingelram d'Abernon died seised in
1234, (fn. 19) and which passed to Gilbert d'Abernon, uncle of
Ingelram, by reason of Jordan d'Abernon, the rightful
heir, having surrendered his claim. (fn. 20) Gilbert paid a
relief of 40 marks to the sheriff in 1235 on taking up
this inheritance, and on his death, in the next year,
the custody of his land and of his heir was granted to
John de Gatesden, then sheriff of Surrey and Sussex. (fn. 21)
The heir of Gilbert was probably the John d'Abernon
who in 1252 granted to William d'Abernon a tenement in Fetcham, (fn. 22) and who claimed liberties in the
manor in 1252–3. (fn. 23) He was sheriff of Surrey and
Sussex in 1266, (fn. 24) and was apparently dead in 1279,
when his son John was made a knight. (fn. 25) The elder
John had also been a knight. (fn. 26) The son John claimed
the same rights as his father in 1279. (fn. 27) In 1314
John d'Abernon the son was holding the manor, (fn. 28)
and in 1326–7 died seised of it as a holding consisting of half a messuage, 100 acres of land worth
25s. per annum, 8 acres of meadow, and 19s. from
rent of free tenants, leaving a son and heir of the
same name. (fn. 29) The latter was sheriff of Surrey and
Sussex in 1330 and 1334, (fn. 30) and in 1339 settled
Fetcham on his grandson William son of John and
Margery wife of William. (fn. 31)
William died in 1358, (fn. 32) leaving a daughter Elizabeth then wife of William Croyser, and afterwards of
John de Grey of Ruthyn. (fn. 33) In 1395 William son
of Elizabeth and William Croyser was holding the
manor, (fn. 34) of which he died seised jointly with his
wife Edith in 1415, leaving a daughter and heir
Anne, (fn. 35) then aged nine years, and before her thirteenth
year the wife of Ingram Bruyn, son of Sir Maurice
Bruyn. (fn. 36) Anne subsequently married Sir Henry
Norbury, and died in 1464, leaving a son and heir
Sir John Norbury, (fn. 37) afterwards Vice-Marshal to
Richard III, (fn. 38) who inherited these estates and married
Jane daughter of Sir Otes Gilbert. Their daughter
Anne married Richard Hallywell of Devon, and had
a daughter Joan, (fn. 39) who in 1514–15 was holding the
manor jointly with her husband Edmund Lord Bray.
In a bailiff's account of Lord Bray's manors of Fetcham
and Letherhead for this date the rents of assize for
the two manors amounted to £11 11s. 1½d.; the
farm of the manor and the demesne lands was £8 a
year. (fn. 40)
In 1548 Joan settled the manor upon herself and
her husband for their lives, with remainder to John
Bray their son and heir. (fn. 41) The latter married Ann
daughter of Francis fifth Earl of Shrewsbury, and was
summoned to Parliament as a baron from 1545 to
1555, but on his death without issue in 1557 his estates
were divided among his six sisters and co-heirs,
Fetcham falling to the share of Frances, the youngest,
who married Thomas Lyfield. (fn. 42) In 1575 a settlement was made on Thomas Vincent and Jane his wife,
daughter of Thomas and Frances, with remainder to
Francis Vincent and Bray Vincent, sons of Thomas
and Jane. Francis married Sara daughter of Sir
Amias Paulet in 1589, (fn. 43) and in 1617 settled this
manor on his son Anthony on the occasion of his
marriage with Elizabeth daughter of Sir Arthur
Ackland. (fn. 44) Anthony was sheriff of Surrey and
Sussex in 1636–7. (fn. 45) He was named as a sequestrator
of delinquent estates by the Long Parliament, but
died in 1642, and was succeeded by his son Sir
Francis. He married Catherine daughter of George
Pitt and died in 1670, (fn. 46) having settled this manor
on his fourth son Thomas Vincent, (fn. 47) who in 1693,
jointly with his wife Mary, conveyed it to Thomas
Folkes, (fn. 48) the latter probably acting in the interest
of Francis, fifth Baron Howard of Effingham, for
whose widow he was executor in 1727. (fn. 49)
Thomas, Lord Howard, son
of the said Francis, suffered a
recovery of the manor in
1721, (fn. 50) and died without issue
four years later. His nephew,
Thomas Howard, Earl of Effingham, was seised of it in
1742. (fn. 51) In 1801 Richard,
nephew of Thomas and last
Earl of Effingham, (fn. 52) conveyed
the manor to James Laurell, (fn. 53)
who made his seat at Eastwick
Park in Great Bookham, and
subsequently sold this property
to the family of Hankey of Fetcham Park, (fn. 54) whose
descendant, Mr. John Barnard Hankey, is lord of the
manor at the present day.
Hankey. Party gules and azure a leaping wolf erminois wounded in the shoulder.
In 1252–3 John d'Abernon received a grant of
free warren in his demesne lands of Fetcham, (fn. 55) and
the privilege is mentioned as appurtenant to the manor
in a conveyance of 1607. (fn. 56) In 1279 John d'Abernon
claimed in addition to have view of frankpledge and
all things pertaining thereto from time immemorial. (fn. 57)
In 1303 Henry de Gildford had a grant of free
warren in his demesne lands in Fetcham, (fn. 58) but there
is no other trace of his connexion with Fetcham, except that in 1284–5 he was appointed custodian of
Robert d'Abernon, rector of Fetcham, who was under
age at the time of his admission to the rectory. (fn. 59)
At the time of the Domesday Survey the king's
manor included 4 mills worth 4s., and Richard de
Tonbridge received 6s. 6d. from another mill, (fn. 60) which
passed with Richard's share of the manor to the
d'Abernons, and is probably referred to in the grant
by Adam le Jeune to Sir John d'Abernon in 1293 of
'my half of the mill which is called cutte, with half
of the pond and of the ditches pertaining thereto.' (fn. 61)
In the bailiff's account of Sir Edmund Bray's
manor of Fetcham and Letherhead for 1514–15,
the water-mill called cutt-mill is said to be let out
for £5, and is probably the same as that conveyed by
Arthur Moore to Jabez Cellier (fn. 62) in 1717. The
flour-mill which exists at the present day near Letherhead Bridge, and which is worked by the overflow
from a spring-pond, probably stands upon the ancient
site.
On the bishop's manor in Domesday were also the
sixth part of a mill and the third part of another mill.
These were probably fractions of the dues from the
Pachevesham mills (fn. 63) in the Mole between the manors.
The manor of CANNON COURT probably represents that portion of Fetcham which had been
held of Edward the Confessor by Oswold, brother of
Wulfwold, Abbot of Chertsey, and was retained by
him in chief after the Conquest. (fn. 64) By the 12th
century, however, it appears to have been acquired
by Merton Priory, which had possessions in Fetcham
as early as 1167, when William, Prior of Merton,
made a grant of certain tenements in Fetcham to
one Guarnerius, (fn. 65) and in 1178 Robert, Prior of
Merton, conceded to Alexander, a clerk of Fetcham,
certain lands in the manor, amounting to a quarter
of a virgate, which Gilbert le Blond had given him
in fee and inheritance at a quit-rent of 12d. a year. (fn. 66)
In 1291 the possessions of the prior at Fetcham and
Letherhead were taxed at £3, (fn. 67) and in 1301 the
tenants of Fetcham contributed 6s. 8d. towards the
loan of £50 from the prior to Edward I. (fn. 68) In the
reign of Henry VIII the manor was let out at farm
for the sum of £13 6s. 8d. by the prior, who had in
addition 6s. 5d. for perquisites from the court. (fn. 69) The
priory was dissolved in 1538, (fn. 70) and in 1541 the
manor was granted in tail male to Uriah Brereton
(who already held the manor of Fetcham in right of
his wife Joan late wife of Sir Edmund Bray), to be
held of the king for a tenth part of a knight's fee
and a yearly rent of £6 1s. 10d. (fn. 71) It appears to
have formed part of the marriage portion of Jane,
granddaughter of Joan, who married Thomas Vincent, (fn. 72) and from this date it continued with the lords
of Fetcham. In 1700 'Cannon Farme' is included
in the estates of Thomas Vincent. (fn. 73) This property
appears to have been leased out at various times.
In 1560 John Edsawe complained that his father
of the same name had occupied the site and demesne
lands of the manor of Fetcham called Cannon Court
by lease from the Prior and convent of Merton for a
term of twenty-one years to commence in the year
1543, but that he, the plaintiff, had been forcibly dispossessed by his stepmother and her sons. Whereupon
an award was made that John should for the remainder
of his term occupy certain parcels of land, including
two closes, of which one called 'Cokkes Close,' containing 6 acres, probably represents the wood now
known as Cocklane Shaw, while the other, called
'Bykney,' also containing 6 acres, is frequently mentioned in connexion with this manor. (fn. 74) (See below.)
It was probably this manor which Francis Crosse,
of Stoke D'Abernon, who must have been a lessee,
granted in 1582 under the name of 'the manner place,
fermehouse and lands of Fetcham' to John Dewe of
Fetcham, who assigned his interest by lease to Robert
Gavell of Cobham. (fn. 75)
The prior had a grant of free warren in his
demesne lands of Fetcham in 1252, (fn. 76) and the privilege is mentioned as appurtenant to the manor in
1590 and in 1607. (fn. 77)
At the time of the Domesday Survey, Oswold
received 6s. 6d. from a mill, (fn. 78) which passed with his
manor to Merton Priory, and in 1167 William, Prior
of Merton, granted his part in the mill at Fetcham,
with a certain acre of land, to one Guarnerius, the
latter rendering 5s. yearly and grinding all the
corn required for the use of the priory free of
charge. (fn. 79)
In the accounts of the prior's manor for 1537–8
certain lands called Bykney Magna are stated to be
farmed for £1 6s. 8d., (fn. 80) and in the grant of the
manor in 1541, following the dissolution of the
priory, a reservation was made of the lands and
meadows called 'Moche Bykney,' parcel of the manor,
and then or lately in the tenure of Christopher
Parker. (fn. 81) In 1544 Sir Anthony Browne, son of
Sir Wistan Browne of Abbess Roding and Langenhoe
in Essex, received a grant of the tenement of Great
Bickney in Fetcham to be held of the Crown in
chief by socage at an annual rent of 2s. 8d., being
valued at £1 6s. 8d. per annum. (fn. 82) Later documents
refer to it as a manor. In 1714 Dr. Hugh Shortrudge suffered a recovery of the 'manors of Slyfield
and Bigney,' (fn. 83) and by a deed of trust dated 1715
between Dr. Shortrudge and Sir Francis Vincent the
manor of Great Bickney was included among certain
estates vested for charitable purposes. (fn. 84) The tenement
of Great Bickney was afterwards held by the Howards,
together with the manor of Fetcham, with which it
was sold to James Laurell in 1801, (fn. 85) and passed with
Fetcham to the Hankey family.
The mansion known as FETCHAM PARK is
said to have been built by one of the Vincent family,
by whom it was sold to Arthur Moore the famous
economist and politician, who in 1718 enlarged the
property and planted the park; but his profuse expenditure more than exceeded his means, and he died
in 1730 'broken in all respects but in his parts and
spirit.' (fn. 86) The property was put up for sale by his son
William Moore, under the description of 'The
mansion house and offices of the late Arthur Moore,
Esq., decd., being a beautifull building from the
design of the late Mr. Tollmen, consisting of many
rooms on a floor, a large hall and staircase, painted
by the late famous Laguerre, with a saloon and
gallery, and several other rooms finely painted by the
same hand, particularly one wainscoted with japan,
with Tartarian tapestry silk. Together with the
gardens and park, containing by estimation about
100 acres, the whole being finely adorned with
canalls, basins, statues, vases, iron gates, pallisades,
etc., and laid out in the most elegant manner; with
three ponds, containing the space of six acres, in
which are several clear and deep springs, which by
large engines serve the canalls, basins, reservoirs, etc.,
and furnish the house with water convey'd in strong
leaden pipes.' (fn. 87) It was purchased by Thomas Revell,
agent victualler at Gibraltar and member for Dover
in 1734, 1741, and 1747, (fn. 88) and on his death in
1752 his immense wealth was inherited by his only
daughter Jane, who married George Warren, of
Poynton, co. Chester, afterwards created K.B. (fn. 89) Their
daughter and heir, Elizabeth Harriet, in 1777
married Viscount Bulkeley, (fn. 90) but in 1788 joined with
her father in the sale of this estate to John Richardson. (fn. 91) Shortly after it was sold to Thomas Hankey,
a London banker, whose great-grandson, Mr. John
Barnard Hankey, holds it at the present day.
Plan of Fetcham Church
CHURCH
The church of ST. MARY consists
of a chancel 26 ft. by 13 ft. 6 in. at
the east, and 13 ft. 10 in. at the west,
at which point it is flanked on the north by a
transept 17 ft. 4 in. by 16 ft. 10 in., and on the
south by a tower 12 ft. 10 in. by 10 ft. 2 in.; a
nave 33 ft. 7 in. by 20 ft., and north and south aisles
10 ft. 2 in. wide. There is also a north-east vestry
and a north porch. All the measurements are internal.
The west wall and the upper part of the south
and probably of the east wall of an early nave still
remain, and belong perhaps to the beginning of the
11th century, the walls being of plastered flint-work,
with quoins and dressings of thin red bricks, no doubt
Roman, set in wide mortar joints.
About 1150–60 a south aisle was added to the
nave, and towards the end of the same century the
tower was built. The present chancel dates from
the early years of the 13th century; and the transept seems contemporary with it. The north arcade
of the nave is work of c. 1300, of unusual character,
but it seems probable that a north aisle was built
before that date, perhaps when the transept was
added. The tower has been much altered and
rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries, and the
south aisle became ruinous and was pulled down,
not being rebuilt till 1872. The vestry and porch
are modern, and a good deal of renewal of stonework
has been carried out in modern times.
The east window of the chancel is of 15th-century
date, with three pointed cinquefoiled lights under a
two-centred arch, probably replacing an original
triplet of lancets, but the two north windows of the
13th-century work remain, tall narrow lancets with
an external rebate. Under the north-east window is
a modern doorway to the vestry, and to the east of it an
original locker with rebated
jambs and flat head, arranged
for two doors, modern successors of which are now fitted
to it.
There is only one window
on the south of the chancel,
and this is modern with three
wide cinquefoiled ogee lights
under a square head; below
it are three sedilia in modern
stonework of 13th-century
design, with detached shafts
having moulded capitals and
bases and carrying two-centred
arches.
Near the east end of the
south wall is a piscina probably
of 15th-century date with a
shallow rectangular basin. The
flat head and part of the jambs
are quite plain, but below a wooden shelf which has
been inserted the jambs have been chamfered.
The north transept opens to the chancel by a
two-centred arch of two continuous chamfered orders with a chamfered abacus at the springing, and is
lighted on the north by a pretty window of two
trefoiled lights with a quatrefoil over, c. 1320. In
the east wall are two lancet windows like those in
the north wall of the chancel, and between them a
wide arched recess with chamfered jambs and dog-tooth ornament on the angles, marking the position
of the altar formerly here.
In the north wall, east of the window, is an
aumbry with rebated jambs and a wooden lintel, which
was originally taller than at present, and at the south-east of the transept is a piscina which has stop-chamfered
jambs and a triangular head with an old wooden shelf
at the springing. The basin is very shallow, square
at one end and semicircular at the other.
The arch opening to the aisle from the transept
is quite plain and has been modernized.
The tower is of three stages, the two upper being
largely of 18th-century date, with red brick quoins and
battlements, but the ground stage is of late 12th-century date, and opens to the aisle by a plain round-headed arch, the western face of which, formerly
exposed to the weather, has been restored, and to the
chancel by a pointed arch of three chamfered orders,
the outer order only being ancient.
At the south-west angle of the tower, and opening
from the chancel, is the lower entrance to the roodstair, the steps of which still exist, though the upper
doorway facing the nave is blocked up.
The ground stage of the tower has one window
in the east wall and two in the south, tall narrow
round-headed lights of plain character, belonging to
the original work; the space they light
is now blocked up by an organ.
The chancel arch has plain jambs
in modern stone and a two-centred
arch, which looks like 14th-century
work, of two splayed orders without
corbels or abaci at the springing. It
is evidently the successor of a narrower
and doubtless earlier arch, for on the
nave side its north jamb has destroyed
the larger part of a small 13th-century
arched recess springing at the north-east from a cone - shaped corbel set
across the angle. There was evidently
a second recess in the north wall of the
nave, destroyed when the present north
arcade was built; the object of both
recesses was to give more room for the
north nave altar.
The north arcade of the nave is of
two wide bays with a slender octagonal
shaft and responds to match, worked
with a single broad chamfer which continues round the two-centred arches,
there being no capitals or strings at the
springing. A moulded label of good
early 14th-century section is the only
ornamental detail of the arcade, which
is of very uncommon character.
The south arcade of the nave is of
three bays with circular columns and
large flat scalloped capitals with chamfered abaci; the arches are of one
plain semicircular order with chamfered
edges, the chamfers being a later addition. Above the eastern column of the
arcade is a window belonging to the
early aisleless nave, widely splayed towards the nave
with plastered jambs and a round arch of Roman
bricks set with a wide mortar joint. Towards the
aisle it shows as a narrow round-headed light with
jambs and arch of Roman bricks, originally intended
to be plastered over.
The windows lighting the nave and aisles are entirely
modern, except the west window in the north aisle,
which has old inside splays, perhaps of 13th-century
date. The west window of the nave is of three
trefoiled lights with tracery of 14th-century style.
The north doorway is of 13th-century date,
having jambs and arch of two splayed orders with
a small chamfered label; the moulded abaci at the
springing are modern, and all the stones have been
retooled.
The nave and chancel roofs have Horsham slabs
near the eaves, but are covered with tiles above, and
the other roofs have tiles only.
Internally the roofs are modern open timber,
except that to the north transept, where all the
timbers are hidden by plaster. The western portion
of the chancel roof is not quite continuous with the
rest, the break occurring just above the east jamb of
the arch to the north transept.
All the internal fittings are modern.
On the south wall of the chancel is a monument
with Corinthian pillars flanking an oval which contains the half-figure of Henry Vincent, 1631. Above
the niche is a defaced shield of arms.
On the north wall of the chancel is a black
marble tablet with a round-headed recess flanked
by pilasters and containing an inscription to Anthony
Rous, who died in 1631.
Fetcham Church: South Arcade of the Nave, showing Early Window
There are three bells in the tower, the treble
bearing the inscription 'William Eldridge made mee
1665,' and the second 'Robertus Mott me fecit 1588.'
The third is by William Land, 1613.
The plate is all modern, and comprises a chalice,
paten, and flagon.
The registers are contained in three books. The
first, which is of parchment and is a copy up to about
1600, has entries of baptisms, marriages, and burials
from 1559 to 1712. The second has baptisms and burials
from 1712 to 1812, and marriages from 1712 to 1753.
The third book contains marriages from 1754 to 1812
on the usual printed forms.
ADVOWSON
In 1338 the advowson was held by
John d'Abernon, lord of the manor
of Fetcham, (fn. 92) and from that date
descended with the manor at least until 1654, when
Thomas Vincent presented to the living. (fn. 93)
Shortly after it was held by William Heckford
in right of his wife Elizabeth, with whom, in 1711,
he joined in conveying it to Thomas Cooke, clerk,
and Joshua Draper, gentleman. (fn. 94) The latter in the
same year sold it for the sum of £580 (fn. 95) to Arthur
Moore of Fetcham Park, who presented to the living
in 1720, 1724, and 1726. (fn. 96)
The advowson was acquired with the rest of Arthur
Moore's Fetcham property by Thomas Revell, who
presented to the living in 1737 and 1748, (fn. 97) and
descended to his son-in-law Sir George Warren, who
presented in 1772, (fn. 98) and is said to have sold it in 1788
to Mrs. Ann Kirkpatrick, under whose will it passed to
Rev. Abraham Kirkpatrick Sherson, rector of Fetcham,
in 1794. Before 1818 it was acquired by John Bolland,
whose son Rev. J. G. Bolland presented to the living
in 1829. On the death of the latter in 1833 it was
sold by his executors to Rev. Robert Downes, incumbent at that date. (fn. 99) The patronage was acquired in
1864 by Alderman Sydney, (fn. 100) trustee for Lady Moon,
wife of the late rector. Lady Moon presented in
1904. It is now in the hands of her son, Lieut.Colonel Sir F. S. G. Moon, bart.
In 1535 the farm of the rectory with the accompanying glebe land was valued at £21 19s. 11½d. There
was also a pension of 6s. 8d. due to Chertsey Monastery, (fn. 101) which after the Dissolution was granted to the
new foundation at Bisham. (fn. 102)
Dr. Thomas Turner, a devoted royalist, was instituted rector of Fetcham in 1634, and after having
been deprived of this with his other benefices during
the Commonwealth, was reinstated after the restoration of the Monarchy and became Dean of Canterbury. (fn. 103)
Samuel Lisle, afterwards Bishop of Norwich, was
rector from 1726 till 1737, (fn. 104) and Dr. J. Conybeare, the
famous metaphysician and defender of revelation, was
curate for a short time under the rectorship of
Dr. Shortrudge. (fn. 105)
In 1358 Robert de Leddrede, the king's sergeantat-arms, had licence for making a chapel at his house
at Fetcham, (fn. 106) the site of which is probably that now
occupied by the Sun ale-house. Salmon, writing
in 1736, says, 'In this parish is an old chapell, now
turned to an ale-house which may however supply in
excise more than ever it paid in tenths.' (fn. 107)
CHARITIES
The almshouses, for six poor persons, were founded in 1886 by the
Rev. Sir Edward Graham Moon,
bart., Mr. J. B. Hankey, and Mr. Gervas Parnell.
Smith's Charity is distributed as in other Surrey
parishes, but in the case of Fetcham it was endowed
with parcels of lands in the common fields and inclosed fields in the parish. It is commemorated on a
tablet in the church.
In 1690 a decree in Chancery confirmed the will
of Sir George Shiers, bart., (fn. 108) who left rents of land
amounting to £24 2s. for apprenticing boys, marrying
maids who had lived in the same family for seven
years, and relieving the poor not in receipt of parish
relief. (fn. 109)