Overbye, Church Stile House,
Lime House, Old Shops & Pubs

Overbye

Moving round into Church Street from Pyports we come to Overbye which is at least 250 years old. It was once called St. Luke's Hostel and later Lych Gate House. Here lived Leonard Martin, the architect who restored Church Stile House and designed Sandroyd (now Reeds) School. The original house is the square portion on the right when viewed from the road.

Church Stile House

Opposite Overbye stands Church Stile House. The date on the front (1432) is much disputed because the timbered front wing is believed to be early 17th century with later sash windows on the first floor. The red brick wing at the back is late 17th century. However, an older house existed on the site because in the 13th century Alan, Abbot of Chertsey, bought it for 20 shillings of silver. It was at that time let to Henry, curate of Cobham. In 1614 a brewer called Roger Bellow gave the house to the Churchwardens of Clerkenwell on condition that 20 shlllings yearly out of the rent should be distributed to the poor on Good Friday. An iron marker was placed in the garden in the middle of the last century giving the names of the then church wardens of Clerkenwell Parish. In 1902 Church Stile House combined the functions of a house of rest for gentlewomen with a school for crippled children, but in 1948 it became a private house once more after having been owned by Clerkenwell Parish for nearly 300 years.

Lime House

Next to Church Stile House stands Lime House, a fine example of the Queen Anne Style. The front dates from about 1700 but the back is later. At one time the house was split, the east wing being called Somers, while the main part of the house was called Christmas. Somers was used at various times by bakers and butchers. Lime House is reputed to be on the site of an earlier building.

The old shopping centre

Across the road from Lime House, and next to Overbye, is St. Bridgets. This building, now modernised and enlarged, probably dates from the early 19th century and with other cottages which stood nearby is said to have served as a laundry for Lime House and Church Stile House.

Cobham Telephone Exchange, an intruder into the Conservation Area, stands on the site of Longboyds, an old house once owned by the Crawter family whose family tombs can be seen in St. Andrew's churchyard. In the 19th century the Crawters, land agents by profession, once owned substantial property in Cobham.

From Lime House to the junction with the High Street, on the south side of Church Street, is a variety of buildings of different periods. The oldest is probably Mole Cottage, which, at one time, was a butcher's shop. Next to it stands an old slaughter-house now forming part of the Cobham Glass Company's premises. The next few buildings are probably early 19th century in date. Number 5 Church Street is an earlier building, and during the late 19th century was the home of the Ledger family including Eldred Ledger, a watch maker, known locally as 'Tickety' Ledger.

The Fox and Hounds and The White Hart

The junction of Church Street and High Street was greatly altered some years ago by the demolition of The Fox and Hounds public house and Kippins shop which stood on the north-east corner of Church Street opposite Threshold Records. The Fox and Hounds had been rebuilt around the turn of the century on the site of an earlier building, and was probably the successor to The White Hart, which had stood on the opposite side of Church Street. The White Hart premises were purchased in 1863 by James Brigden who used them as a general stores.

The Crown Inn

Opposite The Fox and Hounds, and adjoining the existing double fronted shop premises, stood The Crown Inn. In 1764 The Hand-in-Hand Insurance Company issued a fire policy to John Slifield on a building known by "the sign of the Crown" at Church Cobham. In 1795 part of the premises were used as a butcher's shop. The inn later became the property of The Cobham Brewery, which stood on the Portsmouth Road. On the refusal of a Justices' licence (leading to a test case in 1904 as to the amount of compensation payable) the Crown appears to have closed down and was eventually demolished about 1914. Between 1839 and 1882 the landlord of The Crown was John Glanville whose son Henry was, in 1871, "beer house keeper' of The Fox and Hounds on the opposite side of the road. We can imagine some fierce competition between father and son.

The double fronted building adjoining The Crown, now a ladies dress shop, has served many purposes. It was possibly a butcher's shop in the early 18th century and later passed into the hands of the Slifield family. George Brown, saddler, had his first shop here in 1851, and after a new shop was built on the adjoining plot, the earlier property became a Coffee House and Reading Room.

The Walk
Church Gate House | St Andrews | Church Stile House | The Old Bear | Cobham Mill | Cedar House | The Running Mare | Korea Cottages | Stile Cottages | Ash Ford Bridge | St Michaels | The Cricketers | The Plough