A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 4. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1912.
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'Parishes: Beddington', in A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 4, ed. H E Malden( London, 1912), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/surrey/vol4/pp168-178 [accessed 14 October 2024].
'Parishes: Beddington', in A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 4. Edited by H E Malden( London, 1912), British History Online, accessed October 14, 2024, https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/surrey/vol4/pp168-178.
"Parishes: Beddington". A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 4. Ed. H E Malden(London, 1912), , British History Online. Web. 14 October 2024. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/surrey/vol4/pp168-178.
In this section
BEDDINGTON
Bedintune, Bedington.
The parish of Beddington contains 3,127½ acres, including 1,439 acres of arable land, 614 of permanent grass and 45 of woods. (fn. 1) As usual, on the north side of the chalk, the old village lies on the Thanet Sands, and the parish extends on the south over the chalk downs and northwards on to the London Clay. Lavender and medicinal herbs are grown in the parish. The population in 1901 was 4,812. (fn. 2) The parish is bounded on the north by Mitcham Common, and the three parishes of Croydon, Beddington and Mitcham meet on the railway line by Beddington Lane station.
The southern part of the parish rises up the chalk downs, and in Wallington is 354 ft. above sea level, but the higher portions are rather bare and uninteresting, though the views are extensive. At Hackbridge, on the borders of Carshalton, the Wandle was crossed in the 13th century by a bridge called Hakebrug. There was a mill here belonging to St. Thomas's Hospital, Southwark. (fn. 3) At the present day there is a snuff mill and also a tannery. Some artesian wells are found in the neighbourhood. Bandon Hill, marking the site of the manor of Bandon, is about half a mile south of Beddington Park, on the Downs. The cemetery for Beddington, Wallington and Coulsdon, opened in 1899, is situated here.
In the neighbourhood of Woodcote the early antiquaries, Camden, Aubrey, Horsley and Gale, all professed to have seen or heard of remains of Roman buildings, wells, bricks, urns and coins. (fn. 4) It was accordingly selected as the site of Noviomagus, Ncomagus or Noiomagus of the Itineraries. As there was certainly more than one place in Britain called Noviomagus, the identification is possible but uncertain. Beddington was not improbably on the British trackway, which seems to have taken the curve of the chalk downs from above Mickleham, past Epsom race-course, towards Croydon. There is a Coldharbour between it and Croydon—a fairly safe indication of an old road. But the neighbourhood does not seem to have been scientifically explored in recent days. South of Hackbridge there were remains of a Roman villa and of apparently heathen Anglo-Saxon burials. (fn. 5) A considerable hoard of bronze was found near the same site. (fn. 6)
The northern part of the parish, between Mitcham Common and the Wandle, is singularly flat and unattractive and is disfigured by works and gravel pits.
The village, situated on the banks of the Wandle, is picturesque. The main portion stands to the north of the main road upon a road leading in the direction of Mitcham Common and sloping down to the level of the river, which it crosses by a modern lattice-girder bridge. Part of the village is also situated upon a by-road, which, leaving the main road a short distance to the westward of that just mentioned, slopes down to the river and, following its course eastwards, rejoins the principal street by the bridge. On the west side of this road, at its junction with a by-road leading westwards to the church, are three half-timber cottages, probably of 16th-century date. Near the junction of the principal street with the main road is a late 17th-century two-storied house of brick with a third story in the tiled roof. The church stands about a quarter of a mile to the west of the village, a little to the north of the main road. In the grounds of the house adjoining Beddington Park, on the north side, is an octagonal barn of red brick, with a pyramidal tiled roof in which is a dove-cote. This seems to be of mid18th-century date. Many houses have been built in recent years and the village is beginning to become suburban.
The parish hall in the village was built in 1901.
The National school was built in 1843 and enlarged in 1889, the infants' school was built in 1872 and rebuilt in 1895, the Beddington Corner girls' school was built in 1848 and the boys' and infants' school in 1906. At Russell Hill, overlooking Smitham Bottom, is the Warehousemen and Clerks' School, founded in 1854 for about 300 scholars.
Besides Beddington Park (for which see under manor) there is also a park attached to Beddington Place, the seat of Mr. A. A. Collyer Bristow. Beddington House is the residence of Mr. H. D. Holloway.
Wallington (Waletone, Waleton, Walyngton, xi cent.) is a hamlet of Beddington, now a separate ecclesiastical parish. Beddington Corner and Hackbridge were considered parts of the hamlet, but the former is not included in the new ecclesiastical parish. Wallington is now more urban than Beddington; the hamlet in 1901 had a population of 5,152 on an area of 312 acres. (fn. 7) In prehistoric times it also appears to have been the more important place, since it gave its name to the hundred. It is possible that the Roman remains mentioned above may be a relic of a formerly important place, and that its name may preserve the memory of the Wealas, the Romanized Britons, whom the Suthrige found here when Britain was becoming England. In historical records, however, Wallington is not a place of importance. There was a chapel, but there is no record of a parish church. In Bishop Willis's visitation of 1725 the chapel is described as partly used for a barn, no service having taken place since the memory of man. It was ruinous later in the century and was pulled down in 1797. There were extensive common fields, as was usual in the parishes on the north side of the chalk range. They were inclosed under an Act of 1812. (fn. 8) In 1835 a system of allotments was established, which seems to have flourished for a time. A few old houses remain at Wallington Corner, but none of these appear to date from earlier than the beginning of the 19th century.
A parish hall was built at Wallington in 1888. Holy Trinity Church school was built in 1896; the High School for girls was built in 1895 and enlarged in 1905.
MANORS
The first mention of Beddington is in the alleged charter of 675 A.D., by which Frithwald, under-king of Surrey, and Bishop Erkenwald give Mitcham, Beddington, Sutton and twenty mansae at Morden to the monastery of Chertsey. (fn. 9) About 901 there is a letter from Denewulf Bishop of Worcester to King Edward respecting the royal tenure of land and farm stock at 'Beeddington.' (fn. 10) King Edgar (fn. 11) confirmed certain lands at Beddington to Winchester Cathedral. No connexion can, however, be traced between these grants and the tenures of the Domesday Survey. In 1086 (fn. 12) there were two distinct manors; one, which Azor had held of King Edward, was then held by Robert de Wateville of Richard de Tonbridge, ancestor of the Clares, and was assessed at 3 hides, having two mills worth 40s., 24 acres of meadow, a wood worth five hogs and fifteen houses in London; the other, held by William Fitz Turold of Miles Crispin, formerly held by Ulf of King Edward, was assessed at the same number of hides as the first. Twenty-one houses in London and eight in Southwark belonged to this manor. The manor of BEDDINGTON, the first of these two holdings, apparently remained with the Wateville family until 1159, when the advowson of the rectory was given to Bermondsey by Sibyl de Wateville, sister of William de Wateville, widow of Alan Pirot and the wife of Ingelram de Funteneys. (fn. 13) In 1196 the land of Ingelram in Beddington was in the king's hands as an escheat. Apparently it was afterwards granted to William de Es or Eyers, for in 1204 the custody of the land of Eustace de Eyers in Beddington was given to Eudo the Reeve, Roger de Bandon and others. (fn. 14) In 1245 Henry III granted to Raymund de Luk and his heirs the lands in Beddington lately held by Hugh de Eyers, at a rent of a wooden cross-bow worth 12d. a year every Whitsuntide. (fn. 15) Raymund left a daughter Isabel, who married Reginald Gacelyn. Isabel died in 1262 and Reginald in 1266 or 1267. (fn. 16) Sir John de Tudemersse held her tenements in wardship for three years after the battle of Lewes (1264) and Geoffrey Gacclyn eleven years afterwards. Ralph de Sandwich then took the issues to the king's use until 1276 and held them as the escheator of Surrey. Geoffrey brought up a boy, and claimed that he was the son of Isabel. The jury had doubts as to whether she had borne a son in any county of England; if she had not the next heir was Arnold de Clarak. The manor, however, descended to John Roges, said to have been son of Isabel by a certain Rogo. (fn. 17) John died without issue in 1302, when the manor once again escheated and was granted at the same rent to Thomas Corber, (fn. 18) whose son Thomas Corbet (fn. 19) died seised of it subject to his mother's dower of one-third. Against Thomas Corbet the elder (fn. 20) Edmund Gacelyn brought an action, claiming the manor as kinsman and heir of John Roges, viz. son of Geoffrey brother of Denise mother of Rogo, Isabel's husband. This Rogo therefore must stand in the plaintiff's pedigree for Reginald de Gacelyn, for if Isabel had had a son by a first husband Rogo, Geoffrey de Gacelyn could not have claimed any kinship with him, his connexion being necessarily through Reginald de Gacelyn.
Corbet evidently won the case as grantee on failure of collateral heirs to Raymund de Luk's daughter. In 1338 (fn. 21) a pardon with a fine of 100s. was given to Thomas de Morle for acquiring the manor of Beddington from Thomas Corbet son of the younger Thomas without royal licence, and in 1345 (fn. 22) Richard de Wylughby and Elizabeth his wife had to pay another 100s. fine for entering on the manor without licence on purchase from Thomas de Brayton, the king's clerk, to whom Thomas de Morle had transferred it. Richard de Wylughby (fn. 23) acquired a mill in Beddington from Walter de Kenele in 1347. In 1352 Richard and Elizabeth had licence to lease the manor for life to Nicholas Carew, (fn. 24) who, according to the pedigree of the Carew family formerly preserved at Beddington and printed by Manning and Bray, (fn. 25) married their daughter Lucy widow of Thomas Huscarl. (fn. 26)
After Richard's death Elizabeth in 1363 (fn. 27) conveyed the manor in fee to Nicholas Carew, (fn. 28) patron of the church of Beddington, who in 1373 was granted free warren in his manor of Beddington (fn. 29) and died seised of it in 1390, leaving a son Nicholas. (fn. 30) The manor (together with such of the other manors as his family bought in Beddington, as will be seen under those heads) continued in the Carew family down to the time of George II. In 1421 (fn. 31) we find Roger Heroun and others appointed trustees by Nicholas Carew to hold the manors to his use and the uses of his will. (fn. 32) After his death in 1432 the trustees gave them to his son Nicholas in tail male. The son of the elder son of Nicholas, the heir of the first-named, died without issue and the estates devolved first on his uncle James Carew, who died in 1492, and then on Richard his cousin, the son of his uncle James. (fn. 33)
Sir Richard Carew was Sheriff of Surrey in 1501. His son Sir Nicholas Carew, who succeeded him in 1520, was Master of the Horse to Henry VIII and was Sheriff of Surrey and Sussex in 1518–19. In 1539 he was attainted for high treason as an adherent of the Marquess of Exeter and was executed in March of that year. The manor escheated to the Crown and was granted by Edward VI in 1552 to Thomas Lord Darcy, together with the rabbit warren of Woodcote. (fn. 34) Francis Carew, however, regained possession of Beddington with the rest of his father's estates during the reign of Mary. (fn. 35) He died unmarried in 1611 and left his estates to Nicholas Throckmorton, youngest son of Sir Nicholas Throckmorton and Anne Carew, sister of Francis, who was knighted and assumed the name of Carew. He died in 1644, (fn. 36) leaving as his heir Sir Francis, who died in 1649 and was succeeded by Sir Nicholas (1635–87). (fn. 37) Francis Carew, son of Nicholas, died in 1689. His son Nicholas (1686–1726) was M.P. for Surrey from 1722 until his death and was created a baronet in January 1714–15. He married Anne daughter of Nicholas Hackett. His son Sir Nicholas Hackett Carew, bart., who died in 1762, had only two daughters, one of whom predeceased him in 1752, and the other, Catherine, died a spinster in 1769. (fn. 38) The manor descended to Richard Gee, (fn. 39) the grandson of Philippa sister of Sir Francis the grandfather of Sir Nicholas Hackett Carew. Richard Gee assumed the name of Carew, but died unmarried in 1816, lewing all his property to his brother's widow Mrs. Anne Paston Gee, who also had no issue. She accordingly demised the estate to her cousin Sir Benjamin Hallowell, G.C.B., who assumed the arms and name of Carew and died in 1834, his heir being his son Captain Charles H. Carew. (fn. 40) In 1857 (fn. 41) the Carews' Estate Act was passed and in 1859 the Carew property was sold. The manors of Bandon and Beddington were bought by the Rev. Alexander Henry Bridges of Beddington, son of Sir Henry Bridges, 1786–1859 (who is no kin of the Bridges of Wallington), and are now held by his son John Henry Bridges, who was born in 1852 and married in 1879 Edith Isabella daughter of Henry Tritton (for whom see Morden).
Under the Inclosure Act of 1812 (fn. 42) the common lands in Beddington and Bandon were inclosed and allotments made to those interested in the common fields (500 acres), commonable lands and waste grounds, and such allotments were inclosed. The inclosure awards and maps may be seen at Beddington.
Beddington Park, in the north of the parish, is the ancient seat of the Carews. After the attainder of Sir Nicholas Carew the king used it as a residence and inclosed a park where he used to hunt. (fn. 43) It was restored by Queen Mary to Sir Francis Carew, son of Sir Nicholas, who, according to Aubrey, rebuilt the house, though Fuller says that Sir Nicholas, who died in 1539, built it. Sir Francis entertained Queen Elizabeth here, as is recorded on his monument in the church, and there is a road in the neighbourhood called Queen Elizabeth's Walk, but it is not certain that the name is ancient. In 1658 John Evelyn visited Beddington and thus describes it: 'To Beddington, that ancient seat of the Carews, a fine old hall but a scambling house, famous for the first orange garden in England, (fn. 44) but now over-grown trees planted in the ground and secured in winter with wooden Tabernacle and stoves. This seat is rarely watered, lying low and environed with good pastures. The Pomegranates bear here.' (fn. 45)
The house has been recased externally and internally and has lost many of its ancient features, but the remarkably fine open timber roof of the hall, resembling closely the roof of the hall of Hampton Court, is in favour of Sir Nicholas having been the builder. In 1709 the house, with the exception of the hall and the cellars beneath it, together with a portion of the adjoining buildings on the south side and some of the cellars under the north wing, was completely rebuilt by Sir Nicholas Carew, who died in 1727. Early in the 'sixties of the 19th century the estate was sold and the house was purchased for the Female Orphan Asylum, now the Royal Female Orphan Asylum. A fire which occurred in May 1865 and destroyed the north wing again necessitated a complete rebuilding to suit the altered needs of its new occupants. The present buildings appear to follow the plan of the 18th-century mansion, the only addition being a low west block, joining the north and south wings, which project on this side from the main or eastern block, containing the hall. The house, thus rebuilt, is generally two stories in height, the facing is of red brick and the roofs are tiled. The design is of the Tudor style but poor.
In the side of the hall, which measures 60 ft. 8 in. by 32 ft. 4 in., is an ancient fireplace, behind the modern panelling, but the overmantel and any marks of its date have been removed. Pictures of the hall as it was in the early 19th century show a fireplace at the lower end, now removed, between the old doors which led to the kitchens and butteries. This would appear to be of about 1600 in date and probably, with other decorations shown in the same pictures, represents alterations by Sir Francis Carew. Above it was, and still remains, a trophy of Elizabethan armour and military engines coloured in imitation of bronze. At the opposite end of the hall is a very large achievement of the arms of Sir Nicholas Carew, who died in 1727, with the arms of his wife, Elizabeth Hackett, in pretence. The black and white stone pavement probably dates from the rebuilding in 1709.
The roof is divided by three large hammer-beam trusses into four bays, with similar trusses in the end walls. At the feet of the trusses are moulded semi-octagonal oak corbels taking the feet of the wall posts, from which spring curved and moulded braces supporting the hammer-beams and a main arched brace which strengthens a moulded collar placed at about a third of the height of the roof. From the ends of the hammer-beams are the usual upright members taking the ends of this collar and the feet of a four-centred arch which meets the apex of the main arch already mentioned. Between this collar and the ridge is a second collar, the spaces between the collars and the ridge being filled with vertical tracery. At the feet of the hammer-beams are moulded pendants with sunflowers carved on their soffits. The hammer-beams of the wall trusses are carried right across the wall in the form of a moulded tiebeam with vertical tracery above, stopping under the arch supporting the first collar. There are two purlins on either side of the roof, strutted between the principals by curved wind braces. The ridge, purlins, and wall plates are elaborately moulded and the wind braces and rafters are hollow chamfered.
Preserved in the hall is an elaborate iron lockplate. It is surrounded by a rope moulded bead, by which it is divided vertically into seven panels. The keyhole is covered by a sliding panel, on which are the arms of Henry VII. Below is the double role badge and in the panels on either side are the greyhound and dragon as dexter and sinister supporters. The other panels are enriched with minute tracery, while between each pair of end panels are small twisted shafts. The walls of what is now the play-room, on the south side of the hall, and the bedroom over are contemporary with the hall and still retain their original roof-trusses, now ceiled over.
Running north and south across the grounds on the east side of the building is the old carriage drive, at either end of which are fine 18th-century wroughtiron entrance gates with stone-cased brick piers. Originally they were surmounted by stone vases, but only the one on the east pier of the south gate still remains in situ. Worked into a monogram in the heads of the gates are the letters N.C. for Nicholas Carew. Both gates and piers are in very bad condition. The central entrance gate to the asylum from the road is of the same date.
East of the southernmost gate are the remains of the late 17th-century orangery. The building is of red brick with gauged brick dressings, and measures externally 192 ft. 10 in. by 22 ft., but now only the north and east walls and a cross-wall dividing off the heating chamber remain. The north front is divided into nine bays by Tuscan pilasters, each supporting a fragment of entablature, crowned by a continuous cornice running the whole length of the building. A low parapet surmounts the whole. In each bay are two round-headed recesses with plain imposts and projecting keys. The easternmost and widest bay forms the north wall to the heating chamber, now used as a stable. In the centre of this bay is a semicircular-headed doorway with rusticated jambs and head contained within Doric pilasters supporting a pedimented entablature. On either side of the doorway are round-headed recesses similar to those in the other bays, but having in the lower part segmental-headed windows, now blocked up. The original panelled entrance door still survives in fairly good preservation.
The manor called BEDDINGTON alias HUSCARL formed part of the Domesday holding of Miles Crispin (see above). The latter was son-in-law and heir of Wigod of Wallingford, who made his peace with the Conqueror. Later the honour of Wallingford became part of the earldom of Cornwall. In 1279 the Earl of Cornwall claimed certain liberties belonging to the honour of Wallingford in the vill of Beddington–viz. a free court of the honour of his free tenants every month, view of frankpledge and pleas of namio vetito. The view of frankpledge was allowed him, but not the other two liberties. (fn. 46) In the 14th century the manor of Beddington Huscarl appears as held of the king as of the honour of Wallingford by suit at his leet held at Beddington or 2s. per annum. In the grant to Lord Darey in 1552 (see manor of Beddington) the court leet, view of frankpledge and common fine belonging to the honour of Wallingford and then annexed to the honour of Hampton Court were included. (fn. 47)
The manor of Huscarl appears early in the 13th century to have been in the tenure of a family of that name. In 1215 King John gave Denis the Clerk the land of William Huscarl in Beddington, which was worth £25. (fn. 48) The Huscarls apparently regained possession, for between 1239 and 1240 a suit took place between Agnes Huscarl and the Prior of Merton concerning a common of pasture at Beddington. (fn. 49) In 1255 William Huscarl confirmed to Agnes wife of Ralph de Bek, evidently the widow of William's father, a carucate of land in Beddington as dower, with reversion to William. (fn. 50) Roland Huscarl in 1306 conveyed the reversion of the manor to Ralph de Hever and Hawise his wife. It was then held by John de Syndlesham and Beatrice his wife in dower of Beatrice (probably the widow of William Huscarl). (fn. 51) In 1310 (fn. 52) Ralph de Hever and Hawise, who was probably the daughter of Roland Huscarl, (fn. 53) sold their reversion to William Inge and Margaret his wife (for this name cf. Woodmansterne), with an ultimate remainder after the death of William Inge and his wife to Thomas Huscarl and his heirs. In 1349 Master William Carew and Nicholas Carew, apparently acting as trustees, settled the manor and advowson on Thomas Huscarl and his wife Lucy and their son Thomas (fn. 54) in tail male. After the death of Thomas, Lucy, according to Manning and Bray, (fn. 55) married Nicholas Carew, to whom the trustees of Thomas son of Thomas Huscarl remitted their right in 1369. (fn. 56) In 1372 William Syndlesham, (fn. 57) in 1380 John Syndlesham and Maud Syndlesham, (fn. 58) in 1379 Agnes Bouked, (fn. 59) apparently all representing the Huscarl interest, also remitted their rights in his favour. In 1390 Nicholas Carew died owning the Huscarl manor, the extent of which then included four water mills and a dove-cote, (fn. 60) and the descent henceforth follows that of Beddington Manor (which he had acquired independently), in which it is completely merged.
In 1086 the manor of WALLINGTON (Waleton, xi–xvi cent.) was held by the king and was assessed at 11 hides, together with a wood in Kent. Richard de Tonbridge held 1 virgate, of which he had dispossessed a peasant who dwelt there. Under King Edward the manor was worth £15, in 1086 £10. (fn. 61) Two mills are mentioned in the extent of the manor. Wallington is next mentioned in the reign of Henry II, when Henry (fn. 62) granted Maurice de Creon lands in Wallington, which the latter settled on his daughter, the wife of Guy de la Val. These were forfeited on rebellion and John gave the lands to John Fitz Luce, who went to Normandy. On the separation of Normandy John regranted them to Eustace le Courtenay, (fn. 63) who held eight librates, but by what service was not known. In 1215 Wallington was restored to Peter de Creon son of Maurice, (fn. 64) and in 1222 it was in the hand of Aumary de Creon (fn. 65); but in 1227 a grant for life was made to Ralph, Bishop of Chichester, of 'the land lately held by Aumary de Creon' until the king should regrant to the heirs of Aumary. (fn. 66) In 1233 this grant was confirmed. (fn. 67) Later, in 1244, a grant was made to Imbert de Salinis for life for a bow of dogwood at Easter, with liberty to the king to resume should Normandy and England become one again. (fn. 68) The extent is given in an inquisition as 46 acres of land, a curtilage, 4 acres and 3 roods of a certain escheat, and £9 7s. 4½d. rent of assize. (fn. 69)
The manor was restored to the Creons, for Maurice de Creon, who married the king's sister Isabel, seems to have been in possession of it at his death about 1252, (fn. 70) and the custody during the minority of his heirs was granted by the king to Isabel. (fn. 71) Maurice son of Maurice de Creon conveyed the manor to Robert Burnell, Bishop of Bath and Wells. (fn. 72) He in or before 1272 surrendered it to the king and Henry III in that year granted it to John de la Linde to hold by a quarter of a knight's fee. (fn. 73) He was holding it at his death in 1272 or 1273, when reference is made to an empty space where the capital messuage had stood worth 6d. and to a field called Bladmerd, containing 12 acres, worth 6d. yearly. (fn. 74) In 1296 Walter de la Linde held the manor and at that date granted it to Thomas Ludlow, who in 1336 made a recognizance to Adam Poygnaunt of Hameldon for £200. Adam entered without royal licence into certain premises in Wallington, but was pardoned on paying a fine of 50s. (fn. 75) Thomas Ludlow, of Scrivelsby in Lincolnshire, had a son John who died childless, and a daughter Margaret who married Sir John Dymoke. (fn. 76) In 1500–1 (fn. 77) Andrew Dymoke, a descendant in a younger brother's line of the Scrivelsby family, died seised of the manors of Wallington, Tooting Graveney, &c. The heir was Thomas Dymoke, then three years old. In 1594 licence was granted by Queen Elizabeth to Sir Edward Dymoke, head of the eldest branch of the family, to alienate Wallington to James Harrington, (fn. 78) who in 1596 conveyed the manor to Sir Francis Carew. (fn. 79) A capital messuage in Wallington was already in the possession of the Carew family, for in 1539, after the attainder of Sir Nicholas Carew, the king granted to Elizabeth Carew, his widow, the capital messuage in Wallington in which she lived, with remainder to her son Francis Carew, (fn. 80) reserving, however, a parcel of 50 acres belonging to the messuage which had been inclosed in the park of Beddington by the king. The history of the manor is similar to that of Beddington up to the year 1684, when Sir Nicholas Carew conveyed the property to Richard Spencer, Anthony Bowyer and John Spencer, from whom it passed to William Bridges, who died in 1714. He devised the manor to his sister Elizabeth, a spinster, who in her turn left it by her will of 1743 (fn. 81) to her great-nephews Baldwin Bridges, Samuel Bridges, and William Bridges in tail male successively. The two elder brothers died without leaving issue. On the death of Sir Baldwin, William Bridges bought up the contingent remainder of the heirs of Elizabeth and made his title complete. In 1891 Nathaniel Bridges held the manor, and Mrs. Bridges is now lady of the manor. This family, as mentioned above, has no connexion with the Bridges who bought Beddington Manor. (fn. 82)
The manor of BANDON alias FORESTERS formed part of the land which William Fitz Turold held of Miles Crispin in 1086, for the manor appears subsequently as held of the honour of Wallingford. (fn. 83)
About the middle of the 14th century Bandon was in the tenure of Reginald Forester. A settlement was made in 1349 on Reginald and his wife Matilda and their son William, with contingent remainder to Edward son of John Forester. (fn. 84) Edmund Forester in 1379 granted a vacant piece of land called Kolchawe to William Bys, (fn. 85) and evidently at some date alienated the manor to him, for he appears in possession of it in 1393, when he is described as a citizen and stock fishmonger of London. In that year he sold Bandon to Thomas Remys, (fn. 86) who in 1410 alienated it to John Brymmesgrove, clerk, Thomas Hayton and John Cornwaleys. (fn. 87) These were probably trustees for Nicholas Carew, who was seised of it in 1431. (fn. 88) It henceforth follows the Carew descent. There are court rolls extant for 1544, when the manor was held by Henry VIII.
A manor of CHAMBERLAINS in Beddington held of the manor of Wallington appears in the 16th century. Richard Burton died in 1589 seised of 'the capital mansion or site of the manor of Chamberlains.' (fn. 89) It descended to his son Sir Henry Burton, who was holding it with the manor of Mitcham Canon (q.v.) in 1611. (fn. 90) There seems to be no further documentary evidence with regard to it.
BURGH PLACE.
—In 1352 Richard, Bishop of Nazareth, granted a manor of Beddington in Surrey to John Burgeys or Burgh, citizen of London, to hold for thirteen years. (fn. 91) Later the family of Burgh appears holding an estate called Burghys or Burgh Place, described as in Wallington. In 1479–80 Thomas Burgh and his wife Alice conveyed Burgh Place to Sir John Fiennes, kt. (fn. 92) Thomas Fiennes Lord Dacre, son and heir of Sir John Fiennes, in 1494 conveyed one messuage, a dovecote and three gardens in Wallington and Beddington to Laurence and Thomas Aylmere. (fn. 93)
The Prior of Merton held at the Dissolution a farm in Wallington called Parsingmead, worth £1 6s. 8d., and in Beddington a farm worth 6s. 8d. (fn. 94)
A manor of Beddington appears in 1289 in the possession of Sir John de Wauton, kt., who in that year granted it to his son John, (fn. 95) but this manor cannot be subsequently traced.
CHURCH
The church of ST. MARY consists of a chancel 32 ft. 1 in. by 17 ft. 5½ in., a modern organ-chamber on the north side of the chancel, south chapel 23 ft. 7 in. by 15 ft. 9½ in., nave 56 ft. 2 in. by 18 ft. 4 in., north aisle 55 ft. 6 in. by 6 ft. 8 in., an additional modern aisle adjoining it on the north, south aisle 55 ft. 6 in. by 6 ft. 11½ in., west tower 14 ft. 10 in. by 14 ft., modern vestries on the north side of the tower and a south porch. The measurements are all internal.
The arches of the present nave arcades, which are the earliest structural features now surviving, date from the middle of the 13th century. If this be the date of the aisles, they are unusually narrow for the period; their meagre width seems rather to point to a Norman origin. Should this be so, the thickness of the nave walls, only 2 ft. 6 in., would well accord with an early date, some sixty years previous to the building of the aisles. On the other hand, if the aisles are contemporary with the arcades, the date of the nave must be placed early in the 13th century; the thinness of the walls renders it very improbable that they were built in the 12th century. The walls of the chancel may be of the same period as the nave, or, at any rate, as the nave arcades, but no mediaeval detail now remains earlier than the 15th-century south arcade. In the last half of the 14th century a restoration seems to have taken place, and to this period belong the east window of the north aisle, the west window of the same aisle and the west window of the south chapel, which appears to have been removed from the east wall of the south aisle at the time the chapel was erected. This and the south arcade of the chancel are of the first half of the 15th century, when the present west tower was built. In 1852 an additional north aisle was added to the existing north aisle and an arcade formed in the north wall of the latter. The chancel arch was rebuilt and the vestries added in 1869. At one or other of these restorations the piers of the nave arcades were rebuilt; a piece of stone preserved in the vestry is identically moulded with the modern capitals and is probably a piece of one of the original semi-octagonal respond capitals. The windows of the chancel and south aisle belong to this period; the latter seem, from the testimony of old views, to be fairly faithful copies of their predecessors. The south doorway, in the same aisle, is also modern. The tower has likewise suffered by the renewal of all its details.
The five-light eastern window of the chancel is modern, in the style of the 14th century. In the north wall are two modern windows of the same character, and between them the front of the organ, which is contained in a chamber on this side of the chancel. At the eastern end of the south wall are a modern piscina and credence table with sedilia adjoining. The remainder of this wall is occupied by an arcade of two bays of about 1425, dividing the chancel from the south chapel. The arches of this arcade are twocentred and of two moulded orders. The central pier consists of four three-quarter shafts attached to an inner square with hollow-chamfered angles. The shafts have octagonal abaci and double plinths of the same form. The inner orders are received upon both responds by shafts answering to the pier-shafts, the outer orders being continuous. The chancel arch is modern, in mid-14th-century style. Externally the walls of the chancel are faced with flint, and there are modern angle buttresses at the east end.
The south chapel dates from about 1425. The east window has a two-centred head, and is of three cinquefoiled lights with tracery of rather a peculiar type. The internal jambs and concentric rear-arch are casement-moulded. The jambs and head are also casement-moulded externally, and there is an external label. In the south wall are two windows, each of three cinquefoiled lights with vertical tracery within a segmental head having an external label; these are also casement-moulded on both faces. The lower parts of the lights of the eastern window are now blocked by the large monument of Sir Francis Carew erected early in the 17th century. Beneath the western window is a south doorway with a segmental reararch and external two-centred arch within a square head, moulded continuously with the jambs. The label is stopped by cherubim with outspread wings, designed with great boldness; probably they originally held shields, now weathered away. In the portion of the west wall which projects beyond the south aisle is a mid-14th-century window of two trefoiled ogee lights with quatrefoiled tracery within a two-centred held having an external label. It seems probable that this was originally the east window of the south aisle, and was reset in its present position when the chapel was added. The arch dividing the chapel from the aisle is two-centred and of two moulded orders, the outer order segmental and the inner order dying upon the responds. The arch appears to have been originally higher than at present, as the jamb lines can be traced in the wall over it, with the segmental arch of the outer order. That these are the traces of the original west window of the aisle is improbable. A modern marble skirting runs round the chapel. Externally the walls are faced with flint, and there are angle buttresses of two offsets at the east and west, with a buttress of a similar number of off-sets between the windows of the south wall. A cornice and stone-diapered parapet with moulded coping crowns the west and south walls. The east wall is gabled and the corniced parapet, which is returned upon itself, stops short of the foot of the gable. The west gable rises behind the parapet from the inner face of the wall. There is a bold base-mould and plinth, which is returned upon itself to clear the south doorway.
The north arcade of the nave is of four bays. The acute two-centred arches, which are of two chamfered orders, are original and probably date from the last half of the 13th century. The semi-octagonal east and west responds also appear to be original, though their capitals and bases are modern. The capitals are most likely copies of their predecessors, as a piece of stone with the same moulding, removed at the restoration of the church, is now preserved in the vestry. The columns are said to have been originally circular and to have been cut away to their present octagonal form at the time the church was restored. They are, however, of a different stone from the arches and responds. The south arcade is of the same number of bays, with original two-centred arches of two chamfered orders, not so acute as those of the north arcade. The west semi-respond is also original, but the east respond and the columns have undergone the same treatment as those opposite. The mouldings of the capitals are of similar character and the arcade appears to be of the same date. The arch of the westernmost bay springs from a higher level than the rest and the abacus of the western column is consequently raised on this side. Within the last few years four good dormer windows have been inserted in the roof as a substitute for a clearstory.
The east window of the north aisle is of mid-14th-century date. It is of two trefoiled ogee lights with flowing tracery within a two-centred head, and has an external label. The rear-arch is dropped and twocentred. The north wall is pierced by the arcade of the additional north aisle. In the west wall is a single cinquefoiled light with an external label and grotesque head stops. Though much restored, this is probably also of mid-14th-century date. The additional north aisle is designed in 14th-century style, and is lighted by a window in the east wall and three windows in the north wall, all of three lights with traceried two-centred heads. Externally the walls of both aisles are faced with flint.
In the south wall of the south aisle are three modern three-light windows, probably copies of former 15th-century windows. In the west wall is a similar window. Between the two western windows of the south wall is the modern south doorway, possibly a copy of a former doorway of c. 1300. Externally the walls are faced with flint, and there is a western angle buttress of two off-sets, with a buttress of a single off-set between the two eastern windows of the south wall. The wall has a bold 15th-century basemould, and is crowned by a cornice and stone-diapered parapet with moulded coping of the same period.
The west tower appears to date from about 1425. It is of three receding stages, with an embattled parapet and western angle buttresses of four off-sets. The vice turret is at the north-east corner and is continued above the parapet and crowned with battlements. The tower arch is two-centred and of two ogee-moulded orders, separated by a wide shallow casement. The outer order is continuous, and the inner order is received upon three-quarter shafts with octagonal abaci, circular moulded bases and double octagonal plinths. In the north wall of the ground stage is a small two-centred doorway to the vice, and to the westward of this a modern opening to the vestry. The west window is entirely modern, though old views show an original one like it. It is of five transomed lights with vertical tracery within a twocentred head with external label. The doorway beneath, with two-centred head and square external label, has also been entirely renewed. The ringing stage is lighted by single trefoiled lights with square external heads and labels on the north, west and south sides. The belfry is lighted on all four sides by square-headed windows of two trefoiled lights, all with external labels. The walls are faced with flint.
The vestry on the north side is of two stories, the clergy vestry being on the ground floor, with the quire vestry above.
The timber roof of the chancel and nave are modern and are designed in the style of the 15th century. The feet of the principals of the nave roof are supported by modern head corbels. The aisle roofs are also modern. The trussed rafter oak roof of the south chapel appears to be in the main original; a modern central principal truss has been added, without improving its appearance.
The font is of early 13th-century date. It is of unpolished Purbeck marble and has a square bowl, the sides of which are panelled with semicircular headed panels. The bowl is supported by a central circular stem, with four small shafts at the angles. These are without capitals, but have bases, with leaf spurs, continuously moulded with the base of the central stem, to which they are attached. The present bowl-cover appears to be of early 17th-century date. It is circular and formed of small pieces of wood radiating from the centre, which is ornamented with a lion's head holding a ring in its mouth.
The oak screens dividing the south chapel from the chancel and from the south aisle are of early 15th-century date. The screens occupying each bay of the south arcade of the chancel are divided into three bays by uprights, with small buttresses of three off-sets attached to either side. The lower half of each bay is occupied by two panels, while the upper half is open, and the head is filled with vertical tracery supported by two cinquefoiled two-centred arches abutting upon a central upright, which originally finished below the spring of the arches with a carved boss. This has now disappeared in every case, but the mortises for fixing can be plainly seen. A plain moulded cornice crowns the whole. The lower half of the east bay of the eastern screen is now occupied by a modern gate opening into the chapel. The screen dividing the chapel from the south aisle is of three bays, the southern bay open, with a plain four-centred head pierced by quatrefoils. The remaining two bays have each a single panel in the lower half, while the upper half has two open trefoiled lights, with vertical tracery in the head. The screen is crowned by a plain cornice.
The quire stalls, with their misereres, are good examples of the same date. The seven stalls on the south side of the chancel and the three western stalls on the north side are original; the remaining five stalls on this side and the four stalls on the east side of the chancel screen are modern. The stalls themselves are of normal design with semicircular moulded back and elbow cappings. The misereres also follow the usual type, having a central mass of ornament supporting the seat, with foliage springing from it on either side. The misereres of the two easternmost stalls on the south side of the chancel have blank shields in the centre, the next, to the westward, is carved with foliage only, the next again has a blank shield. Of the three westernmost misereres the central one has again a blank shield, while those on either side have heads supporting the seats, the easternmost a female head with basket headdress and the westernmost a mitred male head. Of the three original stalls on the north side of the chancel only the two westernmost retain their original misereres. The westernmost of these has a shield in the centre charged with a cross paty. The eastern miserere has a central shield, lozengy; on the dexter side a smaller shield charged with a lion rampant within a border with roundels, and on the sinister a shield charged with three roundels on a chief. On either side of the central shield, which is supported on a mass of delicately carved foliage, is a scallop shell. On the right elbow-piece of the western stall is a small circle with the letter I on a heart carved within it. On the right elbow-piece of the next stall to the west is a monogram, perhaps intended for I.H.S., and on the left the letter P carved within similar circles. The pulpit, with its linen pattern panelling, is of the 16th century. A bench at the east end of the south aisle also belongs to the same date. In the clergy vestry is a fine oak chest. On the central panel is carved 'Richard Iewell | 1629.' In the quire vestry is an old lead coffin-lid with a Y cross upon it.
In the floor of the chancel is a fine canopied brass to Nicholas Carew, who died in the year 1432, his wife Isabella and his son Thomas. The figures of Nicholas Carew and his wife are inclosed by panelled and pinnacled pilaster buttresses supporting a canopy of two cinquefoiled arches surmounted by an enriched embattled cornice. The male figure is represented in a fur-lined gown, his feet resting on a greyhound, and the female figure wears her hair in a coif and has a small dog at her feet. Surrounding the whole is a border containing an inscription with the symbols of the four Evangelists at the corners. In the top dexter corner is a shield charged with three lions passant. The shield in the top sinister corner has the same charge impaling a shield which has apparently been erased, the charge being now indecipherable. At the foot of the brass is the indent of a shield which has disappeared. The inscription, a small portion of which is gone, is as follows : 'Hic jacent | corpora Nicholai Carrew Armigeri et d[omini] quondam huius ville Isabelle uxoris sue et Thome filii eorũdem, qui quidem | Nicholaus senex et plenus diei in pace | quievit Quarto die mens['] Septembris Anno domini Mill[essim]o ccccoxxxijo [here is a gap of about one-third of the line] |✠ in gracia & misericordia dei.'
In the same floor is a brass with two female figures, their hands in prayer, and the following inscription beneath it : 'Pray for the soules of Kat'yn Berecroft late the wyf | of Robert Berecroft gentilman whiche decessyd the | xx day of september the yer of or lord mvcvii and for ye | soule of Elizabeth Barton wydowe syster of the seyd | Kateryn late the wyf of Wyll[iam] in Barton gentilman the | whiche Elizabeth decessyd the xxvj day of January ye | yere of or lord m.vcvij . . . .' The concluding prayer has been erased.
In the top dexter corner is a shield charged with three bears lying down, and in the top sinister corner another charged with three bears passant. Halfcovered by the quire benches is a brass, the two shields at the top and bottom sinister corners of which can now only be seen. The top shield is checky, impaling two cheverons between three hares; the bottom shield is charged with a lion rampant.
In the south chapel is an elaborate altar-tomb and recess containing a brass to Sir Richard Carew, who died in the year 1520, and to his wife Malyn Oxenbridge, the date of whose death has not been filled up. The tomb is panelled with sub-foliated quatrefoils and the slab is of Purbeck marble, with the brass plates containing the inscription let into the rim. Above the tomb is a richly panelled recess with a four-centred head flanked by semi-octagonal pilasters and surmounted by a cornice richly carved with the vine ornament and crowned by bratticing. Similar tombs, almost exactly identical in size and design, exist at Croydon and Lambeth Churches, their dates almost exactly coinciding with that of the monument which forms the subject of the present description, a similarity which would seem to point to a common origin. On the cornice are three shields. The blazon of the middle shield is as follows : Quarterly 1 and 4 Or three lions passant sable, for Carew, 2 and 3 Quarterly sable and argent, for Hoo, impaling Gules a lion argent with a forked tail in a border vert with scallops or, for Oxenbridge. The shield on the dexter side bears the quartered arms of Carew and Hoo, and the shield on the sinister side those of Oxenbridge. On the slab of the tomb are brass figures of Sir Richard and his wife. The male figure is represented in plate armour, wearing a tabard charged with his arms. His wife wears a cloak bearing the arms of a lion rampant within a border with roundels. Round the rim of the slab is the following inscription, the part inclosed within brackets being modern : 'Of your charite pray [for the soules of Sr Richard Carrew knight and dame Malyn hys wyfe] whiche Sr Richard decessyd the xxiij day of may anno d[omini] movcxxo and the said dame malyn dyed ye . . . . . day of . . . . . anomovc . . . . . [on whose soules Jesu have mercy]'.
To the eastward of this is an elaborate monument of black and white and red-veined marble to Sir Francis Carew, who died in the year 1611. Upon his tomb is his recumbent effigy, wearing the armour of the period, with his hands in prayer. Behind the tomb are three Corinthian columns of black marble supporting an entablature and framing two inscriptions. On the sinister panel is the following inscription: ' Here resteth Sir Francis Carew Knight | sonne and heire of Sir Nicholas Carew | Knight of the Honorable order of the | Garter, Maister of the horse, and privye | Councellour to King Henry the VIII. | the said Sr Francis living unmaried adop- | ted Sir Nicholas Throckmorton sonne | of Anne Throckmorton his sister to be | heire to his estate, and to beare his | surname, and having lived LXXXI | yeares, he in assured hope to rise in | Christ ended this transitory life the | XVI daye of Maye MDCXI.'
On the dexter panel are some Latin verses. On the front of the tomb is the following inscription on a small tablet : 'Sir Nicholas Carew Knight younger and sonne of Sr Nicholas Throckmorton | adopted into the surname and | armes of Carew maried Marie | eldest daughter of Sir George | Moore of Loseley Knight by whom | he had issue Francis, Nicholas, | George, Edward, Oliphe, Elizabeth, | and Marie, and to the memorie | of his deare, and well deserving | unckle erected this monument.'
Below and on either side are the kneeling figures of his children. Above the entablature of the monument is a shield of twelve quarters : 1, Carew; 2, Argent three eels vert, for Ellis; 3, Gules a dexter arm in a sleeve ermine, the hand holding a fleur de lis or, for Mohun; 4, Hoo; 5, Azure a fesse between six crosslets or, for St. Omer; 6, Azure three sinister hands argent, for Malmaynes; 7, Ermine a chief sable with three crosses formy argent therein, for Wichingham; 8, Azure fretty argent a chief gules, for St. Leger; 9, Or a lion gules, for Welles; 10, Gules a fesse dancetty between six crosslets or, for Engayne; 11, Barry ermine and gules three crescents sable, for Waterton; 12, Vert three piles wavy argent and a border azure bezanty, for Bryan. On the monument are fourteen smaller shields, eleven being of the families enumerated above, the other three being Carew impaling More, Throckmorton impaling More and Ellis impaling Mohun. On the same wall of the chapel is a small monument of black and white marble to Elizabeth wife of Sir Nicholas Carew: 'Whose vertuous life, | doth memory deserve; | who taught her Children | Heavens great God to serve. | She departed this life | the XIth day of December | in the yeare | 1633.'
On the south wall of the south aisle is a brass plate to Elizabeth Boys, servant to Sir Francis Carew, who died 15 December 1599.
There is a peal of ten bells, all modern.
The communion plate consists of a 16th-century silver cup, inscribed on the bowl ' Beddington'; a silver paten of the same date; a silver flagon of 1639, inscribed 'The guift of Joane Madox widdow to the Parish Church of Beddington '; a large silver paten with foot, of 1707, inscribed 'The gift of Mary Reddall to the Church of Beddington 1707 '; a silvergilt chalice of 1864; a silver-gilt paten of 1866; a silver chalice of 1866.
The registers are as follows : (1) baptisms 1561 to 1673, marriages 1538 to 1671, burials 1538 to 1672; (2) baptisms 1673 to 1802; marriages 1673 to 1754, burials 1673 to 1802; (3) marriages 1754 to 1800; (4) baptisms 1802 to 1812, marriages 1800 to 1812, burials 1802 to 1812.
The church of ST. MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS, South Beddington (formerly known as Windmill Hill), was begun in 1906 and is still unfinished. A parish was assigned to it in 1907. The church consists of a chancel, north clergy vestry, north transept containing a quire vestry on the ground floor with an organ chamber over, central tower, nave, north and south aisles, with a chapel at the east end of the aisle. The nave is at present of three bays only, though five are intended; the west wall is temporary. Only the first stage of the tower is at present finished. The materials are red brick, with occasional stone dressings, and the roofs are tiled. The building deserves notice for the marked originality of its design, which can be referred to no particular period of English Gothic. The eight-light east window of the chancel alone possesses tracery bars and mullions of stone; those of the remaining windows are of oak. The great arches carrying the tower are two-centred, those of the nave arcades are semicircular, supported by octagonal stone columns, and are of two orders, the inner of stone and the outer of brick. The nave and chancel have timber ceiled roofs, the aisles being roofed in a series of timber barrel ceilings concentric with the arches of the nave arcades, and divided into as many bays by smaller transverse arches.
The church of HOLY TRINITY, Wallington, was built in 1867, and a parish was assigned to it in the same year. It consists of an apsidal chancel with a north organ chamber and vestry, a nave in four bays, north and south aisles, a south porch and a west tower, surmounted by a stone broach spire, all in the ' decorated ' style. The walls are faced externally with flint, with stone dressings to the buttresses and windows, and are plastered on the inside; the open timber roofs of pitch pine are tiled.
There is also a temporary church at Beddington Corner, and there is a Wesleyan chapel in the parish.
At Wallington are a Presbyterian Church of England, built in 1880, a Baptist chapel and a meeting-place of the Plymouth Brethren.
ADVOWSON
The advowson of the church of Beddington was granted in 1159 by Sibyl de Wateville and Ingelram de Funteneys to the abbey of Bermondsey. (fn. 96) A portion of the rectory had, however, been separated from the church ab antiquo, (fn. 97) and the patronage of this belonged to the manor of Huscarl, and has always descended with it. The profits of this portion consisted principally of the tithes of 200 acres of land called Huscarl's Feud on the north of the church. It had annexed to it a house and 20 acres of land on the south side of the church. (fn. 98)
No vicarage appears to have ever been endowed.
After the dissolution of Bermondsey in 1538 the advowson remained for a time in the king's hands, and was subsequently acquired by the Carews. (fn. 99) It has since descended with the manor of Beddington.
CHARITIES
Smith's charity is distributed in Beddington as in other Surrey parishes. The almshouses were founded by Mr. Collyer Bristow in 1862, and further endowed and enlarged by Mrs. Hamilton and Canon Bridges.