The parish church of SS. Peter and Paul, seen from across the
Lammas Lands, with the River Wey in the foreground. The postcards
here provide a good view of the 14th century steeple which
sits on top of a Norman and Mediaeval church tower[1].
Although a large hay cart or rick unfortunately almost
obscures the church windows, the image also gives a good view
of the numerous gravestones in the churchyard to the right
of the cart. The two small huts in the picture no longer
exist. Whilst it is hard to see through the trees on the
right hand side, there is a paling fence bordering Borough
Road.
Enlargement of the above. An idyllic rural scene. |
The coloured view of the church below, published by the local
firm of G. E. Eaton, provides a better view of the church.
At least you can see the windows above the altar! Although
there is no date, it was almost certainly produced before the
First World War.
A curious story about a church bell, that had been passed down
through the generations for hundreds of years, was recounted
in 1925. It was alleged that during a great storm which struck
the church, the church bell was carried into the river, forming
a somewhat dangerous whirlpool "into which no swimmer
might enter without endangering his life".
The local architect Mr. J. H. Norris, F.R.I.B.A., who was
addressing the Surrey Archeological Society, said that when
he was a youngster the "bell hole" had been
pointed out to him and he was advised not to go near it[2].
The story about the bell itself is also recalled by the church
historian, Alan Bott, who talks of the English antiquary
John Aubrey describing the event in 1676[3].
However, the two stories have probably become merged together.
William Veale described a "bell-hole" close to Charterhouse
School's Bathing Place on the River Wey, which is some distance
upstream from the church, on a sharp bend in the river. The
water there was said to be deep, swirled around and deemed
dangerous and a child had drowned there[4].
Norris also described how, some three or four years before
he talked to the Archaeological Society, he had supervised
alterations on the instructions of the vicar and churchwardens.
The work involved repairs made to the lead on the 14th century
spire which had been damaged by successive storms. But the
storms were not the sole cause of the problem. Unfortunately,
once the repairs were underway it could be seen that death
watch beetle was causing damage to the spire's structure[2]. |
