Merstham, Surrey

Description
Merstham, a village and a parish in Surrey. The village has a station on the S.E.R., 19 miles from London, and 3 NE of Reigate. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Red Hill. Acreage of parish, 2599; population, 937. The manor was given in 1018 by Ethelstan, son of Ethelred II., to Christchurch, Canterbury, and remained with it till the dissolution. Merstham House is the seat of Lord Hylton. A peculiar kind of stone has been quarried in the parish from a very early period; was once esteemed of so much importance as to be kept under the control of the Crown ; was used in the erection of Henry VIII. 's chapel at Westminster, and of some parts of Windsor Castle; is a greyish green arenaceous limestone, lying under a grey calcareous marl; is soft at removal from the quarry, but acquires hardness by exposure; resists heat so remarkably as to be characterized as fire-stone; and is now used chiefly for hearths and furnaces. Chalk rock abounds, is calcined to be used as lime, and was formerly worked on a large scale. A tunnel of the London and Brighton railway, 1820 yards long, occurs immediately N of the village. The parish was traversed by the ancient Pilgrim's road to Canterbury. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Rochester; net value, £330 with residence. Patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church stands on a knoll among fine old trees at the E end of the village, includes some Early English portions but is mainly Later English, shows the palm leaf, the mark of the early crusade, among the decorations of its chancel-arch, and contains a curious double piscina of Decorated character, a square Norman font, some excellent stained glass, notably the E endwindow, four brasses from 1472, and some handsome monuments to the Jolliffe family. There is a Baptist chapel. A spring breaks out in wet seasons in a pool at the foot of the church-knoll, and very deep wells, one of them 210 feet deep, occur in various parts, the water of which is excellent.