FARLEY
Fearnlega, Fearlege (ix cent.); Ferlega (xi cent.);
Farle, Pharleye (xiii cent.); Farleygh (xv cent.);
Farleigh (later).
Farley is a very small parish 4 miles south-east of
Croydon. It measures nearly 1½ miles either way
and contains 1,051 acres. It is on the Chalk downs,
but the chalk is generally capped by brick earth, clay
and gravel. The parish is purely agricultural and thinly
inhabited; the soil is not very fertile, and there is a
considerable amount of woodland. Farley Green and
Little Farley Green are open grass commons of small
size. The few buildings which comprise the village
lie chiefly around the former. The church lies apart
from the village, and close to it is Farley Court, the
old manor-house, which has the remains of a moat
about it.
On both Farley Green and Little Farley Green
are circular depressions, but whether these are hut
circles like those in some neighbouring parishes
of Surrey and Kent or comparatively modern it
is impossible to say without excavation. There are
traces of a bank, partly encircling Farley Wood, which
may be the inclosure of the park claimed by Merton
College in 1278.
In the Middle Ages Farley produced oaken
shingles and iron nails. (fn. 1) As the parish is not in the
iron-producing or manufacturing district, any smiths
who flourished in Farley were more probably attracted
by the timber, from which charcoal was made for
their forges, than by any special supply of iron, which
must have been brought from the Weald.
There is no school at Farley. The children attend
either at Warlingham or Chelsham.
MANOR
FARLEY may be identified with the
'Fearnlega,' in which Ælfred, described
as dux, left land to Eadred charged with
the payment of 30 measures of corn to the monks of
Rochester. (fn. 2) Immediately before the Conquest it was
held by Tovi, (fn. 3) and it was one of the manors granted
by William I to Richard de Tonbridge, lord of Clare.
The overlordship descended with the Clares until
1314, when, on the death of Gilbert de Clare, it
passed to his sister Eleanor wife of Hugh le Despenser.
Edward le Despenser, nephew and heir of Hugh (fn. 4)
son of Hugh and Eleanor, held four knights' fees in
Farley, Malden, Chessington and Thorncroft at his
death in 1375, (fn. 5) after which there is no further trace
of the overlordship.
In 1086 Farley was held of Richard de Tonbridge
by Robert de Watevile. (fn. 6) In the 13th century it was
with Malden in Kingston Hundred (fn. 7) (q.v.) in the
tenure of the family known as 'de Malden' alias
'de Cuddington,' who were probably a branch of the
Watevile family holding under the descendants of
Robert de Watevile in the main line. In 1240 Peter
de Cuddington received a quitclaim from Roger de
Bavent and his wife Sarah and the heirs of Sarah of all
right in one knight's fee in Farley, late of Brian de
Malden. (fn. 8) This seems to have been the end of a suit
between Hamo de Watevile and Richard de Vabadun,
father of Sarah, concerning the fees held by Hamo de
Watevile in Farley and Malden. (fn. 9) Farley was conveyed
with Malden to Walter de
Merton, (fn. 10) who in 1249
obtained a grant of free
warren there. (fn. 11) In 1264 he
granted the manor for the
foundation of a college at
Oxford, (fn. 12) afterwards called
Merton College. The warden
and scholars in 1278 claimed
a park at Farley 'from the
Conquest,' and free warren
by the charter of Henry III. (fn. 13)
In 1347 it was found by inquisition that they held
Farley in frankalmoign and
were quit of all fifteenths,
tenths, tallages and contributions. (fn. 14) Charles I in 1634
confirmed the manor with the advowson and certain
woods called Farley Parks, Farley Frith, Popletwood
and Hedgegroves. (fn. 15) The college has continued to
hold the manor to this day. (fn. 16) In 1616 James I
granted to William Jordan, lord of the manor of
Caterham, the privileges of court leet and view of
frankpledge in (inter alia) Farley. (fn. 17)
Merton College, Oxford. Or three cheverons party and counter-coloured azure and gules.
CHURCH
The church of ST. MARY stands in
the midst of fields, on high ground, with
woods to the south and east. There
must have been a church at Farley at or soon after
the compilation of the Domesday Survey. Judging
by the style of the western doorway, a date about the
close of the 11th century suggests itself, at any rate
for the building of the first stone church. The
present building is of field flints, with the original
rough yellow plaster or mortar coat outside, and
with dressings of local firestone and inside a little
Caen. It presents still the simple original plan of
nave, 32 ft. by 17 ft, 1 in., and chancel 15 ft. 2 in.
by 18 ft., lengthened to 28 ft. 3 in. internally in
the 13th century. A modern vestry and heating-chamber have been lately added on the south,
and a poor timber porch of no antiquity has been
replaced by one of flint and stone. The timber bell-turret at the west end is modern, but in all probability replaces a similar feature. (fn. 18) The walls are
unusually thick—3 ft. in the nave and 2 ft. 8 in. in
the chancel. The 11th and 13th-century quoins
remain, including the original quoins of the first east
wall, (fn. 19) and are of unusually small stones. Both the
nave and chancel roofs are modern, or at least hidden
by modern boarding, and are tiled externally. There
was originally no chancel arch, but apparently a screen,
and perhaps a plastered tympanum, behind the rood
marked the junction of nave and chancel.
The western doorway (fn. 20) is a good example of plain
work of the last quarter of the 11th century. It is
of two square orders, with a plain tympanum that
looks as if it had done duty as a millstone. There are
shafts to the outer order, having chamfered abaci and
cushion capitals, with conical bases having straps at the
angles. (fn. 21) The small south door, now opening to the
vestry, is of the same early date, and has a flat lintel
to the outer, and a circular arch to the inner, side,
with plain square jambs. Four windows in the side
walls and one in the west gable appear to be original,
but the external openings of the four have obviously
been widened and the stonework re-tooled. Originally
the splays ran out to a feather-edge, the arris of
which was chiselled off, giving an aperture 9 in. wide.
Now it is 16 in. wide, with a broad chamfer round.
The western window seems to have been originally
wider than the others, and has not been altered. No
doubt there were three windows in the original
chancel, one in either wall, and those in the sides
were replaced by wide rebated lancets about 1230.
A niche of plain oblong shape eastward of that in the
south wall represents the Norman piscina or a tabernacle. In the repairs lately carried out search was
made for piscina, aumbry, or other recess in the
extended part of the chancel, but without success.
The extension may have been made about 1264, when
the manor of Farley was conveyed to Merton College,
Oxford. The lancets in the extension are noticeably
narrower than those in the western part of the chancel,
and are chamfered and grooved for glazing, instead of
the chamfer and rebate of the earlier lancets. There
is one in the north and another in the south wall,
while in the east, instead of the usual triplet, there
are two, and curiously enough one of
these has a round head while the other
is pointed. (fn. 22)
The pulpit, seating and other furniture
is modern, the reredos dating only from
the year 1911.
Placed upright on the south wall of
the chancel is a ledger bearing the small
brass effigies of John Brock, citizen and
poulterer of London, who died on 1 May
1495, and of Ann his wife, beneath the
father being a group of four sons, and
one daughter beneath the mother, with
inscriptions below. The man is dressed
in the long merchant's gown with a
string of beads hanging from his girdle,
and his wife wears the gabled head-dress.
Against the north wall of the chancel
is a marble ledger, formerly under the
altar, to Dr. Samuel Bernard, 1657, and his wife
Elizabeth, 1705. It bears the arms of Bernard:
three scallops on a bend. He is described as 'Pastor
fidus, vir nullo fædere fædatus'—'a man stained
by no covenant'—which suggests that he suffered
persecution, as did many of the clergy, for refusing to sign the Solemn League and Covenant in
the Great Rebellion, c. 1644. The other monuments in the church and churchyard are of no
importance.
Only one bell hangs in the turret. It is 29 in.
in diameter, and bears the inscription 'John Hodson
made me 1663. IM ID CW.'
The plate is modern and of poor quality.
The registers date from 1679, and have been printed
by the Surrey Parish Register Society.
ADVOWSON
In 1254 Reyner Prior of the
monastery of Tortington, near
Arundel, co. Sussex, quitclaimed the
advowson of Farley to Walter de Merton, reserving
to himself a pension which he had always had from
the church. (fn. 23) Walter de Merton settled it on his
foundation of Merton College, and the warden and
scholars of Merton have always exercised the right of
presentation. (fn. 24) In 1264 a licence was procured for
an appropriation of the living, and presentations were
made to the church as a vicarage until 1483 (fn. 25) ; from
that date, with one exception (in 1518), the incumbents have held the benefice as a rectory. (fn. 26)
Plan of Farley Church
CHARITIES
Smith's charity is distributed as in
other Surrey parishes.