SHERE
Essira (xi cent.); Sire, Schyre (xiii cent.); Shire and
Shyre (xiv cent.); Shire (xv cent.); Shire and Shiere
(xviii cent.); Shere (xix cent.).
The parish of Shere is midway between Guildford
and Dorking. The village is 6 miles east of the
former, and 6 miles west of the latter. The parish
is bounded on the north by East Clandon and West
Horsley, on the east by Abinger, on the south by
Ewhurst and Cranleigh, on the west by Albury.
It is about 4½ miles from north to south, and
from 2 to 2½ miles from east to west, and contains
6,400 acres of land and 12 of water. The Tillingbourne stream runs from east to west through the
northern part of it. The soil exhibits the usual
characteristics of a parish south of the Chalk. The
northern part is Chalk, on the downs, and the parish
extends southward over the Upper Greensand and
Gault, and the Lower Greensand, which forms the
largest portion; but it does not quite reach the
Atherfield and Wealden Clays. Ewhurst and Cranleigh on the Clay, parishes of a later date, (fn. 1) were no
doubt partly in the original parish of Shere. There
is an ancient and picturesque mill at Shere, and in
the hamlet of Gomshall a tannery and a brewery.
Iron was once worked in Shere. (fn. 2) The parish is
now, however, essentially agricultural, the land in the
valley between the chalk downs and the sand hills
being fertile. The only special industry is the raising
of watercresses in ponds fed from the Tillingbourne.
Great quantities of this are grown, and sometimes sent
away to great distances. The downs to the north
are mostly open grass, or wooded, and rise to 600 or
700 ft. above the sea, while to the south are great
expanses of open heather and firwoods on the sandhills, Hurtwood Common, and parts of Holmbury and
Ewhurst Hills, at an elevation of more than 700 ft.
in their highest points. Part of Albury Park is in
the parish. The road from Guildford to Dorking
goes through the northern part of the parish; the
Redhill and Reading branch of the South Eastern
Railway runs nearly parallel to it. Gomshall and
Shere station was opened in 1849. In Gomshall is
a Congregational chapel, founded in 1825.
No important discoveries of prehistoric remains
seem to have been made in the parish. Neolithic
flint implements, however, occur near Holmbury
Hill, but five parishes were formerly so closely intermixed here that it is difficult to assign the discoveries
to any one.
Shere has often been called one of the most beautiful villages in England; certainly few can surpass it
in Surrey for a combination of those qualities that go
to make up the ideal village. It lies in the valley of
the Tillingbourne, immediately beneath the Albury
Downs, sheltered from the north by the hills, and
bounded on the west by the beautiful domain of
Albury Park. Happily the presence of the Duke of
Northumberland's seat at Albury Park, and the wise
action of other local landowners, have operated to
keep the speculating builder at arm's length, and such
additions as have been made to the old village in
recent years have not seriously detracted from its
charm. Shere is, therefore, the haunt of painters,
many of them residents in and around, and samples
of their handiwork may be inspected in the ancient
Black Horse Inn, the building itself being partly of
16th-century date, with a great open fireplace under
an arched beam, and other ancient features. In front
of this inn are two old elms, and the view looking
past them to the church, with its tall timber spire
and lych-gate, is far-famed.
Aubrey mentions 'the extraordinary good parsonage
house,' which still remains at the western end of the
village, near the stream, although no longer used as
the rectory. It is an ancient timber-framed building,
as to which Aubrey repeats a tradition that it was
built upon woolpacks, 'in the same manner as our
Lady's Church at Salisbury was;' (fn. 3) and in his day
the house was 'encompassed about with a large and
deep moat, which is full of fish.'
When every other house or cottage is old and
interesting it is difficult to mention all, but a few
may be singled out as presenting specially noteworthy
features, or as typical of the others. The large
number of ancient cottages is perhaps accounted for
by the statement that Aubrey makes, that there was
here a very ancient manufacture of fustian. Another
cause certainly was that such important families as the
Butlers, Earls of Ormond, the Audleys, and the Brays,
had their mansions in Shere, and gave employment
to lesser folk in their neighbourhood.
One or two of the houses in the village retain
their ancient bargeboards to the gables. These are
variously treated: one, which might well be of 15th-century date, or even older, being pierced with trefoils; another is foliated, with the points of the
cusping rounded so as to give a continuous wavy
line. In Shere itself a very old cottage in Lower
Lane shows a joist-board (i.e. a moulded board
covering the projecting ends of the joists carrying
the upper story) of late 15th-century character.
There is also an old house, long and low, with an
overhanging gabled wing on the right, and a hippedroof wing to the left end, on which side is a particularly fine chimney, with crow-stepped base and a
massive stack of flues having a diagonal member on
each face of the square, with a good head and base
mould. The half-timber front is now hidden by
rough-cast. Another old house on the road to
Gomshall is noteworthy for an overhanging gable,
and for the fact that the spaces between the timbers
are filled with flints, instead of plaster or bricks.
Most of the other old houses in the village are covered
with rough-cast, which is coloured locally in a pleasant
shade of buff. (fn. 4)
Shere Village
Wolven's Farm, which lies some miles to the east of
Albury village, is a fine example of the 17th-century
brick house, with panelled chimneys, mullioned windows with leaded lights, and a double-storied porch
with a brick pediment to its upper window. In this
and other details the house closely resembles Crossways
Farm, Abinger, about 2 miles distant.
Local tradition says that Hound House, in the
royal manor of Gomshall in Shere, was named from
the keeping of the king's hounds there, but there is no
record of it apparently. It is, however, known that
hounds were kept here about 1800, and some old
stone kennel troughs have been found.
The village is historically interesting as the seat of
the Bray family (vide infra).
It seems strange that Gomshall, which has always
been a place of considerable population and importance, should never have had a church of its own.
Holmbury St. Mary is the name now given to the
two hamlets of Felday in Shere, and Pitland Street in
Shere and Abinger, which were erected into an ecclesiastical parish, made up from portions of Shere,
Ockley, Abinger, Ewhurst, Cranleigh, and Ockham, 28
September 1878. The schools (Church of England)
were built in 1860 and enlarged in 1900. There is
a Congregational chapel.
This neighbourhood was formerly one of the
wildest in Surrey. Sheep-stealers, smugglers, and
poachers found a refuge in these remote hills. Some
of the cottages have, still existing, very large cellars
(excavated easily in the sandy hill), which are far too
large for any honest purpose, and were no doubt
made for storing smuggled goods till they could be
conveniently taken on to London. Of late years the
picturesque neighbourhood has attracted many visitors,
who have built large houses. Joldwyns is the seat of
Sir William Paget Bowman, bart., Holmbury of
Mr. W. Joynson Hicks, Holmdale of Mr. Barlow
Webb, Aldermoor of Mr. H. T. Willis, R.A., Hurtwood Cottage of Mr. Frank Walton, R.I., A.R.A.
These houses are all included in the modern extension
of Abinger, but belong to this district, the church of
which is in Shere.
Peaslake is a hamlet of Shere, lying at the bend of
the valley between Holmbury and Ewhurst Hills,
which shared formerly the inaccessibility of Felday
and its wild character. It has been more recently
brought into the circle of civilization, and a road
from Ewhurst, practicable for wheels, has been brought
into it since district councils were instituted. It was
formerly accessible from the north, but was on the
edge of the accessible country with no real road
beyond. A Working Men's Institute was erected in
1891 by the Misses Spottiswoode of Drydown, in
many other ways benefactors to the neighbourhood.
Of late years several new houses have been built. Peaslake School was founded by Lord Ashcombe, Mr. Justice
Bray, the Misses Spottiswoode, and others in 1870.
At Shere the principal residents, besides those already
named, are: at Burrows Lea, Sir Herbert Barnard;
at Ridgeway, Lady Arthur Russell; at Hurstcote,
Mr. Somerset Beaumont; at Shere Lodge, Miss Locke
King; at Hazel Hatch, The Hon. Emily Lawless; and
at Burrows Cross, Mr. Benjamin W. Leader, R.A.
The parish hall was built by subscription to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of 1897.
It is not right to dismiss the parish of Shere without mentioning that it was the birthplace, ultimate
home, and deathplace of William Bray, the county
historian, who was born here 1736, and died 1832.
He completed and supplemented the already voluminous labours of Manning, and if slips and omissions do
occur in their work it is difficult to over-estimate
their industry and care, and their general accuracy is
wonderful, considering especially the absence of those
catalogues, indexes, and printed calendars which aid
the modern topographer and genealogist.
MANORS
There are four manors in the parish
of Shere or Shiere, viz., Shiere Vachery, (fn. 5)
Shiere Ebor, Gomshall Netley, and
Towerhill. The two former are moieties of the original
manor of SHIERE, which, under Edward the Confessor,
had belonged to his queen, Edith. She held it till her
death, when William I appropriated it, together with
all her lands. (fn. 6) In 1086 the king held it in demesne,
but William Rufus granted it to
William de Warenne when he
endowed him with the earldom
of Surrey. (fn. 7) The overlordship
continued with the successive
Earls of Surrey, of whom the
manor was held as of Reigate
Castle. (fn. 8)
Warenne, Earl of Surrey. Checky or and azure.
The actual tenant early in
the 13th century was Roger
de Clare. (fn. 9) In 1243–4 he conveyed the manor to John son
of Geoffrey, a younger son of
Geoffrey Fitz Peter, Earl of
Essex, in return for a life-rent paid at Shere Church. (fn. 10)
In 1246 John de Gatesden, who had apparently
acquired this rent at the same time as the manor of
Lasham, (fn. 11) remitted it to John son of Geoffrey. (fn. 12)
The manor, having passed from John to his son and
grandsons, (fn. 13) was divided into moieties at the death
of Richard son of John. (fn. 14) The one moiety, Shiere
Vachery, was assigned to his sister Joan Butler; the
other, afterwards known as Shiere Eboracum or Ebor,
to his nephew Richard de Burgh, Earl of Ulster. (fn. 15)
SHIERE VACHERY
SHIERE VACHERY descended at Joan Butler's
death to her son Edmund Butler, (fn. 16) who was succeeded
by his son James, first Earl of
Ormond, and his wife Eleanor. (fn. 17) Their son James, Earl
of Ormond, inherited Shiere,
which descended from him to
his son James. (fn. 18) The latter's
son, the 'White Earl,' (fn. 19) granted
it to his son James, (fn. 20) whom
Henry VI created Earl of
Wiltshire in 1449 in reward
for his fidelity to the interests
of the house of Lancaster.
He succeeded his father as
Earl of Ormond, and was beheaded after Towton in 1461. Shiere, being thus
forfeited to the king, was granted by him to John,
Lord Audley in 1467, (fn. 21) in tail male. Nevertheless,
John, brother of the late earl, was restored as Earl of
Ormond, although apparently not to his estates. He
died in 1478. His brother Thomas, also attainted after
Towton, was restored in blood by the first Parliament
of Henry VII, and in 1486 granted the manor to
Sir Reginald Bray, kt., reserving to himself the right
of easement when staying within the lordship of
Shiere. (fn. 22)
Butler, Earl of Ormond. Or a chief indented azure.
Sir Reginald Bray, statesman of the reign of
Henry VII, was Lord Treasurer of England, director
of the king's great building operations at St. George's
Chapel, Windsor, and at Westminster, but especially
notable as being, with Cardinal Morton, probably the
true author of Henry's successful policy. Lord Audley
was, however, in actual possession of Shiere Vachery, and
gave compensation to Sir Reginald Bray in the form of an
annual rent of £10. (fn. 23) He
died in 1491, and was buried
in Shere Church, and his son
James, Lord Audley, received
the profits of the manor in
1497, whilst encamped with
the Cornish rebels at Blackheath. (fn. 24) He was leader of
the rebellion, and must have
marched through Shere on
his way with the insurgents
from Guildford to Kent. Consequently the manor
was again forfeit to the Crown, but seems to have
been restored to Sir Reginald, who had perhaps a
lawful claim from the Earl of Ormond's grant, and
was Henry's chief supporter, and most trusted servant. He had no children, and left this manor,
among others, by will, in 1503, to his nephew
Edmund Bray, (fn. 25) summoned to Parliament as Lord
Bray in 1529. From him Shiere Vachery passed by
sale, in 1535, to his brother Sir Edward Bray. (fn. 26) He
died in 1558, and his son Edward in 1581. Reginald,
son of Edward, was baptized in 1555, and his eldest
son Edward, baptized in 1580, (fn. 27) died seised of
Shiere in 1635. (fn. 28) His son Edward was dealing with
it seven years later, (fn. 29) and in 1676 Edward Bray, his
wife Susan, and their son Edward were in possession. (fn. 30) Edward Bray the elder was buried at Shere in
1679. Edward the son was also buried there in 1714.
In 1723 Edward and Benjamin Bray his surviving
sons were owners of the manor. (fn. 31) Benjamin died unmarried. Edward had an elder son George in holy
orders, who was succeeded in 1803 by his brother
William, the historian of Surrey. His great-grandson,
Sir Reginald More Bray, Judge of the High Court,
is now owner.
Bray, of Shiere. Argent a cheveron between three eagles' legs razed sable.
The manor-house, certain lands, and the advowson
of the church at Cranleigh were sold owing to a family
quarrel between Sir Edward (who died in 1581) and
his stepmother, Jane daughter of Sir Matthew Brown.
Sir Edward resided at Baynards (q.v.).
At the time of the partition of the lands of Richard
son of John, his nephew Richard de Burgh, Earl of
Ulster, received a moiety of Shiere, (fn. 32) which ultimately
became the manor of SHIERE EBOR or EBORACUM. This descended to William, Earl of Ulster,
whose daughter Elizabeth married the son of Edward
III, Lionel, Duke of Clarence, (fn. 33) and then, through the
marriage of their daughter Philippa with Edmund
Mortimer, Earl of March, to Roger, Earl of March,
who was declared heir to the throne in 1385. (fn. 34) The
moiety passed to his daughter Anne, to whose son
Richard, Duke of York, it owes the name of 'Ebor.'
The Duke of York seems to have held this manor
jointly with his wife Cecily, and with her conveyed
it to Sir Thomas Brown and other trustees in 1448–9, (fn. 35) perhaps in trust for some of his very numerous
family. However, after the death of Richard and
the accession of his son to the throne as Edward IV,
Sir George Brown, son of the original trustee, released
all right in the manor to Cecily, (fn. 36) who continued to
hold it till her death in 1495, (fn. 37) when it descended to
Henry VII as heir of Edward IV. (fn. 38) During the
reign of Henry VIII, Shiere formed part of the dower
of his successive queens, (fn. 39) until, after the execution of
Katharine Howard, he granted it with other lands to
John Cokk of Broxbourne. (fn. 40) The latter conveyed it in
1544 to William Fitz William and his wife Joan, (fn. 41) who
alienated it to Sir Edward Bray in 1548. (fn. 42) Thus for a
short time the manors of Shiere Vachery and Ebor were
owned by one lord, who also possessed Gomshall Netley
and Towerhill. He bequeathed Shiere Ebor to his
fourth wife Mary, (fn. 43) who married Edmund Tilney, Master of the Revels to Queen Elizabeth. (fn. 44) After her death
the manor passed to Edward Bray, grandson and heir of
Sir Edward, (fn. 45) who sold it in 1609 to William Risbridger,
perhaps a descendant of the William Risbridger who
under Henry VIII had held demesne lands of Shiere
in lease. (fn. 46) John Risbridger died holding the manor
of Shiere Ebor and a tenement called Shiere Farm
in 1631. (fn. 47) The manor remained in this family till
1754, when William Risbridger sold to William
Wakeford. In 1761 it was conveyed to Thomas
Page, (fn. 48) who sold it in 1771 to William Bray, (fn. 49) who
subsequently succeeded to Shiere Vachery. Since
then the two manors have followed the same descent.
The land is still called 'The Queen's Hold.'
Mortimer. Barry or and azure a chief or with two pales between two gyrons azure and a scutcheon argent over all.
Richard, Duke of York. France quartered with England with the difference of a label argent having three roundels gules on each point.
About 1276 the original manor of Shiere had appurtenant to it six and a half fees. Of these fees there were
some at a distance (e.g. Benetfield, co. Sussex, and
Lasham, co. Hants (fn. 50) ). View of frankpledge was a
privilege claimed by John son of Geoffrey, (fn. 51) and at
the division of the manor was assigned to the
Butlers, who held it once a year. (fn. 52) Both Shiere
Vachery and Ebor had court baron, (fn. 53) and the lords
of Shiere Vachery were granted a market on Tuesdays
and an annual fair in 1309, (fn. 54) and free warren in
1330. (fn. 55)
The manor of GOMSHALL lies on the Tillingbourne to the east of Shere village. In early times it
was royal demesne. Earl Harold had it, and after
the Conquest King William held it in demesne. Odo,
Bishop of Bayeux, wrongfully annexed half a hide
which had belonged to this manor to his manor of
Bramley. (fn. 56) It is mentioned with lands granted to the
Earl of Warenne in 1154 and 1155–6. (fn. 57) He probably
resigned Gomshall with his other English lands to
Henry II, (fn. 58) who granted it in moieties to Robert de
Wendenale and to William de Clere. (fn. 59) Under
Richard I William Malveisin's lands in Gomshall were
escheat to the Crown, (fn. 60) and they or others appear
to have been given to the Dapifer of Ponthieu, (fn. 61)
Ingram de Fontains, who held one moiety of the
manor, while William Malveisin had the other. (fn. 62)
Ingram's lands were escheat to the Crown in or before
1194. (fn. 63) Richard I granted the manor in moieties to
William de Es and Alan Trenchmere. (fn. 64) The moiety
of William de Es became the manor of Gomshall
Netley, and the other was known later as Gomshall
Towerhill. (fn. 65)
GOMSHALL NETLEY
GOMSHALL NETLEY, the moiety of Gomshall
granted by King Richard to William de Es, (fn. 66) was held
in 1217 by Eustace de Es, (fn. 67) and in 1233 passed from
him to Sir Matthias Besille, kt, (fn. 68) who granted it to the
abbey of Netley, co. Hants. (fn. 69) Thus it came to be
called Gomshall Netley. In the Taxation of 1291
£10 is returned as the abbey's annual income from
'Gomshall Grange.' (fn. 70) In 1332 the Abbot of
Netley's tenants in Gomshall complained that he
had exacted other services from them than he ought,
since they were tenants in ancient demesne. (fn. 71) After
the suppression of the abbey Henry VIII granted to
Sir Edward Bray the reversion of Gomshall Netley at
the termination of a seventy years' lease, which John
Redforde and his wife Thomasina had obtained
from the abbey in 1502. (fn. 72) Since this time it
has descended in the same family with Shiere
Vachery, and is now in the possession of Mr. Justice
Bray.
The old manor-house was separated from the
manor about 1640. It is a farm, usually called King
John's Lodge, and stands opposite to the modern
house of Netley. It is largely of 16th-century date,
and possibly occupies the site of the Saxon aula.
This house has a fine chimney, rising from the
ground with a stack of diagonally-placed flues on
its flint and rubble base. At either end of the
front is a projecting gabled wing, that on the left
having some good square and circle pattern-work in
its timber construction, resembling that at Great
Tangley in Wonersh parish. The upright timbering
of the main portion between these wings seems to
indicate a date early in the 16th, or possibly late in
the 15th century, the pattern-work in the wing being
nearly a hundred years later. Modern windows
and other injudicious alterations have somewhat altered
the ancient character of this house, but the old door,
with a flat-arched head, still remains in the left
wing.
The present Netley House was built by Mr.
Edmund Shallet Lomax about, or shortly before,
1800, and is now the residence of Col. Fraser.
GOMSHALL TOWERHILL
GOMSHALL TOWERHILL. Alan Trenchmere
possibly held his moiety for life only, (fn. 73) for by 1205
he was succeeded by William de Braose, who had a
grant of it in tail. (fn. 74) William's family was starved to
death, and he himself driven into exile by John; he
died abroad, and John evidently gave his moiety of
Gomshall to Peter de Maulay. (fn. 75) William's son, the
Bishop of Hereford, took part in the civil war against
John, and extorted the restoration of the family
estates to himself in trust for his nephew. (fn. 76) After
his death this manor was granted to Rowland de
Bloet. (fn. 77)
In 1218 Reginald Braose, the bishop's younger
brother, had the manor, (fn. 78) from which his widow
claimed dower in 1230, (fn. 79) and
William Braose was holding
it in 1281, (fn. 80) and conveyed it
to a sub-tenant, John Savage.
William Braose was still living
in 1311, when John Savage
died, leaving a young son,
Roger, (fn. 81) who, having been imprisoned for felony in Newgate, broke prison and forfeited
his estates. (fn. 82) In 1332 the
king committed the custody
of the manor to John Pulteney, Lord Mayor of London, who did the customary service for it to John de Ifield. (fn. 83) A year
having elapsed, the manor was restored to the overlord, John de Ifield. (fn. 84) At John's death the king
granted this manor for life to Eleanor, Countess of
Ormond, (fn. 85) then lady of Shiere, and obtained from
John of Ifield's heirs a release of their rights in it. (fn. 86)
At her death Edward III granted the custody of the
manor to Peter Atwood for life, (fn. 87) and, subsequently,
to Thomas Stowes. (fn. 88) In founding the abbey of
St. Mary Graces near the Tower of London in 1376
the king endowed it with the reversion of this
moiety of Gomshall. Hence it obtained the name
of Gomshall Towerhill. (fn. 89)
Braose. Azure crusily and a lion or.
In 1539, after the dissolution of the abbey, the
king granted Gomshall Towerhill to Sir Edward
Walsingham, (fn. 90) who conveyed it to Sir Edward Bray
in 1550. (fn. 91) In 1589 it was granted as 'concealed
lands' to Walter Coppinger and others. (fn. 92) It was,
however, restored to its former owners, for Sir Edward
Bray conveyed it to trustees for the use of his wife
Mary for life, with final reversion to his grandson and
heir Edward in tail male, (fn. 93) and since that time it has
remained, with Shiere Vachery, in the Bray family.
Towerhill is an old and picturesque farmhouse
close to the station.
In 1086, when Gomshall was royal demesne, the
villeins there were exempt from the sheriff's jurisdiction. (fn. 94) Both Netley and Towerhill had court baron. (fn. 95)
Eleanor Countess of Ormond had view of frankpledge
in Gomshall Towerhill. (fn. 96) In 1281 William Braose
was granted free warren there. (fn. 97)
SUTTON
SUTTON was in 1086 in Wotton Hundred. It
is a hamlet now chiefly in Shere parish, but with a
few cottages in Abinger parish and Wotton Hundred.
It is apparently the land in Wotton called 'Sudtone'
which the Bishop of Bayeux had rated in his manor
of Bramley. (fn. 98) It was subsequently associated with
Holehurst or Holdhurst, in Cranleigh, a parish nonexistent in 1086 (Holdhurst Manor extends beyond
Cranleigh parish), and Sutton was called Holdhurst at
Down, or the manor of Downe, to distinguish it from
the rest of Holdhurst in the Weald. (fn. 99) It may once
have been held with the rest of Holdhurst (see under
Cranleigh), but Richard Hill died holding Downe in
1551, and his son Edmund Hill was in possession
in 1554. (fn. 100) He was alive in 1582, and Richard
Hill his son, who married Elizabeth daughter of the
first Sir Richard Onslow of the family in Surrey, was
in possession c. 1586. (fn. 101) Richard conveyed it in
1595 to Ralph Hill. (fn. 102) He conveyed it to Edward
Allford, who sold it to William Leigh of Abinger and
Thames Ditton in 1609. (fn. 103) From this family it was
conveyed, c. 1620, to Oliver Huntley, who sold it
in the following year to Richard Holman. The latter
conveyed it to Henry Hilton in 1636. (fn. 104) The Hussey family seem to have acquired an interest in Sutton
as early as 1646, when Sir William Smyth, bart., and
his wife Mary, whose interests were possibly derived
from Henry Hilton, transferred their rights in onethird of the
manor to Peter Hussey. (fn. 105) Thomas Hussey of London, who is said to have acquired the whole
manor, was buried at Shere in 1655. He left a son
Peter, who was visited at Sutton by John Evelyn,
August 1681. (fn. 106) He died 1684, and his son Peter (who
died in 1724 (fn. 107) ) left a daughter Mary, who in 1720
married Edward Bugden. Before 1728 Sutton was
sold to Edward Pike Heath. His niece Frances
married the Hon. Henry Knight, and they sold it to
Mr. Edmund Shallet between 1750 and 1761. (fn. 108)
Mr. Shallet was sheriff of the county in 1758. His
daughter married Caleb Lomax. For the later descent
see under Wotton.
There was a house at Sutton of considerable size,
which was pulled down by Mr. Edmund Shallet
Lomax, son of Mr. Shallet's daughter and heir, when
he built Netley (see above), but the remains of the
walled garden and some other fragments are conspicuous upon the left-hand side of the road leading
from Gomshall station towards Holmbury St. Mary.
There was a second WESTON Manor, to be distinguished from that in Albury, near the parsonage
house of Albury, but lying in a detached part of
Shere parish, and called Weston in Shere. In
the Weston genealogy taken, it is said, from the
College of Arms, (fn. 109) a Thomas de Weston, living c.
1305, and his son Thomas are described as lords of
the manor of 'Weston in Shire.' It would seem
that the family must have been early divided, for
others are described as of 'Weston in Albury.' (fn. 110)
William Weston held it of the abbey of Netley at
his death in 1483. (fn. 111) Edmund Pope, a descendant, no
doubt, of Joan wife of Thomas Pope, (fn. 112) sold it in 1540
to John Risbridger of Albury, (fn. 113) whose son John sold
it the same year to Thomas Baker. (fn. 114)
In 1621 it formed part of the portion of Mary
daughter of George Hyer on her marriage with Robert
Boothby. (fn. 115) In 1709 William Boothby conveyed it to
George Wheeler. (fn. 116) Dr. William Shaw purchased a
moiety from Bridges Baldwin and his wife Frances in
1746. (fn. 117) Dr. Shaw's son sold the manor in 1804 to
the Hon. Robert Clive, a younger son of the first
Lord Clive (who died in 1833), who improved the
house. (fn. 118) The house was at one time the residence
of Elias Ashmole the antiquary. The manor seems
to be non-existent, and the house is pulled down.
In the Domesday Survey two mills are mentioned
at Shere. (fn. 119) In the 13th century there was still a
water-mill there. (fn. 120) It formed part of the rents
granted to Richard, Earl of Ulster, being held by
William, Earl of Ulster, in 1334, when it is described
as 'two watermills under one roof.' (fn. 121) It is mentioned
again in 1382. (fn. 122)
One mill is mentioned in Gomshall in 1086. It
was probably on the site of Netley Mill. In the
13th century there was a water-mill belonging to
'Estcourt' in Gomshall. (fn. 123)
CHURCHES
The church of ST. JAMES lies
somewhat to the east of the village
street. It is mentioned in the Domesday Survey. (fn. 124)
The church is second to none in Surrey for beauty
and antiquarian interest. Its situation, on a bank
above the stream, which flows on its northern side,
with a screen of tall young elms between, and a background of more ancient trees, and the wooded hillside,
is very lovely; and the churchyard, not too trim or
level, with a number of ancient monumental stones
and a few wooden 'bed-heads,' bounded by a low
stone wall, with a modern but picturesque lych-gate
on the west, makes a charming setting.
The church is built of Bargate rubble, with ironstone rubble, flints, and miscellaneous materials, some
probably derived from Roman buildings on Farley
Heath, the dressings being of Bargate stone, firestone
and clunch, and the south and west porches are of
brick and timber. The modern vestries on the north
of the nave are built of stone and brick. The roofs
are tiled, except that of the south aisle, which is
roofed with Horsham slabs, and the spire is covered
with oak shingles. (fn. 125) A good deal of the original
thin coat of yellow plaster remains on the walls.
Few churches in Surrey have survived the era of
destructive restoration with such small loss to their
antiquity as Shere; indeed, what mischief has been
done is traceable to the 'churchwarden' period or
even earlier; the exception to this observation is the
incongruous group of vestries built against a blank,
and probably very early, wall on the north of the
nave.
The plan offers many interesting problems. It
consists of a nave, 40 ft. 9 in. long, and 18 ft. 6 in.
wide at the west, widening out to 19 ft. 6 in. at the
east; a broad south aisle, 45 ft. 9 in. by 16 ft. 3 in.;
a central tower, with floor-space of about 15 ft.
square; a chancel, 32 ft. long by 19 ft. 2 in.; a
south chancel, opening out of the chancel, tower and
south aisle, 36 ft. long by 16 ft. 9 in.; a shallow
transeptal recess on the north of the tower in place
of the original transept; and west and south porches,
with the modern vestries, before alluded to, on the
north of the nave. In addition, there would appear
to have been in the mediaeval period an anchorite's
cell on the north side of the chancel.
The oldest part of the church is the north wall of
the nave, but whatever original features, in the shape
of windows or door, it may have possessed, have been
obliterated, and therefore its date is somewhat a
matter of speculation. If not earlier, it may date
from the last quarter of the 11th century. To this
nave a tower was added, probably on the site of the
earlier chancel—as at Albury, hard by—in about
1150. The internal square of this is almost exactly
the same as at Albury, and it has on its north side, in
the middle stage, a very similar round-arched window,
with two sub-lights, originally divided by a small
column, as in that tower. On the south side is a
single-light opening of the same date. Three unusually wide and long round-headed openings occur
above a string-course, or set-off, in each face of the
bell-chamber, and over these there was, perhaps, in
the first instance, a low parapet, corbelled out, inclosing a squat, pyramidal roof, both features giving
place at a later period to the timber spire. Parts of
one of the first tower arches can be traced on the
south side. Owing to the failure of the crossing
arches because of the weight of the top story, these
arches, early in the 14th century, were replaced by
wide and lofty pointed ones on the east and west,
and by smaller ones on the other sides. The first
arches were circular and probably of two orders, with
a hood-moulding. The great thickness of these tower
walls—4 ft. on the ground—is noteworthy.
The circular stair at the south-west angle of the
tower, originally external, is now, of course, within
the aisle. It retains two loopholes for lighting, and
a small door with a pointed arch. On the southern
side the head of one of the original flat buttresses
appears above the roof, beneath the string that runs
below the bell-chamber. The whole tower was
probably completed soon after 1150.
The 12th-century transepts may have been roofed
with span roofs at right angles to those of nave and
chancel (before the aisle was thrown out); or, which
seems on the whole the more probable, with span
roofs set parallel to the axis of nave and chancel, as at
St. Mary's, Guildford. In either case there would
appear to have been apsidal ends to these chapels as
at Guildford, and there may have been an apse to the
chancel itself. Certain ashlaring with a curved face,
built in as old material into the 14th-century chancel,
may well have formed part of the destroyed apses.
Among the few relics externally of this 12th-century
work, besides the tower, are the bases of the two flat
and narrow pilaster buttresses, on the south side, the
western at what would have been the west end of
these transepts or chancel aisles, and the eastern at
the chord of the apse. These are composed of
different kinds of stone—clunch or firestone, and
Bargate stone—as though they had been altered and
perhaps heightened at a later date. Another very
remarkable survival consists of the curiously-shaped
rafter-ends—a roll set within a broad hollow—almost
unique in their way, in the piece of roof over this
portion: this roof being in itself evidence for the
second theory as to the original form taken by these
chancel aisles. The fine marble font and south doorway are also of this period, but perhaps of slightly
later date, c. 1170. This doorway, the most beautiful
of its period in Surrey, (fn. 126) must have been originally
placed in the unpierced south wall of the nave, and
shifted out to its present position, when the aisle was
built, in about 1200. It shows very few traces of
having been moved, and all the stones appear to have
been correctly rebuilt. The doorway is extremely
elegant in proportions and detail, and consists of a
circular arch of two orders, with a hood-moulding,
the outer order resting upon a Sussex marble shaft
with abacus, capital, and base of the same material,
the abacus being carried round the inner order, as an
impost, and the capitals carved with early stiff-leaf
foliage. All the remainder is delicately wrought in
clunch, both orders of the arch displaying an enriched
cheveron on the face, with a roll moulding on the
angle, and a plain cheveron on the soffits. The enriched cheverons have foliage patterns within them.
The hood-moulding has a small half-moon sinking
carried as a pattern round its outer member, and at
the top a head, now defaced, is inserted. The
masonry is fine-jointed and fine-axed, both marks of
the date. The dials and other scratchings on the
stonework are noted later. On the inside is a plain
circular arch, much loftier than that of the outer
opening. There must have been a doorway or an
arch of this same enriched cheveron pattern at
Merstham Church, about 15 miles to the eastward
along the same road, judging from the voussoirs now
lying loose in the north chapel. (fn. 127)
The next period is that of about 1200, when the
aisle was thrown out on the south of the nave, and
an arch pierced in what had been the west wall
of the south transept or chancel aisle. The three
flat buttresses, of three stages, at the west end of the
aisle, belong to this date. The west doorway of the
nave is of the same period, and has a richly-moulded
arch of two orders, acutely pointed, with Sussex or
Purbeck marble capitals and shafts to the outer order.
The inner order of the jambs is square on plan, with
a square capital, this and the other having square
abaci and crochet foliage. The arch at the east end
of the aisle has two orders, richly moulded, with
similar capitals, and among the mouldings of both is
the keel-shaped moulding. The jambs, with their
delicate shafts, bases, and capitals, are entirely of
marble, four shafts to each side. The light and
fragile character of this arch gives a clue to the entire
disappearance of the corresponding arcade, which has
been replaced by the three existing ugly pointed
arches on octagonal piers. They are cased all over in
plaster, both piers and arches (as was also the arch at
the end of the aisle), and possibly the remains of the
original work are still in existence beneath the
plaster. Three of the lancets of this date remain,
two in the aisle and one in the west wall of the nave.
They are in Bargate stone, with broad chamfers to
the outside opening. A lancet and a curious pointed
arched recess (fn. 128) in the north wall of the nave, at its
eastern end, are of about the same date. A pair of
lancets in the western bay of the chancel aisle, broad
openings with flat internal arches, would appear to be
later—c. 1250.
At the eastern end of the south chancel south wall
is a two-light tracery window of graceful and somewhat unusual design. It is of two trefoiled lights,
with a small trefoil in the head, the tracery and arch
being worked on three distinct planes: externally
there is a hood-moulding of scroll and bead section.
The east window of the same south chancel is of
similar character and has three trefoil-headed lights,
the central wider than the others, the spaces over
being occupied by two irregular trefoils and four small
quatrefoils within a large circle. There are two coeval
buttresses at the south-east angle of the rectangular east
end of the south chancel. Probably this square-ended
chapel, which is referred to in wills as the Lady
Chapel, superseded the apse about 1300, at which date
it became necessary to rebuild the tower arches, an
additional archway being pierced between the new
square-ended chapel and the chancel. The lofty
octagonal timber spire—57 ft. in height from the
nave floor—a magnificent piece of mediaeval carpentry, was also probably added then or soon afterwards. It would appear to have been covered with
lead originally, and retained a part of the ancient lead
work until the middle of the last century, together
with oak shingles.
These extensive alterations were probably undertaken at the instance of the rich abbey of Netley, to
whom the advowson of Shere was sold by Roger de
Clare in 1243. To Netley Abbey, therefore, is
probably due the rebuilding of the chancel in its
present form, with its beautiful tracery windows
executed in hard chalk, between 1300 and 1320. (fn. 129)
The details of the work show that it was begun
shortly after the square east end of the Lady Chapel,
and the new windows of the chancel were made to
harmonize with the recently completed tracery windows of the chapel. This is very noticeable in the
case of the great east window, which, with minor
variations, is almost a replica of that in the east wall
of the Lady Chapel. Its central light is of ogee
form, cinquefoiled, and the side lights have rather
ugly flat trefoiled heads with a cinquefoiled figure
above, but the same circle, filled with four quatrefoils,
which is the chief feature in the other, appears in this
window also. The diagonal buttresses of the east
wall and the buttress on the north side are of this
date. The side windows, of two lights, have tracery
of the ordinary net type. A piscina of this date,
with ogee trefoiled head and credence shelf, remains
in the south wall. In the western bay of the north
wall are two curious squints, one with a quatrefoil
aperture and the other, close by to the eastward,
a square opening. Both communicated with an
anchorite's cell, or a sacristy, whichever it may have
been, which stood on this side, and was probably
built at the same time as the chancel. Its roof was a
lean-to, but its area is uncertain. (fn. 130) The oblique
squint with the square head must have been used, in
any case, for commanding a view of the high altar;
while the quatrefoil may have served the purpose of
communicating the recluse.
Slightly later again, in c. 1330, the north transept
was shortened and brought to its present form of a
mere recess between the enlarged buttresses of the
tower, which at this time superseded the flat buttresses
of c. 1150. The beautiful four-light window, of
flowing tracery, executed in hard chalk, which has
weathered admirably, has no hood-moulding externally, unlike the others, and bears other traces of
different handiwork, although the design has been
kept in harmony with the chancel windows.
The church of the middle of the 14th century
remains substantially unaltered, save for the insertion
of windows in the nave and the rebuilding of the
porches. A three-light window, in the west wall of
the aisle, of handsome character, with a deep hollow
and recessed tracery, dates from the last quarter of the
14th century. Another, of two lights, with a square
head, in the west gable of the nave is of an ordinary
15th-century type; and a third, in the south wall of the
aisle, of three lights, with an ugly flat segmental head,
is dated by the inscription on a brass remaining in
the south aisle: 'Pray for the soullis of Olever Sandes
and Ione his wife, ye which made this wyndow and this
auter, which Olev' dyed ye VII. day of Novēber, ye
yer of Our Lord mvxii, on whos soll Jhũ have m'cy.'
There was another window, of later date, high up in
the north wall of the nave, near its eastern end, but
this has been renewed in a quasi-13th-century style in
recent years. The window in the south aisle to the
east of that of 1512 is a two-light nondescript opening,
originally a lancet, with a square mullion and jambs,
probably of 18th-century date, to which period the
quaint external door to the gallery with its flight of
steps, to the east of the south porch, also belongs.
From the churchwardens' accounts (fn. 131) we learn that,
in 1547, the porch—probably that at the west end—
was renewed, and in spite of modern patchings the
substance of this remains. The fine panelled door of
the inner doorway, well studded with nails, and
having a good key-plate, bears in the upper part a
small shield of arms—two bends and a canton, impaling a bend—with the date 1626. At the northwest angle of the nave is a huge tapering brick
buttress, erected in the 18th century.
The south porch, although its roof appears to be of
old timber, is of comparatively modern brickwork.
The door of the inner doorway, rough oak-boarding
nail-studded, is possibly of 12th-century date.
The ancient oak roofs, of plain character, remain
throughout. Those of the chancel and Lady Chapel
are of trussed collar construction. The interesting
detail of the rafter ends of 12th-century date on the
south side has been above noticed. In the tower is a
fine bell-cage, probably as old as the 14th century,
although altered in 1895 to admit two new bells.
The doorway to the tower stairs has a door made up
of the carved rails of some 17th-century pews. Of
the chancel screen, concerning which we have the
testimony in the churchwardens' accounts that it
was made in the eighteenth year of Henry VII, there
are no remains, but in Brandon's Parish Churches
(fn. 131a)
it is described as then (1848) in existence—'a
plain Perpendicular rood-screen with its doors.' No
other ancient woodwork or mediaeval fittings remain,
except the very interesting chest now in the south
porch. (fn. 132) It bears a general resemblance to the one
at Godalming, especially in the stop-chamfered framed
ends, and the lid works with a pin-hinge. There is
an elaborate locking arrangement, and inside are
remains of two hutches for money and valuables.
The date is about 1200, and it belongs to a group of
early 13th-century chests that were probably made in
obedience to the command of Pope Innocent III,
to collect alms for the help of poor Crusaders.
The oak gallery at the west end is of 18th-century
date.
The church must have been at one time rich in
colour, judging from the fragments of wall-painting
that remain. Practically all has been destroyed
except a very graceful spray of vine pattern, painted
in dark red on the soffit of the arch to the chancel
east window.
In several windows there are remains of ancient
glass, of 13th, 14th, and 15th-century dates. In the
south aisle one of the lancets has some good square
quarries of green glass, with a rose or cinquefoil
within border-lines, coeval with, or only slightly later
than, the early 13th-century opening. Another
variety is diamond-shaped, with grisaille foliage patterns. In the quatrefoils and interspaces of the Lady
Chapel and chancel east windows are the evangelistic
symbols, the arms of England, Butler, Warenne, and
Clare, and other ornaments contemporary with the
early 14th-century stonework. These are some of
the best of the little ancient glass left in Surrey.
Other windows retain red roses, the Lancastrian badge,
probably placed here by James, the second Earl of
Ormond, in whose family the manor of Shiere was
vested in the 15th century. The device of the Brays,
who afterwards succeeded to the estates—the bray, or
flax-crusher—appears on the quarries of another window. (fn. 133) In the great east window the lower lights
are filled with good modern glass.
The ancient floor levels appear to have been preserved, together with a good deal of old stone-paving.
There are two steps at the eastern tower arch, another
at the access to the sanctuary, and two to the altar
platform in the Lady Chapel. From the churchwardens' accounts we know that besides this altar
and that of the high chancel there was an altar to
St. Nicholas (perhaps that in the south aisle), and
images of St. Anthony, St. Roche, St. John the Baptist, and our Lady of Pity.
Close to the west respond of the aisle arcade stands
the beautiful font of Purbeck marble, mounted on a
stone base-block and step. Its date may be either
that of the south doorway—c. 1170—or of the aisle
—c. 1200—probably the former. The upper part
of the bowl is square with three scallopings, beneath
which it changes into a circular form of a bold round
section, and the parts left at the angles are carved
into the foliated capitals of the four corner-shafts,
which, with a stout central drum, support the bowl.
These rest upon a continuous base-moulding, which
has a deep hollow between two round members, and
is carried separately round the shafts and drum. (fn. 134)
The oldest monument is a small brass to Robert
Scarclyff, rector, 1412, in mass vestments. In his
lengthy will, preserved at Lambeth, he directs that
his body be buried in the chancel of 'Schire' Church,
to the south-west of the tomb of Master John
Walter. (fn. 135) He leaves special vestments to this church,
and a picture, with a representation of the Trinity,
the Blessed Mary, and St. Christopher in four
divisions, to stand at the Lady altar. There are also
bequests of various kinds to the poorer parishioners
and others, and the residue of his effects were to be
divided among poor couples of Shere, and in marriage
portions for poor maidens of the parish.
Until 1747, when it was taken down and the brass
effigy laid on the chancel floor, there was on the south
side of the chancel an altar tomb to John Touchet,
Lord Audley, who died 20 September 1491. The
upper half of the brass, 19½ in. long, showing a man
in plate armour, alone remains, together with part of
the inscription. At the east end of the Lady Chapel
is a small brass to the wife of John Redfford; and
one to Oliver Sandes is fixed to the window-sill of the
north transept. (fn. 136)
Besides these there is an early 17th-century tablet,
with a pediment over it, to the right of the great east
window; and in the chancel and Lady Chapel are a
few others of no great age or importance. Among
these are some monuments to the Brays and Duncombs. Against the south wall of the chancel is a
tablet to the memory of William Bray, joint author
of Manning and Bray's History of Surrey, who died in
1832, at the great age of ninety-seven.
There are two small dial-marks, 5½ in. in diameter,
on the lower stones of the eastern of the two pilaster
buttresses on the south chancel wall; and on one of
the stones, which is a piece of Reigate or firestone,
is a mason's mark, the letter R upside down. On
the south doorway, also of the 12th century, are five
or six dial-marks, two being very regularly scratched
on the stone, and of the same size as those on the
buttress. There are also a number of small crosses
cut in the jambs of this doorway. The toolmarks on
this door are very well preserved.
The only ancient articles of church plate are the
very graceful silver cup and paten-cover of 1569, now
in use at the daughter church of Peaslake.
All the six mediaeval bells mentioned in the inventory of Edward VI's commissioners were recast in
1590, but so badly that, according to the churchwardens' accounts, a suit was instituted against the
founder. They were recast by Richard Phelps in 1712,
and two new ones have lately been added to the ring.
The registers now extant date from 1591. A
volume from 1545 to 1590 has perished in the last
hundred years.
Curious churchwardens' accounts are preserved,
dating from 1500. Copious extracts have been
printed from them by Manning and Bray. (fn. 137) The
most curious thing recorded in them is the possession
by the parish of two bows, which were hired out for
the benefit of the rood light. The common idea
that every peasant possessed a war bow, and could
use it, is untrue. A load of wood was cut, at
Vachery, for remaking the rood-loft, in 1506. One
entry states that the entire church was re-roofed with
'shingles' in about 1500. By 'shingles' in this
instance stone slabs are undoubtedly intended.
The accounts show that there were lights before the
rood, St. John, and St. Nicholas, besides the sepulchre
light. Church ales were held at Whitsuntide, and in
1504 £1 8s. 8d. was taken for drinking at the feast from
visitors from Ewhurst, Wotton, Abinger, and Albury.
The church of ST. MARY at Felday is in the old
Shere parish. It was built of local stone and Sussex
marble in 1879, at the expense and from the designs
of the late Mr. Street, R.A. The style is 13th century. It consists of a nave, side aisles separated from
the nave by arcades of three pointed arches, a chancel,
and raised north annexe to the chancel. There is a
screen at the west end, and a chancel screen of oak.
The interior is highly decorated, and there are nine
windows of stained glass. There is a turret at the
west end, and six bells. The church stands upon a
steep declivity, and the fall of the ground has been
utilized to introduce two vestries and a sexton's room
under the east end. The vestries communicate with
the chancel, and the raised north annexe is above
them. In the churchyard is a finely-sculptured
churchyard cross.
The church of ST. MARK Peaslake was opened as
a chapel of ease to Shere in 1889. It is of Weald
stone, and has a nave and chancel with apsidal end, a
bell-turret of wood, and three bells.
ADVOWSONS
The advowson of the original
parish church was in dispute between the Abbots of Netley and the
lords of Shiere Vachery from the 13th till the 16th
century. Roger de Clare sold it to the abbey in
1243. (fn. 138) In 1244 the abbot had licence to appropriate the church, (fn. 139) and the king confirmed the
advowson to the abbey in 1250–1; (fn. 140) but the appropriation was not carried into effect. (fn. 141) In 1253 the
abbey is said to hold the patronage 'at the king's
request.' (fn. 142) In 1258–9 John son of John, lord of
Shiere Vachery, proved his claim to present as lord of
the manor, but allowed the abbey to present for one
turn. Consequently, in 1277–8, the abbot again
brought forward his claim, but failed to prove it; (fn. 143)
and for some years the lords of Shiere Vachery continued to present; (fn. 144) but between 1346 and 1366
the abbot presented twice, (fn. 145) after which James, Earl
of Ormond, disputed his claim, (fn. 146) but without success,
for the abbey presented in 1379–80, (fn. 147) and again in
1390, (fn. 148) and continued to do so till John Lord Audley
again claimed the right. (fn. 149) The dispute was only
settled when Sir Edmund Bray presented in 1518.
Before the next presentation came the abbey was dissolved. The advowson descended with Shiere Vachery
till Morgan Randyll bought it in 1677 (fn. 150) for Thomas
Duncomb, (fn. 150a) who was then rector. It was leased or
sold for occasions by the Duncomb family, but remained with them till Thomas Duncomb sold it to
John Smallpeice in 1831 (fn. 151) for the Rev. D. C.
Delasfone, rector, with which the former sale may
be compared. Mr. Justice Bray is the present
patron.
There was a chantry of our Lady in Shere Church.
In the 14th century the rector was responsible for finding a chaplain at the altar of St. Mary in his church. (fn. 152)
The chantry was maintained from the profits of the
'Chantry House,' which was granted after the suppression of chantries to Henry Polsted. (fn. 153) It descended
with his manor of Albury (q.v.). (fn. 154)
Early in the 14th century Christine daughter of
William 'called the Carpenter' had licence to dwell
in Shere Churchyard as an anchoress. (fn. 155)
The living of St. Mary Felday is in the gift of the
bishop
CHARITIES
Mr. Thomas Gatton left £400 in
1758 to educate poor children. In
1842 Mr. Lomax added to the endowment, and a school was established on the scheme of
the National Society. The present buildings date
from 1877, and were enlarged in 1898.
Smith's Charity exists as in other Surrey parishes.
In 1657 Mr. Maybank left £26 for the poor of
Shere, which was invested in land in Cranleigh.
At some date unknown, but probably before
1714, (fn. 156) Mrs. Charity Duncomb left money invested
in land in Cranleigh, bringing in £1 6s. per annum,
to provide bread weekly for poor widows.
In 1746 the Rev. George Duncomb left £6 a year
out of his freehold in Shere, £1 4s. to buy bread for
the poor of Shere, £1 16s. for the poor of Albury,
£2 13s. for teaching children, 7s. for the parish
clerk.
In 1784 Francis Haybitle, farm labourer of Peaslake, left a rent-charge of 15s. a year on a cottage in
Shere to provide bread for the poor.
In 1818 Charles Hammond gave £100 to be invested in the Funds, and the interest applied to the
improvement of the psalmody in Shere Church.