A Chronological History of Abinger

Modified on Thursday, 10 June 2010 13:02 by Philip Rawlings (administrator) Categorized as History, PER
{toc}
=== BCE === 
   <table width="100%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0">
      <tr valign=top>
        <td width=15%>Mesolithic
        <td>Area of apparent occupation at Paddington Tolt.
      <tr valign=top>
        <td>Meso-/ Neolithic
        <td>Pit shelter or habitation in field near Abinger Manor (excavated by Dr LSB Leakey and [graves-b#behrens|Sir Edward Beddington-Behrens] in 1950).
      <tr valign=top>
        <td >Bronze Age
        <td>A four-and-half inch pottery food vessel dug up (1960) in the fields of Fulvenden Farm (mostly in Shere parish). Food vessels in this period are unusual in Surrey.
      <tr valign=top>
        <td>Iron Age
        <td>Holmbury Hill Fort. circa 5513BC. Anstiebury fort (Coldharbour) possibly about same period.
</table>

=== 0 - 1000 ACE ===
<table width="100%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0">
  <tr valign=top>
    <td width=15%>AD 100-400
    <td>Roman villa (remains of mosaic pavement, ten rooms, vessels and a few coins) believed built circa 1000 AD (occupation till after 400 AD). Excavated 1877/8 &amp;1995/7.
  <tr valign=top>
    <td>Anglo Saxon
    <td>Arrivals gave their names to the places where they settled: Abinger and Paddington.
  <tr valign=top>
    <td>7th Century
    <td>Surrey is likely to have been converted to Christianity by the West Saxons, perhaps by [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birinus|Birinus]] whom the Pope sent to work among the pagan inhabitants of the West Saxon area.
  <tr valign=top>
    <td>672 </td>
    <td>Surrey's connections with Winchester were confirmed in the charter founding [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=37813|Chertsey Abbey] in 672. (The arch-deaconry of Surrey within the Winchester diocese existed in 1128).
</table>

=== 1000 - 1500 ACE ===
<table width="100%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0">
  <tr valign=top>
     <td width=15%>Before 1066
     <td>The manors of Abinger and Paddington held by a &quot[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housecarl|huscarle]&quot; of King Edward (The Confessor). Probably both had mills by this time.
  <tr valign="top">
     <td>1086
     <td>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domesday_Book|Domesday book] records a church in Abinger (then Abinceborne), possibly built by William Fitz Ansculf, the Tenant-in-chief (who also held six other Surrey manors).
   <tr valign=top>
     <td>Before 1100
     <td> Fitz Ansculf's tenant [http://books.google.com/books?id=rr-ixYkUVcoC&pg=PA93&lpg=PA93&dq=%22robert+of+abinger%22&source=bl&ots=8O3LAet3bG&sig=ZwqZOKQnMXl11ZJSw96ULup82wo&hl=en&ei=xE3wSdWNHovQjAegoIjaDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3|Robert of Abinger] is very likely to have been the builder of the little Bayeux Tapestry-type [http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_south/187/abingermotte.html|castle] (Excavated in 1949). Fulk Paganel (or Paynell) the succeeding lord of the manor may have acrried out a known rebuilding of the motte. 
   <tr valign="top">
     <td>13th Century 
     <td>Abinger church dedicated to St James. Norman chancel built.
   <tr valign="top">
     <td>circa 1220-1240
     <td>North chapel believed built.
   <tr valign=top>
     <td>1273
     <td>[http://www.windowonwoking.org.uk/sites/goldsworthparkcommunityassociation/GPnews/sherrifs|David de Jarpenville] held Manor of Abinger. He died in 1293. The Manor fell to his brother, Thomas. In 1305 he was Patron of the Abinger half of the living. 
   <tr valign="top">
     <td><a name="rectors"></a>1286
     <td>12th April: Richard Fulvenne, first recorded [Rectors|Rector of Abinger]. Patron was Sir Adam Gordon (or Gurdun).
   <tr valign="top">
     <td>1291
     <td>Valuation of living for taxation by Pope Nicholas.
   <tr valign="top">
     <td>1341-1348
     <td>Members of de Jarpenville family were Rectors of Abinger; Roger, grandson of David, was a patron.
   <tr valign="top">
     <td>1364
     <td>The two halves (moities) of the parish (Paddington and Abinger) were united.
   <tr valign="top">
     <td>15th century 
     <td>Belfry added.
</table>

=== 1500 - 1900 ACE ===
<table width="100%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0">
  <tr valign="top">
    <td width=15%>1525
    <td>[anchor|#chest]Carved oak [Photos#vestment|vestment chest] made in Normandy. Brought from France in 1990 and given by Celia Sheppard.
  <tr valign="top">
    <td>1552
    <td>Edward VI's commissioners for survey of church goods visited Abinger church&nbsp; on 6th October and committed
         the care of all the church's possessions including &quot;a wodden cros plated with silver gilted with roses and branches weighing 16 ounces&quot; to Robert Haryson, Thomas Songhurst, William Att Lee and Raffe Datton. 
  <tr valign="top">
     <td>1553</td>
     <td>New Surrey commissioners given instructions to leave in small parish churches only &quot;convenient and comely things mete for the administration of the Holy Communion&quot;: 1 silver chalice, 1 surplice and ornaments for the communion table. Everything else, including the bells, was removed for the crown except church linen which was to be given to the poor.
  <tr valign="top">
     <td>1559</td>
     <td>Church registers of Abinger Church exist from this date. The first entries are:  Baptism - Lawrence Dayre, son of Matthew Dayre, 23rd April 1559; Marriage - Richard Edshue & Joane Mower 20th October 1559; Burial - Alce Tallard 2nd November 1559.
  <tr valign="top">
     <td>by 1575</td>
     <td>Responsibility for fencing the churchyard allocated to individual properties in the parish.       
  <tr valign="top">
            <td>17th Century
            <td> Present manor house (but with later additions) built by John 'Sylva' Evelyn the diarist, fried and apologist of King Charles II; it occupies the site of the bailey and an earlier hall. The 17thC manor pound is in the garden of Manor Cottage, the former manor stables; here the lord of the manor held stray cattle. John Evelyn was born at nearby Wotton and was buried at [[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42948|Wotton Church]]. 
        <tr valign="top">
            <td>1645</td>
            <td>Rev. Anthony Smith, [Rectors#smith|rector of Abinger] since 1638, was deprived of his living. he is said to have spoken or preached against Parliament and prayed that God would prosper the King. He probably used the prayer book    which was illegal at that time. (36 Surrey parishes had ministers sequested from their livings).
        <tr valign="top">
            <td>1653</td>
            <td>Under the Civil Mariage Act, Thomas Webb was appointed &quot;Parisk register&quot; and entered in the parish book most of the 14 civil marriages in Abinger.
        <tr valign="top">
            <td>1654</td>
            <td>29th November: a [lease1654|lease] granted to Thomas Hussey of Old Sutton Place and son Peter for 1000 years for a space 7ft x 5<span class="style7">1/2</span> ft for putting two pews &quot;on the south side adjoining the pulpit,
the reading place and the clerk's seat&quot; at a yearly rent of one
            peppercorn and a charge of &pound;5 in consideration of the lease.
        <tr valign="top">
            <td>1674</td>
            <td>Two bells cast for Abinger Church: a tenor
               in D (4 cwt.) and a treble in E (3<span class="style5">1/2</span> cwt.) inscribed &quot;William Eldridge made me 1674&quot; and &quot;HS and DD
                Churchwardens&quot;, i.e. Henry Spooner and Daniel Dibble who were signatories of the pew lease in 1654.
        <tr valign="top">
            <td>1679</td>
            <td>At least one section of the churchyard had been walled. The initials
                of the builders, probably Richard Worlsford of Pinkhurst, were
                set in the wall and are still visible today 19yds north of the
                lychgate.
        <tr valign="top">
            <td>1690</td>
            <td>Rev. Robert Offley was appointed rector of St James', Abinger.
                    He was a distant relative of the Evelyn family through marriage
                    and is referred to in John Evelyn's famous Diary. He remained
                in the living for 52 years.<em>{br}With few exceptions, patronage of of the Living of Abinger from 1638 to the last few years of the 20th century has been
                by members of the Evelyn family.</em>
        <tr valign="top">
            <td>1718</td>
            <td>Reference to a &quot;... fair kept on St
                    James' day for cattle etc. now much decayed&quot; at Abinger
                    in John Aubrey's [[http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=d4peAgAACAAJ&dq=Natural+History+%26+Antiquities+of+Surrey"|Natural History &amp; Antiquities of Surrey 1719]].
   <tr valign="top">
            <td>1730</td>
            <td>12th July. Burial of John Marsh, "a noted travelling hog-ringer"
  <tr valign="top">
            <td>1758</td>
            <td>29th April. Baptism of "Samuel, base-born son of Jane, the wife of Robert Lane who was transported 3 or 4 years ago".
  <tr valign="top">
            <td>1793
            <td>Date of the oldest discovered picture of
               St James' church: [histphotos#petrie"|a water-colour by Henry Pitrie].
  <tr valign="top">
    <td>1800
    <td>A spire added to the bell tower replacing the cap.
        <tr valign="top">
            <td>1820-1830</td>
            <td>Considered to be the last decade in which the [[histphotos#stocks1875|stocks]] and whipping
                post, on the green outside the church, were used.
        <tr valign="top">
            <td>By 1851</td>
            <td>Churchyard completely enclosed.       
  <tr valign="top">
            <td>1853?
            <td>Ecclesiastical parish of Abinger reduced in size by the creation
                of Okewood parish from outliers of Abinger, Ockley and Wotton.
         <tr valign="top">
            <td>1856-7
            <td>The Singers' gallery in the west end which formerly held a small orchestra for services was replaced with a barrel organ (two barrels of ten tunes each).
       <tr valign="top">
            <td>1878
            <td>Part of Abinger's Ecclesiastical Parish  was taken to form Holmbury St Mary. 
        <tr valign="top">
            <td>1879
            <td>Rationalisation of bounds of Abinger and neighbouring parishes brought Okewood into Abinger civil parish. [[http://www.achurchnearyou.com/parish.php?p=17/119|(See modern boundaries here).]]
        <tr valign="top">
            <td>1879-1880</td>
            <td>A further restoration and enlargement of St James' church. This included a third bell (1880), cast by Mears &amp; Stainbank (later [http://www.whitechapelbellfoundry.co.uk/foundry.htm|Whitechapel Bell Founders]). The West window was created and a  new vestry and a prorch added. The lychgate was built. The church re-opened 5th August 1880.
  <tr valign="top">
    <td>1890
    <td>A roof erected on the [[histphotos#stocks1901|stocks]].
  <tr valign="top">
    <td>1894
    <td>Creation of parich councils (and civil parishes).
</table>

=== 1900 - 2000 ACE ===
 <table width="100%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0">
        <tr valign="top">
            <td width=15%>1919-1920
            <td>The [warmemorial|war memorial] designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens
                    RA was erected, a gift of Mrs Margaret Lewin, widow of Col
                    Lewin of Parkhurst, in memory of the men of the ecclesiastical
                    parish of Abinger who fell in the 1914-1918 World War.
        <tr valign="top">
            <td>1920</td>
            <td>A new vestry added to St James', given by Mrs Waterhouse in memory of her late husband, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Waterhouse|Edwin]].
        <tr valign="top">
            <td>1924
            <td>The old 1887 organ in St James' was restored.
        <tr valign="top">
            <td>1927
            <td>Creation of the diocese of Guildford.
        <tr valign="top">
            <td>1934-1938
            <td>Restoration of St James' church. Electric light installed, the
                old oil lamps removed.
        <tr valign="top">
            <td>1944
            <td>A German [disaster|flying bomb] exploded very near the church early on Sunday
                3rd August. Only the walls and the 13th century chapel remained more-or-less intact. The 1st World War Memorial suffered severe damage.
        <tr valign="top">
            <td>1944-1951
            <td>Church services held at various locations
                    (Evelyn Hall, NAAFI canteen on army camp, Goddards), Great
                    oak beams given by Hon Mrs Vaughan Williams from her own
                    estate at High Ashes for rebuilding of the church.
        <tr valign="top">
            <td>1951</td>
            <td>Completion of re-building of church (by F Etchells FRIBA), based
                    on the 1879 structure with an additional 10 feet added for
                    placing the organ. Re-consecration took place in May.
  <tr valign="top">
    <td>1964
    <td>Church struck by [disaster|lightning] in June. Extensive damage to the tower, roof and east window. Chruch again repaired. "The repairs were again expertly handled and the result is superb, one of the most lovely of village churches..."
 ''Surrey Villages (Pitt & Shaw.]'' <tr valign="top">
    <td>1967
    <td>The glass for the restored [EastWindow|East Window] given in memory of John Coe. The new design by Laurence Lee ARCA depicts the cross as a living tree. Concealed ceiling lighting introduced.
        <tr valign="top">
            <td>1974
            <td>The two oldest bells were repaired, re-tuned and re-hung and rang again in their tercentury year, most of the cost being met by Mr. Robert Clarke of Abinger Manor.
        <tr valign="top">
            <td>1990</td>
            <td>A custom-built Nicholson pipe [Photos#organ|organ] was
                installed: [HistPhotos|dedicated by the Bishop of Guildford] in January 1991. 
        <tr valign="top">
            <td>1994</td>
            <td>Complete re-decoration of the church interior.
        <tr valign="top">
            <td>1996</td>
            <td>Vestry extension completed.
        <tr valign="top">
          <td>1999**
          <td>[Bells|Three new bells] were added in June to the existing three to mark the millenium, cast by Whitechaped Bell Foundry, first rung on New Year's Eve. <br>
              [anchor|#bowler][Bio#Bowler"|Michael Bowler], verger, died after 59 years of continual service: the longest-recorded service to the church. A new [^{UP}Images%2fOct2000%20blessing%20of%20cross%20-%20bowler.jpg|oak cross and candlesticks] commemorate his life.
    </table>

=== after 2000 ACE ===
<table width="100%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0">
  <tr valign="top">
   <td width=15%>2001
<td>[[http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/sccwebsite/sccwspublications.nsf/591f7dda55aad72a80256c670041a50d/5704c50aaae44f6580256e350052f5c1/$FILE/Mole Valley parishes.pdf|Abinger Civil Parish Census]]
  <tr valign="top">
    <td>2002
    <td>Celebration of Queen Elizabeth II's 50th anniversary 
  <tr valign="top">
    <td>2006
    <td>50th anniversary Abinger Fair 
</table>

<hr>
Compiled with contributions by Eric Burleton (2000) used with permission.
Subsequent edits and links by Philip Rawlings 2009.