Byfleet, Surrey
Historical Description
Byfleet, a village and a parish in Surrey, on the L. & S.W.R., 22 miles from London. The village stands near the river Wey and the Junction Canal, and has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Weybridge. It is a curious picturesque place, and includes several old mansions. Acreage of parish, 2075; population, 1384. The manor "belonged anciently to the Crown, was given by Edward II. to Piers Gaveston, came again to the Crown, and was settled by James I. on Anne of Denmark. Byfleet Park, now a farmhouse, is said to have been built by the Black Prince, and both it and Dorney House in the village are alleged to have been the nursing place of Henry VIII. A mansion was founded on the manor by Anne of Denmark, and completed by Sir James Fullerton. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Winchester; gross value, £296 with residence. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The church, built early in the 14th century, was restored and enlarged in the present century. Stephen Duck, the poetical protege of Queen Caroline, and Joseph Spence, the author of " Polymetis" were rectors. St John's Mission Church is a small iron structure built in 1872. There is a Wesleyan chapel. The St Nicholas Home for crippled " waifs and strays " was opened in 1893. There is an extensive brewery, and also a rose-water and essential-oil distillery.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Surrey | |
| Ecclesiastical parish | Byfleet St. Mary | |
| Hundred | Godley | |
| Poor Law union | Chertsey |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register dates from the year 1608.
Ancestry.co.uk, in association with Surrey History Centre, have images of the Parish Registers for Surrey online.
Churches
Church of England
St. John
St. John's Church, West Byfleet, is a building of flint and stone, erected in 1912, at a cost, of £10,000, and has 600 sittings.
St. Mary (parish church)
The church of St. Mary, an edifice in the Pointed style, supposed to have been built in the 14th century, is an edifice of rough stones and flints, and has a small wooden belfry at the west end containing 3 bells; in the church is a brass to the Rev. Thomas Taylor, rector here about 1480, and some mural tablets; in 1908 a tablet was placed in the chancel to the memory of Lady Louisa Egerton; there are 300 sittings.
Congregational
Congregational Chapel
Methodist
Wesleyan Chapel
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Byfleet from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Byfleet (St. Mary))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Surrey is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Byfleet are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Surrey papers online:
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitation of Surrey, 1662-1668 is available on the Heraldry page.