EAST HORSLEY
East Horsley is bounded on the north by Cobham
and Ockham, on the east by Effingham, on the south
by Shere and Abinger, on the west by West Horsley.
It measures 4 miles from north to south, and threequarters of a mile from east to west. It contains
1,826 acres. The elongated form is common to it
with the other parishes along the northern slope of
the Chalk, and like the others it reaches from the crest
of the hill across the Chalk, the Thanet and Woolwich
Beds, and on to the London Clay. The village is below the Chalk or just upon its lower edge. On the summit of the Chalk however hereabouts occurs a bed of
clay with frequent flints. The village is compact and
well built on the whole. The Guildford and Epsom
road and the Guildford and Cobham line run through
the parish. East Horsley Station, opened in 1885, is
nearly a mile north of the village. The station called
Effingham Junction is also in East Horsley, and was
opened the same year.
Green Dean is the name of a farm in the parish.
The name occurs at an early date. John de Grendon
held land in East Horsley in 1305, (fn. 1) and Peter de
Grendene appears in an inquiry by Christchurch,
Canterbury, under Edward III. (fn. 2)
Horsley Towers is a large house standing in a park
of 300 acres, the seat of the Earl of Lovelace. The
old house was rebuilt about 1745. The present
house was built by Sir Charles Barry for Mr. Currie
on a new site, between 1820 and 1829, in Elizabethan style. Mr. Currie, who owned the combined
manors, 1784–1829, rebuilt most of the houses in the
village and restored the church.
In 1792 an Inclosure Act (fn. 3) enabled Mr. Currie to
inclose most of Horsley Common at the northern end
of the parish and the common fields and waste at
the southern part, on the Chalk. The parsonage and
glebe were at the same time removed, by exchange, to
other sites.
The school (National) was established by Mr. Currie.
MANORS
The entry in Domesday Book touching the manor of EAST HORSLEY
(Horslei, xiii cent.; Horslegh, xiv cent.
&c.) reports it to have been held at that date by the
Archbishop of Canterbury for the sustenance of his
monks of Christchurch. (fn. 4) It is said to have been
granted for the purpose by Thored in 1036. (fn. 5) But it
was later in the hands of the monks of Christchurch, not of the archbishop
himself.
In 1129 Edith of Horsley
gave a virgate of land in Horsley to Geoffrey, Prior of Canterbury, to hold for a rent of
40s. during her life, of which
he was to be quit after her
death. (fn. 6) Edward II granted
to the Prior of Christchurch
the right of having free warren
in his demesne lands, (fn. 7) a privilege which was afterwards
confirmed by Edward III. (fn. 8)
Christchurch, Canterbury. Azure a cross argent with the monogram sable thereon.
East Horsley was taken into the king's hands at
the time of the Dissolution, and formed part of Queen
Mary's grant to the priory of Sheen when it was
refounded. (fn. 9) Under Elizabeth the Crown resumed
possession, and the manor was granted to John
Agmondesham, (fn. 10) whose family had held the manor of
Rowbarnes in East Horsley (q.v.) for some years. His
tenure was marked by an attempt to inclose part of
the common land of East Horsley; a project opposed
by the Earl of Lincoln and Lord Montagu, who as
actual and contingent holders of West Horsley were
interested in the question. (fn. 11) He died without issue
in 1600, when the manor passed to his sister Mary
wife of William Muschamp. (fn. 12) At Mary's death in
1620 she left a son and heir Agmondesham, (fn. 13) who was
then forty years of age. He had a son William who
in 1646 made a settlement of the manor on his son
Agmondesham and Hester his wife. (fn. 14) According to
Manning and Bray (fn. 15) Agmondesham died in 1648
before his father, who died in 1660, and was succeeded
by his grandson Ambrose. In 1701 Ambrose conveyed
the manor to Frances, Viscountess Lanesborough, widow
of his brother Denny Muschamp. (fn. 16) Lady Lanesborough bequeathed her Surrey estates in remainder
to Sackville Fox the youngest son of her daughter
Frances by Henry Fox. (fn. 17) Sackville died in 1760, (fn. 18)
his son James, who was then a minor, being heir
to his lands. James, shortly after his coming of age,
sold the manor to Robert Mackereth, (fn. 19) who in his
turn conveyed to Thomas Page of Cobham. Page
died in 1781, and East Horsley was sold to Charles
Dumbleton, (fn. 20) from whom it passed in 1784 to William
Currie. (fn. 21) Brayley, (fn. 22) writing about 1840, states that
shortly after Mr. Currie's death in 1829 (fn. 23) the manor
was purchased by Lord Lovelace, with whose family
it remains.
The BISHOP'S MANOR
in East Horsley seems to have
belonged to the see of Exeter
throughout the Middle Ages.
It has been conjectured that
the Domesday entry to the
effect that 'Bishop Osbern of
Exeter holds Woking' should
more properly be referred to
this manor, since there is no
trace of any land held by the
Bishop of Exeter in Woking. (fn. 24)
See of Exeter. Gules St. Paul's sword erect surmounted by St. Peter's keys.
In 1243 the bishop was
summoned to show by what
warrant he held the moiety of East Horsley Manor,
and it was then said to pertain to his chapelry of
Bosham in Sussex. (fn. 25) About the same time the manor
was assessed at a quarter of one knight's fee. (fn. 26)
Domesday Book mentions two homagers who each
held four hides of the bishop, (fn. 27) but since this is the
only mention of tenants it seems reasonable to suppose
that the manor was farmed for the bishop.
Manning (fn. 28) states that in the time of Henry VIII
the bishop sold the manor to Henry, Marquis of
Exeter; and in that case it was forfeited to the Crown
with the marquis's other lands in 1538. Edward VI
granted it to a certain Thomas Fisher, (fn. 29) who in
1555 alienated to William Walter. (fn. 30) Walter did not
long retain possession, but in 1555 joined with Sir
Nicholas Throckmorton, to whom it had possibly been
leased, in conveying the manor to Joan Hamond,
widow. (fn. 31) Her son William Hamond left it by will
(5 May 1575) to Sir Laurence Stoughton, husband
to his step-daughter Rose Ive, and they were in possession in 1580. (fn. 32) Sir Laurence Stoughton sold the
manor in 1584 to Thomas Cornwallis, (fn. 33) who died
in 1596. (fn. 34) His widow died seised of it in 1626, when
her great-nephew Thomas Earl of Southampton came
into possession. (fn. 35) He sold the manor three years later to
Carew Raleigh, (fn. 36) who afterwards purchased the manor
of West Horsley (q.v.). He kept possession of the
bishop's manor for about fifteen years, and then conveyed
it through trustees to Henry son of Sir Christopher
Hildyard of Winestead in Holderness. (fn. 37) At Henry's
death in 1674 it was inherited by his second son
Philip. (fn. 38) His estates were sold under a private Act
of Parliament, (fn. 39) and East Horsley was bought by Sir
William Brownlow, bart. He in 1698 conveyed to
Denny Muschamp and the Viscountess Lanesborough
his wife, (fn. 40) by which the manor was united to the other
manor of East Horsley.
The origin of the so-called manor of ROWBARNES (Ruebern, Rughberne) in East Horsley is
somewhat obscure. In 1215 Ralph de Kameis (Camois)
and Matilda his wife claimed land in Rowbarnes of Peter
de Rowbarnes. (fn. 41) Ralph de Camois held Wotton, (fn. 42) and
Rowbarnes still pays quit-rent to the manor of Wotton.
In 1229 Walter de Rowbarnes granted to Matilda
de Kalcham half a virgate of land in Horsley. (fn. 43) According to the pedigree of the Agmondesham family,
given in the Visitations of Surrey, (fn. 44) Ralph, great-grandson of Walter Agmondesham, who lived in the
time of Henry III, gained possession of Rowbarnes
Manor by his marriage with one Isabel, whose
parentage is unfortunately not stated. This family
was still at East Horsley in 1411 when the jurors at
the archbishop's court declared
that the highway was liable to
be flooded owing to the default of Philip Agmondesham. (fn. 45) Philip, according to
the pedigree, was the son of
Ralph and Isabel.
Agmondesham. Argent a cheveron azure between three boars' heads sable with three cinqfoils or on the cheveron.
Another Ralph, grandson of
Philip, died seised of Rowbarnes in 1498, leaving a son
and heir John, then twentythree years of age. (fn. 46) John died
without issue, (fn. 47) and the manor
passed to his brother Thomas,
who survived him only for a
few years. The inquisition taken at Thomas's death
states that he left an infant daughter Barbara, (fn. 48) but
it seems probable that she died soon after her father,
since the Agmondesham pedigree represents him as
dying without issue. In any case Rowbarnes came
into the possession of John son of Thomas's brother
Henry, (fn. 49) who also obtained the archbishop's manor
by a grant from Queen Elizabeth. (fn. 50) From that date
the two manors have the same descent.
Gervase of Canterbury mentions a convent of Black
Nuns at Horsley. By a process of elimination, because
Canterbury and Exeter held the rest, this has been
supposed to have been at Rowbarnes, but there is no
other record of it.
CHURCH
The church of ST. MARTIN consists
of a chancel 29 ft. 3 in. by 15 ft. 9 in.,
a nave 49 ft. 8 in. by 16 ft., with a north
aisle 10 ft. 4 in. wide, a west tower 16 ft. 2 in. by
10 ft. 4 in., and a south porch.
Much repair and rebuilding has obscured the
history of the building, but before 1869 the chancel
was of 13th-century date, and the nave, which was not
entirely rebuilt, is probably older. The west tower
is so covered with plaster that little can be said of its
history; it opens to the nave by a modern arch, above
which is a blocked pointed arch, presumably of 13th-century date. A third arch, now quite covered up,
is said to exist above the pointed arch, and on the
strength of this a pre-Conquest date has been claimed for
the tower. It would be interesting if any proof could
be obtained. The windows of the tower are small
lancets, in great measure modern, but in the west wall
is what looks like a round-headed window opening,
the lower part of which has been destroyed by the
insertion of a west doorway late in the 13th or 14th
century. The plan of the tower is unusual, being much
wider from north to south than from east to west.
The north aisle seems to have been originally of
two bays, and the chapel east of it, which now is
thrown into the aisle, must have existed in some form
from the 13th century, though it seems to have been
rebuilt in the 15th. The aisle was probably widened
in the 15th century, and the chapel was entirely
rebuilt in 1869. The chancel and nave are practically
of equal width, a fact which suggests a rebuilding of
the former in the 13th century round an older chancel,
while the nave has preserved its original plan. The
difference of axis between nave and chancel points in
the same direction.
In the east wall of the chancel is a triplet of lancets
with diapered inner splays, while the north wall contains two and the south wall three lancets, all being
repaired and reset in new walls in 1869. There
was formerly a third lancet on the north and a north
doorway.
To the west of the north windows is a shallow
modern recess for the organ, the arch opening to it
having attached shafts with moulded bases and capitals.
The three east windows are recorded to have been of
equal height before 1869.
The chancel arch has re-tooled 13th-century jambs
with attached semi-columns having original moulded
capitals but modern bases. The arch has been rebuilt
and is two-centred and of two chamfered orders.
The north arcade of the nave is of four bays with
octagonal columns which have splayed bases, of which
only one is original, and heavy hollow-chamfered
square-edged abaci. The arches are two-centred and
are of two orders, the inner hollow-chamfered and the
outer with a plain chamfer. Only the two western
bays of the arcade are old, the other two dating from
1869; so that no evidence of the former history of
this part of the church remains. The old work is in
chalk, of very broad and plain detail, and in spite of
its square-edged abaci is probably not earlier than the
middle of the 13th century, the section of the arches
being by no means of early character.
The south wall of the nave has three pairs of lancet
windows under inclosing arches dating from 1869,
and replacing two-light windows of 15th-century
style; between the second and third of these windows
is the south doorway, which is also modern and has
plain chamfered jambs and a pointed arch in Bath
stone. The porch of 1869 is of timber construction
and replaces one which was apparently ancient, and
had a roof of Horsham stone slabs.
The east window of the north chapel, now forming
the east end of the north aisle, is modern, of 14th-century design, and the north window is a modern
copy of a 15th-century original, of three lights with a
transom under a square head: west of it is a modern
copy of a 15th-century doorway. Further west in
the same wall, in the aisle proper, are two late 15th-century windows, each of two cinquefoiled lights under
a square head, and in the west wall is a similar window
with a moulded label.
Some of the features of the tower have been already
noted. A modern lancet has been cut in its south
wall to light the ground stage, and the west doorway
has jambs and a pointed arch of two very small chamfered orders, perhaps cut from a single order, and a
modern label in Roman cement. In the angles of
the tower are large posts framed and braced together
and carrying the wooden bell-cage above, independently of the tower walls; they are obviously of considerable age, but their date can only be conjectured.
The tower is of three stages, but has no dividing
string-courses; in the middle stage is a narrow loop
light on the north, west, and south sides. These are
of brick, but they are set in old, probably 13th-century, jambs. The top stage is of brick with a window
in each face, and is crowned with an embattled parapet; it dates from early in the last century.
The roofs are tiled, all the timbers being modern.
All the internal fittings are modern except two
Jacobean chairs in the chancel, which have carved
backs and baluster legs and arm rests. There is also a
small table in the vestry, which is possibly older still.
The chancel screen was set up in 1897 in memory of
the Rev. Freeman Wilson, rector, who died in the
church on Sunday 11 October 1896. (fn. 51)
There are several interesting brasses, the most important being a small one on the north wall of the
chancel, on which is represented a kneeling bishop in
mass vestments and with a mitre and his pastoral staff.
On a shield opposite him are the arms of Booth—Three boars' heads razed with a label.
Below is an inscription: 'Quisquis eris qui transieris sta p[er]lege plora. | Sum qd eris fuerā q[uia] qd es:
pro me precor ora. | Hic jacet Johēs Bowthe quōdā
E[pus] Exoni[ensis] qui | Obiit vo; die me[nsi] Aprelis Ao d[omini]
mocccco lxxviii.'
On the north abutment of the chancel arch is a
brass demi-figure of a civilian of the time of Richard II
in a loose gown buttoned down the front with sleeves
and a hood. He has a forked beard and a moustache,
with short hair, and wears buttoned mittens. The inscription which is unfortunately lost, was as follows:
'Hic jacet Robertus de Brentyngham, Frater Reverendi
Patris Thome Exon Episcopi. Cujus anime propicietur Deus.' Thomas was Bishop of Exeter from
1370 to 1394.
There are also two brasses
of the Snelling family, one in
the north aisle having the inscription: 'Pray for the sowllis
of John Snellyng and Alys hys
wyfe the whych desecyd the
VIII day of ffeveryll in the
yer of owr lorde mo cccco
lxxxxviii on whose sowllis god
have mercy.'
Snelling. Gules three griffons' heads razed or and a chief indented erminois.
Above are the figures of
John and Alice, and below are
those of their six sons and five
daughters.
The other brass is on the south wall of the nave
and has the following inscription: 'Of your charity
pray for the soulis of Thomas Snellinge late of the
Parishe of Est Horsley smith and Jone his wife which
Thomas disceased the XXVIII day of May in ye yere of
our lorde mccccciiii. And for the soules of the faders
and moders of the foresaid Thomas and Jone with all
theyr childerne on whoes sowlys Almyghty Jhũ have
mercy Amen.'
Below are the figures of eight sons and five daughters, but those of the parents are now missing, with the
upper part of the stone.
In the north aisle are the alabaster effigies and
other fragments of a fine alabaster tomb of Thomas
Cornwallis, esq., and Lady Katherine his wife, daughter of Thomas Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton and
Lord Chancellor of England, and their two sons
Robert and Henry. She died in 1626 'and was
30 years a widdow.' Above are the arms of Cornwallis
impaling those of Wriothesley, with the crests of a
stag and a bull, which are also set at the feet of the
effigies. On the north wall of the aisle is a monument to Henry Hildyard, eldest surviving son and
heir of Sir Christopher Hildyard, of Winestead, co.
York. He died in 1674.
In the window near the Cornwallis tomb is a fragment of glass dated 1573, and three quarries with
the crest of Acton of Worcestershire: An arm in
armour holding a sword on which is a boar's head,
with the motto 'Vaillance avance.' There are also
several small pieces of old heraldic glass, too broken
for identification.
There are four bells in the tower, the treble being
inscribed 'Bryan Eldridge made mee 1648'; the
second and tenor are by William Eldridge 1703;
and the third is by Richard Hille of London, c. 1450,
and has a black letter inscription: 'Sit nomen Domini
benedictum' with the 'cross and ring' shield.
The plate comprises a cup and paten of 1640, and
a cup, paten, and two large flagons of 1649.
The registers are contained in three books; the first
having baptisms from 1666 to 1752, marriages 1668
to 1752, and burials from 1666 to 1753. The
second has baptisms and burials from 1753 to 1787,
and one or two marriages; and the third book contains
baptisms, marriages, and burials from 1788 to 1812.
In 1666 the registers record the death of eight
persons from the plague.
A small yard surrounds the church, which is entered
from the road on the west side, and there are large trees
on the adjoining property on the south and east sides.
ADVOWSON
The advowson of East Horsley was
in the hands of the archbishop, except
in 1349, when the king presented
twice, 'because of the vacancy in the archbishopric.' (fn. 52)
It was the year of the Black Death. Henry VIII
probably took over the advowson with the manor
in 1538. In 1551 it was granted to Thomas Fisher, (fn. 53)
grantee of the Bishop's Manor (to which it had not
been attached before), and it descended for some
years with this manor. After the Restoration the
advowson was successfully reclaimed by the archbishop, who presented in 1662, (fn. 54) and continued to do
so till 1876, when it was transferred to the Dean and
chapter of Canterbury. (fn. 55)
CHARITIES
Smith's Charity is distributed as in
other Surrey parishes. There is a
rent-charge on land called Bishop's
Mead, supposed to be the gift of Bishop Booth of
Exeter, who is buried in the church, for the relief
of the poor; and another small charge on other land
for the same purpose.