BYFLEET
Biflet (xi cent.); Byflete (xiv cent.).
Byfleet is a village 5 miles south of Chertsey,
2 miles south-west of Weybridge Station. The
parish, roughly triangular in form, is bounded on the
north by Chertsey and Weybridge, on the east by
Walton-on-Thames, on the south by Wisley and
Pyrford. It measures 3 miles from east to west and
a mile and a half from north to south at the eastern
border, becoming narrower towards the west. It contains 2,045 acres of land and 30 of water. The soil
is mainly the drift sand and gravel and alluvium of the
Wey valley, but on the east it abuts upon the rising
ground of the Bagshot Sands which form St. George's
Hill in Walton parish and Cobham Common. The
natural River Wey and the artificial navigation both
pass through the parish, and much of the ground is
low and easily flooded by the former. The main
line of the London and South Western Railway passes
through the western part of the parish, and there is a
station, Byfleet and Woodham. There are about
40 acres of common. Maps of the 17th century mark
an iron mill on the old river where Byfleet corn mill
stands. Manning says that it was 'lately an iron
mill.' (fn. 1) It would be interesting to know whether it
used ironstone from the Bagshot Sands or depended
upon water carriage for ore from the weald. The
present industries, apart from agriculture, are Mr.
Newland's Rosewater and Essential Oil Distillery,
and a brewery carried on by the Friary, Holroyds,
and Healy's Breweries Company.
Neolithic flints occur on the slopes near St. George's
Hill and Cobham Common.
Byfleet Park was one of the parks in the Surrey
bailiwick of Windsor Forest which Norden surveyed
for James I in 1607. (fn. 2)
A person once of some note was rector of Byfleet
from 1752 to 1756—Stephen Duck, a Wiltshire
labourer, who attracted the notice of Queen Caroline
by his poems and was made by her a beefeater and
keeper of her library at Richmond. He learned
Latin and was ordained. His poems are of no great
merit, but one of the earliest, 'The Thresher's
Labour,' dealing with his real experiences, shows that
he might have been as good as Blomfield and better
than Clare if the fashion of the age had allowed him
to continue to write naturally. He drowned himself
in a fit of melancholy in the Thames.
An Inclosure Award was made in 1811 (fn. 3) for 780
acres, including common fields of Byfleet Manor.
There are Wesleyan and Congregational chapels in
the parish. The Village Hall was built in 1898 in
commemoration of the Diamond Jubilee, and a public
recreation ground was presented by Mr. H. F. Locke
King on the same occasion.
Of the principal houses, Byfleet Manor belongs to
Mrs. Rutson, St. George's Hill is the residence of
Lady Louisa Egerton, Petersham Place of Mr. W. B.
Owen. A number of small residential houses have
lately been built in the parish. The present rectory
was built by the Rev. Charles Sumner, rector, in
1834.
The School (national) was built in 1857 and enlarged in 1860 and in 1899. A school had been built
in 1840, but was replaced by the present one.
MANORS
BYFLEET is not in the original grant
to Chertsey Abbey in the alleged foundation charter of 673, but is included
and confirmed in the later charter of Frithwald,
attributed to 727, (fn. 4) which, however, includes land
granted at various times before the Norman Conquest,
and must be looked upon merely as an assertion by
the monks of their claims, perhaps preparatory to
the Domesday Survey. (See Chertsey.) In 967
the grant was again confirmed by King Edgar as
'v mansas.' (fn. 5) At the time of the Domesday Survey
Byfleet was held of the abbey as 2½ hides by
Ulwin, who had also held it in King Edward's time,
when it was assessed for 8 hides. (fn. 6) It continued in
the possession of the Abbot and convent of Chertsey,
and in the 13th century was held of them, as half a
knight's fee, by Geoffrey de Lucy, who died in 1284
leaving as heir his son Geoffrey. (fn. 7) The latter enfeoffed Henry de Leybourne of the manor in 1297, (fn. 8)
and Leybourne remained in possession until after
1305. (fn. 9) It is not clear how the manor became Crown
property, but it was certainly in the king's hands in
1312. (fn. 10) The overlordship continued to be vested
in the abbey for some time after the manor became
the king's property. A rental of 1319 speaks of it
as being held 'in chief of the Abbot of Chertsey'
by the service of half a knight's fee and 15s. rent to
the abbot for the vill of Weybridge and 13s. 4d. rent
for the vill of Bisley; the surveyors add that before
the manor came to the king its lord did suit at the
abbot's hundred court of Godley, and that all free
tenants and fifteen customary tenants came to the
view of frankpledge there. (fn. 11) A return of the feudal
aids in the hundred of Godley in 1428 also refers
to half a knight's fee in Byfleet which 'Edward,
formerly Prince of Wales, used to hold of the
Abbot of Chertsey.' (fn. 12) It is probable, however, that
this overlordship, held by the abbey over the king or
the Prince of Wales, soon became merely nominal.
The courts of Byfleet were held by the king, and no
further mention of Byfleet occurs in the records or
court rolls of the abbey. (fn. 13)
Edward II appears to have stayed frequently at
Byfleet, many of his ordinances being dated from here. (fn. 14)
A grant to Piers Gaveston in 1308 of free warren
in his demesne lands at Byfleet (fn. 15) suggests that he had
been previously granted the manor also, probably as
part of the lands belonging to the earldom of Cornwall.
Edward III assigned Byfleet to his mother Isabella
as part of her dower in 1327. (fn. 16) She surrendered it
shortly afterwards, (fn. 17) and in 1330 the king granted it
to his brother John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall, to
be held by knight's service;
at his death it reverted to the
Crown. (fn. 18) In 1337, when the
king's eldest son received the
title of Duke of Cornwall,
the manor and park of Byfleet were among the lands
granted to him, (fn. 19) to hold to
him and his heirs, as parcel
of the duchy of Cornwall. (fn. 20)
The Black Prince held the
manor until his death, (fn. 21) when
it passed to his son.
Ducry of Cornwall. Azure fifteen bezants.
Richard II, as lord of the manor of Byfleet, granted
it in 1389 to the Earl of Northumberland for two
years, (fn. 22) and in 1391 to John, Bishop of Salisbury, for
ten years 'for his easement and abode whenever he
chooses to go thither.' (fn. 23) The bishop died in 1395, but
two years before his death the manor was granted to
William, Duke of Guelders, son of the Duke of Juliers,
to hold for life without rent, he having 'become the
king's vassal and done homage.' (fn. 24) The duke afterwards granted the manor and park to Roger Walden,
Dean of York and Treasurer of England, and John
Walden his brother, for their lives, on condition that
he, the duke, might lodge there with his household
whenever he should come there. Richard's grants were
annulled by Parliament in 1399, and Byfleet was
granted to Henry the son of the king. (fn. 25) Roger and
John Walden surrendered their estate in the manor
for £100 to Sir Francis Court, who was a trusted
friend of Prince Henry, and Joan his wife. Both
Walden and Court entered the premises without the
king's licence, for which offence they were pardoned
in 1401, Sir Francis and his wife receiving a confirmation of the grant to hold the manor for life, all
fees, advowsons, wards, marriages, reliefs, escheats,
franchises, liberties, warrens, reversions, &c., being
included. (fn. 26) Sir Francis Court presented to the
church during the time he held the manor. (fn. 27)
Byfleet continued to be granted by the Kings of
England to their eldest sons until the time of Henry
VIII. (fn. 28) The last-named king is said to have spent
much of his boyhood at Byfleet. (fn. 29) As king, he
granted the manor in 1533 to Katharine of Aragon,
whom he had divorced in that year, (fn. 30) she being
styled Princess Dowager of Wales. Sir Anthony
Browne was at this time keeper of the manor. (fn. 31)
In 1537, when the monastery of Chertsey surrendered to the Crown, (fn. 32) the deed of surrender included among the manors belonging to the abbey
that of Byfleet. This cannot refer to the manor,
which was already in the king's hands. Certain rents,
however, had remained due to the monastery when
the manor passed to the Crown in the 14th century,
since mention of 'assize rents in Byflete' occurs in
the accounts of the surrendered abbey in 1538. (fn. 33)
It was possibly those due from certain lands in Byfleet
which were surrendered to the Crown as the manor
of Byfleet in 1537, although there may have been
some reminiscence of the overlordship which the
abbey had undoubtedly held even when the manor
was in royal hands. (fn. 34) It is also certain that several
lands and tenements referred to in the abovementioned deed of surrender as 'manors' did not
really occupy that standing. (fn. 35)
At the erection of the king's manor of Hampton
Court into an honour in 1539 Byfleet was included
in the possessions allotted to it. (fn. 36) Queen Elizabeth
visited Byfleet in 1576. (fn. 37) James I granted the manor
to Henry, Prince of Wales, and, after his son's death, to
Anne of Denmark, his consort. (fn. 38) In 1617 the reversion of the manor, after her death, was granted to
Sir Francis Bacon and others, for the term of ninety-nine years, in trust for Charles Prince of Wales. (fn. 39)
During the Commonwealth the manor and park of
Byfleet were sold as Crown lands to Thomas
Hammond. (fn. 40)
After the Restoration Byfleet, again in the Crown,
seems to have been held by Queen Henrietta Maria
until her death in 1669. (fn. 41)
In 1672 the lands were granted to Lord Hollis
and others to hold in trust for Queen Catherine of
Braganza for her life, and afterwards for Charles II
and his heirs. (fn. 42) In 1694 Sir John Buckworth was
accused, as lord of the manor of Byfleet, of neglect in
repairing a bridge over the Wey within the said
manor. It was found, however, that he was not responsible for such repair, as he was only a 'termer
for years' in the manor under a 'lease made by the
late queen mother's trustees.' (fn. 43) There is very little
trace of the manor after this time. According to
Manning, Byfleet was usually let to owners of Oatlands, and in 1804 Frederick, Duke of York, then owning Oatlands, purchased Byfleet with Walton and Weybridge, by Act of Parliament. (fn. 44)
The estate passed at the death
of the Duke of York to E. BallHughes, who in 1829 sold a
considerable portion of the
land to Lord King, whose
younger son, the Hon. P. J.
Locke King, inherited the land
so purchased in 1833. Mr.
Hughes, however, remained
lord of the manor of Byfleet
until after 1841. (fn. 45) At the
present time Mr. H. F. Locke
King is one of the principal
landowners at Byfleet; Mrs.
Rutson owns the Manor House, bought in 1891;
and Messrs Paine & Brettell, solicitors, of Chertsey,
are owners of the manor.
King. Sable three spearheads argent with drops of blood and a chief or with three battleaxes azure therein.
The grant of the manor made to John of Eltham,
Earl of Cornwall, in 1330 was supplemented by a
further grant of all corn whether sown or for seed,
livery of servants, plough-cattle and cart-horses, which
had been in the manor when it was granted to him. (fn. 46)
Free warren was granted with the manor to the
Prince of Wales in 1337, (fn. 47) and was included in later
grants to the king's eldest son.
In the Domesday Survey mention is made of a mill
at Byfleet worth 5s., and of 1½ fisheries worth 325
eels. (fn. 48) Geoffrey de Lucy, who held under the abbey
in 1284, owned both the mill and fisheries, as in an
account of his property made in that year the site
of the mill was valued at 18s., the miller's rent was
12d., and the value of the fisheries 3s. (fn. 49) Perquisites
of the court were also his. (fn. 50) In 1279 he claimed
assize of bread and ale in his manor, (fn. 51) and in 1284
he was in receipt of a toll of brewers called le
Schench. (fn. 52) Mills known as the King's Mills at
Byfleet were used for paper-making in the 17th century. (fn. 53) Aubrey states that the Earl of St. Albans
owned a mill here, (fn. 54) but this is probably a mistake. (fn. 55)
Henry Jermyn, Earl of St. Albans, did, however, live
in the manor-house here. John Evelyn records a
visit to 'my lord St. Alban's house at Byflete, an
old large building,' on 24 August 1678. He also
visited the paper-mills at Byfleet on the same day,
and gives a description of the process employed there
for paper-making. (fn. 56) The present mill is a corn-mill.
The manor-house known as the King's House was
built by Sir Anthony Browne, keeper of the park
(vide infra). It was sold with other Crown lands
during the Commonwealth, as 'Byfleete house, situated
about the middle of Byfleete park, upon the river of
Byfleete.' (fn. 56a)
According to Aubrey, Queen Anne of Denmark,
when the manor was settled on her by James I, began
to build 'a noble house of brick,' (fn. 57) afterwards completed by Sir James Fullerton, one of Prince Charles's
trustees under the grant of 1617. It was built where
the old manor-house had stood, and Evelyn in
1678 speaks of it as 'an old large building.' (fn. 58)
The forecourt, garden-wall and gateway, and part of
the existing manor-house are of early 17th-century
date, but the house was rebuilt about 1724–34. A
tile stamped with the former date and a halfpenny of
the latter date, embedded in the mortar, bear out the
evidence of the style. Part of it was pulled down
early in the 19th century.
PARK
The first mention of the PARK of
Byfleet occurs in 1337; it was probably
not imparked before the manor came into
the king's hands. In 1337 John de Chestre was
granted the custody of the park and warren of
Byfleet, with a robe worth a mark, or a mark, every
year for his fee and 2d. daily for his wages. (fn. 59) Norden
gives an interesting account of the park in 1607
when Sir Edward Howard was keeper. It was
stated to lie partly within and partly without the
bounds of the forest of Windsor, and was 3¼ miles
in circuit. There were about 160 fallow deer, about
36 of antler, and 14 buck. He also adds that 'the
Hooping birde, vulgarly held ominous, much frequenteth this park.' (fn. 60)
In 1337 the park of Byfleet was included in
the grant of the manor to the Prince of Wales, (fn. 61)
and was henceforth held, with the manor, by the
Crown. (fn. 62) The grant of 1672 to Queen Catherine
includes the park, but there appears to be no subsequent mention of it. Most of it had evidently been
inclosed before the inclosure award of 1800, but a
small part of it has always remained as open land
round the manor-house.
Grants of the custody of the king's park were made
at intervals from the 14th to the 17th century.
Writs of aid to cut and sell underwood were occasionally issued. (fn. 63) In 1507 John Stoughton, late bailiff
of the king's manor of Byfleet, was charged with
committing waste of timber, having been ordered to
cut down '50 great oaks worth 50s. in the king's
wood at Byfleet.' (fn. 64) In 1513 John Wheler was
appointed keeper of the park, (fn. 65) but he surrendered his
patent, which in 1527 was transferred to Sir William
Fitz William and Sir Anthony Browne. (fn. 66) Sir Anthony
Browne apparently spent much of his time there, (fn. 67)
and died at the manor-house in 1548. (fn. 68) In 1604 a
grant of the park for life was made to Sir Edward
Howard, the king's cup-bearer; (fn. 69) the reversion being
granted to his brother, Sir Charles, in 1613. (fn. 70)
CHURCH
The church of ST. MARY THE
VIRGIN consists of a chancel 19 ft. 6 in.
by 12 ft. 7 in., south chapel and baptistery,
south vestry, nave 42 ft. 10 in. by 17 ft. 2 in., north
porch and south aisle 19 ft. 1 in. wide, all internal
dimensions.
The chancel and nave seem to have been built early
in the 14th century, and are of very plain detail.
The dressings of the windows, &c. are all of chalk, and
have a very sharp appearance suggesting that they
have either been completely renewed in modern times
or that the old material has been recut; the south
aisle and the remainder of the building are quite modern, but the side windows of the aisle are those formerly
in the south wall of the nave.
The east window of the chancel is of three lights
with plain heads and intersecting tracery under a two-centred arch, and the two north windows are each of
two plain lights under a two-centred arch; below the
first is a plain square recess. On the south side are
two modern arches opening to the organ chamber, the
eastern arch containing two plain sedilia, which seem
entirely modern, and a piscina with a cinquefoiled head
partly restored and a sixfoiled drain in a projecting sill; at the back is a modern quatrefoil piercing,
and the backs of the sedilia are also pierced. The
chancel arch has chamfered jambs and a double
chamfered pointed arch, the inner order being corbelled off at the springing line.
The three north windows of the nave are similar
to those of the chancel, and the doorway between the
second and third windows is of chalk in two chamfered orders and has a pointed head; outside is a
modern porch of wood. The south arcade is of four
bays having round pillars and responds with moulded
bases and carved capitals, and pointed two-chamfered
arches; the west window of the nave is also like the
others—of two lights.
The south aisle is wider than the nave and opens
by two arches into the south chapel and organ chamber. Its three side windows resemble those in the
opposite wall, and it has a modern south doorway;
the west window is of four plain lights with intersecting tracery. The organ chamber has a two-light east
window and at the south-east a small baptistery or
chapel serving as an approach to the vestry; this
baptistery has a modern single-light east window, and
in its south wall an old chalk piscina has been re-set;
it has a sixfoiled drain and a plain pointed and
chamfered arch.
The roof of the chancel is gabled and has a modern
panelled ceiling. The nave roof has an apparently
old truss with a king post from which struts branch
four ways. Over the west end is a modern wood
bell-turret partly supported by wood posts from the
floor to the nave; it has two pointed lights in each
side and is hung with oak shingles. Over it is an
octagonal spire also covered with shingles. The aisle
and other roofs are modern.
The font dates from the 15th century and is
octagonal in plan with quatrefoil panelled sides to the
bowl; three of these panels contain heads of angels wearing diadems, and two others have plain shields, the other
three inclosing paterae of foliage. The stem is
panelled with two trefoiled sinkings on each face, and
the base is moulded. The pulpit is six-sided and
bears the initials and date RS 1616 RS; each face has
two rectangular panels, the lower and larger one
inclosing a lesser formed by a moulded rib.
Set in the north jamb of the chancel arch is a brass
figure of a priest above the following inscription:—
'Hic jacet Thom[as] Teylar rector ecclie p[ar]ochialis
de Biflete et unus canonicor' ecclesie cathedralis
Lincoln[iensis] qui quid[am] Thom's obiit … die mensis …
Ao dñi milliõ cccc lxxx … cuius anime p[rp]piciet'
De'.' The exact date of the death has never been
filled in. The figure is dressed in a fur almuce, alb, and
cassock. The stone slab from which the brass was
taken still remains in the chancel floor.
Over the north doorway are the remains of a mural
painting, apparently that of a seated king under a
canopy, and the wall is covered with a masonry
pattern of double red lines with flowers in each compartment. This formerly covered the whole surface
of the nave walls, and was revealed in 1853; the
work is probably of early 14th-century date, and a
little to the west of the doorway is also a painted
consecration cross with expanded arms; the masonry
pattern seems to be painted over the cross, although
probably nearly contemporary with it. Other instances
of the painting over of consecration crosses in this
manner have been noticed.
The three bells are modern, dating from 1853, the
old tenor having been a mediaeval bell, inscribed
'Protege Virgo pia quos convoco Sancta Maria.'
The oldest piece of the Communion plate is a cup
of 1764; there are also two cups, two patens, and a
flagon, all of silver, given in 1893.
In the register the baptisms begin in 1698, the
marriages in 1755, and the burials in 1728.
There is a small iron mission church of St. John
at Byfleet Corner.
ADVOWSON
The church of Byfleet was among
the possessions of the abbey of Chertsey at the time of the Domesday
Survey, (fn. 71) and it so continued until after 1284, in
which year Geoffrey de Lucy, who held Byfleet of the
abbey, was patron of the church. (fn. 72) Shortly after this,
however, the church passed into the king's hands with
the manor (q.v.). (fn. 73) From that time until the present
the patronage has remained in the gift of the Crown. (fn. 74)
The living, a rectory, is now in the gift of the
Lord Chancellor.
The chapel of Wisley was attached to Byfleet as
early as 1535, (fn. 75) presentation to the chapel being
included in that made to Byfleet until after 1646. (fn. 76)
In 1648 George Bradshaw was appointed to Wisley
alone.
The rectory of Byfleet was sequestered during the
reign of Charles I. In June 1645 the wife of the
rector, Hope Gifford, petitioned for aid towards the
maintenance of herself and her children. A fifth part
of all tithes due to the rector was ordered to be paid
her by any person to whom the rectory might stand
sequestered. Mr. Scuddamore, the person in question,
refused, however, to do this, and in 1646 suffered
sequestration himself on this account. (fn. 77) Nevertheless
Calamy gives him among the ejected ministers of 1662.
CHARITIES
The charities include Smith's, as in
other Surrey parishes, also a sum of
£11 10s. under the will of 'Lady
Margaret Bruce,' probably Margaret daughter of the
fourth Lord Balfour of Burleigh, who would have
been Baroness Balfour of Burleigh but for the attainder in 1715 of her elder brother, whose heir
she was. She died in 1769.