Byfleet, Surrey

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.