KATHERINE HILL CHAPEL,

SURRY.

THIS Chapel stands on the summit of a hill, anciently known by the name of Drake Hill, but now Katherine Hill. By whom the Chapel was erected is uncertain; its foundation is, however, ascribed to king Henry II. as a place of worship for the tenants of his manor of Ertindon, having detached it from Godalming, on his granting the latter to the church of Salisbury. It is certain that in the fourteenth of Henry III. a stipend was paid by the crown to a chaplain who officiated here; shortly after this time the Chapel became so ruinous that it was found necessary to rebuild it. Accordingly, about the twenty-ninth of Edward I. "Richard de Wauncey, parson of St. Nicholas in Guildford, having purchased the site thereof of Hamo de Gatton, Andrew Brabeuf, John de Marescbal, and the abbess of Wherwell, proprietors of the several parcels of the original manor of Ertindon, rebuilt the Chapel, under condition of holding it for himself and successors, parsons of St. Nicholas in fee, probably with an intention of annexing it to that benefice as a chapel of ease." The legality of this transaction was afterwards disputed for, by a petition to parliament, in the reign of Edward III.; it is stated, that

KATHERINE HILL CHAPEL.

Richard de Wauncey, formerly parson of St. Nicholas, bad erected this Chapel on a spot found by inquest to belong to the king, without his permission, and against the statute of mortmain; it was therefore deemed forfeited, and granted to the petitioner, Thomas Constable, for life, and at his decease to revert to the crown.

The building was a few years since repaired by Austin, esq. near whose residence it stands; these repairs were directed principally to prevent the arches of the doors and windows from falling, and to protract the existence of the venerable ruin, not with a design to render it again serviceable. The length of the Chapel is about forty-five feet, its breadth near twenty-one feet, the thickness of the walls is three feet.

In the second year of Edward III. a charter was granted for holding an annual fair at Katherine Hill, on the eve and morrow of St. Matthew. This custom is still observed.