BISLEY
Busheley and Bussley (xiii cent.); Bisteleye (xvi
cent.).
Bisley is one of the smallest parishes in Surrey,
though now one of the most famous. It is 4 miles
north-west from Woking. It is bounded on the
north and west by Chobham, on the east by Horsell,
on the south by Woking and Pirbright. It contains
922 acres, and measures barely a mile from east to
west and a mile and a quarter from north to south.
It lies on the Bagshot Sands (Bracklesham Beds) with
some strips of alluvial soil by the little streams which
run down from the peat bogs of Chobham Ridges.
Bisley Common is a large open space adjoining the
open ground of Chobham and Pirbright.
The place has become notable as the home, since
1890, of the National Rifle Association, which, with
the War Office, owns most of the land. The establishment and ranges for the great rifle-shooting
competitions (fn. 1) are in Bisley parish, and are connected
by a short branch railway with the main London and
South Western Railway line at Brookwood station.
The ranges, however, and the ground utilized extend
into Chobham and Pirbright.
The Inclosure Act, inclosing common fields, was
passed in 1836, but the final award was not made
till 6 August 1858. (fn. 2)
Near the church of St. John the Baptist is an
ancient holy well, called St. John's Well, where
according to tradition the children used to be baptized.
It has recently been protected a little by a wooden
cover. Bisley Farm School, in connexion with the
National Refuges for Homeless and Destitute children,
was opened by Lord Shaftesbury in 1868. In 1873
the Shaftesbury School in connexion with the same
charity was opened, and in 1874 a chapel for their
joint use. About 300 boys are accommodated. The
schools (National) were built in 1847, rebuilt in
1860, and taken over by a school board from 1893
to 1899. They are now again unprovided.
MANOR
BISLEY was included within Chobham
in the charter of Chertsey ascribed to 673,
and is mentioned among the lands of the
monastery in 967 when King Edgar confirmed their
possessions to them. (fn. 3) No mention of it occurs in the
Domesday Survey, (fn. 3a) but in 1284 the hamlet of Bisley
was held of the abbey of Chertsey by Geoffrey de
Lucy, as parcel of the manor of Byfleet. (fn. 4) Geoffrey,
son of Geoffrey de Lucy, conveyed Bisley with Byfleet
to Henry de Leybourne in 1297. (fn. 5) Henry de
Leybourne held Byfleet, and presumably Bisley, up
to 1305. (fn. 6) Soon after it must have passed into the
king's hands with Byfleet (q.v.), although some rent
from land in Bisley remained due to the monastery, as
the account of the possessions of Chertsey Abbey in the
reign of Henry VIII includes the entry 'Waybragge
and Bysteley 28s.' (fn. 7)
In 1298 while Leybourne was still in possession,
he enfeoffed Hugh de Smerhulle of 54 acres of land,
2 acres of meadow, and 4 acres of wood in Bisley. (fn. 8)
Hugh de Smerhulle in his turn enfeoffed Amice de
Chabenham and Thomas her son of these lands in
1305, and in 1318 they granted them to John and
Agnes Darderne, who in 1324 were ejected by the
king's bailiff. At the instance, however, of Queen
Isabella, to whom Bisley, as part of the manor of
Byfleet, had been assigned in 1327, these lands were
restored to John and Agnes Darderne in 1328. (fn. 9)
After Bisley, described as a hamlet and member or
parcel of the manor of Byfleet, had passed with the
latter into the possession of the Crown, it followed
the history of this manor (q.v.) until the reign of
James I. In 1620 a grant was made to Sir Edward
Zouch of 'the customary tenements in Bisley, part
of the manor of Byfleet,' and also of 'perquisites
and profits of the courts of Bisley.' (fn. 10) This is the
first reference which suggests that Bisley was recognized as an independent manor. Certainly as late as
1540 courts had been held at Byfleet for 'Byfleet
with Bisley,' (fn. 11) but it is possible that the court baron
of Bisley had really always been nominally distinct,
and that on the occasion of the first independent grant
of the manor its pleas and profits were separated from
those of Byfleet in fact as well as in name. In its
subsequent history, which is in no way connected
with that of Byfleet, it is usually referred to as a
manor and is held as such at present. The grant to
Sir Edward Zouch included the manors of Woking,
Chobham, and Bagshot. Henceforth the descent of
Bisley is identical with that of these manors, and all
are now in the possession of the Earl of Onslow. (fn. 12)
CHURCH
The church of ST. JOHN THE
BAPTIST is a small building consisting
of a chancel 20 ft. 10 in. by 13 ft. 8 in.,
south vestry, nave 37 ft. 6 in. by 18 ft. 2 in., north
aisle 6 ft. wide and a west porch of wood.
The nave is probably that of a 12th-century
building, but no details of that or even of the two
following centuries are left; in the south wall is a
15th-century inserted window, which is almost the
only old feature remaining. The present chancel is
modern; the former one was of brick and timber of
15th-century origin, but fell into a dilapidated state
and the arch into it from the nave was closed up.
In 1872 the present chancel was built and the
church enlarged by the addition of the north aisle.
A tradition still remains in the village that the
time for elevating the Host at High Mass was dependent upon the moment at which a sunbeam shining
through a south window reached a particular spot
on the north side of the nave.
The chancel is of brick and is lighted by three
eastern lancets and two in the north wall. The
chancel arch is modern of two orders of which the
inner is carried by corbel shafts. The north arcade
of the nave is of two bays, the middle pillar being
circular with a moulded capital, and the pointed
arches are of two chamfered orders. West of the
arcade is a modern lancet window. Of the two
south windows the first is a modern one of three
lights and tracery under a pointed head; the second
is a 15th-century window of three trefoiled lights
under a square head, the middle light being wider
than the others; it has modern mullions and sill.
Between the windows is a small trefoiled niche
formerly a piscina, which was found at the restoration
of the church beneath the ruins of the chancel. The
west doorway is modern, of 13th-century style. The
north aisle has a single-light window at each end and
two two-light windows in the side wall.
The walling of the south wall of the nave is of
conglomerate and of the west wall of roughly squared
blocks of Heath stone. The roof of the nave is old,
with plain collar beams which were formerly plastered.
Over the west end is an old bell-turret covered with
modern boarding, including the upper half of the
west gable; the vertical face of the turret is seen
inside the nave with its old timbers; it is capped
by a modern wood spire covered with oak shingles.
The west porch probably dates from the 14th century; its sides are open, with five square bays divided
by hollow-chamfered mullions; the entrance has a
pointed arch formed by two solid pieces of wood with
hollow-chamfered edges; the barge-board of the gable
over is foiled with rounded points, the middle foil
being of ogee shape.
The altar table and font are modern; but the
pulpit is a 17th-century one with carved and moulded
panels.
The church contains no ancient monuments.
There are three bells; the oldest, which is the
second, has this inscription in capitals on the shoulder:
'+ Fraternitas fecit me in honore beate Mareie';
it is said to have been brought from the abbey of
Chertsey, to which Bisley formerly belonged, and was
probably cast early in the 14th century. The treble
is by Thomas Swaine 1781 and the tenor by William
Eldridge 1710.
The communion plate includes a silver cup of
1570 with a cover paten of 1569; the cup is a finely
chased example, but somewhat misshapen; there are
also a plate of 1795 and a small paten of 1872.
The first book of the registers is a vellum copy
beginning in 1561 and contains baptisms to 1672,
burials to 1669, and marriages to 1670; also some
briefs for 1661 and tithe rents of 1625; the second
book has baptisms from 1673 to 1755, marriages 1673
to 1753, and burials from 1673 to 1757; the third
contains burials from 1678 to 1812; the fourth
has marriages from 1754 to 1807; the fifth, baptisms
and burials 1760 to 1806, whence all three are
continued in the later books; there are also a few loose
sheets with accounts of 1673 and from 1682 to 1773.
The site of the church is about half a mile east of
the village in an isolated position. The churchyard
is small and surrounds the buildings; there are
several large trees on its boundaries, and near the
porch is a yew-tree.
ADVOWSON
The church of Bisley was in the
possession of the abbey of Chertsey
before 1284, as in that year Geoffrey
de Lucy was patron and held it of the abbey. (fn. 13)
Later the church came into the king's hands, probably at the same time as did the hamlet of Bisley.
Presentations by the king or by the Prince of Wales
date from the year 1346. (fn. 14) A pension of 31b. of
wax and an annual rent of 18d. remained due to the
monastery from the church of Bisley. (fn. 15)
In 1620 the grant to Sir Edward Zouch of the
manor of Bisley included the advowson, rectory, and
church, and, in addition, the 18d. rent to Chertsey
Monastery, (fn. 16) which at the Dissolution had been
surrendered to the Crown. The rectory and
advowson remained in the hands of the lord of the
manor until the latter half of the 18th century, since
when the patronage appears to have changed hands.
Henry Foster held it in 1800, the trustees of John
Thornton in 1810, (fn. 17) and in 1889 the trustees of
Mrs. P. Smith. It is at present in the gift of trustees.
CHARITIES
Smith's Charity is distributed as in
other Surrey parishes. In 1506
Isabella Campion of Bisley left
Brachmead in Chobham for the repairs of Bisley
Church. (fn. 18) In 1711 the Rev. Andrew Lamont, D.D.,
rector of Bisley, left £100 to be invested in land for
the benefit of the poor of Bisley. The land is known
as Queen Lane. The Dead Hill estate, producing
about £16 a year for the poor, was left at an unknown
time. (fn. 19)