ESHER
Aissela (xi cent.); Esere, Eshere, Esschere (xiii cent.);
Eschere &c' Episcopi, Eschere &c' Watevil (xiii and
xiv cents.); Asher (xvi cent.).
Esher is a village 4 miles south-west from Kingston.
The parish is bounded on the north by East Molesey, on
the east by Thames Ditton, on the south by Cobham,
and on the west by Walton on Thames. It measures
barely 3 miles from north to south, and scarcely 2
miles east to west. It contains 2,044 acres of land
and 50 of water. The River Mole forms the greater
part of the western boundary. The village itself and
most of the parish lie upon the only considerable
elevation of Bagshot sand which rises east of the Mole
Valley, a situation which has at once rendered it
picturesque, dry, and a favourite site for houses. The
borders of the parish however touch the alluvium of
the Mole Valley on the west and the London clay
on the east, and in the north the sandy gravel of
Ditton Marsh.
Esher is agricultural and residential. Esher Common
is an extensive piece of open land now largely planted
with conifers and birches, and adjoins other open
land at Fairmile and Ockshot in Cobham parish.
The London and Portsmouth road passes through the
village. The main line of the London and South
Western Railway has a station at Esher, and the Cobham line to Guildford skirts the eastern boundary of
the parish.
Claremont, which was originally part of the manor of
Esher Episcopi, was bought by Sir John Vanbrugh, who
built a small house for himself, and began to ornament
the grounds (Guest's poem 'Claremont' attributes the
first improvements to Vanbrugh). The Earl of Clare
(Duke of Newcastle 1715) bought the property in 1714
on coming of age, and called it after his own title 'Clare
Mont.' On his death in 1768 the whole was bought
by Lord Clive, who employed 'Capability' Brown
to build the present house. It was unfinished at his
death in 1774, and was sold to Viscount Galway. He
sold to the Earl of Tyrconnel, who in 1807 sold to
Mr. Charles Rose Ellis. He in 1816 conveyed it to
the Commissioners of Woods and Forests for the use of
the Princess Charlotte on her marriage with Prince
Leopold. After her death in 1817 Prince Leopold
continued to reside here. When he became King
of the Belgians it was occupied occasionally by
Queen Victoria, to whom the king conveyed all
his rights for life in the house. In 1848 it
became the home of Louis Philippe, the exiled king
of the French and of his family. He died here in
1850, and his queen Marie Amélie in 1866. It was
granted to the late Duke of Albany on his marriage
in 1882, and is now the seat of H.R.H. the Duchess
of Albany. The house is of brick, with windowframes, portico and cornice of stone. The portico is
supported by Corinthian columns, and the pediment
bears Lord Clive's arms. Marble is extensively used
in the internal decorations, and the rooms are very
spacious and handsome.
Another phase of the associations of Esher is of a
very different kind. At Sandon was a small hospital,
founded in the 12th century. (fn. 1) In 1436, after an
unfortunate history, during which in 1349 all its
brethren had died of the plague, and later, great
suffering had resulted from dishonest or incompetent
masters, it was suppressed and its property granted to
St. Thomas' Southwark. Sandon remained as the
name of a farm only, till in 1875 the first meeting of
the Sandown Park Racing Club revived public knowledge of it. The racecourse lies south of the line, close
to Esher station, and is chiefly in Esher parish, but
partly in Thames Ditton. The meetings stand at the
head of the inclosed racecourse meetings in the
kingdom.
Esher is an urban district with the Dittons, under
a Local Government Board Order issued April 1895. (fn. 2)
There is an iron mission church at West End. The
Baptist chapel was built in 1852, and the Wesleyan
chapel in 1889, and there is a Quakers' meeting-house.
The village hall was built in 1887. The drinking
fountain was presented by Her Majesty Queen Victoria
in 1877, in place of a public pump given by the
late Comte de Paris, which had become unserviceable.
Besides Claremont and Esher Place (see under
manor) there are several large houses in Esher: Esher
Lodge, built late in the 18th century, is the seat of Mr.
W. Seymour Eastwood; Milburn of the Hon. Henry
Lorton Burke; Glenhurst of Lady Emma Talbot;
Moore Place of Mr. C. A. Moreing; Littleworth,
a modern house in a small park, of Mr. P. M. Martineau; The Grove of Mr. Rhodes H. Cobb; Hill
House, in a small park, of Mr. G. B. Batchelor;
Hawkshill Place, in a park, of Mr. A. W. Drayson.
Broom Hill was the residence of the late Sir Robert
Hawthorn Collins, K.C.B.
MANORS
The manor of ESHER (also called
ESHER EPISCOPI) which Tovi had
held of Edward the Confessor, was given
to the Abbot and convent of Croix St. Leufroy in
Normandy by William I, (fn. 3) on condition of finding
two priests to say mass in the said manor for the souls
of his predecessors. (fn. 4) In the reign of Henry III,
before 1238, Peter des Roches, Bishop of Winchester,
bought the manor from the monks of Croix St. Leufroy, (fn. 5) and gave it to the Abbot and convent of the
Place of St. Edward at Netley in Hampshire. (fn. 6) In 1245
the Abbot and convent of Netley released the manor
to William de Raleigh, Bishop of Winchester, and the
church of Winchester, (fn. 7) and it remained among the possessions of the see till 1538,
when Bishop Gardiner conveyed it to Henry VIII, who
wished to annex it to the
honour of Hampton Court. (fn. 8)
In 1550 Edward VI granted
the manor to John, Earl of
Warwick, to hold of the king
in chief by service of one
knight's fee; (fn. 9) but a few months
later the earl reconveyed it to
the king. (fn. 10) Queen Mary restored the estate to the see
of Winchester in the first year
of her reign. (fn. 11)
See of Winchester. Gules St. Peter's keys crossed with St. Paul's sword.
In 1578 it appears that Charles Lord Howard of
Effingham tried to prevail on Bishop Horne of Winchester to grant him a lease in perpetuity of the
manor for £20 a year, and by the threat of compassing his end by other means if the bishop would not
agree, and bribing him further by promising to
support his scheme for reviving a school at Farnham, (fn. 12)
induced him to comply. (fn. 13) Lord Howard was acting
in the affair for the queen on behalf of Richard Drake
Her Majesty's equerry. In February 1582–3 the
Crown bought up the lease (fn. 14) and granted the manor
to Lord Howard, who evidently transferred the
property to Richard Drake, for he died in possession
in 1603. (fn. 15) His son Francis Drake held it in 1629,
and died in 1634. (fn. 16) He had apparently sold the
manor during his lifetime, for in 1635 Sir William
Russell, bart., and his wife Dorothy conveyed it to
George Price. (fn. 17) In 1659 George Price and Margaret
his wife quitclaimed the manor to Walter Plomer and
his sister Elizabeth, (fn. 18) who held a manorial court here
in 1662, (fn. 19) and in 1663, in conjunction with John,
son and heir of George Price, they conveyed it to
Nicholas Colborne, citizen and vintner of London, in
consideration of the sum of £9,104 14s. 6d. paid to
Sir Walter and his sister, and a competent sum to
John Price. (fn. 20) Colborne mortgaged the estate, which
in 1677 was purchased by Philip Doughty. (fn. 21) He in
1679 sold Northwood, which, though in the parish
of Cobham, was demesne land of the manor of Esher;
and it seems probable that he sold the manor also to
Sir T. Lynch, who held it in 1680, (fn. 22) and whose
daughter Philadelphia married Thomas Cotton.
They held the manor jointly, (fn. 23) and sold it to John
Latton, (fn. 24) from whom it was purchased in 1716–17 by
Thomas Pelham, Duke of Newcastle. (fn. 25) After the
duke's death in 1768 this manor, together with Esher
Wateville and the mansion and estate of Claremont,
was purchased by Lord Clive, who held the whole
property till his death in 1774. It was then sold to
Viscount Galway, who disposed of it to the Earl of
Tyrconnel, from whom it was bought in 1807 by
Charles Rose Ellis. (fn. 26) He in 1816 agreed to sell the
entire property to the Commissioners of His Majesty's
Woods and Forests for £66,000 for the use of Princess Charlotte, and the purchase was ratified by an Act
of Parliament. (fn. 26a) Subsequently it reverted to the
Crown, and the Duchess of Albany is now lady of the
manor. Shortly after the time that the manor of
Esher was sold to the Duke of Newcastle, the park and
manor-house, which had been separated from the
manor, were sold by John Latton to Peter Delaporte, (fn. 27)
one of the directors of the South Sea Company.
When in 1721 the South Sea crisis occurred, the
estates of the principal directors were seized under
the authority of an Act of Parliament, and sold for
the benefit of those holders of South Sea stock who
had lost their money. This estate was purchased
by Dennis Bond in 1724, (fn. 28) and resold by him in
1729 to the Right Honourable Henry Pelham, the
well-known statesman. (fn. 29) By a will dated 17 September 1748 Mr. Pelham devised the estate to Frances,
his eldest surviving daughter, for her life. (fn. 30) She died
unmarried in 1804, and this property passed to her
nephew, Lewis Thomas, Lord Sondes, (fn. 31) who in 1805
sold the estate in parcels. The house and park at
Esher were purchased by John Spicer, (fn. 32) whose son,
J. W. Spicer, succeeded him in 1831. (fn. 33) The present
owner is Sir Edgar Vincent, K.C.M.G.
There was a manor-house at Esher in early times,
which was enlarged by John, Bishop of Winchester, in
1331. (fn. 34) Bishop Waynflete (fn. 35) built a stately brick
mansion on the banks of the River Mole in Esher
Park, the gate-house of which still remains and
bears his name. (fn. 36) This house perhaps did not satisfy
the gorgeous ideas of Cardinal Wolsey, to whom it
was lent by Bishop Fox in 1519. The latter wrote
on this occasion, 'Would God that the poor lodging
of Esher did content your Grace as it rejoiceth me
that it can please you to use it.' (fn. 37) When Wolsey in
1528 succeeded Fox as bishop he gave directions for
the repair and partial rebuilding of this house; and
after his disgrace he took up his residence there for
some time. (fn. 38) In a survey of the manor taken in the
reign of Edward VI it is stated that besides the
'sumptuously built' mansion-house there were an
orchard and garden, with a park adjoining, 3 miles
in circuit. (fn. 39) When restored to the see of Winchester
by Queen Mary the manor comprised, besides the
park, the rabbit-warren, about 185 acres of land, and
the land called Northwood in Cobham. (fn. 40)
Henry Pelham, the statesman, employed Kent to
rebuild wings to the gate-house. (fn. 41) The main part
of the standing gate-house is of Waynflete's time.
The porch is undoubtedly Kent's, and he probably
altered the windows. How much of the original
house was standing when he built in 1729 is unknown,
but the view in Salmon seems to show the great hall
on the side of a quadrangle opposite to the gatehouse.
Mr. John Spicer pulled down Pelham's additions,
leaving the original gate-house, and rebuilt on a new
and higher site. The present house, of Palladian style,
with Ionic porticoes, commands fine views, and the
grounds are well planted and very picturesque.
ESHER WATEVILLE—In 675 Frithwald, subregulus of Surrey, and Bishop Erkenwald are said to have
granted to Chertsey Abbey 5 mansas at Esher. (fn. 41a) This
grant was confirmed by King Edward in 1062, (fn. 42) and during his reign an Englishman gave to the abbey 2 hides of
land in Esher belonging to the manor of Esher. (fn. 43) At
the time of the Domesday Survey the monks had
5½ hides of land in Esher, rated at only 5 virgates,
which were held of them by William de Wateville. (fn. 44)
The land apparently continued in the possession
of the Wateville family till the reign of Henry III,
when Robert de Wateville held under the Abbot of
Chertsey a fourth part of a knight's fee in Esher; (fn. 45)
and this constituted the manor of Esher Wateville. The manor descended to Matilda daughter of Robert de Wateville, probably son of the Robert
mentioned above. She had three husbands, Reginald
de Imworth, (fn. 46) Richard Russell, (fn. 47) and Nicholas de
Wynton. (fn. 48) John de Imworth, son of Reginald and
Matilda, conveyed the reversion of the manor to
Margery and Joan, co-heiresses of Nicholas de Wynton
and Matilda. (fn. 49) Margery married William de Milbourn, in whose family the manor remained. (fn. 50)
In August 1344 it was held by John de Milbourne, (fn. 51)
and in 1360 it was settled on him and his wife Isabel,
with remainder to William their son, and the heirs of
his body, and in default to the right heirs of John. (fn. 52)
John, then known as John Milbourne senior, was still
living in 1383. (fn. 53) In 1533 the manor was in the
hands of Cecilia Sympson, widow, daughter and heir
of Sir Thomas Milbourne. (fn. 54) As late as 1539 Margaret York, widow, had a life interest in part of the
manor; (fn. 55) two years later Cecilia Sympson enfeoffed
trustees of the manor to the use of herself for life,
then to Margaret Hardwen for life, with remainder
to the heirs of her cousin William Fawkner. (fn. 56) In
1567 William Fawkner was holding the manor, (fn. 57) and
in 1572 he conveyed it to Thomas Brockholes. (fn. 58)
The latter in the following year conveyed the manor
with view of frankpledge to Richard Hatton. (fn. 59) In
1614 Richard Hatton and Robert Hatton levied
a fine and made a settlement in jointure of this
manor on Alice, wife of Robert Hatton. (fn. 60) Robert
and Alice were holding in 1628, (fn. 61) but shortly after
this the corporation of Kingston purchased the manor
from Robert Hatton with the manor-house and
about 45 acres of land, to be settled for charitable
uses. (fn. 62) In 1716–17 the Duke of Newcastle, owner
of Claremont, procured an Act of Parliament for
vesting in himself this estate, subject to the payment
of a perpetual fee-farm rent to Kingston of £95. (fn. 63) It
was afterwards transferred with Esher Episcopi to
other proprietors, (fn. 64) and so ultimately came into
the hands of Leopold King of the Belgians, (fn. 65) and
subsequently reverted to the Crown. The Duchess
of Albany is now lady of the manor.
The house now known as Milbourne was presented
by Princess Charlotte to Major-General Sir Robert
William Gardiner, K.C.B. (fn. 66) It is now the seat of
Mr. William Hartmann, J.P.
The manor of SANDON or SANDOWN, also
called SANDON CHAPEL and occasionally BURWOOD, is said to have been the original endowment
of the hospital of Sandon, in this parish, given by
Robert de Wateville in the time of Henry II. (fn. 67) The
hospital certainly existed in the reign of Henry III;
but in the licence for its suppression in 1436 the
foundation is attributed to an unknown Bishop of
Winchester. (fn. 68) It is quite possible that the land had
been part of the Wateville manor of Esher. It extended
into Walton on Thames, Thames Ditton, and West
Molesey.
In 1436 the hospital became so impoverished that
it could no longer support itself, and was therefore
united, with all its possessions, to the hospital of
St. Thomas the Martyr, Southwark. (fn. 69) The rolls of
the courts held by the master of St. Thomas's
at Sandon in 1467–8 are extant. (fn. 70) In 1538 the
master and brethren of the hospital conveyed the
manor of Sandon and parsonage of Esher to the
king in exchange for other parsonages, lately monastic
property. (fn. 71) The manor remained in the hands
of the Crown, and was leased by Queen Elizabeth
to Elizabeth Nolte in 1577, under the name of
the manor of Sandon Chapel. (fn. 72) In 1603 James I
granted the manor to John Earl of Mar, (fn. 73) but five
years later the king resumed it, granting the earl other
lands in exchange. (fn. 74) Charles I in 1630 granted Sandon Manor to Dudley Carleton, Viscount Dorchester, (fn. 75)
who died in 1632. (fn. 76) From him it descended to his
nephew Sir Dudley Carleton, who with his wife Lucy
and his elder brother Sir John Carleton, the heir-atlaw of the viscount, conveyed the manor to William and
Gerard Gore as the manor of Sandon and the manor
of Sandon Chapel. (fn. 77) Courts were held by William and
Gerard Gore till 1640, and by William Gore only
till 1659. In 1665 and 1675 John Gore appears as
lord, in 1768–9 courts were held by John and Gerard
Gore, in 1684 and 1692 by John Gore only. (fn. 78) In
1694 Sir William Gore, Benjamin Dolphin and
Tabitha his wife, daughter and heiress of Gerard
Gore, conveyed to John Gore, (fn. 79) whose wife Joanna
sold it in 1715 to Charles Earl of Halifax, (fn. 80) who had
become Lord Lieutenant of Surrey in the previous
December, but died in May 1715, about the time of
the completion of the sale. He was succeeded by his
nephew George, second Earl of Halifax, who entered
into a contract for the sale of Sandon to George
Tournay, then a resident at Esher. Tournay died
before the purchase was completed, and after some litigation the estate was conveyed in 1740 to Marsh
Dickenson and Henry Laremore in trust for the
co-heirs of Tournay. A partition of the property
was made, the manor falling to the share of Nathaniel Bateman, and the old buildings and Sandon
Chapel to Mrs. Catherine Jenkin. In 1741 the manor was
bought by Arthur Onslow,
Speaker of the House of Commons, who died in 1768. In
1780 his son and heir George,
Lord Onslow and Cranley, sold
it to Sir John Frederick, bart.,
of Burwood Park, from whom
it passed to his second son and
successor, Sir Richard Frederick,
who died without issue in
1873. (fn. 81)
Frederick, baronet. Or a chief azure with three doves argent therein.
Sandown House, the seat of Mr. J. P. CurrieBlyth, J.P., belonged in 1870 to Mr. Spicer of Esher
Place. The Sandown Park Racecourse Company,
which held its first meeting in 1875, has acquired
some of the land.
The property is described as consisting, at the time
of Lord Dorchester's death, of 'the manor of Sandon,
and houses, chambers, &c., in the manor, belonging at
the time of the Dissolution to the hospital of St. Thomas
of Southwark, called 'le Master's lodgings,' to wit, a
parlour and a chamber built above it, a small kitchen,
and a garden, and the two chambers above the said
chapel.' (fn. 82)
CHURCHES
CHRIST CHURCH is a completely
modern structure, built in 1853–4,
and consists of a chancel with north
vestry and organ chamber and a south chapel or pew
belonging to Esher Place; a large nave with north
and south aisles and porches, and a west tower surmounted by a broach spire. The whole church is
in 13th-century style, and contains no old work of
any sort except one monument brought from the old
church. This is on the wall of the south aisle and is to
Richard Drake, who died in 1603, who was 'one of the
Queries (i.e. Equerries) of Our late Soverane Elizabets
Stable.' He married Ursula Stafford, and had one
son, Francis. Above are three shields. In the centre
a shield of seven quarters, arranged four and three;
(1) Argent a dragon gules for Drake; (2) Argent on
a chief gules three molets argent; (3) Gules on a
fesse argent two molets gules; (4) Ermine on a fesse
indented azure three crosslets argent; (5) Ermine
three bars azure; (6) Azure six lions rampant or,
three, two, and one; (7) Argent a cheveron azure.
On the dexter side is a shield of six quarters; (1) and
(6) Or a cheveron gules with a canton ermine;
(2) Party fessewise gules and azure a lion rampant
or; (3) Azure, two bars or with three molets gules
on each; (4) Azure a cross argent; (5) Or ermined
sable a fesse azure. On the sinister is the first shield
given above impaling the second. The crest over the
first shield is a clenched hand. The monument
itself is in the form of a small Corinthian order inclosing an arched recess in which is the kneeling effigy
of a man in complete armour with ruffs at the neck
and wrists. In the north aisle is a wall monument to
Leopold Duke of Albany, died 1884, with his arms
of England with the difference of a label of three
points argent having three hearts gules thereon, and
the arms of Saxony in pretence. In the tower is
another modern monument, erected by Queen Victoria
to Leopold King of the Belgians, 1865, 'in memory
of the uncle who held a father's place in her
affections.'
The tower contains eight modern bells. The
church plate is also modern and consists of two
chalices, two small and two large patens, a flagon, an
almsdish and a spoon, all silver-gilt.
The first book of the registers is of paper and contains marriages from 1691, burials from 1678, and
baptisms from 1684, all entries running to 1695.
The second book is in part a duplicate of the first and
contains marriages from 1688 to 1754, burials from
1678 to 1812, and baptisms from 1682 to 1812, and
there is a printed marriages and burials book from 1754
to 1812.
The church of ST. GEORGE, known locally as
Sandy (i.e. Sandon) Chapel, consists of a chancel,
nave, north aisle, projecting bay on the south with
private pews above a vault, a south vestry, and a shingled bell-turret on the west gable.
The chancel and western part of the nave are built
of stone; the rest is in red brick. There is now no
evidence of any work earlier than the 16th century,
and the interior was till 1909 an interesting example
of 18th-century fittings and arrangement.
The windows all have wooden frames, there being
three in the chancel and north aisle; in the south
wall of the nave is a pointed window with stone jambs
and above the west door is a square light.
Galleries extend round three sides of the church,
and at the west end is a second at a higher level. A
framed painting of our Lord hangs above the altar
against a panelled reredos. There is no chancel arch
or division between nave and chancel, and the north
aisle is separated from the nave by wooden pillars
carrying a beam. The opening to the bay on the
south is filled by Corinthian columns and pilasters
carrying a pediment cornice; there are several pews
in the bay, two of which have small fireplaces, and
steps leading to an external door. There is a small
marble font. The church was fitted throughout with
box pews, but in 1909 the decay of the floor necessitated their removal, when the floor was relaid. The
roof has collars and wind braces, but is partly
plastered, and over the nave is pierced with a large
skylight.
On a beam at the west end of the chancel are the
arms of George II.
There are some late 17th-century and many 18th-century monuments to families of the neighbourhood,
as well as several funeral hatchments.
The single bell which now remains is by John
Warner & Son, 1799.
There is now no plate belonging to the church.
ADVOWSON
The church of Esher is not mentioned in Domesday. There was a
church there at the end of the 13th
century, when the advowson belonged to the Bishop
of Winchester, (fn. 83) and it seems probable that the advowson was purchased with the manor of Esher from the
monks of Croix St. Leufroy by Peter, Bishop of
Winchester. (fn. 84) It was included in the grant of
the manor made by the Abbot of Netley to William,
Bishop of Winchester, in 1245. (fn. 85) In 1284 the king
quitclaimed to the bishop all right to the advowson
of Esher. (fn. 86) Soon after this the advowson seems to
have become separated from the manor and to have
been in the hands of the hospital, for in 1535 the
rectory of Esher formed part of the possession of the
hospital of St. Thomas the Martyr, Southwark. (fn. 87)
In 1538 the master and brethren conveyed
it to the king in exchange for other parsonages,
lately monastic property. (fn. 88) In 1620 it was granted
by James I to Sir Henry Spiller, kt., and others. (fn. 89)
George Price held the advowson with the manor in
1635, (fn. 90) and it descended with the manor till 1714, (fn. 91)
when John Latton vested it in trustees for the benefit
of Wadham College, Oxford, to the founder of which
he was related, (fn. 92) and restored the impropriate tithes of
the rectory. Under Latton's gift the patronage was
vested in 1726 in Thomas Trevor, (fn. 93) and in 1744 in
Henry Pye. (fn. 94) These trustees were bound to appoint
a kinsman of the founder of Wadham College before
any other person, if there were any such of that
college and in Holy Orders at the time of the decease
of the incumbent of Esher. The college is now patron.
CHARITIES
Smith's Charity is distributed as in
other Surrey parishes. Lady Lynch,
widow of Sir Thomas Lynch, governor of Jamaica, who died in 1682, (fn. 95) gave £100, one
third to the clergyman for a sermon annually, 5s. to the
clerk, the rest to the poor people; also 3½ acres of
land for the repair of the church. (fn. 96)
In 1789 Mr. Nathaniel George Petree left £850
to the rector and churchwardens for the support of
the Sunday school, also a library of religious books for
the parish and £100, the interest to go to the school-master for acting as librarian and to the poor in bread.
National Schools were fitted up by subscriptions in
the disused workhouse in 1837; but in 1779 John
Winkin left £6 yearly to educate three children, so
presumably a school existed then. A new school
(National) was built in 1858 and enlarged in 1891.
West End Infants School (National) was built in 1879
by Mrs. Bailey of Stoney Hills in memory of her
husband.