(lass ' : Book ^mMt% %amxto dwilbfortr, PRECEDED BY A TYPOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL $tmi$xoii at % Ewrixm, A NEW EDITION REVISED & ENLARGED. with !£x.t:st:ratxoxs. GUILDFORD: Printed & Published by Andrews & Son, 61, Higb-st. 1872. . :o.h ' CONTENTS. PAGE Introduction .... 1 Early History of Guildford . 9 The Castle .... 12 The Manor of Povle .... 17 The Friary .'.".. 18 The King's Manor .... 19 Firm of the Town 22 Obsolete Customs, &c. 24 Of the Town generally . 27 The Corporation .... 31 The Borough .... 35 Parishes ..... 37 Trinity Church .... 38 St. Mary's Church .... 42 St. Nicholas Church 45 Abbot's Hospital .... 48 The Eoyal Surrey County Hospital 49 The Free, or Grammar School 56 Nonconformist's Places of Worship, &c. 59 IV CONTENTS. PAGE Militia Depot ..... 61 Literary and Benevolent Institutions, Societies, Companies, Schools, Kail ways, &c. . 63 — 76 Charities . . . . .76 Biographical Sketch of Persons of Note Educated at the Free School . . . 97 Town Improvements . . . . Ill KAMBLE I.— To Chantry Downs, St. Martha's, Shere and Chilworth . . . 116 KAMBLE II.— To Woodbridge,Worplesdon, and Wood street . . . 133 KAMBLE III.— To St. Catherine's Hill, Godal- ming and Farncornbe . . . 138 KAMBLE IV.— To Merrow Downs, Newland's Corner, East and West Clandon, and back to Guildford through Merrow . . 152 RAMBLE V.— Over part of Guildown, Putten- liam, and back by Compton and Loseley 156 KAMBLE VI.— To Shalford, Bramley,Wonersh, and Chinihurst Hill . . .159 KAMBLE VII.— To Stoke, Sutton, Send, Woking and Kipley . . . . 166 Concluding Remarks .... 172 |HE varied and extensive scenery of the neighbourhood of Guildford, the county town of Surrey, is justly admired. What- ever direction is taken, a different view presents itself; alternate hill and dale, sparkling stream, sombre groups of firs or shady wood, a village church gracefully protected by trees, or the iron highway, with the wondrous agencies of modern travelling, ever allure the eye onward, till the sight fails in defining the hills that bound the distant horizon. But it requires a poet's hand to wield the pen, if attempting to do justice to landscape scenery by description. This we do not presume to possess. Nor is it our purpose to obviate a personal visit, but rather to assist those who desire to see the beauties of this neighbour- hood, and take a quiet stroll in any of the routes suggested by the following "Kambles," while we endeavour to draw attention to a few of the prin- cipal features noticeable in each ; occasionally availing ourselves of the invaluable pencil of the artist. 2 EAMBLES RQTTJSD For this purpose we propose to meet our friend at the Eailway Station, and just glancing at the building, notice that it is evidently a place of business ; no attempt at ornament is manifest in any department, but every accommodation for the convenience of travellers. One feature, at any rate, is noticeable — the uniform civility of the officials, a characteristic sometimes wanting in similar lo- calities. Passing on our left the extensive goods warehouses and coal stores, we leave the Station gates, and enter the high-road leading from Earnham to the town, to which it forms but an indifferent approach, as it merges in the High street opposite St. Nicholas Church. Just glanc- ing to the left, we observe the bridge over the river Wey. The street before us constitutes the chief business part of the town, and, with Spital street in continuation, is nearly half-a-miie in length. Crossing the road, we notice the Town Clock, and its double-face, extending half across the street, enables us to know what time we have before us. But prior to making ourselves further acquainted with the objects of interest in the town, let us turn back and take, for about a hundred yards, the road which leads through Godalming to Portsmouth, till we come to the elegant villa residences aptly termed "Mount Pleasant." We pass these, having left the main road, and come to " Bishop's Croft House," built by the late J. Stedman, Esq., on land attached to the manor of Farnham Castle, named in the Court Eolls as Bishop's Croft. The land is supposed to have been formerly set apart for some special use of the Bishop of Winchester. GUILDFORD. 3 At this point, we gain some idea of the position and extent of the town, bnt we shall obtain a better view farther on. A few steps bring us to the slope of a steep old high-road, nearly in dis- use until the Cemetery, which we are approaching, was made in 1856. This was formerly the coach- road to Farnham, in the direct line from London to Southampton, and is called the Hog's Back, being a hilly ridge extending to Farnham ; an un- interrupted series of most delightful prospects appears on both sides, the whole distance. The ascent here is rather tiring, but does not the prospect amply repay us on looking round, as we arrive at that part where the road widens and opens upon the green sward, called Guildown? Premising that it is a fine summer evening, surely nothing can be more delightful to the eye than the enchanting prospect that presents itself. We behold before us, for several miles, a spacious val- ley, interspersed with meads, corn-fields, woods, and gentlemen's seats ; the spire of many a vil- lage church peeping between the luxuriant foliage. The sight wanders from object to object, till it loses itself amongst the blue hills which form the horizon, and then returns to trace the meander- ings of the " milky" Wet, or to admire the aspect of the town, seated on an eminence so command- ing and delightful. Looking to the north of the Hog's Back, the purple ridge of hills on the left, covered with dark heather, with here and there a solitary tree, or a few clustering firs to relieve its otherwise desolate appearance, is situate between Farnham and Bag- shot ; contributing to form a pleasing contrast 4 RAMBLES BOUND with the verdant and fertile fields which extend from its base to the valley beneath us. A little farther on the right the blue hills assume a paler appearance, till they seem to fade in the distant s ky. .Returning thence, the eye instinctively rests on a farm-house on the slope of a green hill ; this is a pleasing and picturesque object, but the tra- veller's attention is more particularly drawn to it by the fact that the water which supplies the farm is much esteemed for its mineral properties. To the right, a thickly- wooded country presents itself, decked in all the splendour of leafy mag- nificence. Beneath is viewed the river, working its serpentine course through the green meadows till it arrives at an elegant villa, distant about a mile, the seat of Miss Yates. Apparently about half-a-mile beyond this, with a pretty wooded lawn in front, stands Stoke-hill house, the residence of M. A. Macleod, Esq. The large brick-built mansion,* still further to the east, is Sutton Place, and is the property of the Weston family. The manor was granted in 1521 to Sir Richard Weston, who erected the house about 1530, and within its walls Queen Elizabeth was entertained in 1591. The mansion is surrounded by a spacious park, whose noble trees give to the whole a venerable and majestic appearance. Contracting our observations, a neat little edi- fice much nearer, and adorned with a small white cupola, is Stoke Hospital. We would now advise the reader to cross the * The residence of C. Alexander, Esq. GUILDFORD. D road and advance a few paces into the opposite field, to procure a better view of the town. There, on the declivity of the hill, stands Guildford ! adorned with towers and turrets, and with the mouldering ruins of its once noble Castle rising- above the trees, and standing prominently forth as the object first claiming our attention. The outworks once extended half over the site of the present town. A few crumbling relics of its mag- nificence are all that now remain, save the massive Tower or Keep, to remind us of byegone days, and reading us a lesson at the same time, on the vanity of all worldly grandeur. The history of the Castle is involved in much uncertainty. We have touched upon its records in subsequent pages, but we may here remark, that tradition still connects with its mouldering ruins dark tales of blood and cruelty. A local poet, probably standing on the spot of our present survey, has embodied this idea as follows : — " Not far removed, there stands an ancient Keep, The last frown of a grirn, barbaric age ; Stern witness still of deeds that made men weep, And blotted history with a sanguine page." From this situation we obtain a view of the three churches ; that at the foot of the High street is dedicated to Saint Nicholas ; the middle church to Saint Mary, and the one on the summit of the hill to the Holy Trinity ; the body of the latter being to the eastward. Opposite this edifice, four modest little turrets, each bearing a vane veering about and glittering in the sun, attract the eye to the Hospital founded by Archbishop Abbot, in 6 EAMBLEB BOUND 1622. The simplicity of this building is per- fectly in unison with its benevolent uses, and every lover of variety and neatness must allow that it is one of the greatest ornaments of the scene be- fore us. A little nearer is the Town Hall, with the clock before noticed, to the left of which, in North street, stands the County and Borough Halls, an enlargement and modification of the old Public Halls ; its exterior is anything but pre- possessing or imposing, defects however, which are to a considerable extent atoned for by the ample accommodation afforded in its interior ar- rangements, whilst in juxtaposition stands the new Independent Chapel, the contrast in point of appearance being more striking from their prox- imity — the latter, a neat and elegantly designed, and withal, substantial building — the former, clumsy, ill-proportioned, and irregular. Lower down, is the Wesleyan Chapel, and nearer still, the Depot of the Second Royal Surrey Militia, and immediately to our left, the Royal Surrey County Hospital ; of these, details in their places. On the hill opposite to us, one of the prettiest spots in the immediate neighbourhood of the town, stands South Hall, on the site formerly occupied by the County Gaol, the whole of the buildings and grounds having been purchased some years since by C. F. Smyrk, Esq., when the new House of Correction was built at Wandsworth. Beneath us is the Mill, with its clacking industrious wheel sending a white current of foam across the little pool upon which it stands ; and nearer, completely embosomed in trees, we see two handsome cotta- ges, whose envious seclusion will always render GUILDFORD. 7 them the favourite abode of the affluent lovers of reflection and retirement. We now notice the beautiful hills which appear on the south side of the town. The first is called Pewley-hill, on the top of which stood a Sema- phore, in the line of communication leading from Portsmouth to the Admiralty, now converted into a dwelling-house ; farther to the right, the chalky cliffs of an immense quarry scooped from the hill side ; — all tending to increase the picturesque ap- pearance of the prospect. In the valley beneath us, we again catch a glimpse of the river Wey, as it approaches the town. More to the south is Chantry Down, thickly covered with stately firs on one side, and with forest trees of a more lively aspect on the other. The middle part generally is covered with fern, which, with the brilliant gorse, very agreeably contrasts with the darker foliage. On a hill beyond the Chantry stands Saint Martha's Chapel. The elevated situation of this object, with two or three broad sandy paths wind- ing round it among the furze, gives an additional zest to many of the best views in this delightful neighbourhood. On the right of Chantry Down, a chain of blue hills in the distance extends for several miles ; the most easterly of these is Leith Hill, though we are not in a position to see the tower erected upon it, and that on which the windmill stands, is near Ewhurst, distant about ten miles. Between these and the point we now occupy, a thickly- wooded country presents itself, and Chinthurst Hill is the nearest prominent ob- ject in this truly captivating picture. 8 EAMBLES BOUND Before returning to the town, let us glance awhile at the Cemetery, purchased of the late J. Stedman, Esq., bj the Burial Board, appointed by the three parishes. The upper portion, for the members of the Church of England, was consecrated by the Bishop (Sumner) of the Diocese (Winchester) in October, 1856. The elegant little chapel facing the town has a tower surmounted by a belfry and spire. The grave character of the interior of this, as also of the lower building, is strictly in keep- ing with the solemn purpose to which it is devoted. The designs of these, and of the Lodge, are by E. Wheeler, Esq., of London. The grounds to our left, with the Chapel, are appropriated to the use of Nonconformists. The lofty Prospect Tower at the south-west corner, erected in 1839, by C. Booker, Esq., and named after him, was presented to the Board by Mr. Stedman. It is of octagonal form, seventy feet high, and built of stone from quarries near Godalming. From this height the series of views we have attempted to outline are greatly extended, and we may com- mand considerable parts of Surrey, Hampshire, and Sussex, and even Middlesex and Berkshire. The South Downs may be distinctly seen, and, in a contrary direction, the Hampstead hills bound the horizon. To obtain access to this Tower we must apply to the Clerk to the Burial Board.* Before we start on our Rambles we should know something of the history, antiquities, and other notabilities of the town itself ; to these we now direct attention. * A Panoramic View, taken from the top of the Tower, and a series of Photographs, taken from the adjacent grounds, have lately been Published by Andrews & Son. GUILDFORD. EAELY HISTORY OF GUILDFOKD. jfcHE earliest mention of this town is in the year of our Lord 900, when, being the royal manor, Alfred bequeathed it by will to his nephew Ethelwald. At Ethel- wald's death, or as some think at his rebellion, it reverted to the crown. Mr. Long, in his observations on Roman roads, adopts the opinion of Humphrey Lluyd, that Guildford was the site of Noviomagus, the chief town of the Regni. Mr. Puttock also believes it to have been a Roman station, and identifies the hamlet of Artington with the town of Arda- oeneon. It is affirmed by Speed that Alfred and other Saxon Princes made it their place of residence ; but we are told, in Bray and Manning's History of Surrey, that there is no good authority for such a supposition. It is probable that the town took the first part of its name from Gilds, Saxon companies or fra- ternities, which, when united for purposes of trade, were called Gilds-merchant ; and the latter part, Eord, from the shallowness of the stream which passes through it, and which was some years since deepened and altered into a navigable canal. We have a melancholy event on record, in the year 1037, when the Danes were in possession of the crown, viz., the massacre of Prince iEfrid's attendants. iEfrid was the eldest son of King (Ethelred the Saxon, by his second wife, and con- 10 RAMBLES ROUND sequently in default of issue by the first, next heir to the crown. He is said to have been en- ticed to England, in the days of Harold the Dane, by the intrigues of Earl Godwin, and, having been seduced from Winchester where his mother resided, under a pretence of an invitation to pass a few days at court, to have been put under arrest at Guildford. In order to effect his purpose, the Earl met him at Guild-down, and with all sem- blance of respect, under pretence of refreshment, brought him to Guildford Castle, whence lie was conducted to Gillingham in Kent, and to Ely, where his eyes were put out, and where he died. The Prince's attendants were twice decimated and tortured with every refinement of cruelty, till, it is said, six hundred Normans were basely mas- sacred. From the period of this cruel transaction, till that of the general survey under William the Conqueror, 1087, no mention whatever is made of Guildford ; but its state at that time may be inferred from the following extract in Dooms- day-book : — "In Gildeforde, King William hath LXXV. messuages or tenements, in which are resident CLXXV. tenents. In the time of King Edward (the Confessor) they yeilded a rent of £XVII. and III. pence. # At present they stand valued at £XXX.f but pay an actual rent of £XXXII." Allowing each of these men to have a wife and two children, the population would have been seven hundred. *This is about £1080 15s. of our present money. t About £1920 present money. GUILDFORD. 11 These early residents were tenants under hom- age, and most of them engaged in trade, but were free. There is a tradition that the ancient town was situate on the western side of the river, and, as the outworks of the castle did certainly, in the time of the early Norman princes, occupy a great part of the site of the present town, which fact may be proved by traces still extant, there is, at any rate, some reason for believing this state- ment. There is no doubt that the ancient town existed before the Castle was erected, but not on the eastern side of the river ; for our Norman ances- tors were surely too wise to pull down a town which yielded them a considerable emolument, for the purpose of erecting a castle ; especially when the royal domain on the western side afforded a much more eligible situation for their purpose. Following up our line of probabilities, there is nothing unreasonable in supposing that the erec- tion of the new fortress should occasion many people to settle in the neighbourhood, particularly when we find that in the time of the Conqueror certain lands were granted from the crown to one of the Testard family, who, or one of his near de- scendants, built thereon, the Church of Saint Mary and the old Holy Trinity Church for the use of his tenants ; and from this it is easy enough to conjecture the situation of the building of the present town, the High Street of which was built out of the materials, when the demolition of the fortifications and the outworks of the Castle took place. 12 EAMBLES BOUND The rest of the royal domain which lay on the west side of the river, was reserved for the King's private use, and was converted into a park by Henry II. who added some palatial buildings to the Castle in which he and many of the subse- quent sovereigns kept their court. Part of the domain on the eastern side was occupied by the Castle, part alienated to the family of Testard as before stated from one of whose successors it was afterwards called the manor of Poyle, and the re- mainder disposed of to make room for the Friary which was founded by Queen Eleanor, Consort of Henry III. We shall now solicit the reader's attention to the history of the Castle, of which, unfortunately but very few authentic particulars have been handed down to our time. THE CASTLE. |HE chief part of this building originally occupied a considerable eminence to the south of the site of the present High street, in which position the Castle com- manded the river beneath it on the west. Some few remains of the outer walls may yet be found in many places, particularly on the south side of the High street, and several curious arches were taken away in 1800, on the removal of some old houses which stood nearly as far as Trinity Church eastward. The cellars of the Angel Inn, and those of a private dwelling opposite, are GUILDFOKD. 13 mentioned in Grose's Antiquities, and are well worthy of a visit from every curious observer. It is conjectured that these were a part of the vaults belonging to the Castle. Several acres were included in the precincts of this once extensive fortress, in the middle of which stood the rudely-constructed and impene- trable Citadel. Owing to its amazing strength, the disjointed hand of time has been exercised upon this part of the structure with little effect, and the massive walls still remain to the height of the battlements, frowning with patriarchal dig- nity upon the surrounding scenery, which extends from the tastefully laid out garden by which the Keep is surrounded, to the distant hills that ap- pear in faint outline on the horizon. The walls of the tower are about ten feet in thickness at the bottom, and the foundations are of chalk mixed with flints ; the superstructure is mostly composed of ragstone and Roman brick, disposed in herring-bone fashion, and cemented together with mortar of surprising hardness. There are neither windows nor even loop holes on the ground floor : but in the upper storeys there was formerly one great window on each side, near the middle ; the rest of the windows are all breaches of modern times. The present entrance to the Keep has been also made long since the days of its magnificence ; the original entrance is still visible in the middle of the west front, a considerable height from the ground. It has a stone arch on the top, and was most probably approached by a staircase on the ontside. Traces of the floor still remain, upon a 14 EAMBLES ROUND level with the bottom of this portal, which is lower than the windows. There was a circular staircase in the north-west corner, and there are still rooms or galleries, to which an easy access is now made, in the thick- ness of the wall as at Eochester, for the more speedy communication of orders in case of siege. One of these rooms is ten feet long by four feet wide, and about eight feet in height, having a circular stone roof. On the wall are seven rude figures, of no very modern date, cut in chalk. On the south side, on the ground, and near the south-east angle, is a very curious piece of forti- fication, having the appearance of a false sally-port or entrance, where, in fact, there never was one. It is made to appear as if filled up with huge square stones like the rest of the Castle, and, to increase the deception, his machicolations'* over it, as if to defend from attacks. These false sally- ports are to be found in many of the old Norman Castles, and are contrivances to mislead the be- siegers by inducing them to attempt a breach under a specious appearance of succeeding ; thus their labour would be wasted, and time given to the besieged. On the west of the keep, in Quarry street, is an archway which stands upon the site of the an- cient gateway of the castle, where there was a portcullis. This structure may probably bear some resemblance to the original gateway, as it is * A real Machicolation is a military devise resembling a grating, through which scalding water or other offen- sive matter may be discharged upon the heads of the assailants. GUILDFOED. 15 said to have been re-built in 1669. The roof of this Citadel was taken down about the year 1630. The first historic mention of this building is that already noticed, in the year 1037, (See page 10.) The date of building this Castle is not ascer- tained, but in a recent publication relative to the County of Surrey, as well as in Speed, it is men- tioned as having been the residence of the Saxon princes. In 1215, after the signing of Magna Charta at Runnymead, it is well known that King John retired to the Isle of Wight, and sent abroad emissaries to invite an army of foreigners into his service. It is known also that he procured a bull from the Pope, annulling the Charta he had been compelled to sign, and that afterwards, un- der the sanction of this bull, as soon as he had collected his foreign forces, he threw off the mask, and let loose his rapacious mercenaries agains- the estates, tenants, houses, and parks of the not bility, burning villages and castles, and spreading consternation and misery around, him as if he had been in an enemy's country. Hereupon the Barons, reduced to desperation, offered to acknow- ledge Louis, the eldest son of Philip, King of France, as their sovereign, and the young prince landed at Sandwich, on the first of May, 1216, and, having received the fealty of the Barons at London, continued his march westward, and on the 9th of June following, obtained possession of Guildford Castle. In 1226, William de Coniers was Constable here for King Henry III. 16 RAMBLES BOUND In the time of Edward I. the Castle seems to have been used as a common gaol of the county ; for about this time, we find Henry de Say, keeper of the King's prisoners here petitioning for their removal to a place of greater security, and that his request was not complied with. At about the same period, it seems to have been capable of being put into a state of defence, for forty-eight years after, in Edward II. reign, when Thomas, the turbulent Earl of Lancaster, and others, were impatient to achieve the destruc- tion of the King's favourites, the Spencers, and had taken arms against them and their adherents, a writ was issued to the constable of this Castle, commanding him to furnish it with provisions and other necessaries for the King's service. In 40, Edward III. when the town, &c, was demised in free-firm to the corporation, the Castle and gaol were especially preserved, and in the year following, the custody of it was committed to the SherhT for a common gaol and place of residence for himself. In 1877, Sir Simon Burleigh, K.G\, was con- stable here for Richard II. , after which time, says Mr. Manning, we find no notice of it till 9, James L, when the site of it, with the appurtenances, containimg by estimation 5 acres, 3 roods, 10 perches, was granted, by letters patent, to Francis Carter, of Guildford, and it became private pro- perty. By a document of Carter's family it was sold to thepate Duke of Norfolk, about 1810, and has since been alienated by the present Duke to the Et. Hon. Lord Grantley. Lower down in Quarry street, about two hun- GXJILDPOED. 17 dred yards south-west of the Castle, is a suite of caverns excavated from the chalky cliff, From the entrance, which faces the west, there is a small descent into a cave about forty-five feet long, twenty wide, and nine or ten feet high, whence, on either hand, are two lower passages nearly closed up by fragments of fallen chalk ; but ac- cording to a plan made by Mr. Bunce in 1763, that on the north side stretches towards the north- west seventy-five feet, opening by degrees from two to twelve feet. From this passage run five cavities of different sizes, their breadths being various, but all widening gradually from their en- trance, from two to twenty-two feet. On the south side is another passage opening into a large cave, shaped somewhat like the letter [_ 5 its breadth is upwards of thirty, and the length of its two sides together, about one hundred and twenty feet. These caverns can be viewed on application to the Clerk of the Local Board of Health, T. Russell, Esq., Solicitor, High street. THE MANOR OF POYLE. vOYLE Manor took its name from Walter de la Puille, who in 1279 (7, Edward I.) held certain lands which had been granted by William the Conqueror to the Testard family, and which, having passed through several hands\ came at last into his possession. In 3rd Charles I. (1603) Henry Smith, to whom the Poyle estate came by purchase, con- c 18 EAMBLES ROUND veyed the fee and inheritance of the same to Bobert, Earl of Essex, and others, in trust, that the rents, &c, of the same should be received by the mayor and approved men of Guildford, for the time being, to be by them distributed among the poor of the town, according to orders made and in- structions given by him in his life-time. Further particulars will be found in a succeeding part of this volume under the head of Charities. • There is no doubt that this Manor took its name from the family of Puille or Poyle, as did also other lands and estates in and near this place, particularly Puille or Pewley hill adjoining the town, and Poyle house in the parish of Seale. THE FBIABY, F which no traces now remain, but which stood on the eastern bank of the river, and to the north of High street, was founded by Queen Eleanor, Consort of Henry III. Its Tenants were Dominican or preaching Friars ; but in what year it was founded, and of what number it consisted, is not known ; neither can we ascertain what were the revenues of this house, nor in what year it was surrendered. We know, however, that after the dissolution of the Friary, King Henry VIII. built a mansion on the site of it, which mansion King James I. demised to Sir George More, of Losely. This building is said to have been afterwards pulled down and re-built by Mr. George Austen, and GUILDFORD. 19 ao-ain by the Earl of Anandale who, about the year 1631, erected the mansion, which, at the building of the Barracks in 1794, was fitted up for the residence of the officers. When the Barracks were sold some years since, this building was taken down and the materials diposed of. Friary place, as its name implies, occupies nearly the same site which we shall describe in connection with the Militia Depot. THE KING'S MANOR. jHAT part of the Royal domain of this place which remained unalienated by William I. and his successor, was known by the name of the King's Manor. Its distance from the capital rendered it a con- venient place for retirement, and our princes in early times occupied it as such. The first step was taken by Henry II. who shortly after his coronation (1154), enclosed a considerable tract of land on the north side of Guild-down, and converted it into a park. A char- ter of his immediate predecessor, King Stephen, to the Abbey of Walden, was indeed dated from Guildford ; but this might have been from the Castle, for it is certain that the manor was not imparked till 1154, before which time it is hardly to be supposed that it had a mansion fit for a prince's reception. From the time that this became the occasional residence of our Kings, certain offices were rilled by the tenants of the Crown-lands in the neigh- 20 RAMBLES ROUND bourhood. Thus Adeline, daughter of Ranulph de Broc, as guardian of William Testard, in the time of Henry II. held iiis lands (afterwards called the Manor of Poyle) by the service of being Mareschallus ijst curia Regis. And Richard Testard, in 1242, was called Mareschallus in hospitio domini Regis. His duty was to pro- vide laundresses for the household of the King ; to dismember criminals sentenced to death within the limits of the court, and to measure the gallons and bushels belonging to the court. Thomas de la Puille, who purchased the estate of him, held it by the same tenure. Richard I. spent little more than six months of his whole reign in England, and was too much occupied to find leisure for enjoying the retire- ment of this place. His brother and successor, John, was twice here. The first visit was at Easter, 1199 ; the second, at the close of the year, 1200, when he kept his Christmas at this place with unusual magnificence and splendour. Henry III. beautified and enlarged the mansion at considerable expense. The stock of deer and other game was so considerable during the reign of this prince, as to furnish the household when resident at other places. When Prince Edward, afterwards King Edward I. took Sir Adam Gor- don prisoner, Henry was resident here, and to wards the end of his reign we find many orders given for refitting and adorning the apartments, which circumstance will perhaps bear out the sup- position that frequent use was made of this palace by that monarch. GUILDFORD. 21 In 1299, Margaret, the second wife of Edward I. received the Park and Manor as part of her dower. On her decease, abont thirty years after, they went back to the Crown. Documents of Edward III. who was frequently resident here, are also dated from this place. In a grant of this prince, 1366, by which he demised the town of Guildford with its appurtenances, in fee-firm to the corporation, the Park, as well as the Castle, was especially reserved. The custody or bailiwick of it was three years afterwards given to Helming Legette. We find nothing to prove that Richard II., Henry IV., Henry V., or Henry VI., were ever here ; though the last prince, in the twenty-second year of his reign, appointed two sergeants of his cellar to the office of rangership of Guildford ; and, in his thirtieth year, made provision for the con- stant repair of the Manor, Lodges, and Bridges within the Park. As these reigns, up to the time of the order for repairing the Bridges, &c, include a period of eighty years, it is more than probable that during this time the mansion was suffered to go to decay ; for no mention of it can be found, or anything tending to prove its existence, save Eymer's assertion that Edward IV. was at Guild- ford in 1479, and 14S2 Of the reigns of Edward V. and Kichard III. (two months and two years) no document relating to the Manor or Park is to be found. In 8, Henry VII. Sir Reginald Bray had the custody of this Manor and Park assigned him, and in 37, Henry VIII. Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, died at Guildford. This latter event 22 EAMBLES HOUND induced Mr. Manning to suppose that the King and his household were resident here at this time ; but though this were an authenticated fact, it would not at all militate against the supposition that the old Manor-house was gone to decay ; because it is known that Henry VIII. built a new mansion upon the site of the Friary, and it is not at all unreasonable to conclude that the Duke of Suffolk died there. Passing through the hands of several persons, to whom grants were made in the reigns of Edward VI., Mary, Elizabeth, and James I., the Manor, &c, together with the Friary of Guildford, the stock of deer in the Park, &c, were granted in fee simple by Charles I., in his sixth year, to the Earl of Anandale, who was by this grant em- powered to dispark the lands, and the mansion called the Friary, was declared to be the principal house or lodge in the park. In 1709, the Manor and Park were sold to the Onslow family, and were soon after wholly dis- parked. They are now occupied as four distinct farms, into which they have been since divided. FIRM OF THE TOWN. kN" ancient times, a part of the crown revenue consisted of the profits arising from assized rents, pleas, perquisites of courts, customs of goods, fairs, markets, &c. ; and these profits were called the Firm of the Town or Borough whence they accrued. GUILDFORD. 23 When an Earl was created, it was usual for the King, by charter of creation, to grant him one- third of such proceeds and profits, arising, as well within the county at large, as in every borough within it, though it was customary, even at this early period, to reduce this proportion of rents, &c. to a certain sum, which was paid by the name of Creation-money, either by the Sheriff, or out of the Exchequer. In 1279, John, Earl of Warren and Surrey, claiming one-third of the tolls and customs of Guildford, was tried before the King's Justices here, and one-third of such tolls adjudged and confirmed to him as a right. At the marriage of Edward 1. with Margaret of France, his second Queen, in 1299, the remain- ing two-thirds of the Firm formed a part of her dower, together with the Park and Manor of which we have before spoken as being at that time in her possession. The Park, Manor, and two-thirds of the Firm reverted to the crown at her decease. In 40, Edward III., the town with its appur- tenances, excepting the Park, Castle, and Gaol of the Castle, was demised to the corporation at the annual rent of ten pounds. James I. in 1609, granted the Firm to Sir Francis Wolley and Lionel Eawlins, of whom it was purchased by the corporation for two hundred pounds, and vested in them and their successors, the Mayor and approved men of Guildford, for ever. 24 EAMELES BOUND OBSOLETE CUSTOMS, ETC. &E have thought proper, before taking- leave of this part of our Work, to enumerate a few old practises and observances, which though of little importance in themselves, serve to mark the manners of former times, and to lead us to com- pare them with our own. We have never heard that Guildford was very famous for its chivalry, but it is certain that in the reign of Henry III., about the year 1246. several persons had agreed to meet here to hold a tournay "on the Monday after the Octaves of the close of Easter," and that the King, in conse- quence of the precautions he was obliged to take to secure peace, prohibited the meeting, and sent the Abbot of Waverly and the Prior of Newark to forbid the same ; for at this time the noblemen, assembling under colour of military exercises, were wont to enter into combinations against the crown, or to foment disturbances among them- selves, to the interruption of public tranquillity. An instance of the unwillingness of Henry III. to commit a private injury will be found in the following account. Some time after the event just alluded to, the King having removed his mills from their ancient site in the parishes of Saint Mary and Saint Nicholas, to a place lower down the river, near the gate which opened into the park, to the prejudice of the Abbey of Wherwell and others, who had a mill on the west side of the river, near the lower church ; and also to the pre- GUILDFORD. 25 judice of Sir Eichard Testard, whose mill stood on the opposite side of the river (which mills were obstructed by the head of water raised at the King's mills) his majesty ordered certain sums to be paid to the injured parties ; but this, and further attempts to accommodate the com- plainants not proving satisfactory, he suffered his mills to be entirely disused. The next circumstance does not say so much for this monarch's liberality. " In 34, Henry III. (1250), the Sheriff, with Peter de London, Clerk, was ordered to see that the King's wines, which were for sale at Guildford, be sold ; and they were not to permit any other wines to be sold in the bailiwick till these were sold ; and they were to bring the money to the wardrobe." In the blissful days of our ancestors, it was a custom that every person admitted to the corpor- ation should not only give a breakfast to his new brethren, but also entertain them with a bull run- ning ! On which occasion certain persons were elected to officiate in this magisterial amusement, and, in default of compliance, subjected to what was then a severe penalty. Thus in 6, Henry VIII., several persons were elected on the Leet or Law-day after the feast of Saint Hilary, for the purpose of baiting the bull, under pain of forfeit- ing twenty shillings a piece : and this was the solemn act and deed of the Magistracy. During the same reign, when an Act was passed for the appointment of twenty- six suf- fragan Bishops, Guildford was constituted one of the new sees. These appointments not being so 26 EAMBLES ROUND necessary as they were deemed at the establish- ment of Protestantism, they soon fell into disuse. We find no record to prove that an appointment to the Guildford bishopric ever took place. On the Leet-day, 30, Henry VIII. certain per- sons were nominated, with an account of the habnes they were to provide, to serve the King in the wars. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth the town was in great repute for its manufactories of woollen cloth, and by an order of the corporation, every alehouse keeper was obliged to have a sign-board with a wool- sack painted upon it, hung at his door, under a penalty of 6s. 8d. in case of neglect. Debtors used to be confined in the Town Hall, under the Council chamber ; afterwards a prison together with a residence for one of the serjeants- at-mace, was built in the garden of the Town Hall. A new residence for this servant of the corporation, and the necessary places of confine- ment, were erected at the back of the new Market-house in 1819. The town of Guildford was first paved in 45, Elizabeth, when all persons were at their own charge, to pave before their doors in High street, eight feet in breadth, under a penalty of twenty shillings. By an Act of Parliament passed in 1812, for " Paving, Cleansing, and otherwise im- proving " the town, local commissioners were em- powered to make rates for repaving the streets with flag-stones, &c, and authorised to remove any obstructions to the thoroughfare, and all nuisances, &c. The Local Government Act has since been adopted, and the Town Council, exer- GUILDFOKD. 27 cising the functions of a Local Board of Health, have succeeded to the powers formerly vested in the Paving Commissioners. OF THE TOWN GENERALLY. ELDEFOKD, Gildford, Guldeford, or Guildford, one of the best inland towns of its size in the Kingdom, and the most singularly romantic in Surrey, is for the most part situated upon the descent of a con- siderable hill, which rises from the eastern bank of the river Wey. It consists principally of one long street, reaching from the bridge, on the west, to Spital street, Stoke, (which is in fact a continuation of the same street) on the east. It is the county town of Surrey, and is in the Hundred of Woking. In respectability and commercial prosperity, few towns of equal size in the kingdom can com- pete with this. The population of the Borough* was, at the census of 1871, 9106, including that portion of the parish of Stoke within its boundaries, but from the number of new houses continually springing up in the town and its immediate neighbourhood, and which are immediately ten- anted, there can be no doubt that the population is rapidly increasing. *The Parliamentary Borough was, by the Eeforni Act of 1867, (see p. 35) considerably enlarged, and its popu- lation is 9801. 28 RAMBLES BOUND The adjoining neighbourhood, affording the most captivating prospects, and enriched with some of the finest arable and pasture lands in Surrey ; its convenient distance from the Metro- polis, and the great plenty of building materials furnished from the brick manufactories and im- mense quarries of chalk in the vicinity ; the faci- lity afforded by railways and the river Wey, of procuring other requisites from London, offer the most alluring prospects to speculators in building ; and it is a matter of surprise considering the im- provements that have been made in the existing town, the last few years, and the eligible building sites that present themselves on every hand in the immediate neighbourhood, commanding such pic- turesque and diversified scenery, that capitalists have, till lately, done so little to meet the constant demand that is made for villa residences in this place. The Town Hall stands on the north side of the High street, and is surmounted by an open turret ; it has a good Clock, with a dial of two faces pro- jecting into the street. The clock was given many years since by a Mr. Aylward for his free- dom ; and the large bell on which it strikes, which we see suspended in the turret, formerly belonged to the Chapel of Saint Martha, distant about two miles from the town, and was removed from that place early in the last century. The smaller bell is rang at the opening of corn market and other public occasions ; the larger bell serves the purpose of a fire-alarm. This building was erected in 1683, when the old market house, which stood opposite, was taken down. GUILDFORD. 29 Over the Judge's chair, in stained glass, are the arms of Queen Elizabeth and of the Corporation. On the walls of the hall, besides the town arms, &c., hang whole length portraits of James I., Charles II., James II. (the two latter painted by Sir Peter Lely), William III., and Queen Mary. On the south wall is a portrait of the late speaker Onslow, and a very excellent painting of Admiral Sir Richard Onslow, receiving the Dutch flag, after the victory oil' Camperdown, in 1797. This picture was executed by John Eussell, R.A., a native of this town, and presented by his father. A County Court is also held here, under 13 and 14., Vic, cap. 61., bi-monthly, the jurisdiction of which, for debts not exceeding £50, extends over the parishes comprised in the Guildford Dis- trict, and also of those in the Godalming District. The Court is held on alternate months at Guild- ford and Godalming, The Council-chamber is a large room over the south part of the Town-hall. The chimney-piece was brought from Stoughton in Stoke, when the old family seat was taken down ; upon it are some well-carved figures in stone, partially gone to decay. Under the first group is the word Sakg- vintvs ; the subject is a lover and his mistress. Under the second partition, which represents a warrior surrounded by his implements of warfare, is Cholericvs. The third bears the inscription Phlegmaticvs, and the subject of it is sitting in a boat, looking as intelligent as one of the fishes with which his vessel is about to be freighted ; and the fourth, Melancholicvs, where you may see a perfect picture of despair, written upon one 30 RAMBLES ROUND » of the most woe-begone countenances that ever afforded a study for the sculptor. Over the mantel-piece are the Arms of England, of Edward the Confessor, of Archbishop Abbott, and of the town. This room is occupied by the Borough Magistrates, who hold a Bench weekly ; and by the Corporation and Local Board of Health, who hold their meetings here. The Corn-market House is a commodious modern structure, standing opposite the Town hall, built on the site of the old Market-house, and of the three Tuns inn. The front is consti- tuted by a handsome and lofty portico, with massive stone pillars supporting the roof, under which are the town arms cut in stone in bold relief. It was begun in 1818, when the first stone was laid with much ceremony, by Joseph Hay don, Esq., mayor at that time, and was built by sub- scription amongst the inhabitants, assisted by the farmers who frequented the market. The fund thus raised came by some means into the hands of the corporation, and was appropriated by them ; they undertaking to carry on the erection of the building, which they did at considerable additional expense. The market is well supplied with corn, and for the superior quality of wheat sold here the produce of the neighbourhood is regarded as among the best in England ; in consequence, the prices are comparatively high, and the trade very considerable. ^si-r-aHSv; - I GUILDFORD. 31 THE COKPOKATIOJST. *T is not known by which of the ancient Kings the privileges of this body were first con- firmed ; but, if, as we have supposed, the town obtained its present name from some Gild formerly established here, it must have possessed them from the time of that establish- ment ; because the grant of a Gild-merchant from the King is sufficient to establish a corporation by prescription for ever ; and as the town has cer- tainly been known by its present name from the days of Alfred, we may safely conclude that Guildford has been a corporate town from the period of that prince's reign. ' A charter of Henry III. is the most ancient upon record ; but it speaks of the approved men as an existing body at the time it was granted. The curious, who examine this document, may inquire why the term corporation is not used in it. The answer is, that this word did not come into use till about the reign of Henry VI., more than 150 years after. The County Court was appointed to be held here by a second charter of the same prince ; and this was made a subject of general complaint, and represented as such, on account of the re- moval of the Court from Leatherhead to a place so near the extremity of the county. The effect of this remonstrance does not appear ; but a charter of confirmation (7, Edward I.,) proves that this privilege was yielded to Guildford ; and 32 RAMBLES BOUND from this period we must without doubt, con- sider it the county town of Surrey. Further privileges were conferred by Edward III., in whose reign the town was granted to the Approved Men, at ten pounds per annum, for ever ; saving to the King and his heirs, the Castle, the gaol of the Castle, and the King's park. In 7, Richard II., the townsmen, having lost their charters during the late insurrections, pe- tition ed for their restoration ; and the prayer of their petition was granted upon the payment of a small fine for their remissness. The privileges of the corporation were con- firmed by Henry VI., and again by Henry VII., when the title of mayor was conferred upon the chief magistrate, who had hitherto been called senechall. The power to hold two fairs was also granted by the King's letters patent, and the inhabitants were exempted from serving on juries at Quarter Sessions and Assizes for the county. In the reigns of Henry VIII., Edward VI., and Elizabeth, former grants were confirmed, and James I., by letters patent, granted the commis- sion of the peace to the corporation. In the reign of Charles II., as was the fashion of the time some oppressions were practised, and on the 3rd of April, 1686, (2, James II.) Guildford was made the subject of one of that monarch's wise experi- ments, and was compelled to resign its charters, and become incorporated anew, by the style of Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council, with a Chief Steward, Recorder, Bailiff, and Town Clerk. GUTLDFOED. S3 By this charter the commission of the peace was extended through the whole of the adjoining parish of Stoke, former privileges were confirmed, and certain persons were appointed to, or con- tinued in, their respective offices, the wily monarch reserving to himself the power of removing them for any reasonable cause ! Now it is clear that the charter was granted de novo for the purpose of inserting the latter clause, for, in 1687, the King, by order of the Council, removed Thomas Smith, then mayor, and others, from their respec- tive offices, and appointed Sir Hugh Tint and other persons to succeed them. By another order, dated 19th April following, John Child and John Martyr, Aldermen, and others, together with John White, Esq., Recorder, and Leanord Child, Town Clerk, were displaced in like manner, and others appointed in their stead. But the affairs of this weak, and tyran- nical prince growing desperate, he was compelled to publish a proclamation for restoring corpor- tions to their ancient rights, when Thomas Smith and the rest were reinstated in their respective offices, and the new charter annulled. From this time the corporation subsisted as it was left by James I., until the alterations effected by the Municipal Keform Act. The Approved men consisted of eight Alder- men (three of whom, besides the mayor, acted as magistrates) and an indeterminable number of Bailiffs. The Mayor was elected on the first Monday in October, out of the eight magistrates, if their number was complete, if not, from the Bailiffs, and in this case he continued an Alder- D 34 RAMBLES BOUND man for life, and was eligible to serve the office of magistrate. A new Bailiff was elected every year when the Mayor was chosen. But under the corporation's new title of " The Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Guildford," (5 and 6 William IV., c. 75), the Town Council, as it is generally denominated, consists of twelve Councillors and four Aldermen. The mayor is elected annually by the Aldermen and Councillors to the former or latter of whom he must have belonged, on the ninth of Novem- ber. Two Aldermen are elected every third year, and four councillors every first of November. The other members of the corporation are the Eecorder, High Steward, and Town Clerk, # who hold office during pleasure, and their servants, two Sergeant s-at-m ace, and a Beadle. The mayor's staff was given by Queen Elizabeth, and is of ebony. It has a massive silver top, on which the town arms are engraved, with the words " Fear God, Do Justice, Love thy Brother," in the old style of orthography. The corporation plate was presented by E. Parkhurst, and G. Austen, Esqrs., in 1612. The gold chain and medal were a present from Arthur Onslow, Esq., of West Clandon, who was High Steward in 1673. The large mace was given by the Rt. Hon. Henry Howard, afterwards Duke of Norfolk, and High Steward in 1663. *The present High Steward is Lord Grantley ; the Eecorder, the Hon. G. 0. Norton ; and the Town Clerk Mark Smallpeice, Esq. GUILDEOED. 35 THE BOROUGH AS sent two members to Parliament *■«. since 23, Edward I., (1295) excepting JS at the time of the Commonwealth, (1654) when Cromwell increased the number of Knights for Shires, and Guildford, like many other boroughs, was deprived of one member. It would seem, however, that the borough soon recovered its original share in the popular repre- sentation, for we find — according to " Manning and Bray" — that in September, 1656, it returned two members to Parliament, and it continued to enjoy that privilege uninterruptedly down to 1867, when, by a clause in the Representation of the People's Act, those boroughs which did not pos- sess a population of 10,000 inhabitants were de- barred from the privilege of returning two mem- bers, and the borough, at the time of the passing of the Act, not possessing the necessary qualifica- tion it returned, at the general election in 1868, under the new act, as its member, Guildford M. E. Onslow, Esq., one of its former representatives since 1858, and who continues to sit in that ca- pacity down to the present time. This place gives the title of Earl to the ancient and distinguished family of North. The limits of the Parliamentary Borough are thus described in the Act 2 and 3, William IY. c. 64. Shedule : " From the point on the north of the town at which a creek leading from Dapdune House joins the river Wey, in a straight line to the point at which the road, called the New road, joins the Stoke road; thence along the 3b EAMBLES EOTTKD New road to the point at which the same joins the Kingston road ; thence along the Kingston road to the point at which the same joins Cross lane ; thence along Cross lane to the point at which the same joins the Epsom road : thence in a straight line to the point in Chalky lane, at which the boundary of Trinity parish leaves the same ;* thence along the southern boundary of Trinity parish to the point at which such boundary enters Gaol lane ; thence in a straight line to the point at which the river Vv T ey turns abruptly to the north at a wharf close by the Horsham road;t thence in a straight line to the point at which the path from Guild- ford, across Bury fields abuts on the Portsmouth road ; J thence in a straight line to the south-western corner of Cradle field ;§ thence along the western hedge of Cradle field to the point at which the same cuts the old Farn- ham road ; thence in a straight line towards Worplesdon Semaphore to the point at which such line cuts the new Farnham road ; thence in a straight line to the point first described." The Act of 31 & 32 Vic. c. 46, Schedule 1., adds to the foregoing the lands contained between the boundary of the Borough as before described and the two following boundaries respectively, that is to say, " From the point at which the present boundary meets the river Wey, southward, along the said river to a point in it due east of St. Catherine's Chapel ; thence, west- ward, in a straight line to St. Catherine's Chapel ; thence, northward, in a straight line to the junction of the Portsmouth road and the Sandy lane leading to Comp- ton ; thence, westward, along the said lane to Piccard's farm ; thence, northward, along the road leading through the said farm to its northern extremity ; thence, north- ward, in a straight line to the present boundary of the Borough at Booker's Tower ; and * The northern boundary of the Workhouse grounds, f Davis's Lime wharf. J Breakneck stile. § The Cemetery, GUILDFORD. 37 " From the angle of the present boundary in the Merrow road, south-eastward, along the Cross road from the Merrow road to the point at which the said cross road joins the road leading past the Union Workhouse to Merrow downs ; thence, southwest- ward, in a straight line to the south-eastern angle of the present Borough." it PAEISHES. iHE town comprises the whole of the par- ishes of Holy Trinity and St. Mary, and parts of Stoke, St. Nicholas, and Shalford. In the High street, the centre of the bridge divides St. Nicholas from St. Mary's parish; the eastern boundary line which is between Nos. 47 and 48, High street, on the north side, and Nos. 121 and 122 on the south, where Holy Trinity begins ; while the Grammar-school and part of the opposite premises (No. 1) form the eastern boundary, where Stoke commences. St. Mary's joins Shalford parish near the foot of Quarry hill. St. Nicholas is an extensive agricultural parish, the stream of the Wey, termed the old river, forming its boundary on the town side. The parish extends some miles beyond the town, and contains 2836 acres. The parish of Stoke con- tains 2314 acres, Shalford, 25S9. Holy Trinity and St. Mary have but little land. The Barrack field, now much built on, and the Bowling Green, with part of what lately formed the gaol lands, have recently been constituted parishes ; the former under the title of Friary, and the latter of Bowling Green parish. 38 E AMBLES BOUND TEINITT CHURCH. i TANDS on the summit of the hill, in the upper part of the town : it is a modern structure built of red brick, and has a square tower 90 feet high at the west end. The interior is suitably fitted up, the east window being a handsome piece of stained glass, one re- cently placed there by subscription. It contains eight bells, whose echoes as heard amongst the distant hills, are peculiarly attractive and musical. The clock was constructed in the last century by Mr. W. Kussell, a native of the town, and the chimes, four different airs, are the composition of Mr. G. Wilkins, formerly organist of Trinity Church. The tenor bell, which weighs more than 25 cwt., sounds the hour. The first stone of the Church was laid in 1749; but divine service was not performed in it till 1763. The old church, which stood on its site, was thrown down by the archi- tectural indiscretion of some of our ancestors ; who, being desirous of improving the building, took away certain arches and pillars which sup- ported the steeple, and soon after found out that it was in a dangerous condition ; the truth of this discovery was afterwards proved, if not to the satisfaction, at any rate to the conviction, of all parties. It was, however, used for the purpose of worship on the 20th of April, 1740, and on the 23rd, down fell the steeple, beating in the roof with such violence, that, as some say, " by the compression of the air, all the glass windows were blown out as if it had been done by a blast of gunpowder ! " vo GTTILDFOED. 39 The workmen had just quitted the spot, and, although it was fair-day no person received the slightest injury. In the old history, from which the above mar- vellous account is extracted, it is said that the Churchwardens began to build the new Church without sufficient funds. The old Church was probably built by some of the Testard family for the use of their tenants. It contains a chantry called Norbrigge and Kingeston's chantry, which was endowed with certain lands that had been in the hands of the corporation from the days of Edward VI., and are still known by the name of the chantry lands. There was also another chantry in this Church, founded by the Weston family of Sutton. In the original Church, were several ancient monuments, some of which are re-erected in the new. We must not omit to notice the stately monument of Archbishop Abbot, which stood in Our Lady's Chapel in the old Church, and is now placed at the east end of the new south aisle. The figure of the Archbishop is lying at full length in his episcopal robes, on an altar tomb, under a canopy supported by six black marble pillars. There are two figures in the niches at the east end of the monument, and nine others at the top. This monument was erected at the expence of Sir Maurice Abbot, very shortly be- fore his death in 1640, to the memory of his illustrious brother. There is also a very fine monument erected to the memory of The Eight Honourable Arthur Onslow, Speaker of the House of Commons, upon 40 EAMBLES EOTTND another alter tomb of freestone. The effigy of the late speaker is attired in a Roman habit, his left arm reclining upon several volumes, from which issue two scrolls, bearing appropriate in- scriptions. The benefice of the rectory of the Holy Trinity parish is in the deanery of Stoke. By an Act passed in 1699, this Church and that of Saint Mary were united as one represen- tative Church. The Rev. R. Trimmer, M.A., is the present Rector. The advowsons of the Holy Trinity Church and Saint Mary's just mentioned, were given by William Testard, Lord of the Manor, afterwards called Poyle, to the Priory of Merton. At the dissolution of that convent, the patronage went to the crown. In the year 1869 the church was completely renovated, at a cost amounting to nearly £1800, nearly the whole of which sum was raised in the parish by voluntary subscription. Two galleries, which were out of character with the edifice, and which occupied the north and south walls, were removed, and the organ which stood in the west gallery was removed to the eligible position it now occupies, in the north-east corner of the nave. The old high pews were lowered and the chancel was fitted with choir stalls. The windows were adjusted in length and style, to the ecclesiastical character of the structure. The pulpit, an artis- tically carved and finely polished specimen of early workmanship, was considerably reduced in height. It has a massive and imposing sounding board, which reminds one of the grand old pulpits. GTJILDFOBD. 41 to be seen in the cathedrals of many continental towns. The organ, an instrument of great tone and power, underwent an almost entire re-construction at the hands of Messrs. Bevington and Son, of London, to whose skill the parish is indebted for possessing, perhaps one of the best organs, of which any parish church in a provincial town can boast. The old Chantry chapel, founded by the "Wes- tons, is situated in the south-eastern corner of the Church. When the renovation was begun in 1869, this chapel was little else than a receptacle for the accumulated lumber of years, and its ap- pearance, as may be easily conjectured, was any- thing but creditable to the church. The chapel was placed in a state of thorough repair. The useless lumber was cleared out, the floor boarded, and the place is now made to serve the purpose of a comfortable vestry room. Thanks to Mr. Woodyer, the celebrated ecclesiological architect, by whom the work of renovation was superinten- ded and designed, two fine old monuments were rescued from the rubbish which filled the chapel ; one of these monuments is to Sir Robert Park- hurst, Knight, a native of the borough, and who, during his life, filled the proud position of Lord Mayor of the City of London. The monument has been restored with great skill, and now occu- pies a place in the western porch of the church. It is of solid alabaster, and represents the recum- bent figure of Sir Eobert in his robes of office. At his feet, Lady Parkhurst is represented in a kneeling position. The head of her ladyship is 42 RAMBLES ROTOD missing, no amount of search being successful in recovering that portion of the figure. A Latin inscription on the front of the tomb, describes the very many virtues of the departed Knight, who died in the year 1636, at the age of 57. The other monument, which has been also well restored, stands on the opposite side of the porch. It is to Mrs. Abbot, the mother of the good and great Archbishop. On being un-earthed from the rubbish of the Chapel, it was in three pieces. As a specimen of old statuary, the figure of the fortunate mother of the Archbishop, whose name is so identified with the town, will not escape the notice of the observant. The quaint brass chandeliers, which hang from the roof, were dis-entombed from the lumber of the decaying chapel. They have been wisely con- verted into gaseliers, and now form very pleasing features in the decorative furniture of the Church. The edifice, as restored, was re-opened by the Bishop of Winchester, on the 30th December, 1869, on which occasion, the Mayor, Aldermen, and Town Councillors of the borough attended in their official robes. SAINT MARY'S CHURCH. RACING High street, on the declivity of the hill in Quarry street, is a specimen of early Anglo-Norman architecture, pro- bably of the reign of Stephen, and is a rudely built structure, supposed also to have been \T GUILDFORD. 43 erected by some of the Testard family, for the use of their tenants. The building consists of a nave with two aisles, and a chancel with a chapel on each side of it, severally dedicated to St. Mary and to St. John the Baptist. The chancel has a richly groined roof, partially destroyed when the church was shortened. On the roof, and above the arch in the chapel of St. John, are a number of allegorical fresco drawings, of a reddish brown color, evi- dently of ancient date, probably the work of the celebrated painter, William of Florence, at the command of King Henry III., and although, from their age and appearance, they seem but rudely done, they are considered of great merit. There appear to be eight or nine different sub- jects, of course scriptural, but it is difficult to in- terpret their precise signification. Their probable design, however, is well illustrated in Brayley's Surrey. The chapel of St. Mary contains a Confessional, a portion of an old gothic screen being used to partition it off from the chancel. The tower stands a little to the east of the centre, and contains six bells, which were cast in 1764. In 1755, the parishioners, with the rector's consent, agreed to lay part of the churchyard into the street. In 1825, a part of the building itself was pulled down to widen the carriage-way which passes it on the east. In this church were founded two gilds, or fra- ternities, as appears by the will of Henry Freke, who, in 1492, bequeathed certain moneys to them. They were called " The Fraternity of Jesus," and " The Fraternity of the Body of Christ." 4£ EAMBLES BOUND The benefice is a rectory in the deanery of Stoke, and was, as before stated, united to that of the Holy Trinity in 1699. The register of this parish begins in 1540, (31, Henry VIII.) St. Mary's underwent a complete restoration in 1863, under the careful supervision of a com- mittee of gentlemen, T. Goodchild, Esq. being the Architect. The greatest care has been taken that, as far us possible, the church might be res- tored to its original form. It is much to be regretted that the narrowness of Quarry street prevented the perfect restoration of the Chancel, which was originally semicircular, like the ad- joining chapel of St. John the Baptist, and that of St. Mary. A good stained glass window has been placed in the east window, to the memory of the late rector, the Eev. T. Ludlam ; another well executed stained glass window has been placed in the large west window, to the memory of James Stedman, Esq., by his fellow townsmen. The Rev. H. Piggott has placed a memorial window to his wife in one of the lancets on the south side. The chapel of St. John the Baptist, with its curious frescoes, which have been carefully pre- served, has been re-united to the church. The stained glass in its east window was presented by the late Sir H. Austen, in honour of the Testards, from whom he was descended, and who are named as the original founders of the church ; this however seems doubtful, as it is the opinion of a learned Archaeologist, who has recently read a paper on this subject to the Antiquarian Society, GUILDFOKD. 45 that this church was originally Saxon, and that vestiges of the early church may still be seen in the walls of the Chancel. The chapel of St. Mary has also been united to the church, but it has been necessary to occupy a portion of it for the vestry, and the remainder is nearly filled by a magnificent Organ, presented to the church by the munificence of the parishioners. The Organ was built by Bevington and Sons, consists of two complete manuals and independent pedal organ, and contains twenty- six stops. There is a very good amateur choir, composed of ladies and gentlemen in the town. The encaustic tiles by the Altar are executed by Maw and Sons, from ancient tiles found in the church. They were presented by three ladies residing in Quarry street. The clock was presented by Mrs. Booker, one of the largest contributors to the restoration of the church. The Altar Cloth, which is said to be a master- piece of work, was executed by two resident ladies. SAINT NICHOLAS CHUECH CCUPIES a commanding position near Wl the bridge over the Wey. It is a hand- some edifice in the pointed style, standing on the same spot as the former church. At the west end of this church is a square tower, embattled, surmounted by eight ornamented pin- nacles, and a set of eight bells. 46 EAMBLES EOUND In the interior, at the east end, there is a very fine painted window, which was placed there by the subscriptions of the parishioners. The centre compartments represent the Crucifixion and the Ascension, and on either side, in pairs, are the Twelve Apostles. Underneath the same are re- presented St Nicholas and St. Catherine, the patron Saints of the parish. On the south side is Loseley Chapel, where are several monuments and altar tombs erected to members of the families of More and Molyneux, of the days of Queen Elizabeth and later, the statues of whom, in armour and in the costumes of their times, with their inscriptions, are of con- siderable interest. An ancient altar tomb, with a full length statue, enrobed in a scarlet habit, lying under a canopy, was removed from the old church, where it had been placed, in memory of Arnold Brocas, rector here towards the close of the fourteenth century. The old church, like that of Saint Mary, was rudely built, consisting of a nave and two aisles under three different roofs ; but its proximity to the river rendered it very damp and uncomfort- able, and some years since, the floor in flood-time was completely inundated ; the old church was therefore pulled down, and the foundation-stone of the present, laid June 7th, 1836, by the Dean of Salisbury, and consecrated by the Bishop of Winchester, in August, 1837. On the north wall of the church is a brass plate giving an account of the birth, parentage, educa- tion, and decease of Caleb Lovejoy ; and on another, lower down, are some curious verses, said GUILDFOED. 47 to have been written by himself. Aubrey men- tions also a brass plate to the memory of Maurice and Alice Abbot, the parents of the Primate ; likewise one with a recumbent figure of Arnold Brocas, an ancient rector of the parish. The benefice is a rectory in the deanery of Stoke, alternately in the patronage of the Bishop of Winchester, and the Dean and Chapter of Salis- bury. One of the late Rectors of St. Nicholas, was the Eev. T. GL Hatchard, D.D., who held the living for a period of thirteen years. He re- signed in January, 1869, on his appointment to the Bishopric of the Mauritius. He had barely begun his work in the Colony, when he fell a vic- tim to that fatal disease of the island, yellow fever. He died on the 28th of February, 1870. His predecessor in the Bishopric, Dr. Ryan, was somewhat curiously nominated to the living of St. Nicholas on its vacation by the lamented Dr. Hatchard. In August, 1870, Bishop Ryan was allotted the living of Bradford in Yorkshire, and Dr. Monsell the present Rector, and one of the Chaplains to her Majesty, was appointed to succeed him. It would appear, that recently the building has been falling into a very unsound condition, pro- bably its situation would render it susceptible of decay in a greater degree than in ordinary cases, but from whatever cause it may arise, it appears that quite lately some workmen having some repairs to do in connection with the roof, dis- covered that the extremities of the cross-beams, where they rested on the outer walls, had become so rotten that it was a matter of surprise that the 48 KAMBLES BOUND roof had not fallen in long since, and attention having been called to the matter, a surveyor was requested to examine the structure, and from his report we gather, that in order to render the building secure, immediate steps should be taken to restore the roof ; a suggestion was also made at a meeting of the parishioners, convened for the purpose of considering the present condition of the Church, that subscriptions and donations should be solicited, with a view to erecting a new church in a different situation in the parish, the site of which was promised by the Rector. 'M\-: ABBOT'S HOSPITAL. xEAELY opposite the upper or Holy \\ 4k 1 ^\M Trinity Church stands this building. It is composed of red brick, and has four square turrets over its entrance, which is a spacious archway having round it the words "deus nobis hjsc otia FECIT."* The Archie- piscopal Arms of Canterbury, impaling Abbot's, are emblazoned on the entrance door. Within the entrance is a square court-yard on the west side of which the brethren are lodged. The east- ern side is occupied by the sisters. The master has several handsome apartments. There are also two large kitchens, and good cellars under the whole building. A large garden belongs to the house. It is walled round and kept in admirable order. * God gave to us this place of rest. OTILDFOBD. 49 At the north-east corner is a convenient chapel. It contains two large gothic windows of painted glass. The north-west window is divided into four compartments, and the subjects are as follows ; — 1. — Isaac sending Esau to take him venison. 2. — Eebecca instructing Jacob how to supplant his brother. 3. — Isaac in bed giving his blessing to Jacob. 4. — Esau returning with the venison, and resenting his brother's artifice. In the east window are five compartments. 1. — Jacob sleeping, and the angels ascending and descending from heaven as seen in his vision. 2. — Laban and Jacob's interview at the Well of Haran, with Eachael in the distance. 3. — Jacob, his wives and children. 4. — The covenant between Jacob and Laban on Mount Gilead. 5. — Jacob praying at Mahanaim, and waiting for his brother Esau. In this chapel hang a half-length picture of the Archbishop, an excellent portrait of Sir Nicholas Kemp, by Paul Yansomer, and a painting of Alderman Jackson, one of the benefactors, by J. Russell, Esq., R. A. THE ROYAL SURREY COUNTY HOSPITAL. N a gentle slope of the Hog's Back, on the Farnham road, and near the Guild- ford Railway Station, stands the Royal Surrey County Hospital. The site was given by Earl Onslow, and the foundation-stone 50 EAMBLES ROUND was laid on the 31st July, 1863, by Lewis Loyd, Esq., the then High Sheriff of the County. The building is dedicated to the memory of the late Prince Consort, and its object is the medical treat- ment of the sick and maimed of till countries. The structure was erected Irom designs and under the superinten dance of E. W. Lower, Esq., Architect, of Guildford, at a cost of £15,015, which sum was raised by subscriptions and dona- tions. In August, 1865, a bazaar was held in the wards of the hospital, when the large sum of £1904 was realised for furnishing and fitting up the wards — a result chiefly due to the efforts of many benevolent ladies in the county. On the 27th April, 1866, the hospital was for- mally opened by the Lord Bishop of Winchester, in the presence of a large assemblage, at which ceremony is was announced that a communica- tion had been received from Sir T. M. Biddulph, privy purse to the Queen, noti tying Her Majesty's gracious intention of becoming patroness of the Hospital, and enclosing a cheque for one hundred guineas. It is capable of accommodating about 60 in- patients, but a dispensary is tittached to the building, where all out-patients recommended re- ceive treatment and medicines. The funds for carrying on the work are raised by annnal subscriptions and donations. A dona- tion of twenty guineas, or annual subscription of two guineas, constitutes the donor a governor, and entitles him to recommend annually one in- patient and four out-patients, or sixteen out- patients. GUILDFOBD. 51 The hall of the main entrance is adorned with a beautiful Carrara bust of the lamented Prince, the gift of he)- Majesty the Queen. The bust is a splendid work of art, by Mr. Theed, the eminent Sculptor. The marble pe- destal on which it stands was presented by R. J. Shepard, Esq., and on this is the following in- scription : " This bust of His Eoyal Highness Albert, Prince Consort, was graciously presented to the Surrey County Hospital by her Majesty Queen Victoria, 1866." Mr. Theed himself has also presented a work of art to the Hospital, in the shape of a basso relievo, the subject representing "The Good Sa- maritan." This arrests the visitor's attention immediately on entering the hospital, as it occu- pies a niche in the wall, on the lei't of the main doorway, and bears the following inscription taken from Mntthew xxv. 40 : " And the King shall answer and say unto them, verily, I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it ■ unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me," The following is a detailed description of the building, taken from a personal inspection : — 11 As far as style is concerned, the hospital is a plain, unpretending structure, but it is large and substantial, and commends itself to the eye not only by its uniform neatness, but by the finished manner of every detail. It is about 260 feet long, and consists of a central portion and two wings. The walls are composed of Bargate stone from the late Col. Gill's quarries at Godalming, faced with bright red brick dressings. From the centre of the 52 EAMBLES B0TJ2TD hospital rises a light turret, which imparts a consider- able amount of grace to the noble building. It has evi- dentey been the wish of the committee that there should be no unnecessary expenditure for the sake of mere or- nament, yet there are few structures which leave a more pleasing impression on the minds of visitors ; and when the accommodation which the building affords is con- sidered, we think there can be but one sentiment of ad- miration. We may here mention that the plans met the approval of Miss Nightingale, who, from her large ex- perience of hospitals, must be well qualified to judge of their adaptation to requirements. The upper or one-pair storey, is the only floor devoted to patients. This con- tains two large wards, about 91 feet by 25. In addition to these, there are six small or special wards. The ground floor is devoted partly to dispensary purposes, and is so arranged that the out-patients' department is accessible without going through the parts devoted to the general hospital. In the centre portion of the build- ing is an extra storey above and below, the lower storey being devoted to cellar purposes and the top storey to dormitories for nurses and domestic servants. The hospital contains all modern requisites and appliances in use in such institutions. Every part of the building is supplied with hot and cold water, and in warming, lighting, and ventilation, the most approved principles have been adopted. The grounds, which are about two acres in extent, are enclosed on all sides by a substantial stone wall, and their northern-most portion is laid out in broad walks for the benefit of convalescent patients. In the north-east corner of the ground a small building de- notes the mortuary, and in the north-west corner stands a larger building, which is the laundry, fitted with washing machinery. These buildings harmonise in appearance with the hospital. Having given a general glance at the building, we will now ask the reader to accompany us over the principal departments of the hospital. Entering at the eastern wing, we find the most complete arrangements for out-patients. The waiting-room is divided into two compartments, one being appropriated to males, and the other to females. GUILDFORD. 53 Adjoining this is the Dispensary, which is very neatly fitted up. In connection with the out-patients' depart- ment there is a bath-room, fitted with an earthenware bath, with the addition of a shower bath. Proceeding more westward, we come to the Honorary Medical Officers' Consulting-room, where the out-patients re- ceive advice. Adjoining this, and communicating, is a " dressing-room," fitted up with hot and cold water. The next room is appropriated to the use of the physicians, and is in every respect a comfortable and cheerful apartment. We now arrive at the centre of the building, where we find the private rooms of the matron, the house-surgeon, and the porter, with kitchen offices in the rear. Passing into the main kitchen we notice that it is fitted up with a convenient range, with the ad- dition of all proper appliances for cooking by steam. The peculiarity of the " range " is that, although it takes the form of a "kitchener," roasting is managed in the ordinary way in front of the fire instead of in an oven, as in other " kitcheners." Returning from the kitchen towards the hall, at which we had arrived, we notice, in rear of the staircase, some " lifts " for raising coals and other heavy articles from the cellars and ground floor. Ee-passing the hall, and proceeding still westward, we find several store-rooms containing a great number of hospital requisites and appurtenances. Here also is the sleeping apartment of the matron. At the extreme west of the building we find a large and handsome board-room, with Secretary's room adjoining, and a separate entrance for the Members of the Committee. This room is also used as a Chapel, for which it is well fitted. Retracing our steps towards the hall, we ascend the handsome stone staircase, and arrive at a lobby which communicates with the east and west wards. And now we can see from end to end of the building, and admire its splendid pro- portions and perfect arrangements. Both wards are as cheerful as light and air can make them. The east-ward of the hospital is appropriated to males and the west to females. Each bed has brackets assigned to it for books and medicines, and is supplied with bibles and prayer books. There is also a locker for each patient. Adjoin- 54 EAMBLES BOUND ing the wards are bath-rooms and lavatories. Opposite the bath-rooms and lavatories at the extremity of the wards are little detached buildings, which besides neces- sary offices, contain racks for patients' clothing. The ventilation of the wards seems very perfect. The foul air passes out through gratings over the gas-lights, and is conveyed across the ceiling by tubes in connection with the flues from the fire-places. Besides this means of ventilation, there are on either side of the wards, and nearly level with the floor, several gratings which can be opened at pleasure for the purpose of " flushing " the wards. There are spacious balconies to which patients are sometimes allowed access. Between the two main wards are several special wards and a cheerful day-room for convalescents. One of the wards is set apart for opthalmia, and the window-blind is of a material by which the light can be considerably modified. Here also are rooms for the nurses, which are so situated that they can overlook the wards while attending to other duties. Descending a portion of the principal staircase, and pass- ing to the rear, we come to the " operating " department, where there are several rooms ready for any severe cases that may occur, together with nurses' apartments, and domestic offices." Until this institution was erected, the county of Surrey possessed no hospital beyond the limits of the Metropolis, and nearly all urgent cases had to be sent to London. The utility of such a building becomes every day more appa- rent, and it behoves the county generally to extend to it a liberal and continuous support, so that the original design of maintaining sixty in- patients may not be thwarted from lack ol' funds. All who were present at the inaugural ceremony, must have felt unmingled satisfaction in the knowledge that West Surrey has been the means of supplying a want long felt and deplored in the county. GTTILDFOED. 55 The funds of the institution have lately re- ceived a valuable increase from the bequests of several old inhabitants of the town and neigh- bourhood, thus showing in what high estimation it is held, indeed it would be hard to describe a hospital where more care and attention combined with the most skilful medical treatment, could be found, and we venture to hope that its claims on the public at large, will, at no distant day, be even more fully recognised than at the present time. The working expenses of an institution of this kind must necessarily be large, and although we are aware that there are in the county others of a similar kind, we hope to see a more lively in- terest taken in the management and direction by those who live at a distance, as we feel as- sured that were they once to pay a visit to the hospital, and see the admirable pains and care taken to ensure the patients' comfort and conve- nience, the cleanliness of every nook and corner, the politeness and attention of the officials, they would go away very favourably impressed with the Royal Surrey County Hospital. We subjoin a list of the various Legacies re- ceived since the establishment of the Hospital : £ s. d- W. G. B. Gunton, late member of the Com- mittee, proceeds with Interest, &c, of five Shares in the Union Bank of London 284 14 3 James McNab, formerly of the Royal Artil- lery, free of Legacy Duty 101 8 3 William Parsons, of Godalming, contingent on death of Widow 300 George Turvill, late of East Shalford, free ofLegacyDuty 100 56 EAMBLES EOUND £ s. a. Mrs, Booker, Consols 1000 Ditto Consols — Interest to be ap- plied to defray the cost of winding up the Turret Clock presented by her 86 13 4 James Baker, Worplesdon 19 19 J. I. Briscoe, Esq., of Fox Hill, Chertsey... 1000 Miss Lent, of Guildford 50 Thomas Mellersh, Regent's Park 500 Mrs. Bingley 100 H. B. Clark Esq., the late 100 William Stanton, of Bramley 1000 James Heath, Guildford 110 Also a portion of the residue of the late Mr. Collins, Watchmaker, of Chertsey, not yet paid over THE FKEE, OK GEAMMAE SCHOOL, N ancient, but not highly tasteful build- ing, stands on the south side of Spital street. It contains a genteel residence for the master, a spacious school-room, and a good library. The school-house, with the great chamber and garret over it was erected by the corporation, with the assistance from the other inhabitants of the town, in 1557. In 1569 the apartments of the upper master were built hy contribution ; and those of the under master, together with a gallery connecting the two, were begun in 1571. But the two members of the corporation, who had undertaken this work, dying shortly after, nothing more was done till 1582. when the un- der master's apartments were completed. In 1586 the apartments for the upper master were finished, and the gallery, which had been left GTJILDFOBD. 57 uncovered, and was totally gone to decay, was thoroughly repaired and converted into a library. A benefaction of Arthur Onslow, Esq., in 1648 is commemorated by an inscription on the inner wall of the library. The appearance of the building is of a very unpretending character. The school premises surround a quiet looking quadrangle. Under the exterior central window, are the Eoyal Arms of Edward the Sixth, and below the following inscription, "SCHOLA KEGIA GRAMMATICALIS EDVARDI SEXTI. 1550." Benefactions to the school have been made at various times by the Hammond, Webb, Polsted, and Austen families, but the principal benefactor was Edward VI., who in 1552, by letters patent, granted a rent-charge of twenty pounds a year, issuing out of lands, &c, at Great Bookham, Stoke d'Abernon, Battersea, and Wandsworth. By these letters the Mayor and Approved-men were empowered, with the advice of the Bailiff of the King's Manor of Guildford, to appoint the upper and under masters of the school as often as vacancies should occur, and to make, with the advice of the Bishop of Winchester, statutes in writing for the ordering, governance, and direction of the masters and scholars, the appointment of proper salaries, &c. In the year 1691, John Nettles, Gent., of Saint Mary's parish, left eleven acres of land to his daughter for life, and, after her decease, to Sir Richard Onslow, Bart., and to the male heir of 58 RAMBLES ROUND his family, in trust, to pay the rents towards the maintenance of a scholar (being a son of a free- man of the corporation) at Oxford or Cambridge, for the term of seven years, he having been pre- viously fitted for the University at this school, such scholar to receive all arrears due for want of former claimants, at the time of his admission. The candidate is to be examined, and his qualifi- cations certified, by the master of the school, the Eector of Saint Nicholas, and the Sector of Stoke, or any two of them ; and his appointment signed by the trustee of the Onslow family for the time being. The funds of this charity were at one time deemed sufficient to educate one hundred boys : at present there are only ten on the foundation : these receive a general education, though, by the original endowment, it is said, they were to be instructed gratuitously in the classics only. The office of under master has been done away with for some years. Independently of the scholars on the establishment, the reverend the head master has under his care a considerable number of pupils, the sons of gentlemen : of itself a sufficient testi- mony of the celebrity the school has gained. Many persons of eminence have received their education at this school. An account of the most celebrated among them forms the subject of a succeeding article. GUILDFOED. 59 NONCONFOKMISTS' PLACES OF WOBSHIP, PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS, ETC. jHE Cougregationalists have recently be- come^ numerous and influential body in the town ; their old place of worship was an uninviting structure with a disagree- able entrance in a bact street ; but a new chapel has been erected, which was opened for Divine Worship on September 24th, 1863. It is an ele- gant and commodious edifice, and the handsomest modern building of which the town can boast. It is situated in a very central position, opposite the County and Borough Halls, and has two frontages, one to North Street, and the other to the Lea-pale road. It is in the Decorated or Middle-pointed style of Gothic Architecture, and is very substantially built the general walling being of the local Bargate stone from the Godal- ming quarries, with dressings throughout of Bath stone. The principal window in the North street front is twenty feet high ; it is divided into four lights with traceried bead, and the whole of this window is filled with stained srlass, the gift of one of the members of the church. There are ample entrance lobbies, two being at the North street end, and the other at the lower end from the Lea- pale road, from each of these there is a staircase to the galleries, which are continued all round the building — a necessity arising from the somewhat confined limits of the site. The central portion of the gallery at the back of the pulpit is occu- < pied by the organ. The gallery fronts have a 60 EAMBLES BOUND light and pleasing appearance, being panelled and pierced with gothic openings, and the inte- rior throughout is lofty and capacious, the height from the floor to the central ceiling being about forty feet. There are two vestries beneath the back gallery, one of them a large room, and the other a small private vestry for the minister, to which there is also a separate entrance from North street The cost of the site was £600, and the outlay upon the building about £2300. It is stated in a work recently published,* that, 4 'during the occupancy of this new place of wor- ship the Church and Congregation have steadily increased, and now constitute one of the most re- spectable and influential religious communities in the town, beginning to branch out in missionary sympathy to the surrounding villages and hamlets of West Surrey." The Baptists have two places of worship in the town ; an ancient building situate at the top of South Street, which was formerly used as a barn, but which has now been occupied for many years as a place of meeting by the denomination, and which was altered and rendered more suitable for the purpose of Divine Worship in the year 1860. There is an endowment belonging to this com- munity. The other Baptist place of worship is situated in the Commercial road, where a small chapel was erected in 1849, but this becoming too small, it was altered and enlarged in July, 1862, and a schoolroom was at the same time erected at the * " Surrey Congregational History," published by Jackson, Walford and Hodder in 1866. GUILDFOED. 61 back of the Chapel, where a Sunday School is regularly carried on, and the room which will hold altogether about 110 children and teachers, is usually filled. The Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in North street is an elegant building in the early English style, built of Bargate Stone, well wrought with Bath stone dressings. It has a projecting centre entrance, lofty pointed windows, with quarterfoii in the pediment ; there are school rooms under- neath, and the minister's residence is on the right side. The organ was presented by the late W. Hay don, Esq. The Calvinistic Independent, or Providence Chapel, Castle street, and the Friends' Meeting- house, North street, are plain, unpretending build- ings, and have no peculiar characteristic requiring comment. The Catholic and Apostolic Church is a neat modern little structure in North street. The Eoman Catholics have a Church in the Stoke-road. Second Eoyal Surrey Militia Depot. — Upon the enrolment of this regiment, the erection of this building was of course necessary as a military store. The site chosen was near that formerly occupied by military barracks, and pre- viously by the Friary — at the lower end of North street. The Building is constructed of Bargate stone, with ornamental brick dressings, cast in the pottery of the Eight Hon. the Colonel,* by whom the whole was designed and planned. The windows, in case of attack, form port-holes, and * The Eight Hon. the Earl of Lovelace, 62 EAMBLES ROUND there is also a narrower port-hole on either side the gateway, where two massive doors form the principal entrance to the building. Just inside these, over head, is a portcullis, which if let down, would render, access to the interior difficult. The archway bears this inscription," sal vam domike fac victoriam." The principal room is the Guard-room, to the right, over the mantel-piece is inscribed, "The Glory of Arms ; which cannot be obtained without the Exercise of Honor, For- titude, Couroge, Obedience, Modesty, and Tem- perance, excites the Brave Man's Patriotism, and is a chastening corrective for the rich man's pride," — (Napier's Hist. Penin. War). Further on are the Orderly-rooms, and behind these, the Prisoners' cells. On the second floor, reached by a flight of stone steps, the Wardrobe and Ar- moury respectively contain clothes, accoutre- ments, muskets, and swords, for the complete equipment of 1000 men arranged in true mili- tary order by companies ; nor must we omit the colors and the drums, which, ornamenting the walls, complete the display ; of course we speak at a time when the regiment is disbanded. Near the extremity of the parade-ground is the Hospi- tal, and opposite, the Staff- sergeants quarters, There are ample private offices for the Colonel and Adjutant commanding, as well as a residence for the latter officer. By the courtesy of the Adjutant, the stores are open to the public upon applying for admission- The full strength of the regiment is as follows: — A Colonel, Lieut. -Colonel, Major, 10 Captains, 10 Lieutenants, 10 Ensigns, Captain and Adju- GUILDFORD. 63 tant, a Surgeon, and an assistant Surgeon, a Sergeant-Major, 33 Sergeants, 33 Corporals, 10 Drummers, and 990 Privates. The officers are, for the most part, members of families resident in the neighbourhood. The Depot is also used as the head quarters of the 13th Surrey Kifle Volunteers, a corps which was established here in 1860. Another corps has since been formed, under the name of the or 24 tli Surrey Rifle Volunteers, the head quarters at present being at the George and Dragon High street. The County Station of the Police Force of Surrey, in the Woodbridge road, is a well built commodious structure, containing magistrates' examination rooms, with convenient offices for the chief constable, his secretary, and the attendants. The cells (eight in number) are admirably adap- ted to the safe keeping of the prisoners, and are warmed by a hot air stove. The force numbers 113 men, under thorough and most efficieut dis- cipline, governed by H. C. Hastings, Esq., chief constable. Numerous companies and associations have been established during the last few years, as commer- cial speculations, or impelled by philanthropic or christian benevolence. We shall do little more than enumerate the principal of them, as every in- formation is afforded in their respective reports. The Guildford Institute. — This society was formed by an amalgamation of the Literary and Scientific, with the Mechanics Institution, in the year lS4o, since which time it has been steadily progressing in numbers and usefulness. It has a b4 RAMBLES ROUND comfortable Reading room, supplied with the principal daily and weekly papers, and periodicals, open to the members every day from 9 a.m. till 10 p.m. ; a Circulating Library, containing be- tween 3,000 and 4,000 volumes in various depart- ments of literature, and a compact little Museum of coins, casts, geological and mineralogical speci- mens. During the winter season, (from October to April) lectures are delivered on various subjects, sometimes by professional lecturers, and some- times by gentlemen residing in the .town or neighbourhood. The Reading-room, Museum, and Lecture-hall, are at the Public Halls, in North street. The Working Men's Institution was estab- lished in 1853, and is of a similar character to the foregoing. It has a spacious Reading-room at the Public Halls, supplied with newspapers and periodicals, to which members have access at a very small subscription, in addition to the use of a library, and admission to lectures and enter- tainments which are provided during the winter season. Public Halls and Assize Courts. — In March, 1846, a Public Hall was opened in Guild- ford, but the accommodation thus provided soon became inadequate to the increasing population and intelligence of the town. The two flourish- ing Literary societies, called the Guildford Insti- tute, and the Working Men's Institution, needed fresh offices and a more commodious lecture hall, while it was evident, at the same time, that un- less fresh Courts were erected, the Assizes would be removed altogether from the town. Under GUILDFORD. 65 these circumstances a company was formed, and the present buildings, which embraces the old hall, were raised at the junction of North street and Lea-pale road. The style of the buildings is domestic gothic of the 16th century — a style peculiarly appropriated to an irregular edifice adapted to several purposes. The most imposing part of the structure is the large hall, which abuts upon the Lea-pale road. This hall is 80 feet long, 37 feet wide, and nearly 40 feet high, with eleven large windows, open timbered roof, and three entrances from the Lea-pale road, as well as a private one for the judges, who are provided with an adjoining retiring room. "When used as a court at Assize time (alternate years) the prisoners can be brought straight from cells in the basement story to the dock, by a staircase connecting the former with the latter. The old hall, which is 50 feet by 35 feet, and nearly 35 feet high, is generally used as the Nisi Prius court. There are various rooms for the grand jury, counsel, witnesses, &c, and the accommodation is in every way vastly superior to that at the Town hall, and the room at the back of the Corn-market, where the assizes were formerly held. The new hall, of which we give a description above, is a fine room for lectures, balls, concerts, and dinners, and is capable of containing 1,000 persons. At one end is a permanent platform, 30ft. by 14ft., and at the other, a gallery, while ample kitchen accommodation is to be found below. It is well lighted with gas pendants, and warmed by hot- water pipes. The part appropriated to the Guild- ford Institute, which is in North street, consists F 66 BA.MBLES BOUND of a reading-room, library, museum, and several class-rooms ; and at the other end of the building, three commodious offices are occupied by the mem- bers of the Working Men's Institution. The Post Office. — In September, 1869, from the rapidly increasing business devolving upon our postal system, it became evident that the accom- modation which had been sufficient for the town in days gone past, was wholly inadequate to the pre- sent requirements of the public, and accordingly one of the largest rooms in the County and Borough Halls was secured for the purpose, and although, from its situation, it is not one of the most desi- rable, yet it has been found to afford the utmost convenience, in point of room, light, and air, it is certainly all that can be desired, and, until some more suitable site in a more central part of the town can be found, we shall probably look in vain for more desirable offices ; but since the accession to the Government in 1870 of our Telegraphic system, it has been found that the consequent increase in the business transacted at the office is so evident, that we question whether in a few years the present room will be found equal to the accumulation of work heaped upon this al- ready heavily-burdened department. The average weekly number of Telegrams passing through the office, we are informed by the Postmaster, is 878, which will give some idea of the demands upon the time of the officials connected with the Post Office, to which is added the transactions of the Savings' Bank, which annually average nearly £3,000, and the ordinary routine of the postal system. There are also Pillar Letter-boxes in GUILDFOED. 67 different parts of the town, the contents of which are collected at stated times during the clay, and few places of its size possess such facilities for correspondence, there being now three deliveries from the metropolis, and four mails despatched to London, while constant communication is maintained with the surrounding towns and villages. Water Wobks. — The first Water "Works were erected just above the town bridge, but this site proving unsuitable, William Yardley, gent., took a lease of a piece of ground belonging to the cor- poration (where the works now stand) for 900 years, from the 20th July, 1701, for the erection of works to supply the town with water. The Keservoir in conjunction with the Works, is on Pewley Hill, and the force with which the water is thrown in all parts of the town, may be judged from the " fall " it has after entering the mains. On the 6th of July, 1864, the Local Govern- ment Act was adopted by the Corporation, and the Water Works were purchased at a valuation made by arbitration, the amount of the award being £9100. It was resolved greatly to extend and improve the works, and for this purpose the Local Board obtained the sanction of the Secre- tary of State to a loan of £12,500. Of this sum, £10,000 was borrowed of the Clergy Mutual Assurance Society, and £2,500 representing the value of shares in the old works held by the Cor- poration, was transferred to the Local Board. Tenders for the repair, improvement, and exten- sion of the works, so as to meet the full require- ments of the town, were invited, and, after some 68 EAMBLES KOTJKD delays and hindrances, various contracts were ac- cepted, the whole of which were completed in the spring of 1867. A new Beservoir has been constructed near the Semaphore on Pewley Hill, capable of containing about 200,000 gallons, for the supply of the high service parts of the town only. This reservoir is a covered one, the roof being supported by forty brick columns, resting on stone bases. The side walls and bottom, which are built on the most approved principle for resisting external and in- ternal pressure, are also of brick, built in and ren- dered with Portland cement. This reservoir, with that at the foot of Pewley hill which is re- tained for the low service parts of the town, is capable of containing about 750,000 gallons, which provided there be no unreasonable waste, should be a six days' supply. The machinery for raising the water into the reservoir consists of a steam- engine and water-wheel, the steam power to be used as auxilary to the water-power, and working also in time of flood. The low service embraces the south-west part of the town, including the Drummond road, and Stoke fields, while on the north-east portion it takes in Quarry street, &c. About forty additional hydrants or fire-cocks have been placed at different points of the mains, so as to command any fire that may take place, thus doing away with the expense of working fire- engines on such occasions. During the year 1871, the Local Board had reason to believe that the well, from which the town was supplied with water, was not impervious to river penetration, and, acting in a prompt and GUILDFOED. 69 practical manner, the Board at once took the ne- cessary steps to give the town a water supply, which, in its character, should be unimpeachable. The obtaining of a suitable site for sinking: a new well was one of the great difficulties which the Board had to encounter. This, however, the steady purpose and persistent energy of the Board at last overcame, and in the month of July, an eligible site, at IMillmead, was obtained. The site was approved of by the consulting engineer to the Board, Mr. Macdougall Smith, by whom the plans for the new well were prepared. The contract was entrusted to Mr. Hodes, of Wor- thing, who completed his work, one of an exceed- ing arduous character, in the following Janu- ary of the year 1872. The well is of the depth of 35 feet. It is cased with seven cast-iron cy- linders, which measure 8 feet in diameter, and are of the thickness of one inch and a quarter. The cylinders, which unitedly weigh upwards of 30 tons, are each made in four segments, which are bolted together, and jointed with iron cement. The outside, to the depth of 17 feet, is puddled with clay. The cylinders go through the upper sand, and rest upon the solid chalk rock, from which the water supply is obtained. The well is capable of supplying a town four times the size of Guildford, as 100,000 gallons per hour can be pumped from it with ease. The connection with the pumping machinery, in Mill Lane, is made by eight-inch suction pipes, which are sunk in the bed of the river at a depth of 11 feet 6 inches. Immediately the works were sufficiently ad- vanced to admit of a fair test of the water bein^ 70 EAMBLES BOTOD made, a quantity was drawn and submitted to Dr. Medlock and Professor Wanklyn, both of whom, after a very careful analysis, pronounced the water pure and wholesome, and recommended its immediate adoption for the general supply of the town, and it is a very gratifying fact, and speaks well for the energy of the town, that after several years combating with obstacles, and labouring under the disadvantages of conflicting opinions and incompetent advice, Guildford should at length possess a supply of water equal, if not superior, both in quality and quantity, to that of any city or town in the kingdom, and as the questions of the local sanitary reforms become subjects forcing their claims year by year with increasing pertinacity upon corporate bodies generally, it will be one of the requirements which will have been finally settled. In his report Dr. Medlock says " The water in the new well was singularly bright, and had, in bulk, that peculiar bluish tint which is characteristic of pure water free from suspended organic particles. A microscopic examination of the trifling deposit, which had formed in several bottles after stand- ing some days, was made most carefully, and no vegetable cells were detected," and Professor Wanklyn is even more conclusive in his recom- mendation, inasmuch as he states, after giving the chemical result of his analysis, that "the Guildford water is, therefore, most unusually devoid of organic impurity, and in this respect, one of the best waters I have ever met with" New Fiee-Engine House. — This building, which was completed in January, 1872, was erec- GUILDFORD. 71 ted by the town at a cost of between £500 and £600 for the proper accommodation of the Fire Escape and the County and Borough Engines, which formerly used to be lodged in the Town Hall, but in justice to the energy of the Brigade, and the value of its services it was felt that better accommodation should be placed at their disposal, and the new building, which stands at the east end of North Street, and is solid and substantially built of red brick faced with stone and surmoun- ted by a bell turret, serves the purpose admirably. Cattle, Corn, Eoot and Poultry Show. — This is a county association, having an annual show and dinner in December. It is supported by the principal agriculturists of West Surrey. Horticultural Society. — Flower and Fruit exhibitions are held in summer and autumn, when choice specimens from the nurseries in the neigh- bourhood, and from private conservatories of gen- tlemen, form a considerable attraction. Abbot's School. — In the rear of Abbot's Hospital, approached from North street, a spa- cious building was erected in 1856, containing, in addition to convenient school and class rooms, superior accommodation for the master. With this the Blue-coat school is combined (as described in the chapter devoted to Charities), and under the management of local trustees, provides a su- perior free English education for thirty boys, whose parents reside in the town, and at fixed low charges, for as many more as can be received. National Schools. — Founded in 1814, for affording a sound education to the children of the poor for a penny per week. Supported by 72 BAMBLES BOUND annual subscriptions and donations, sermons being preached annually in their behalf. Stoke Paeochial Schools, Stoke road, founded in 1856, for the purpose of educating the children of the poor belonging to the parish at a small weekly payment, and is also assisted by subscriptions and donations. St. Nicholas Paeochial Schools. — A plain red brick building lying back from the Ports- mouth road on the right hand, is an eminently suc- cessful institution, and the large attendance of children shows in what estimation it is held by the parishioners whilst the Eector — himself a scholar of no mean degree, and never backward in encouraging anything which tends to educate and improve — takes a warm interest in these schools ; they are . supported by voluntary sub- scriptions and donations. St. Cathebine's Infant School, on the Portsmouth road, is a pretty gothic building, erected in 1860, as an Infant school for St. Nicholas parish, and in memory of the late Dr. Hatchard's father, whose virtues are recorded upon a mural tablet inside. The room is also used for lectures and meetings of various kinds. There is a teacher's house adjoining, and a neat drinking fountain in front. The whole building was erected by subscription. Beitish School fob Giels. — This building stands on a commanding situation at the summit of South hill. It was erected in 1814, but what- ever might have been its design, we have little to guide us now, for successive additions have so altered its appearance that but little of its origin- GUILDFORD. 73 ality is left, but be that as it may, the school possesses all that schools should have, good class- rooms, plenty of light and air, and in its imme- diate vicinity some of the most picturesque views are to be found. The system of education pur- sued is of the most practical and useful kind, and one eminently calculated to bear good fruit in after years. The school is supported mainly by voluntary contributions, whilst the Committee of Council on Education afford some aid, and the scholars pay one penny or twopence per week as their means allow. Wesleyan Day Schools. — These schools, which are an adjunct to the Sunday Schools, have only recently been opened, and the experiment has answered in a most satisfactory manner, the daily attendance averaging 90, the number on the books being 130 ; the additional accommodation required for the establishment of a day school was met by lowering the floor of the old school- room underneath the chapel some four feet, care- fully avoiding the foundations, the projections from which are cleverly made to serve the purpose of desks round the sides, whilst light is admitted through large windows both at the ends and sides. and perfect ventilation is secured by gratings round the skirting and side walls. The designs were furnished by W. W. Pocock, Esq. of Merrow, near Guildford, reflecting the highest credit for ingenuity, and were finished at about the begin- ning of the year 1871. Gratuitous Evening Schools for boys, held in adjoining rooms in North street, adapted for that purpose, are purely un sectarian, affording a 74 EAMBLES BOUND useful education to youths who are not able to attend a day school. These schools are supported by subscriptions and donations. To almost all of the various congregations having places of worship in the town is attached a Sunday School, and on the Sabbath-day it is a pleasant sight to see the little ones wending their ways in various directions towards their Sunday Schools, and the peace and quiet which reigns in Guildford on a Sunday is in no small degree at- tributable to the influence of these institutions, and too much praise cannot be awarded to those who, week after week, and year by year, are con- tent to labour for so good a cause, and in fact the town may be congratulated, in these days when the subject of education forms one of the foremost topics of the day, on possessing ample educational means both religious and secular. The British and Foreign Bible Society, the Societies for the Propagation of the Gospel, for promoting Christian Knowledge, for the Propa- gation of the Gospel among the Jews, the London Missionary, the Church Pastoral Aid Societies, and the Church Missionary Association, have established Auxiliaries here The names of the officiating Ministers at the respective places of worship, and of the Secreta- ries or Managers of the various Institutions, are recorded in Andrews' Almanac and Directory. .Railways. — A Branch of the London and South- Western line from Woking, was opened for traffic May 5th, 1845, and has since been exten- ded to Godalming, and in another direction passes Tongham, near Aldershot Camp, to Farnham, Alton, Winchester, and Southampton, with sta- GUTLDFOBD. 75 tions at Medstead, Ropley, Alresford and Itchen Abbas, while a more direct communication with the Camp has been established by the opening of a new line from Woking to Farnham, via Brookwood, Ash Vale, and Alder shot town. The Direct Portsmouth Line branches off near Godalming, and runs through very beautiful scenery to Havant, where it joins the Brighton and Portsmouth line. The South-E astern Com- pany have constructed a line from Red-hill to Eeading, passing Box-hill, Dorking and Guildford, using the South- Western rails from St. Cathe- rine's to Ash. The Horsham and Guildford line was opened for traffic on the 2nd October, 1865. It belongs to the London, Brighton, and South- Coast Railway Company, and the efforts made by them to afford every facility to visitors to the South Coast, the uniform low rate of fares, and the civility and attention with which travellers are treated on this line, go far to secure it an amount of patronage it so worthily deserves, and which rather puts to the blush many of its com- petitors for the public favour. There are trains running daily by which travellers can reach the sea- side within a few hours, and at such an incon- siderable fare, that numbers from the neighbour- hood constantly avail themselves of the oppor- tunity so considerately afforded them, and Guildford thus can boast of ample commu- nication with Brighton, about 41 miles distant, Littlehampton, 39 miles ; Worthing, 39 miles ; Shoreham, 35 miles. The branch joins the Mid- Sussex section of the Brighton and South- Coast line at Horsham, about 19 miles distant from Guildford. Thus from the central position of 76 EAMBLES BOUND our town, London may be reached via Waterloo Station in less than an hour, and the Crystal Palace or London Bridge in a little more, while Portsmouth, Southampton, the Isle of Wight, and the south-west of England generally, the nu- merous important towns on the Great-Western, and the favourite watering places on the South- Eastern, and South-Coast Railways, are visited with the utmost ease. Carrying out the idea of our visitor coming from a distance, say from town, and having to return by rail, though not until we have had sufficient of his agreeable company to send him home thoroughly charmed with the beauties of the neighbourhood, we could nowhere find such a delightful return journey, as the scenery through which the South Eastern Eailway winds its way via Dorking, Boxhill, Eeigate, and Croydon, to London, and given a fine summer, or even autumn, evening, and we can vouch for it our visitor will heave many a sigh of regret at leaving a land- scape so rich with all that is beautiful, and so varied and extensive, fast fading away into the distance as he nears the smokier atmosphere of the vast metropolis. CHAEITIES. iHE Charities in this place are so nume- rous that we have judged it our duty to treat them somewhat at length, and under a separate head. Having already described the most modern, the Eoyal Surrey County Hospital, we shall begin with The Eoyal FeeeGeammaeSchool. — Eobert GUILDFORD. 77 Beckingham, Citizen, Grocer of London, laid the first foundation stone for a Free School in Guild- ford, by giving a house and garden adjoining the Castle-ditch during his life time, and at his death the White Hart public house at Bromley, in Kent, and certain lands at Newington, a rent charge from which is still paid with several other rent charges. The proceeds of these estates were augmented by the corporation, and in 1520 they erected a School-house for the use of this Charity, in the Castle-ditch. The School continued without an increase of benefactions for fifty years. In 1550, two tenements in Guildford were given by Henry Polsted, Esq., of Albury. In 1553, Edward the Sixth, by letters patent, on the petition of the Mayor, Approved-men of Guildford, and others, gave a yearly rent charge of £6 13s. 4d. ensuing from lands at Great Bookham, and £13 Gs. bd. from lands of the Archbishop of York, in Battersea and Wands- worth, for the support of a Free Grammar School, with master and usher. In 1555, the Mayor and Corporation purchased the present site of the School, and in 1557, the the present School room was erected. In 1569, a house for the Schoolmaster was erected, and in 1571, another for the usher. In 1574, John Parkhurst, Bishop of Norwich, who was educated here, besides his contribution to the building expenses, bequeathed to the lib- rary all his books on Divinity, the English ones excepted. A great number of other contributors 78 EAHBLES BOUND of books, or money to be expended in the pur- chase of books, have succeeded the worthy Bishop, and an excellent library has been formed by their liberality. The revenues of the School, although they have been since augumented by other benefactors, according to the report of the Parliamentary Commissioners in 1821, amounted only to £84 6s. 8d., of this the master received £62 13s. 4d., and the remainder was spent in insurance, taxes, repairs, &c. The Head Master is chosen by the Municipal Charity Trustees. Although the Statutes require the admittance of one hundred boys as free scholars, if so many should apply, the number has been gradually reduced, and at present there are only ten boys on the foundation. The foundation boys are chosen from the inhabitants of the Borough, by the Charity Trustees. Abbot's Hospital. — This hospital was foun- ded by George Abbot, Archbishop of Canterbury, in the reigns of James I. and Charles I. On the 6th of April, 1619, the Archbishop laid the first stone, and afterwards settled on the hospital lands to the value of £300 per annum, £100 of which was to be employed for setting the poor to work, and the other £200 for the maintenance of a master, twelve poor brethren, and eight poor sisters, who were to wear blue coats and gowns, and each have an allowance of two shillings and sixpence per week , be unmarried, above sixty years of age, and natives of Guildford, or resident for twenty years. When the hospital was finished, King James GUILDFORD. 79 I. in 1662, incorporated the members by the style of " the Master and Brethren of the Hospital of the Blessed Trinity, Guildford," with the full powers, privileges, and immunities of a body cor- porate ; and he empowered the founder, and suc- ceeding Archbishops of Canterbury, to make statutes from time to time for the good govern- ment of the same. Additional Benefactions. — Mr. Thomas Jack- man, one of the magistrates of this town, in 1785, gave £600 by deed, with which Old South-Sea Annuities were purchased, producing £26 4s. 4d. per annum ; to the above donation enough was added from the common stock to effect the pur- chase of thirty pounds a year, in the whole. Mrs. Jane More Molyneux, who died in 1802, left by her will £2,000, 3 per cent, consolidated bank annuities, to her executors, upon trust to transfer the same to the Mayor and Approved- men, if they could and would accept of the same, and if not, to the rectors of the united parishes of the Holy Trinity and Saint Mary, and of Saint Nicholas, upon trust to divide the dividends half- yearly, between the inmates of Archbishop Ab- bot's Hospital, after paying necessary expenses. In 1861, a new scheme for the government of this hospital was promulgated by the Charity Commissioners, and received the royal assent. By this scheme it was enacted that the existing incorporation should be dissolved, and that the charity should be under the management of thir- teen governors, of whom nine are official, and four non-official. The former are the rectors of the parishes of Holy Trinity and St. Mary, St, 80 EAMBLES HOUND Nicholas, and Stoke-next- Guildford, the master of the Grammar school, the mayor, the two senior aldermen, and the two senior town councillors ; and the non-official governors are to be " fit and proper persons, resident in the town of Guildford, or within the distance of seven miles there-from, to be appointed, in the first instance, by the Board of Charity Commissioners, with the concurrence of the Archbishop of Canterbury," and after, wards, when vacancies occur, by the remaining governors, subject to the approval of his Grace, and the said Commissioners. All the real and personal estate, and rights and privileges heretofore appertaining to the old in- corporation, are now vested in the new governors. The sum of £2,909 17s. part of the sum of £3,904 15s. 6d: new 3 per cent, annuities, and all other sums of stock are transferred to the official trustees of charitable funds in trust for the said hospital, while the sum of £994 18s. 6d. the remaining part of the £3,904 15s. 6d. is also transferred to the aforesaid trustees, in trust for Abbot's School. The governors are to make suitable regulations for the management of all matters connected with the administration of the charity, and may, from time to time, vary such regulations, always sub- ject to the approval of the Charity Commissioners. The establishment is to consist, in future of twenty brethren and sisters, in the proportion in general, of twelve brethren to eight sisters, but the governors can relax this rule under special circumstances. , It is provided that if there be not duly qualified GUILDFORD. 81 candidates from the ancient borough, candidates from the municipal borough shall be eligible. No person can be appointed who is a drunkard or lunatic, or has any infectious or contagious dis- ease, or has received relief from any poor rate within three preceding years ; and those are to be preferred who shall have borne office or en- gaged in trade in the borough. The master is to be appointed by the gover- nor, and receive an annual salary of £70, with £5 for coals. The other inmates are also appoin- ted by the governors, and their stipends are regu- lated by the resources of the charit} 7 , provided that they do not exceed 8s. per week ; and the governors may diminish the ordinary number of inmates so that each may receive at least 5s. Coals and other necessaries can be allowed when the funds admit. The vice-master (appointed by the governors) is to receive £4 per annum, in addition to his stipend as a brother. Since the first of January, 1867, the inmates have received 8s. per week besides their allowance of coals, — the maximum amount contemplated by the Charity Commissioners' Scheme. The Potle Charity. — We have stated in the 18th page that the Poyle Estate came by purchase into the hands of Henry Smith, and was left by him to Eobert, Earl of Essex, and others in trust, that the proceeds of the same should be received by the Mayor and Approved- men, for the use of the poor of Guildford. Mr. Smith was born at Wandsworth, about the year 1548, and is supposed to have been by trade a Jeweller ; he is known to have resided a 82 RAMBLES ROUND in Silver street, Cheapside, which street was burnt at the great fire of London, about Iforty years after his death. In 1608, he was elected Alderman of the ward of Farringdon without, and in the corporation books he is described as citizen and Salter ; further information might have been obtained from the Company of Salter's Books, but these were burnt in 1666, How Mr. Smith became possessed of his great property does not appear : but as no account of his family has been obtained further than the mention of it in his will, where he describes his sister's children (the only relations he mentions) as being poor, it is highly probable it was all ac- cumulated in trade. After the death of his wife, by whom he had no issue, he resolved to dispose of his wealth in charites ; and during his lifetime he gave to the towns of Croydon, Kingston-upon-Thames, Guild- ford, Farnham, Godalming, and Dorking, £1000 each. In furtherance of his design, in the year 1620, he vested his personal estates in trustees, reserving to himself £500 a year for life, and a power of appointing the rents and profits to chari- table uses. By another deed he declared that the rents &c, should be applied by his trustees, or any seven or more of them, their heirs or assignees, to such charitable uses as they, his trustees, or their heirs, &c, snould appoint. This disposal of his property was confirmed by a decree of the Court of Chancery, 1625. By this decree, Mr. Smith was to have the use of his house in Silver street, and to receive the proceeds GUILDFOED. 83 of his estates for his life, and to dispose of them as he should think proper, and after his death to such charitable uses as he should appoint by his will ; or, in default of his appointing, as his trustees should appoint. In 1626 he directed his income to be applied to the relief of aged poor or infirm people, mar- ried persons having more children than their labour could maintain, poor orphans, such poor as kept themselves and their families by labour, &c, and not to vagrants, or such as should have no constant dwelling, immoral or idle persons, or persons who had not inhabited their respective parishes five years before the distribution. The churchwardens and overseers were to dispose of his bequests, and to meet once a month on the Sabbath-day after evening service, to consider who of the poor had most need of relief, and to make up a book of receipts and payments between Easter and Whitsuntide, to be read in church the Sunda} r following, which book was to be signed by the church wardens and overseers, and to re- main on the Avail of the church fourteen days. In 1627 he made his will, and amongst other things gave £1,000 to be laid out in land for the relief and ransom of poor men, being slaves under Turkish pirates ; £1,000 to be laid out in lands amongst the poorest of his kindred ; £500 to the poor of Wandsworth ; £1,000 to the poor of Eeigate ; and £10,000 to buy impropriations for the relief and maintenance of godly preachers, and the better furtherance of religion ; £1000 to Richmond ; and £100 to be lent to poor persons in sums of £20 at a time. 84 EAMBLES BOUND He died in 1627-8, and was buried in Wands- worth church where there is a monument to his memory. After the death of this excellent man, his trus- tees purchased several estates, which were ap- propriated, to the relief of captives, and of his poor relations. The great tithes at Alfriston in Sussex, and part of those at Mayfie'ld, were bought and applied, as they continue to be, to the relief of poor clergymen not having an income of £100 a year. Other estates were also purchased, and to- gether with those which belonged to Mr. Smith at the time of his death, were allotted by his trustees in 1641, amongst a great number of parishes in different counties, but chiefly in Surrey, where three small parishes only were omitted. The trust has since been renewed at different times, under the direction of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Lord Chancellor. An account is subjoined of the sums originally allotted to the parishes, (to be described in the course of our Rambles), but in most cases, if not in all, considerable improvements have taken place. From a farai-house and land at Eastbroke or Southwick in Sussex, Pirford parish £3. From several messuages, farms, and lands at Warbleton in Sussex, £ s. d. £ b. d. ALbury 6 Puttenham ... 2 Ash 6 Send and Eipley 8 Bramley 6 Snalford 6 GUILDFOED. 85 £ s. d. £ 8. d. East Clandon .. 3 Stoke-next-Guild- WestClandon ..500 ford 12 Compton 2 Woking 10 Merrow 3 Worplesdon ..400 Pirbright 2 Wonersh 8 From cottages, farm, lands, &c, at Worth and Balcomb in Sussex, Shere -., £10. It is obvious that the annual allotments to th© several parishes depend on the nett proceeds of the estates, varying almost every year. With the sum of £1,000 given by Mr. Smith to the town of Guildford, the Poyle Estate was purchased, and the rents, &c , were to be disposed of agreeably to certain constitutions, rules, and orders made by him in his lifetime. These, we understand, are not now to be found amongst the corporation papers, and are supposed to have been lost many years since. In the beginning of Queen Anne's reign, Mr. Wight, being the only surviving trustee, conveyed the estate in trust to others, and the Mayor and Approved-men alleging that this conveyance was made without their consent, filed an information to set it aside ; but the Lord Keeper, in 1708, confirmed the trustees, so appointed, and declared that they, the trustees, had the sole power of letting leases, and that the consent of the Mayor and Approved-men was not necessary, but that they should be privy to the making of all leases, and might propose tenants; that the trustees 86 EAMELES EOUND should receive the rents, and pay them to the Mayor and Approved-men, to be by them distri- buted equally amongst the poor of the town, that the latter should give an annual account of their distributions to the former, and that when the number of trustees should be reduced to four, they should convey the estate to themselves and six more, or being reduced to two, to themselves and eight more. A large Corn Water Mill with the most im- proved machinery, situate on the old river in Mill Mead, capable of grinding 100 loads of corn per week. Near the above an iron foundry and yard. Two cottages adjoining the mill. A garden walled in, 80 feet by 63 feet. The present trustees of the funds are The Eight Honorable Lord Grantley, The Eight Honorable G. C. Norton, The Eight Honorable Sir W. Bovill, Thomas Brinsley Norton, Esq., Arthur E. Onslow, Esq., Guildford M. E. Onslow, Esq., The Eight Honorable Francis Scott, and The Eev. Henry Shrubb. The Hospital of Saint Thomas (upon the site of which stands a private residence called the Spital House, occupying an angle formed by the roads leading to Kingston and to Epsom) had a prior or master, but by whom it was founded is not known, it is supposed to have been originally an Hospital for lepers. It was in later times ap- propriated to the reception of cripples, who were alternately recommended by the town and county. The last sent under that nomination was in 1698. The persons occupying this house at one time received a stipend of £14 per annum ; but GUILDFORD. 87 this was afterwards suspended by an order of session, the house and garden, &c, with the pro- ceeds of other property appertaining thereto, being deemed equivalent to that sum. In a subsequent decision it has been determined that the house which now stands upon the ancient site, is the exclusive property of the trustees of Poyle manor, and they have let it, together with the adjoining property, and appropriated the pro- ceeds to the use of the charity. The courts of the manor of Poyle are held at this residence, as the manor house. Blue Coat School. — Mr. Thomas Baker, a clothier of Guildford, was the founder of this charity. About the year 1579, he built a market house for rye, malt, and oats, in Trinity parish, and covenanted to keep it in repair, provided his wife should enjoy the profits thereof during her life ; they were afterwards to be employed to maintain a schoolmaster to teach poor children, not exceeding thirty in number, English, writing and accounts, till they should be fit to be put out apprentices, or be sent to the Grammar School, at £10 per annum. But the market house being pulled down when the new church was built, the charity was dropped for some years. Afterwards the money saved out of rents, and arising from the sale of materials, was employed to purchase Bank Stock amounting to £12 Is. 6d. per annum, and also consolidated Bank Annuities yielding £12 per annum ; voluntary subscriptions were also made, but failed in course of years, and the gene- ral expenses having exceeded the income, the School was suspended by consent of the Trus- 88 RAMBLES ROUND tees, under an order of the Court of Chancery, and amalgamated in "Abbot's School," the Trus- tees having the nomination of thirty boys, free of all charges. fSee the "Act of New Scheme of Abbot's Hospital.") Maid's Monet. — A singular charity was foun- ded in 1674, by Mr. John Howe, who gave £400 to be laid out in lands, and directed that the yearly produce should be given to one of two poor servant maids, (to be nominated by the Mayor and Magistrates) who, bearing a good character, and after living two years in the same service, were to cast lots to become entitled to it. By an order of the Court of Chancery, dated 1729, this money was directed to be invested in the purchase of £400 Old South Sea Annuities, and the produce, £12 per annum, was directed to be applied to the purpose aforesaid. This sum is annually thrown for with dice, in the Council-chamber, by persons claiming the charity under the will of the donor. Apprentices' Monet. — Mr. John Parsons, a native of this place, in 1702, left by his will £600, the annual produce whereof he directed to be paid by the Mayor and Magistrates to a poor young man who should have served an appren- ticeship of seven years within the limits of the town, and become a freeman of the same, to enable him to* set up in trade here ; but he must appear by his oath not to be worth £20 ; nor can he receive this donation more than once in his life time. If no qualified person should appear in any year, the produce is to be paid to some young women of good report, who shall have lived GUILDFORD. 89 three years in a private family and in the same service. Should the Mayor and Magistrates neg- lect the distribution of this charity, or refuse to act, or apply it in any shape contrary to the direc- tions of the testator, it is to become forfeited to the city and corporation of Chichester, to be ap- plied in a similar manner by them. Mrs. Austen's Charity. — Joan Austen, widow of John Austen, Esq., of Shalford, in 1582, gave to the poor of the town 13s. 4d. annually, which she charged upon a house in the parish of Saint Mary. Baldwin's Charity. — Henry Baldwin in 1G53 gave to the poor of Guildford an annuity of 6s. 8d., charged on another house in the same parish. Austen's Charity. — John Austen, Esq., in 1611-12 left an annuity of £8 charged on his moiety of Shalford .Rectory, to be divided amongst such of the poor within the liberties of Guildford, as the Mayor and Approved-men should appoint, so that no one should receive more than 13s. 4d., or less than 3s. 4d., annually. Out of this bequest £1 12s., for land-tax is de- ducted, and of the residue £6 8s., £2 has from the commencement of the present century been divided amongst ten poor widows of Trinity parish, £3 4s., amongst sixteen poor widows of Saint Mary's parish, and the remaining £1 4s. amongst six poor widows of Saint Nicholas parish. Duncomb's Charity. — Olive Duncomb by will, 1705, bequeathed £300 to be distributed amongst, or be laid out for the present or future 90 RAMBLES ROUND use of, such of the poor of Trinity parish, as her executors should think fit. Through a deficiency of assets, the whole of this legacy was not paid, aud in compliance with a Chancery order, what had been received was laid out in Old South Sea Annuities, amounting to £490 5s. 5d., the yearly produce of which, £14 14s. 2d. is employed in putting out poor children apprentices. Howe's Charity. — John Howe, by his will, 1674, gave a house, &c, in Saint Mary's parish, directing that the profits should be for ever em- ployed to the use of the poor thereof : and de- clared his intent to be, that two poor men and their wives, inhabitants of the parish, and ap- pointed by the churchwardens and overseers, with the approbation of the executors of his will, might occupy the same during their lives. Mr. Howe likewise charged a field in Shalford, near the Turnpike gate, with 15s. yearly to the Mayor, and 5s. to the Town-clerk of Guildford ; the field now belongs to the Austen family. Lovejoy's Charity. — Caleb Lovejoy, of the parish of Saint Nicholas, and of Merchant Tailors' Company, by will, 1676, gave thirteen messuages and a workshop in the parish of Sainb Olive, Southwark, and directed that the rents and profits of the same should be applied to the following religious and educational purposes, relating to the Church and poor inhabitants of Saint Nicholas. — For a sermon to be preached annually on the day of his death, £1. If the minister of Saint Nicholas, Guildford, GUILDFOED. 91 shall preach this sermon, the whole of the 20s. to be paid to him ; but if he shall not preach it, and the trustees of the charity shall procure some other minister to preach the same, the said 20s. to be equally divided between the preacher and the minister of Saint Nicholas. For a collation after the sermon, for the min- ister, trustees, and churchwardens, and a regis- trar who is to teach boys to write, £1. The registrar, before the company parts, to enter the receipts, disbursements, and remains, in a waste book. To two auditors of accounts once in every second year, 20s. — per annum 10s. If the auditors come from London, 40s. to be spent at the collation. Every second year the registrar with his own hand to enter into a fair book what was formerly entered into a waste book. The registrar to receive every second year 10s. — per annum 5s. For ringing the bells annually, 2s. 6d. To one parish clerk annually, 2s. 6d. For teaching poor people's children their letters until they can read their Testament, £6 per annum. To be done by some honest poor women. One to teach some in the street of Saint Nicholas, others at Saint Catherine's Hill, Lit- tleton, or where the trustees shall think most convenient. Three poor boys in the parish of Saint Nicholas, after they have been some time at the Gram- mar School, and have attained 10, 11, or 12, years, shall be chosen out of the parish by the trustees, 92 EAMBLES BOUND and by the exactest writing master living in or near Guildford, taught to write two or three fair hands, with arithmetic, to such a degree as that they may be able to keep merchant's accounts. The writing master to have four nobles a year for teaching each boy — per annum £4. The boys to continue writing two years, or two years and a half ; none exceeding three years ; and then such as shall be put to serve appren- ticeships, shall, after they be bound, have every one £5. And then the trustees and churchwardens to choose more boys born in the parish aforesaid, to be put in their rooms successively for ever. This settlement was to continue for forty-live years, from Midsummer, 1677 ; and afterwards for two or three years, until out of the rents such money should be raised in bank as would build four convenient little houses, each containing two rooms, one over the other, for aged poor who were either born, or have lived in the parish at least fifty years, meaning only in the town liberty. Each of these poor people to be paid £5 per annum. — In all, per annum £20. Each of them to have 20s. per annum to pur- chase fuel. In all, per annum £4. Each of them to have a blue home-made cloth gown, with a badge of red cloth set in the breast of each gown, cut in the letters C. L. Each gown, with stockings, shoes, or other ne- cessaries, to cost 20s., and to last two years. — In all, per annum £2. Each of them to have 20s. expended every GUILDFORD. 93 econd year for linen, shoes, stockings and other lecessaries. — In all, per annum, £2. Great care to be taken that the persons who hall be placed in the said houses shall be per- ons of good report, fearing God, not swearers, Lrunkards, not disturbers of their neighbours' >eace ; but of a godly conversation. But if the rustees and churchwardens who shall have power o place them in the said houses, should be mis- aken, and. the persons therein placed should be ound troublesome, scandalous, and disorderly in heir lives, if they should not amend at the first dmonition, their money due the next quarter to >e withheld. And if they do not reform the next [uarter after that, they are to be expelled, and ome better deserving persons to be put in their oom. And for further encouragement of poor people's roung children who are to be taught by the poor vomen, to whom he had appointed £6 per annum, le appointed £3 more to be added, that books nay be bought for them who are to learn, and rhat new books may be given to them who have earned. That on said improvement happening, together vith the three boys chosen out of the parish of Saint Nicholas, two more should be chosen by ;he town of Guildford, one out of the parish of Boly Trinity, the other out of the parish of Saint Mary. All five to be taught writing and irithmetic. And he then ordered and appointed ihat the master should have for his pains, for ^ach boy 30s. each year. — In all, per annum £7 10s. 94 RAMBLES ROTOD And when any boy should be fit to be put out apprentice he should have 40s. bestowed in get- ting clothes for him, and £5 to give his master when bound. And when the rents should be improved, there should be spent at dinner, alter the sermon, with the minister, and whom else the trustees should think fit, £4. And that every year, if two or three auditors from London should come to the sermon, each should have for charges, 20s. And that there should be given to such of the poor of the parish who should come to hear the sermon, £1. The income of the estate not being equal to all the charges laid upon it, many of the above directions are not complied with ; though some time since 3 per cent, consols, in addition to the amount of £6 15s. per annum, were purchased by the trustees. Bembeick's Charity. — George Bembrick, by will, 1682, gave certain lands, about nine acres, in Shalford, and also an annuity of £10, proceed- ing from about eight acres of meadow and other land near Alton, directing that the produce should be equally distributed amongst eight poor persons, freemen of the town, or the poor widows of such, inhabitants of St. Nicholas parish within the bonds of the corporation, and being all per- sons of reputable character, protestants, not worth £100 in the judgment of the trustees, and re- ceiving nothing from the poor's rate. Out of this bequest are deducted £2 for land-tax, on the annuity, £2 12s. on the lands in Shalford, Is. 6&. GUILDFORD. 95 quit-rent, and £1 for a dinner and clerk, besides occasional expenses in repairing fences, &c., and 10s. towards the repair of the water duct under the river. Child's Charity. — John Child of Guildford, under his will, bearing date January 5th, 1699, bequeathed £100 for the use of the poor in the parish of Holy Trinity, Guildford, the interest thereof fco be distributed annually at Christmas. Leonard Child, son of the above-named John Child, under. his will, bearing date November 9th, 1728, in discharge of his father's legacies, and as a security for the same, charged his house and premises in the aforesaid parish of the Holy Trinity with the payment of £5 per annum, for eve>*, to be distributed to the poor of the same parish, iu the manner directed by his late father. About bbe yeai' 1730, the house and premises were sold, subject to the sai^ annuity, by Charles Child, nephew of the aloresaid Leonard Child, to John j\J a.fcyr, by whom and his son, the late John Martyr, the distribution of the charity was con- tinued. In the year 1813, the property became vested in the liev. E. J. Ward, who has continued to dispose of thp charity, vi '.. £5 per annum, in accordance with the direction of the donor, at Christmas. Other Benefactions. — An annual sum of 16s. 6d., but from whom and of what date is not certain, is carried to the poor's rate of Trinity parish ; and a similar sum of the same amount is carried to the poor's rate of Saint Mary's, as also the yearly sum of 2.-. 6d., the donor of which is not known. 96 EAMBLES KOTJND Mr T. Russell, in a History of Guildford, pub- lished upwards of sixty years since, says u Jasper Yardly, Gent., a second master of Trinity Hospi- tal, gave to the three parishes in Guildford, 20 nobles apiece, for the apparelling and placing poor children.*' And in a succeeding part of his work, he says, " That 20s, are annually paid out of the Star public-house to purchase Bibles for poor children of Trinity parish." In February and March, 1857, courts of in- quiry were held in the town hall, by Mr. Martin , one of the Charity Commissioners appointed by the crown, to obtain information respecting the Charities existing in the town, their objects, and if any improvements could be made as to their incomes and appropriations. No special comment of importance was made concerning them, except that the Commissioner " expressed his determination of searching the documents relative to the Grammar School, to see if he could not get back some of the properties which had been lost or partially lost, and remarked that he never knew a charity where the properties had been, he would not say plundered, but so mismanaged, as those belonging to the Grammar School had ; in his opinion it ought now to be worth £2,000 a year. GUILDFORD. 97 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF PERSONS OF NOTE EDUCATED AT THE FREE SCHOOL. iE almost hesitate as to the propriety of commencing this brief sketch with the name of Mr. John Park- hurst, when we find an author of undoubted veracity asserting that he was educa- ted in Grammar learning at a school in Oxford, especially as the time of his boyhood was that of the infancy of the Guildford Institution, and be- fore it became a royal foundation. But as writers of equal respectability on the other hand enrol him in the list of eminent persons educated here, we should not perhaps avoid censure were we to omit his name altogether. This gentleman, who was born in 1511-12, was certainly a native of Guildford, and after he had received the necessary preparatory instructions, was sent to Merton College, Oxford, where he became tutor to Bishop Jewel. In 1548, the Rectory of Cleeve in Gloucester- shire was given to him ; but on the death of King Edward YI. he retired to Zurich, where he resided during the troublesome reign of Queen Mary ; and upon Elizabeth's accession returned to his native country. In 1563, he was consecrated Bishop of .Norwich, in which situation he con- tinued till his death, which happened in 1574, in the 63rd year of his age. I y« E1MBLES E0UKD William Cotton, one of the family of the Cottons of Connington, was educated here, and afterwards admitted a member of Queen's College, Cambridge. He became successively Archdeacon of Lewes, Canon residentiary of Saint Paul's, and Bishop of Exeter, to which latter office he was appointed in' 1598. He died at Silverton in Devonshire, 1621, in his 80th year, and was buried in his own Cathedral. Henet Cotton, younger son of Sir Eichard Cotton, Knight, privy -councillor to Edward VI., was a native of Hampshire, and having received instruction at this school, was sent to Magdalen College, Oxon. He was afterwards a prebendary in the church of Winchester, and, in 1598, was made Bishop of Salisbury. He died in 1615, at about the age of 70, and was buried in his own church. Eobeet Abbot, son of Alice and Maurice Abbot, a cloth worker of Guildford, was born in 1560, After leaving the Free School, he was sent to Baliol College, Oxford, where, about 1683, he became celebrated for his preaching. Upon delivering a sermon at Worcester, he was made Lecturer, and soon after Eector of All Saints there ; and the effect of a sermon preached by him at St. Paul's Cross was to obtain for him a rich benefice in Nottinghamshire, which was pre- sented to him by one of his hearers. In the be- ginning of the reign of James I., he was made chaplain in ordinary to that prince ; but before this he had rendered himself famous by his theo- logical writings ; for his Majesty was graciously pleased to order that his own Commentary upon GTTILDEORD. 99 part of the Apocalypse should be printed with the second edition of Dr. Abbot's book,de Antichristo. In 1690, he was appointed to the mastership of JBaliol College, and acquitted himself in that capacity with acknowledged credit, introducing a reformed system of government, where riot and dissipation had at length rendered prompt and careful measures necessary to be adopted. The following year he was elected Regius Professor of Divinity in that University, and so distinguished himself in his lectures on the supremacy of Kings, that, on the death of Bishop Cotfcon, he was elevated to the See of Salisbury, and conse- crated by his younger brother, then Archbishop of Canterbury. This event took place at Lambeth in 1615. But he was not permitted to remain long in the exercise and enjoyment of his pastoral charge ; for his sedentary habits brought on a complaint, which terminated his existence two years after, in his 58th year. When he became sensible of the near approach of " the last enemy," he summoned together all those of his household, and in their presence signed all his works with these words, "That faith which I have defended in my writings is the truth of God, and in avouching thereof I leave the world." He died with a firm confidence in chris- tian prayer, and by his conduct in the sharpest hours of trial, left room for no one to doubt his sincerity. He was one of the five Bishops who succeeded each other in the government of the diocese of Salisbury in the course of only six years. George Abbot, a younger brother of Eobert, LofC. 100 EAMBLES ROUND was born here in 1562. A popular storj of his mother's dreaming shortly prior to his birth, that if she could obtain a pike, her son would become a great man — of her catching a fish of that kind in a bucket as she dipped it in the river Wey, which flowed by their house,* to procure water — and of some persons of distinction becoming sponsors for her son in consequence is currently believed ; though it would be much easier to infer that the good character of his parents attracted the notice of their superiors, and that the genius of their son developing itself in childhood, some kind friend was induced to interest himself in his education. "Aubrey published first an account of this dream in 1696 ; he enquired very particularly into the truth of it, and it was attested by the minister and several inhabitants of Guildford."f Certain it is, however, that from some cause ope- rating in their favour, he and his brother Eobert was sent to the free school, and in 1578, George was removed to Baliol College, Oxford, at which place he was elected master of University College, in 1597. In 1599, he became Dean of Win- chester, and in 1600 Vice Chancellor of the Uni- versity, to which latter onice he was again ap- pointed in 1603 and 1605. He was afterwards Chaplain to the Earl of Dunbar, one of King James's early favourites, and went with him into Scotland to assist in an attempt at establishing a union between the Scotch and English Churches. Here he acquitted himself with so much satisfac- * Part of this house, until recently, stood in the yard of Messrs. Crooke's Brewery. t Onslow's Life of Abbot. GUILDFORD. 101 tion to the King, that Speed supposes his exer- tions on this occasion to have been the cause of his future preferments. While he was at Edin- burgh, Sprot, one of the persons concerned in Earl Gowrie's conspiracy, was tried and'executed ; and in order to settle the minds of the people with regard to that affair, an account of it was drawn up by Sir William Hart, the judge before whom Sprot was tried, and a narrative of much merit written by Dr. Abbot, was prefixed to the account. As the King had many difficulties to overcome with respect to the Scottish nation, it is probable that this publication, evincing as it did the abili- ties of the narrator, might induce his Majesty to fix upon Abbot as a person likely to render him - essential services. That something had operated to raise the doctor in the estimation of this monarch is evident from a letter which he wrote to the former, on the subject of the mediation of peace between Spain and the United Provinces, when he had solicited the advice of the convocation then sitting, as to the lawfulness of his espousing the cause of the States, and they, instead of satisfying his doubts, had contrived to excite his apprehensions. In 1609, Dr. Abbot was consecrated Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, and was promoted to the Bishopric of London, in 1610. The See of Canterbury becoming vacant the same year, the King, upon the recommendation of the Earl of Dunbar, preferred Abbot to the Arch- bishopric, in opposition to a wish expressed by the court prelates, that the Bishop of Ely should be appointed to the government of that See. 102 EAMBLES EOTJND In his new capacity this truly excellent man exhibited, from the first, an undaunted determi- nation to support the interests of Protestantism, and was in a great measure the means of promo- ting the union between the Elector Palatine and the Princess Elizabeth. He afterwards celebra- ted their nuptials in the royal chapel, and before the return of his Electoral Highness, received from him a present of plate to the value of a thousand pounds. When Hugh Grotius, the great champion of the Arminians, was sent over from Holland, to endeavour to set the King right as to the Armi- nian faith, the Archbishop appears to have had some apprehensions of the effect of that celebra- ted man's abilities upon the minds of the En- glish protestants ; for in a letter to Sir R. Win- wood, dated 1613, he advises that gentleman to take heed how he trusts Dr. Grotius too far, and quotes Steward's assertion that the doctor " had studied some two or three questions, whereof when he came in company, he must be talking to vindicate his skill ; but if he were put from those he would shew himself but a simple fellow." Now if this had really been the case, Grotius might surely have been trusted without much danger, where he had the established divinity of the country, and the popular prejudices of the people, to contend against ; but it is clear that the Arch- bishop, however light he might presume to hold the talents of his rival, was secretly alarmed at his influence ; and the attack upon Grotius' abi- lities can scarcely be justified, though prompted by fear that what he conceived to be the true GTJILDFOKD. 103 mode of faith should be contaminated by false principles. About the year 1613, the affair of the divorce between Lady Frances Howard and the Earl of Essex gave an opportunity to the Archbishop to evince his independence, and his determina- tion not to give judgment against his consci- ence. His Majesty was pleased to refer this case to a court of delegates, consisting of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of Lon- don, four other Bishops, and six Doctors of Law : but the Archbishop saw plainly that the King's aim was the divorce of the lady, and as he was neither to be blinded by wilfulness, deafened by prejudice, nor intimidated by threats,* he boldly refused to sit in the court of delegates upon this divorce, and instead of lending himself to a powerful party to do evil, published his reasons for dissenting from the sentence, with some severe reflections upon the infamous conduct of the lady. The divorce was however effected, under circumstances which confer an indelible stain upon the reign of the monarch in whose time they were tolerated, f Either from a sense of the value of the Arch- bishop's services, or from the gratification his *He was told "That a predecessor of his had suffered about a divorce (Dr. Julio's), and so might he." t These reasons were answered by his Majesty, and of course no farther debate could be permitted : but all accounts of the succeeding acts of the beautiful Countess, who did not even stop at murder where her pride was offended, furnished an ample rejoinder to the King's arguments, and sufficiently evinced the justice of the Archbishop's conclusions. 104 EAMBLES ROTTED vanity received, in what he supposed the victory gained over his Grace in the reply which could not be answered, the King does not seem to have held the latter in a less favourable light after this event; as may be presumed from the ap- pointment of his brother to the See of Salisbury in 1615, as also his Majesty's adoption of Mr. George Yilliers (afterwards Duke of Buckingham) as a favourite, at the instigation of the Queen, who had been solicited by Abbot to lend her countenance and recommendation. About this time the Archbishop of Spalato, who had turned protestant, and taken shelter in England from the persecutions of the Pope, was kindly received by King James, and hospitably entertained by our prelate. When he afterwards returned to Eome, he sent as an acceptable present to his Grace of Canterbury the manuscript of Fathers Paul History of the Council of Trent.* In 1618 a circumstance occurred which placed the character of the archbishop for hardihood and sincere devotion to his religous principles, in a still stronger light. This was occasioned by nothing less than the putting forth of the King's well-known book, authorizing dancing, archery, leaping, May-games, &c , on the Sabbath-day after divine service, which book all ministers were to read to their parishioners on pain of sus- * This persecuted protestant (Spalato) was made Dean of Windsor whilst in England ; but returned to Rome and publicly recanted his new doctrines. This recantation, however, stood him in but little stead ; for he was thrown into the prison of the Inquisition, where he died, and his body was burned as being that of a heretic. GUILDFORD. 105 pension and imprisonment. Many clergymen, in consequence of this injunction, were induced to vacate their churches ; and one of the foremost among the dissentients was the Archbishop him- self, who publicly forbade the reading of it in the church at Croydon, at which place he happened to be. Several persons who stood high in court favour at this time, would gladly have exerted their influence to bring this worthy man into disgrace ; but his Majesty, who was sensible of the value of such a servant, only winked at the transaction, and Abbot retained his place in the estimation of his sovereign, and his popularity with the people In the following year, the Archbishop begin- ning to feel the infirmities incidental to age creeping upon him, resolved upon improving the remaining years of his life in the foundation of that charity of which an account has occupied some of the preceding pages of this book ; and on the first of April, 1 619, he laid the first stone of the Hospital named after him. This year also the Elector Palatine accepted the crown of Bohemia, a circumstance that caused much debate in the Council of England as to the propriety of his Majesty's interference. His Grace of Canterbury esteemed it indispensable, and being unable through ill health to attend the Council, wrote a letter (which from its ex- cellence we regret that we cannot find room to insert) recommendatory of that measure. About the year 1621, the Archbishop's declin- ing state of health rendered exercise more ne- cessary to him than he had heretofore considered 106 EAMBLES BOUND it, and he was invited by Lord Zouch to hunt in his park, at Bramxil in Berkshire. The following account of an event arising from this circumstance is copied from Wilson's Life of James I., "not long before this " (alluding to an event which happened in the year 1621) " that Eev. Prelate, George, Archbishop of Canterbury, a man of holy and unblameable life) meddling with edged tools that he used not to handle in his study) by a sad accident, killed a keeper with a forked arrow as he was shooting at a deer. This was a great perplexity to the good man, and a heavy knell to his aged spirit, which he petitioned the King might ring a requiem to his retired thoughts at Guildford, his place of birth, where he had built a> munincient Almshouse for poor people, and where he went to bring his spirit under, to make it more blessed than the glories of the world can contribute to it. There were very many willing to have him retire to his rest, that gaped after his dignity more than desert ; and though Doctor Laud was but newly initiated into the bishopric of Saint David's by other hands (because those of the Archbishop were tinctured with blood, as he saith himself), yet his enmity was not small against him, for being a means to let the King know he was reputed a papist in Oxford, and a dangerous turbulent spirit ; but the King granted out a commission to enquire, whether casual homicide did make the Archbishop irregular ; and in disquisition of it, he found many friends that restored him from his alms-house to his palace. But this he did, and would have done in either condition. The widow of the man that fell by GUILDFOBD. 107 him was raised by him ; and she and her children (as may be said) built a commodious being upon his grave." We prefer the above account, though the last part of it, perhaps, is not couched in terms the most intelligible to the modern reader, because it proves that the worthy prelate did not forget those most likely to suffer from his mishap, and because, being written by a person who lived near his own time, it is the more likely to be worth dependence for its correctness. In those days, however, it seems a law pre- vailed that the property of a homicide, though an involuntary one, should be confiscated ; for the King, when informed of the legal penalties in- curred, wrote to the Archbishop, who had retired to his Hospital at Guildford, assuring him "that he would not add affliction to his sorrow, or take one farthing from his chattels or moveables, which had become forfeited by law." After this the matter was investigated before ten persons appointed by the King, and their return being made, pardon and a dispensation passed the great seal, and by this the Archbishop was declared capable of resuming his authority. But even this act of clemency could not induce this prelate, of unbending mind and high sense of duty, to manifest his gratitude at the expense of his conscience ; for in 1622, when the match between the Prince of Wales and the Infanta of Spain, upon which the King had set his heart, was in agitation, the Archbishop, as Wilson states amongst the rest, " knowing that a toleration of the catholics was to be admitted (though he stood 108 EAMBLES BOUND tottering in the King's favour, and had the badge of a puritan clapt upon him), thought it better to discharge his conscience, though he hazarded all, rather than be silent on such a cause, where the glory of God and the good of the kingdom were so highly concerned ; and thereupon addressed a letter of remonstrance to the King. But his Majesty's resolves in this affair were not easily set aside, and the point being carried by his party, though much against the wishes of the nation, the marriage articles were sworn in the presence of the officers of state : though, as appears by history, they were never carried into effect. Though now an infirm old man, and unable to assist in council, the Archbishop attended upon the King in his last sickness with the zeal of a grateful and affectionate servant. lie was near his Majesty in his last moments in 1625, and with much difficulty contrived to perform his office at the coronation of Charles I. As might be anticipated from the religious opinions of that monarch, the Archbishop spee- dily declined in favour, if indeed any partiality for him may be supposed ever to have existed ; and the result was, that in 1627, he was seques- tered from his office and jurisdiction ; but in 1628, having become the more popular for being in disgrace at Court, he was sent for by Charles to Whitehall, and received from his barge by the Archbishop of York and the Earl of Dorset, who solemnly introduced him to the King to be cor- dially re-admitted to the royal favour. But, alas ! what is more unstable than the countenance of a tyrannical Prince ? The Yicar of Brackley had in GUILDFORD. 109 1626 preached a sermon to prove the King's right of imposing loans and contributions on the sub- ject, which discourse was carried by the Duke of Buckingham to the King in 1629, and its pub- lication recommended ; but when it came to be presented to the Archbishop, he sent to his Majesty his reasons for declining to give his im- pri mature ; and though two premptory messages were afterwards seat from the monarch of this country, the first refusal was still pertinaciously adhered to. The Duke of Buckingham resenting this, soon procured an order for his Grace's removal to Foard, near Canterbury, with injunc- tions not from henceforth to meddle with the high commission ; from this place of banishment he gave new causes of offence ; was a second time sequestered from his jurisdiction , and cer- tain bishops were invested with his ecclesiastical powers. A few years after this, it pleased the gracious Disposer of human events to put an end to his cares and infirmities ; for in 1663, this venerable prelate and honest man closed his mortal career at liis palace at Croydon, in the 71st year of his age. He was buried, agreably to his own instruc- tions, in the chapel of our Lady in Trinity Church, Guildford, and was succeeded in the archbishop- ric by Bishop Laud, whose principles it had been one of the great objects of his life to oppose. It cannot be supposed thai a man of so much eminence, and of so decided a character, should obtain the goodwill of all historical writers, and the reader of English history will accordingly 110 EAMBLES ROUND find many, who in pourtraying his character, are not disposed to place it in the most favourable light. In the absence of all religious party- feeling, and with a desire to furnish our readers with opinions on both sides of the question, we conclude our account with an extract from Lord Clarendon, who writes as follows : — " He had sate too many years in that See, and had too great a jurisdiction over the Church. — He had been promoted to Canterbury upon the never- enough lamented death of Dr. Bancroft, that Metropolitan who understood the Church excel- lently, and had almost rescued it out of the hands of the Calvinian party, and very much subdued the unruly spirit of the nonconformists ; coun- tenanced men of the greatest parts in learning, and disposed the clergy to a more solid course of study than they had been accustomed to ; and if he had lived, would quickly have extinguished all that fire in England which had been kindled at Geneva ; or if he had been succeeded by Bishop Andrews, Bishop Overal, or any man who under- stood and loved the Church, that infection would have easily been kept out, which could not after- wards be so easily expelled. But Abbot brought none of this antidote with him,