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 timber framed steeple which sits on top of a Norman and Mediaeval church tower[1].
It is covered in lead.
Although a large hay cart or rick unfortunately almost obscures the church windows, the image provides 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 top picture. An idyllic rural scene in 1907.
In 1896 a railway company, the Portsmouth, Basingstoke and Godalming Railway, put forward a proposal to be considered by Parliament
for the construction of a line from near Guildford to Alton and from Alton southwards to Portsmouth and northwards towards Basingstoke.
If passed, it would have run through Godalming's Lammas Lands, cutting them in two. Hambley-common [sic, Hankley Common]
would have been similarly affected[2]. Plans revealed afterwards showed that there would have
been only one entrance into the town over a distance of three miles and that a second archway near the existing Portsmouth Road bridge
would have reduced the width of the road[3]. The proposal was rejected by the Select
Committee of the House of Lords in July that year[4].
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 window above the altar! Although there is no date, it was almost certainly produced before the
First World War.
Eaton's postcard illustrates why the churchyard could not be extended in the 1850s.
Burials ceased here in 1857 as the graveyard ran out of space[5].
The low lying land next to the river was totally unsuitable for graves as it was liable to flood.
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 Archæological Society, told his audience that
when he was a youngster the "bell hole" had been pointed out to him and he was advised not to go near it[6].
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[6].
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 young boy, the son of a member of staff, had drowned there[7].
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[8], suggesting it may have been the Sanctus
bell[9] that was "carried out of the tower and was thrown into the river at a
great distance".
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View of the northern side of the church, with Church House on its left. The picture was taken
from the Lammas Lands, on the opposite bank of the river Wey. There are young boys sitting on the riverbank.
The card dates from before WW1 - the Phillips Memorial was yet to be built. |
Related pages
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