The History of St Katharines

Patron saint

The church is dedicated to Saint Katharine of Alexandria, whose feast of title falls on 25th November. Katharine (alternative spelling Catherine) was the daughter of a king. At eighteen years old she was beautiful, and also wise in the art of learning and gifted in discourse.

She tried to persuade the cruel Emperor Maximinus to give up his worship of false gods. Furious, he sent scholars to argue with her; but she refuted them, remaining stead­fast to her Christian faith. She was put in prison, and ordered to be broken on the wheel, this latest invention of that time being wickedly used as an instrument for torture. Katharine remained firm in her loyalty to Christ.

It is believed she was saved by a miracle, for a flame of lightning shattered the wheel, and she was spared the terrible torture. Finally, she was beheaded, and took her place among those first Christian saints and martyrs whose light has shone the way for us down the centuries.

It is recorded that 51 churches in England were dedicated to the saint, after the crusaders had returned home bringing news of the early saints and martyrs. Several chapels, schools and colleges have also been dedicated to her, and she is usually depicted wearing a crown, and holding a book in one hand and a wheel in the other.

Age of church

The parish is mentioned in documents as early as AD 675, and it is therefore certain that an earlier pre-Conquest church stood on or near the present site. Fragments of Romanesque stone carving have from time to time been found built into the walls, and these are now preserved in the church. The font also is older than the present church, and the primitive form of the acanthus leaf ornament on the caps of the chancel arch is earlier than the 13th century.

Date of the church 

The tower, nave, aisles and chancel of the present church were built during the first half of the 13th century. The south porch is 14th century work, and the north and south chantry chapels flanking the choir were added in the 15th and early 16th century respectively. The vestries on the north side of the church were built in the 19th century.

Domesday Book

In Domesday Book the Manor of Merstham is stated to belong to the Prior and Convent of Christ Church, Canterbury, the revenues being used to provide clothing for the brethren. The gift of the Manor is said to have been made by King Athelstan in the 10th century, and remained in the posses­sion of the Convent until 1539 when it was surrendered to Henry VIII. The gift of the living remains with the Archbishop of Canterbury; but the parish was transferred to the Diocese of Winchester, then Rochester, and lastly Southwark in 1905.

Exterior

Nave

Originally the main roof of the nave extended over the aisles. This was cut back in the 19th century, when the south aisle was rebuilt.

South porch

Notice the 14th century south porch with its well-designed doorway; in the gable over it an 18th century sundial has been inserted. Much of the masonry of this door was renewed in 1931, and the sundial entirely refaced. Inside the porch the original 14th century stone benches remain, each with the window opening above. Over the inner doorway is a pre-Reformation niche in which has been placed a modern statue of Saint Katharine.

Tower

The tower, up to the base of the spire, is early 13th century work, with the exception of the buttresses which were added in the 19th century. Notice the lancet windows on the north and south sides. On the west side a large three-light late 14th century window has been inserted. The clock was given to the church in 1828 by the Jolliffe family, and was re-dialled in 1861 with the present metal face.

West door

Below the west window is one of the most interesting architectural features of the church. This is an early 13th century doorway with cusped head and angle shafts carrying a dog tooth ornament. The shafts have well-preserved, plain moulded caps. The dripmould over is an insertion of the late 14th century, and is terminated with two much decayed heads — that on the north represen­ting a woman, and on the south a man; but these are now barely discernible. The oak door and much of the orna­mental ironwork upon it are also 13th century work.

Church spire

The spire, which is octagonal, was added in the 14th century and contains much of the original timberwork.
It was completely re-shingled in 1981 when the Revd Philip Duval launched a “Year of the Spire” appeal and sufficient money was raised. There was also enough money given to start a Church Fabric Investment Fund.

North chantry

Observe the lofty proportions of this chapel and the high, well-moulded plinth.

Choir buttresses

These were added in the 14th century, when the east wall appears to have been entirely rebuilt. The large east window is 19th century.

South chapel

Notice the priest’s door flanked by two late 15th century windows. The whole of the masonry of the door, and much of that of the windows, was renewed in 1932-33.

Interior

There is a difference in the shape of the columns on the north and south sides, and the variation of the cap mouldings. The columns on the south side show typical 13th century base mouldings, while those on the north have simple splays. The clerestory lights were originally unglazed when the main roof covered the aisles. The inner arches are semi-circular, and the chisel tooling round these resembles that in the tower lancet windows. The trefoil and quatrefoil cusping is 19th century restoration work.

Font

This is a block of Sussex marble ornamented on three sides with a rude arcade motif, which suggests that it was originally set against a wall. The four corners of the bowl are ornamented with a trefoil leaf carving considered to be emblematic of the Trinity. Approximate date is 1150.

Oak panelling

This was erected in 1928.

Tower stairs

In the south-west corner of the tower, below the present ladder to the belfry, are the remains of the old stone stairway destroyed when the buttresses were added.

Tower arch

In the apex of the arch has been inserted a carved stone bearing heraldic carving which is said to have come from old London Bridge. Mr W. J. Jolliffe was the contractor with Sir Edward Banks for the new London Bridge in 1831. In the Middle Ages stone procured from the quarries at Merstham was taken to London for building purposes. In 1360 it was used for Windsor Castle and again in 1395 for the building of Henry VII’s Chapel at Westminster Abbey, and in 1445 for the work on Eton College. The church itself, and many local buildings, have been built with white limestone from the Merstham quarries.

Gift of a west door curtain

This was completed in 1989 by ladies of the parish under the instruction of Mary Fogg.

Chancel arch

Some of the stones here, including the carved caps, may be those from the earlier church re-worked — compare the rough masonry with the finer cutting of the nave arcades. Notice the blocked-up doorway in the wall above, which indicates that the church once had a flat wooden ceiling. The present plaster chancel ceiling is post-Reformation work of the 17th or 18th century. At the date when this arch was built, all traces of classic art were disappearing from the style prevalent in England, whilst in France its influence remained. The example of sculptured foliage, resembling acanthus leaves, inserted into the early English chancel arch is probably the work of a French carver. Approximate date 1230 to 1240 AD.

Choir stalls

These were placed in the chancel in 1903 in memory of Queen Victoria and decorated with the Royal Arms at the west ends and the cross-crosslets of the Crusaders at the other end.

Clerestory windows

The chisel tooling of the quoins and arch stones is identical with that of the lancets in the tower as seen on the inside. Norman fragments show the use of the axe, not the chisel.

Position of the clerestory windows

They are set over the piers instead of being over the arches, which is more common, and this shows an early date. Those at each end are round trefoils, the other quatre-foils. They are set close to the exterior surface of the wall and have internally a semi-circular headed splay. The stained-glass quarterings of the Jolliffe family have been taken from the south chapel.

Original walls of the chancel

Before the formation of the chantry chapels the walls of the chancel were decorated with an arcade of three bays on either side. These extended the full height and presented a constructional arcade of high pointed early English arches resting on shafts and occupying the whole of the side walls. This is an unusual feature and found only in a few churches in the southeast counties, which gives strong evidence that they are the work of one architect. The shape of the remaining cap is almost identical with those of the west doorway to the tower, and would seem to indicate that this door is therefore a late 13th century insertion into the earlier tower masonry.

Double piscinae

On the south side of the altar is a double piscinae set under a shouldered arch with beautiful  still leaf carving below the bowls. Double piscinae were introduced by order of Pope Innocent in the early part of the 13th century, and discontinued before the beginning of the 14th.

Chancel paving

The paving below the piscinae is part of the original stone chancel floor.

Altar

The altar and reredos, erected in 1930 as a gift from Mr and Mrs Kirkpatrick, are of the same length as the original stone mediaeval altar.

East wall

The window over the altar was erected in memory of the first Baron Hylton by his widow in 1877. The east wall was rebuilt in the 15th century, but the window then put in has disappeared. The window on the south side is a 14th century insertion. A 15th century cupboard in the wall was opened out in 1930, when an old oak shelf was discovered which fell to pieces on exposure.

Chancel monuments

A small Renaissance tablet on the north wall commemorates Norwich Spackman, a Rector of Merstham who died in 1617; and next to it is a memorial to Lady Ann Simpson, grand­mother of Augustus Hare, the author, and great-great-great-great-Great Aunt to our present Queen Elizabeth. In the Merstham Burial Register Lady Ann Simpson is shown as residing at Merstham House as a guest of Mr Hylton Jolliffe. Her tomb is in the old churchyard. In the floor are two black marble slabs to John Harris, another Rector, and his daughter, dated 1678. These slabs are not over the vault, which lies beneath the Communion rails. This was opened in 1931 when two coffins, one large and one small, were seen, both in good preservation.

Rector’s stall, lectern and pulpit

These were given in 1885 in the time of Canon Pearman, who was Rector of Merstham from 1876 to 1894.

Gift of hassocks

These were worked by ladies of the Parish in the early 1970s under the guidance of Pauline Francis.

North chantry

Albury chapel

Both this and the south chantry were originally private chapels intended for the saying of Mass for the repose of the souls of the families who owned them, and were therefore divided from the church by wooden screens. This chapel was built by John Elinbridge (old spellings are Elmebrugg, Elmebrygge, Elinerugge, Elyngbrigge, Elinebrygge), who died in 1475. It is, therefore, of late 15th century work.

Prayer desk

This was given in memory of the Revd R. I. Woodhouse.

Founder’s tomb

In the north wall are two table tombs, the eastern one being the burial place of the founder and his two wives. The wall monuments are those of the Jolliffe family, to whom the chapel descended by the purchase of the Manor of Albury. The altar and reredos panelling were given by Mrs Topham Richardson in memory of her husband, in 1935, and the screen dividing the chapel from the nave was erected in 1937.

Mosaic floor

This floor was the work of Constance Kent, a child of 11 years, while in prison for the alleged murder of her stepbrother. It was purchased by Baron Hylton and marked the limit of his private pew, which faced south towards the chancel.

South chantry

Alderstead chapel

This dates from the 15th century and was the property of the Best family. It has a well-moulded pier, high base and cap, and four-centred arch. The east window above has some fragments of 15th century stained glass, and below there is a window in memory of a daughter of the Revd J. Manley.

Stone cill under east window

The carved stone cill placed here in the 19th century has no connection with the church fabric, and was probably part of an old doorway or fireplace bearing the arms of the Southcote and Waldegrave families from the Manor House at Albury which was destroyed in 1750. The initials “S” and “W” refer to John Southcote, who married Magdalen, daughter of Sir Edward Waldegrave, in 1588.

Piscina

Notice in the south wall a small triangular piscina, the sloping sides of which are arched.

Segments of arches

Observe the curious termination of these chantry arcades with segments of arches. No definite reason for this feature is known, but they were probably built to allow the rood-loft to continue right across the church.

Priest’s door and oak screen work

The wooden screen to the priest’s door is part of the original oak screen work which divided these chapels from the chancel, and which was destroyed in 1860.

Nave aisles

South aisle

The wall and windows of this aisle were rebuilt in 1874-5.

Organ

The organ was presented by the daughters of the first Lord Hylton and, with Lord Hylton’s permission, removed from the west tower to the Alderstead Chapel in 1896. The light oak organ casting facing the south aisle was erected in 1934 in memory of Miss M. Pelly.

Mural decoration

The church was once decorated with mediaeval wall paintings, among them the story of St Katharine’s death by martyrdom, and the figure of a Bishop and four Knights with drawn swords, thought to represent the murder of Thomas à Becket. This lends truth to the legend that, being on the high road of the Pilgrims’ Way, the travellers did indeed pause here for refreshment. The date 1724 was once discernible on the west pillar of the south aisle, believed to have been carved by a small boy during a long sermon in the 18th century when the pews were boxed in. In 1861 the church was entirely re-pewed in the present style, open at both ends.
Geometrical patterns were painted on the stones of the chancel arch, and there were some remains of colour on the walls of the south chapel; there were also indications that the stone figure in the north aisle was once coloured. All that remains now is a cross “pateée”, a small consecration cross, on the west column of the north aisle dating from about 1200.

Restoration of wall surface

The white lime-wash covering the walls and pillars was completed in 1960. A plaque on the west wall records this gift by Mr H F Houlder in memory of his wife.

Board of rectors

This was given in memory of Miss G. H. H. Woodhouse by Mrs R. Morris in 1968.

North aisle

Vestry door

This was given in memory of the Revd A. E. Wilkinson, Rector of Merstham, who died in 1949.

The vestry

It was built in 1861. It has been newly furnished in 1990 with modern furniture.

Choir vestry

This was added in 1895.

Church plate

The old plate was confiscated by the boy King Edward VI. It now consists of a silver flagon given by the Revd J. Milles in 1762, two chalices (1623 and 1895) and two patens (1728 and 1895). To these were added in 1960 a silver chalice, paten and ciborium, donated by Mr R. A. F. Johnston in memory of his wife.

Old clappers

When the bells were re-hung in 1988 the old clappers were preserved by Mrs Pelly and mounted on a frame made from belfry oak.

Parish registers

The registers date from the reign of Henry VIII, 1538. They are not continuous at the beginning and irregularly kept, especially under the Commonwealth.

King’s Evil

This was the old name given to a disease which people believed could be healed by the monarch’s touch. This belief proved so popular during the reign of Charles II that it was decided that special certificates should, in future, be granted to individuals demanding the touch. The Hanoverian kings declined to touch, and so the practice has now ceased.
Several certificates about touching for the Evil are given, beginning with two in 1673. There is a note in 1676 that two were touched twice.

Lancet window

At the west end of the north aisle is the blocked-up lower portion of a lancet window under a modern two-light one. All the nave windows are either modern or 15th century insertions.

Stone effigy

The effigy in the north aisle was found face downward in use as a paving stone in the north chapel. The figure, severely mutilated at some time, represents a merchant in the dress of the 15th century with his purse hanging at his side. It is thought to be Nicholas Jamys, who was one of the four representatives of the City of London in 1415. John Elinebrygge married his daughter. It now rests upon parts of its original tomb; the remaining portion was let into the west face of the chapel wall for safety.

Bells

An unknown historian recorded in 1720: “The church is a handsome building and hath a merry peal of bells in a stone tower at the west end.”
The oldest of the five bells is considered to date from 1483. Another bears the inscription ‘SANCTA KATERINA ORA PRO NOBIS” and a third the words “ROBERTUS MOT ME FECIT”, 1597. The Commissioners of Edward VI allowed five bells, a sanctus bell and a hand bell to remain with the churchwardens. The latter two have disappeared.
Robert Mutt was the predecessor of Messrs Mears & Stainbank of Whitechapel, whose firm re-hung the bells and added a new cross beam. In 1899 they were one-eighth turned and a sixth added by Mr and Mrs Grieve in memory of their daughter Margaret Inez in 1901. The family grave is in the churchyard close to the little swing gate leading on to Church Hill. In 1964 a legacy left by Mrs Lachelin enabled the bells to be renovated and removed from the belfry which was accessible only by a steep ladder, to the base of the west tower where they were all rehung. A new bell was given by Mr and Mrs Constant in memorv of their daughter, and another by Mr Lachelin, making a peel of eight.

Brasses

The church contains both medieval and modern brasses.
On the table tomb in the north chapel are brasses of John Elinbridge’s two wives. Isabel died in 1472, but Ann outlived her husband and the date of her death is left a blank. John Elinbridge himself died in 1473 but his brass has disappeared. On the floor between the chapel and the chancel is the brass of the founder’s grandson and his wife, dated 1507. In the chancel is a brass to John Newdigate, Knight, who died in 1498. The family took their name from the village of  Newdigate in this part of Surrey, where also they held lands from an early date. All these mediaeval brasses were placed on their original matrices in 1931.

Another in front of the altar in the north chapel to John Ballard and his wife, Margaret, dated 1463, is replaced on the original matrix, but the situation of the grave is unknown. Ballard was probably a relative of Robert Ballard, who was Rector in 1452. The brass is a pleasing group showing John standing on a tuft of grass.
There are two small brasses, one original and the other a copy, on the wall of the south aisle. They are memorials of Peter and Richard Best, sons of Nicholas Best and Elizabeth, his wife, of Alderstead, 1585. The figure of Peter, as a little child in a quaint long gown with a handkerchief tied to his girdle, still remains; but that of his brother, which represents an infant in swaddling clothes known as a “Crysom childe” was stolen in 1844; it was replaced in 1911.

Brass memorial tablets

Twentieth century brass tablets, memorials to soldiers who fell in the war between the years 1916 and 1920, were put up in memory of Lieut. R. C. H. Woodhouse, son of a former Rector, Capt. J. H. Peters, Major Harold B. Roffey, and Lieut. W. H. Lamaison. A small brass tablet in the north aisle was erected to the memory of Merstham Scouts who have died on active service. A memorial tablet to those who fell in the Great War, 1914-1918, and in the Second World War, 1939-1945, was erected in the south aisle.

Stained glass

There was much good paint glass in the church, according to the historians Manning and Bray, but it has all disappeared. The only fragments of mediaeval glass are found in the upper tracery lights of the south chantry east window, where there are small late 15th century figures representing St Peter, St Katharine, and the Virgin Mary. The figures are painted and burnt on to a yellowish ground with the colours running right up to the edges of the stone frame. The canopy of the Virgin and St Peter is very typical of the period.
The later glass illustrates the struggle of the 19th century to recover the glassmaker’s technique. The last window was inserted in 1877 and is the work of Messrs Powell of Whitefriars. The south window was inserted in 1881. The windows of the north chapel are the work of the late Victorian period. The north aisle window, ‘Faith, Hope and Charity’ was given in memory of Mr Pelly of Oakley, who was for many years churchwarden and bene­factor to the church. The tower window of the Resurrection is the work of Hugh Easton, and was presented in 1935. The small window at the western end of the south aisle is a good example of later glass. It was given in 1936 in memory of Mrs Mary Shott, and is also the work of Messrs Powell of Whitefriars.

Lychgate

The lychgate on the west of the main road was erected in 1897 and is made from the oak of the old parish windmill, which stood on Rockshaw Road and was pulled down when the Brighton railway line was built. It was given by the Stacey family and consists of a central spindle and two grindstones, which are now used as paving stones.

New churchyard

In 1922 a piece of land on the east side of the main road was purchased for the extension of the churchyard. In 1930 an oak lychgate was given in memory of the Revd R. I. and Mrs Woodhouse.

Verger’s cottage

The land above the old churchyard was handed over to the Rochester Diocesan Church Trust by Lord Hylton in 1904, free of tithe, in memory of his father, to provide a caretaker for the church and churchyard. The cottage was built in 1906.
In 1976 the cottage was sold to a private owner and a garage was built. The Church Council decided they could no longer afford to pay a verger. A churchyard committee was formed composed of male volunteers, who are willing to mow the grass in their spare time.

Rectory

In 1765 the front of the Parsonage house was erected by the Revd J. Milles. In 1792 it was thoroughly repaired by the Revd N. Benson, the wall round the paddock built and the garden laid out. In 1815 it was enlarged by a housekeeper’s room and servants’ bedrooms. In 1880 the drawing room was added. In 1959 part of the land was sold for building purposes to pay for the cost of making alterations to the Rectory; the drawing room was removed and now an attractive rose garden takes its place. Most of the old servants’ quarters were demolished, and then re-planned to form a new kitchen and garage; and the old stone-flagged kitchen was converted into a pleasant sitting room.
In 1986 the Rectory was sold to a private owner, and is now called ‘The Old Church House’. The Church Commis­sioners agreed to purchase Orchard House (built on land that was part of the former Rectory’s tennis courts) and that this should be the present Rectory.

Gift of land on Church Hill

Behind the Church Room is a garden, once privately owned, which was bequeathed to the Church by Mrs Puckle in 1961. It is now a piece of open land belonging to the church, which is not to be sold for building.

Pilgrims’ Way

On leaving Colley Hill, Reigate, the Pilgrims’ Way runs through Gatton Park and, following a footpath from Gatton, passes through the grounds of the old Merstham House and continues along south of the church. There is a pond close to Wellhead Cottage in Gatton Bottom, known as the Pilgrims’ Pool. Tradition says they stopped to fill their gourds from its waters, then climbed the cobbled steps to the tiny chapel, shaded by yew trees, standing on a green knoll above the meadow fields. Then they followed the track leading southwards towards the lychgate across the old lime pits and upwards along the North Downs towards White Hill.

Visit of Bishop of Southwark

In 1970 the Bishop of Southwark paid a visit to the Parish. He began his sermon by saying, “My predecessor came to Merstham 100 years ago, and recorded in his journal, ‘It is a quiet sleepy little place, where nothing very much ever happens.’ Now, nearing the end of the 20th century we might add, ‘Nothing very much perhaps, until the Motorway was built!’”
In the early 1970s the meadow pond was drained, and the old wooden bridge destroyed; but the Revd P. Duval insisted a new iron bridge should take its place, thus keeping a link between the church and the village.
St Katharine’s still stands as lovely and serene as ever, untouched by the marks of the man-made modern motorway.

Mary Morris