THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BEQUEST OF Alice R. Hilgard SURBITON SURBITON THIRTY-TWO YEARS OF LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT 1855- 1887 ROWLEY W. C. RICHARDSON LATE CHAIRMAN OF THE SURBITON IMPROVEMHNT COMMISSIONERS WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BULL AND SON, VICTORIA ROAD, SURBITON 1888 LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, Lihited, STAMf OED STREET AND CHAEIlfO CK0S3. GIFT f/;/ J THE AVENUE, BERRYLANDS, SURBITON HILL. 28th June, 1888. My Dear Walpole, In this book I have endeavoured to describe Surbiton as it was before the passing of the Improvement Act in June 1855 ,* to give a record of the work which has since been done, and to represent the condition of the district in June last^ The residts of the important st£p which was taken in establishing independent existence in 1855 are thus traced up to the completion of the thirty-two years of self- government. No attempt has been made to write what might be called a history of Surbiton. I soon found it, however, desirable to abandon my origirial intention of limiting the book to a mere statement of the work of the Commissioners ; to add a description of the churches and scliools ; and to preface the volume by a short outline of the early history of the distinct, derived from published accounts. Anything approaching to the nature of criticism has been studiously avoided. For the information which I have been enabled to give, I am indebted to yourself — one of those who for many years took a leading part in all the good work connected with the district ; to numerous friends and acquaintances, past and present residents in the neigh- iM849970 hourhood ; and to the Chairman and Members of the Improvement Commission, and their officers, who have kindly placed all necessary documents at my disposal. That this hook might he the means of recording information concerning Surhiton which would perhaps in course of time become inaccessible, has been one of the principal aims of its compilation. Any surplus funds which may remain after the expenses actually incurred in its production have been met, will be presented to the Cottage Hospital Jubilee Endowment Fund. Yours very sincerely. CHARLES WALPOLE, Esq., C.B., Broadford, Chobham, CONTENTS PAGE CHAPTEK I. EARLY HISTORY— 1235-1828. Name in olden times — Derivation of name — Municipal archires— Grants by Prior of Merton — Charter of James I. — Skirmish on Surbiton Common — Lord Francis Villiers — Ancient maps — Surbiton in early part of present century — Surbiton Common Enclosure Act . . . . .1 CHAPTEK II. COMMENCEMENT OF THE RAILWAY TO PASSING OF IMPROVEMENT ACT— 1829-1855. Surbiton in 1829 — First formation of railway — Deviation of line from King- ston — Original proposal and estimate — Abstracts of Keports — First time- table, 1838 — Commencement of building by Pooley — Purchase of the Surbiton Estate by Coutts & Co. — Formation of Ecclesiastical District and erection of St. Mark's Church — Water supply — National Schools — Lambeth Waterworks — Chelsea Waterworks— Seething Well — Surbiton in 1848 — Building on the Hill — Attempt to include Surbiton in the Borough — The Surbiton Association — Passing of Improvement Act and establishment of local self-government, 1855 — Boundary of district — First Commissioners — Enlargement of St. Mark's Church — Description of Surbiton in 1855 — County Magistrates — Members of Parliament ..... 9 CHAPTEK IIL THE IMPROVEMENT COMMISSIONERS— 1855-1887. Early proceedings — Appointment of officers — Report of Committee of Inspec- tion — Formation of Alpha Road — Drainage of southern part of district — Main sewer on the Hill — Diversion of sewage from the Thames — Map of CONTENTS. PACK district — Protection from fire — Formation of Fire Brigade — Removal of dust — St. Mark's clock — Planting of trees and erection of seats in roads — Lighting — Water for cottages — Dedication of roads — Road improvements — Compulsory completion of roads — Distumpiked roads — Railway station improvements — Guildford, Kingston, and London Railway — Bridle path to Maiden — Clay Lane improvements — Victoria Road, Glenbuck Road, South- bank and Brown's Road improvements — Removal of the parish pound — Building operations since 1855 — Appointment of officers under Public Health Act — Outbreak of Diphtheria — By-laws as to new buildings, &c. — Chairman and officers of the Commissioners — Amendment of Act of 1855 as to Elections — Factory, Workshop and Bakehouse Act — Milkshops and Dairies Act — Coal and Wine Duties ...... 24 CHAPTER IV. STATISTICS AND MISCELLANEOUS. Death rate — Population — Hospital for isolation of infectious cases — Cottage Hospital — Kingston Provident Dispensary — Charities — Endowed Schools — Cinque Cottages at Wimbledon — School-attendance Committee — Promenade — ^Landing-place — Police Station — Drinking-fountains — Rain- fall — Kingston Rowing Club — Thames Sailing Club — Assembly rooms — Accounts and finance — Audit of accounts — Loans — Highway estimates — — Regulation of business and duties of officers — Committees — Rates com- pared with neighbouring districts — Poor rates — Collection of rates — Rates compared with population — Total indebtedness — Watering and cleansing roads — Map of district ....;.... 49 CHAPTER V. CHUECHES AND SCHOOLS. Dioceses of Winchester and Rochester — Archdeaconry of Kingston — Temporary iron church— Formation of the Ecclesiastical Districts— St. Mark's— St. Andrew's— Christ Church— St. Matthew's— Congregational Church — Wesleyan Church— Oaklands Baptist Chapel— St. Mark's Schools— Christ- church Schools ... ....... 63 APPENDIX PA6B 95 the Eiver M.D,, Medical I. Mr. Pooloy's Estate, as described in a plan prepared in 1842 . II. Meeting of ratepayers, February, 1855, to consider the Surbiton Improvement Bill III. Railway, (a) Mr. Giles's letter proposing to make the Eailway (6) Mr. Giles's original estimate .... (c) Extracts from reports of the railway company (d) Statistics, &c. IV. Guildford, Kingston, and London Railway V. Drainage of the south side of the district, 1855-1862 VI. Construction of sewers and diversion of sewage from Thames VII. Drainage of Surbiton Hill Park and Berrylands VIII. Public offices and Assembly rooms . IX. Fire Brigade X. Extracts from Annual Reports of Owen Coleman Officer of Health XI. Surbiton Cottage Hospital .... XII. Kingston Provident Dispensary . . . XIII. Kingston-upon-Thames charities XIV. Abstracts from rate-books, 1855 and 1887 XV. List of Commissioners from 1855 to 1887, with names of officers XVI. Number of Votes recorded at each annual election of Commissioners, 1856-1886 XVII. Poor rates levied in District of Surbiton from 1855-1887 XVIII. List of By-laws of the Surbiton Improvement Commissioners . XIX. Salaries of officers, &c., March 1887 XX. Amounts received for rates as compared with the population and number of houses 142 XXI. Sums expended in wages, watering and lighting roads, &c., 1855-56 to 1886-87 XXII. Assessment, rates, loans, houses, and population, 1855-1887 . XXIII. Loan account for year ending March 1887 XXIV. Return of births and deaths registered in the district every fifth year, 1855-1887 XXV. Cost of materials used on the roads, 1855-56 to 1886-87 XXVI. Highway and improvement rates : Abstract of Accounts, Jime 1855 to March 1887 96 98 99 99 104 105 108 113 117 119 122 123 128 131 132 133 134 137 139 189 140 143 143 144 144 145 146 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS St. Mark's Chubch, as erected in 1844 . Foot-Bbidge on the Tolworth Brook. Berry Lodge Farm .... The Thames at Surbitok . ViLLiEBS Footpath .... The Pollard Walk EwELL EoAD Railway Bridge in 1881 . The Railway Cutting St. Mark's Church, as altered The Ewell Road .... Foot-Bridge on the Malden River The Railway Station Portraits op the Chairmen of the Improvement Commissioners Upper End of Villiers Footpath Berrylands Lawn Tennis Club Ground The Cottage Hospital . . . Oakhill Grove St. Mark's Vicarage . . " . St. Andrew's Church .... Christ Church St. Matthew's Church .... Congregational Church Wesleyan Church .... Oaklands Baptist Chapel . Official Map of the District PAGE From a lithograph . . Frontispiece. From a pencil sketch . . . x From a pencil sketch . . . xii From a pencil sketch ... 1 By permission of G. T. Jones & Go. 4 From a pencil sketch * . . 8 From a pencil sketch . . 9 By permission of a. Sedgfield . 12 By permission of S. H. B. Salmon 20 From a pencil sketch . . .25 From a pencil sketch . . 26 By permission of R. Sedgfield . 38 From photographs ... 46 From a pencil sketch . . . 48 From a pencil sketch . . 49 From a photograph . . . 50 From a pencil sketch . . 62 From a pencil sketch . . .63 By permission of S. H. B. Salmon 72 From a photograph . . .76 By permission of G. T. Jones & Co. 82 By permission of G. T. Jones & Co. 84 By permission of G. T. Jories & Co. 86 From a pencil sketch . . .91 . In pocket of cover. The full-page Illustrations and the Map have been reproduced by the London Stereoscopic Company. '^^t ib; 4;if • * f *.- CHAPTER I. EARLY HISTORY _ 1235-1828. Before commencing to treat of the subject of this book, Thirty-two Years of Self-government in Surbiton, it would seem but fitting" that • allusion should be made to those early records of the neighbourhood which historians have gleaned from the annals of the past, in order that some idea may be gathered of the position which Surbiton occupied with regard to Kingston prior to its establishment as an independent district. The portion of the parish of Kingston-upon-Thames which extends from the southern boundary of the borough to the parish of Thames Ditton and the hamlet of Tolworth, was in olden times called Sorbelton, and during the last two centuries Surbeton or Surbiton. The last-named form is now universally adopted. Biden, in his " History and Antiquities of the Ancient and Eoyal Town of Kingston-on-Thames," published in 1852, says, " Norbiton and Surbiton do not lie respectively north and south of Kingston — though that is their- position relatively to each other, and to a portion of the town lying near the supposed site of the ancient Royal Palace or Castle, and now called the Bittoms. A small part of the town to the west of the Bittoms and lying close upon the river is called West-by-Thames. It appears not improbable that these four districts derived their name from a common source, the principal of the four being the Bittoms ; and the fact of that spot having been the royal portion of the town certainly favours the assumption. Perhaps the origin of the names may be found in the Saxon hellen, to shout or give alarm, and toji or don, the place of a garrison — the Bittom being the site of the Belton, o^ •» 2 % SUEBITON. chief watch-tower, and other such towers being placed on iforbiton and Surbiton Hills. The latter names are sometimes, especially in ecclesiastical deeds, spelled Norbelton and Surbelton." The same authority suggests the probable derivation of the name of Surbitcm from " South Barton," signifying South Demesne. This part of the parish is not frequently mentioned in the municipal archives. One of the earliest allusions occurs about the year 1235, when a Prior of Merton, Who signs himself H., granted, in augmentation of an endowment of the living of Kingston made by the bishop a long time before, certain particulars, including the produc3 of gardens, curtilages, and all lands dug by foot, flax, hemp, and the produce of warrens in Kingston, Petersham, Ham, Norbeton, Surbeton, Combe, Ham, and Hatch, and the tithe of six mills. In Manning and Bray's account of Surrey, published in 1804, it is stated that on April 2, 1352, Bishop Edindon, with the consent of William de Preston, Prior, and the Convent of Merton, Impropriators of the Parish Church of Kingston, and of Eobert de Hinkelye, vicar of the same, made an apportionment for the vicar, in which he ordained him, amongst other advantages, "Tythes of Dove-houses and of the fishing of four Weirs of the Fishery of the Thames almost to West-Sheen, gardens, curtilages, and all lands digged with the foot, flax, hemp, and warrens at Kingston, Ham, Sorbelton, &c.;" and in an agreement dated February 28, 1375, for carrying out this apportionment, Sorbelton is again named. From Brayley's "History of Surrey," published in 1848, it appears that in a statement contained in a rental of the town of Kingston renewed for one half-year ending at Easter in the fifth year of Henry V. (1413), the sum of £1 lis. llld. is inserted against "Surbeton," being the quit rent which Surbeton paid to the Corporation. In the Charter of King James I., dated at Winchester, November 17, 1603, his Majesty granted that "the Bailiffs, High Steward, and Eecorder of Kingston-on-Thames shall be Justices of the Peace therein, as well as within the Vills or Hamlets of Surbeton, Ham, and Hatch ; " and in the Charter of King Charles I., dated at Westminster, May 13, 1638, confirming the above, Surbeton is again named. A few years afterwards an event occurred from which the path which leads from the Surbiton Hill Koad to King Charles's Boad railway bridge, at the top of Clay Lane, derives its name. In a skirmish which took place on July 7, 1648, between the Eoyalist and Parliamentary troops, Lord Francis Villiers was killed near an elm tree which stood in a hedge on the EARLY HISTORY. 3 east side of the lane. There are several versions given of this struo^le in the cause of royalty, the fullest and perhaps the most authentic bein^ those contained in Brayley's "History of Surrey," and in Anderson's " History," published in 1818, from, which the following are extracts : — Bray ley says, "The last struggle in the then cause of royalty actually took place near Kingston, in July, 1648. The Earl of Holland, aided by George,, second Duke of Buckingham, and his younger brother. Lord Francis Villiers, attempted to raise troops for the avowed purpose of releasing the King (Charles L), who was a prisoner in the Isle of Wight, and compelling the Parliament to settle peace in the kingdom and preserve the laws. About six hundred horse assembled, and soon afterwards advanced to Keigate ; but the celerity of the Parliamentarians, in opposing them, obliged them to retreat upon Kingston, skirmishing in several places by the way. In the last skirmish, which took place in the lane between Kingston and Surbiton Common, Lord Francis Villiers was slain at an elm, says Aubrey, in the hedge of the east side of the lane, where his horse being killed under him, he turned his back to the elm, and fought most valiantly with half a dozen ; but the enemy coming on the other side, pushed off his helmet, and killed him, July 7, 1648, about six or seven o'clock in the afternoon. On this elm, which was taken down in 1680, was cut an ill-shaped V for 'Villiers,' in memory of him." Anderson's account is as follows : " The last struggle in behalf of the royal cause was made at Kingston. The Earl of Holland, who had been of all parties, at a time when the King's affairs were in the most desperate situation, and himself a prisoner in the Isle of Wight, formed an ill-concerted plan for rescuing him, and persuaded the Duke of Buckingham and his brother, Lord Francis Villiers, to join him in the attempt. They assembled at Kingston with about six hundred horse ; their avowed object being to release the King, and bring him to Parliament, to settle peace in the kingdom and to preserve the laws. A declaration to this effect was sent to the citizens of London, who were invited to join them. The Parliament immediately sent some troops of horse from Windsor, under the command of Colonel Pritty, who found the Eoyalists but ill prepared for defence. A skirmish took place near Surbiton Common, in which the Earl of Holland and his party were soon defeated. The Earl himself fled to Harrow, but was soon afterwards taken prisoner. The Duke of Buckingham escaped ; but his brother, the beautiful Lord Francis Villiers, was slain in the skirmish. He behaved with signal courage, and, after his horse had been killed under him, stood with his back against a tree, defending himself against several assailants, till at length he sank under B 2 4 SUEBITON. his wounds. The next day, the Lords, who had heard of the skirmish, and that Lord Francis Villiers was dangerously wounded, made an order that chirurgeons might be permitted to go to Kingston, and take care of him, if he were alive ; but as one of the journalists of that time observes, ' it was too late, for he was dead, and stripped, and good pillage found in his pocket,' His body was conveyed to York House, in the Strand, by water, and was buried in Henry VII.'s Chapel, in Westminster Abbey." With the exception of some maps, the documents relating to Kingston, published in the latter part of the seventeenth and the greater part of the eighteenth centuries do not appear to mention Surbiton. In one of these maps, a part of "London in 1741-5, by John Eocque," Surbiton is shown, with the Hog's Mill river, on which are placed Hog's Mill, Middle Mill, and Leather- head Mill, with a road called Leatherhead Mill Lane, crossing Lower Marsh Lane, and leading to what is therein termed Upper Marsh Lane, corre- sponding with the present Clay Hill and King Charles's Road. In this map the present London Eoad in Kingston is called " Norbeton Street ; " Norbiton Common is shown, but not Surbiton Common. Bushey Park and the Home Park are described as Hampton Court Palace. Teddington consists of the Common and Common Field, with Mr. Goodchild's bleach-field for " Scotch and Irish linen," near the river ; and Gallows Hill is marked as on the top of Kingston Hill, so called " because that, after the gallows had been removed from their original site at Surbiton, they for some years stood between the high-road and Richmond Park wall." The only buildings shown in the Surbiton part of this map are those which occupied the site where Berry- lands Farm recently stood. In a map attached to " London and its Environs described," published by R. and I. Dodsley, in Pall Mall, in the year 1761, Kingston, Tolworth, Hook, Chessington, and other places are shown, but Surbiton is not men- tioned — the only name given in that part of the parish being Berrylands Farm, which, however, is placed on the east side of the Hog's Mill river. The roads marked on this map appear to be intended for those to Portsmouth by the river, to Leatherhead through Hook, and to Ewell through Tolworth. The maps of those days are, however, not trustworthy, for there is no doubt that part of Surbiton, in 1761, consisted of common or waste lands, whereas it is all shown on the two maps mentioned as enclosed land ; and the old title- deeds belonging to the family of Mr. Scrase Dickins prove that both Berry- lands and Berry Lodge Farms then existed — the former consisting of about 130 acres, and the latter of about 219 acres. There is no doubt also that the Southborough Farm buildings had been erected at that time. EAELY HISTORY. 5 It is, in fact, not until the beginning of the present century that we have any really correct information as to the state of what is now termed Surbiton. In the lower part of the district there were the Waggon and Horses public-house ; " The Elmers," described in the original title- deeds as " in Surbeton Street," which was called " Surbiton House " until 1823, — it was occupied for many years by Mr. William Disney, and after- wards by Colonel Eyres, and was pulled down a few years ago ; also Maple Farm (now Maple Lodge), which was erected in about 1815 by Mr. Christopher Terry, a merchant at Bencoolen. He was a brother-in-law of Liston's father (the actor), who had married Miss Terry. It was at first called the " Manor House," and after Mr. Terry's death it was sold to Mr. Thomas Brassey, the great contractor and the father of the present Lord Brassey, from whom it descended to Mr. Henry Harrison, a relative of Lord Brassey, whose widow now resides there. It was rebuilt by Mr. Harrison in 1860. On the hill the only house of any size was the White House (now Hill House), which was built in 1812. By an indenture, in which reference is made to a lease dated December 23, 1811, granted to the widow of Sir Francis Searle, late of Kingston-upon-Thames, Knight, and which indenture is dated June 13, 1812, and is made between William Kent, Thomas Kent, and Thomas Strange, of Kingston-upon-Thames, watchmaker, — theKents grant unto Strange " all that messuage or tenement commonly called ' The White House,' with the lime-kiln, yard, garden, and appurtenances thereto belonging, situated upon Surbiton Common, near the end of Broad Lane (now Berrylands Eoad), in the parish of Kingston-upon-Thames ; also all the common rights . . . over the said common and waste lands." This house was afterwards occupied by Mr. Watson, Mr. Benjamin Hinds (by whom it was enlarged), Mr. Eobert Schofield, Mr. Bruce, Mr. Carr, and by Mr. Lewis W. Cave (now the present Mr. Justice Cave). It now belongs to and is in the occupation of Mr. J. S. Smith. The other buildings on the hill were — the windmill, which was on the side of the common where Hazleigh Cottage now stands ; Berrylands and Berry Lodge Farms, the property of Mr. Dickins ; Southborough Farm, which belonged to Mr. Thomas Langley; as well as Southborough Lodge, which was erected in 1808 for Mr. Langley by John Nash, the architect of Buckingham Palace, Eegent Street, the Marble Arch, and the Terraces in Eegent's Park. It now belongs, together with about forty-five acres of park, to Captain James Cundy. There were also a few cottages, including Tee- total Cottages in Green Lane (now Alpha Eoad). An illustrated " Map of the Town and Parish of Kingston-upon-Thames," which was published in 1813, prepared from a survey by T. Hornor, of 6 SUKBITON. Church Court, Temple — a copy of which is deposited in the British Museum — shows (but does not name) Clay Hill (with Upper Marsh and Lower Marsh Lanes), leading to the road running from the Ewell Eoad to Berry Lands Farm. The latter road is marked, with Villiers' Path, as going alongside the Common, which is also shown, as well as the Leatherhead Koad, through Hook to Chessington ; the only two houses named being Borough Farm (South- borough) and Bury Lands Farm. This map contains an excellent view of Kingston Market Place, taken from near the Post Office, and a view of Kingston from the hill. In 1808 an Act of Parliament was passed which greatly affected the appearance and the value of property on the hill. It is the 48th of George III. cap. 134, which received the Koyal assent on June 18, 1808, and is intituled " An Act for inclosing Lands in the several Manors of Kingston- upon-Thames, and Imworth, otherwise Imbercourt, in the County of Surrey, and for selling part of such lands for the purpose of providing a Court House and Market House for the said Town ; " and it states that " whereas there are certain Commons and Waste Lands within and belonging to the several Manors of Kingston-upon-Thames, and Imworth, otherwise Imbercourt, in the Parishes of Kingston-upon-Thames, and Thames Ditton, in the said County of Surrey, containing in the whole one thousand three hundred acres or thereabouts;" whereas also the bailiffs and freemen of the town of Kingston-upon-Thames, and many others who are duly named, are lords of the said manors ; and that John Earl Spencer, the said bailiffs and freemen. Lord Henry Fitzgerald, Peter Lord King, Robert Taylor, Thomas Evance, John Polhill, Christopher Terry, Thomas Langley, Jonathan Josiah Christopher "Watson, and Alexander Brodie, Esquires, and several other persons, are owners and proprietors of divers messuages, lands, tenements, and hereditaments within the several manors, and in respect thereof, or otherwise are entitled to right of common upon the said commons and waste lands. It then proceeds to recite that it would be of great advantage to the several persons interested if the said Common, etc., were enclosed ; also that whereas the present court-house of the town of Kingston-upon-Thames, in which the Lent Assizes and Michaelmas Quarter Sessions of the Peace for the said county are holden, is extremely incommodious and out of repair, and not fit for the reception of his Majesty's Judges of Assize, or of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace; and further that the market-house in the said town is also very ruinous and decayed, as well as much too small for the purposes for which it was intended, and it would be for the advantage of the bailiffs and freemen and of the inhabitants at large of the said town. EAKLY HISTOEY. 7 if the allotments to be made to the bailiffs and freemen were to be sold and disposed of, and the money thereby arising were to be laid out for the purposes of erecting a new court-house with proper rooms and conveniences thereto, also a new market-house. Thomas Crawter of Cobham, and William Neale of Cheam, gentlemen, were thereby appointed Commissioners for carrying the Act into execution." The award of the Commissioners is dated December 24, 1838, or more than thirty years after the Act was passed. It is deposited at the office of the Clerk of the Peace. for Surrey, Newington Causeway, and can be inspected on payment of one shilling. It sets out the extent of the several allotments, but it contains no statement of receipts and payments, and makes no mention of the value of the land appropriated or disposed of by private sale or public auction. The portions situate in the parish of Kingston consisted principally of JSTorbiton Common and Surbiton Common, the latter extending as far as Hook and Chessington. There are several plans or maps attached to the award of the Commissioners. One of them shows Surbiton Common and Seething Well. The portion of the Common included in the present district of Surbiton comprised about 190 acres, and commenced in the Surbiton Hill Eoad, a little below Villiers' Path, which is marked as " Narrow Lane." It was bounded on the east side by that lane up to the top of Clay Hill ; it then followed King Charles's Eoad, to the entrance of Surbiton Hill Park, and along the line of elm trees at the bottom of the gardens of the houses in Parklands, and so along the Berry- lands Eoad to the farm ; passing which it continued in a southerly direction to the line of elm trees at the lower end of the Avenue, and then on to King Charles's Eoad, whence it went south to the parish (i.e. district) boundary, which it followed to the post on Ditton Hill that marks the division of Kingston from Long Ditton parish. It then turned nearly in the line of the new road, passing by the entrance gates of Southborough Park, to the east of Southborough Avenue ; crossing the ro9,d from Seething Well (Brighton Eoad) near to the Chamberlain Pond, it proceeded along Langley Eoad to OakhiU Eoad, and then northerly, at the back of Langley Villas and the shops on the south side of the Ewell Eoad, again crossing OakhiU Eoad, and along the line of elm trees in the grounds of Surbiton Hill House (Miss Walters'), and so continuing at the back of the houses on the west side of the Ewell Eoad, up to Wyburn Villas, and along that road across the railway to the Surbiton Hill Eoad, a little below Villiers' Path. The only points within the present district of Surbiton marked on the map, in addition to the numerous allotments, are Narrow Lane, Berrylands 8 SUEBITON. Farm, G. Clifton's brick-kilns (at the Fish-ponds) on the Ewell Eoad two turnpikes —Southborough Gate and one on the top of Ditton Hill, at the parish boundary — and Chamberlain's pond on the Brighton Eoad, near the end of Southborough Avenue. The enclosure of the land on the Common proceeded slowly between the passing of the Act in 1808 and about 1825. In the latter year, Mr. "William Walter, who was the Borough Treasurer, and in considerable practice as a solicitor, acting under the advice of his medical attendant, decided to erect a residence on the upper part of the hill, and with that object he purchased of Mr. Cambers, at about £50 an acre, eleven acres of land, on which Surbiton Hill House now stands, comprising the meadow extending from the Lodge Gates, in the Ewell Eoad, up to the house, two meadows at or near the south side of what is now called South Bank, the field on which Mr. Wilberforce Bryant's house stands, the Glenbuck Eoad, and the orchards between that road and the railway. Part of this land was then covered with furze, and so remained for several years. Surbiton Hill House was built in 1826, some of the materials being brought from the palace at Kew ; this was commenced and partly built on a spot adjacent to the Thames, in Eichmond Gardens, but it was never finished internally, and after the decease of George III. it was sold piecemeal by order of his successor. At this time there was no other house looking westward nearer than Mr. Terry's (Maple Farm), and it is related that Mr. Langley took much pleasure in the view from the windows of Southborough Lodge, from which the only building visible was Hampton Court Palace, and that he was so annoyed when he discovered the scaffolding-poles of the four houses at Westfield Place, which were built by Mr. Thomas Taylor, in 1828, and are now owned by Mr. F. T. Aston, that he induced Mr. Taylor not to add the upper storeys until some years afterwards. ?-*'« CHAPTER II. COMMENCEMENT OF THE EAILWAY TO PASSING OF THE IMPROVEMENT ACT 1829-1855. To the formation of railways, many towns owe their prosperity or in fact their very existence, and it is to this that the rise of Surbiton may be attributed. At the end of 1829, the idea was first started of making a railway from London to Southampton. The description of the district at this time may be taken from a well-executed map, published between 1826 and 1830, a copy of which is in the possession of Mr. George Eoots, and which shows Maple Farm as consisting of about 130 acres, the White House (Hill House), the Plough Inn, Southborough House and Farm, brick and tile kilns to the east of the Ewell Road (in Holly Hedge Field), a road corresponding to Clay Lane and King Charles's Road leading to Fish-Ponds House, and a road answering to Berrylands Road, apparently leading to a farm ; but neither Berrylands Farm nor Berry Lodge Farm is named. Maple Lane is shown, but is not named ; and three turnpikes are marked, viz. one at the boundary of the district at the bottom of the Ewell Road (Tolworth Gate), one on the Leatherhead Road (Southborough Gate), and one on Ditton Hill, where the parish boundary- mark now is. Biden, in his work already quoted, under the year 1830, says, " The salubrity of this part of the parish had for many years induced the erection of houses on the hill, and already a hamlet promised to arise on its summit, when the directors of the South Western Railway, compelled by the oppo- sition of the town of Kingston, diverged their road from its intended route near the town, and cut through the hill at Surbiton." Although no authentic 10 SUKBITON. record is obtainable of the measures adopted to prevent the line approach- ing the town, and although the earliest plans for the formation of the rail- way now procurable show only the route actually taken, there is no doubt that the people of Kingston, sharing in the general prejudice, were frightened at the prospect of their trade being destroyed and their property ruined by the substitution of the railway for the stage-coach. The general tradi- tion is that the original promoters of the line wished, after reaching Wimbledon, to keep to the level ground at the foot of "Wimbledon Hill and Combe Hill, and so go nearly in a straight line close to the town of Kingston, and thence on near to the river via Molesey and "Walton to Weybridge ; but that Lord Cottenham did not wish his estate at "Wimbledon to be interfered with, and supported the corporation in compelling the promoters of the rail- way to divert it from Kingston and take it through the deep cutting at Surbiton. To use the language of the most recent work connected with the former days of the neighbourhood — "Half a Century of Kingston History," by Mr. F. Somner Merry weather — " Kingston fought against it with the obstinacy of old conservatism. . . . Its corporation had beaten off the rail- way. . . . The precincts of the ancient borough were preserved. . . . The proposed Kingston Station had been forced right away to Surbiton Hill." The first meeting of those who conceived the idea of making a railway from London to Southampton was a private one, held at the residence of Mr. Le Fevre, at Southampton, and the earliest written documents connected with the projected railway appear to be some papers in the possession of Mr. Alfred Giles, the present Member for Southampton, and the son of Mr. Francis Giles, the designer and first engineer of the railway. In a letter dated December 29, 1830, addressed to "the Committee for promoting the intended London and Southampton Eailway," Mr. Giles stated that he had made a preliminary survey of the country between London and Southampton, and that two easily practicable lines might be formed — one departing from Kennington would pass by Wandsworth, King- ston, Ditton, Weybridge, Guildford, Farnham, Alton, Alresford, and Win- chester ; the other pursuing the same course as far as Weybridge, and thence diverging to Basingstoke, and on by Popham Lane and Winchester. The expense of either he estimated at £1,200,000. A copy of this letter, and of an estimate made by Mr. Giles, dated January 23, 1832, will be found on page 98, Amongst his records is an undated printed paper marked " Original Prospectus of the Southampton, London, and Branch Eailway Company," with a capital of £1,000,000, in shares of £20 each. It states that, by the aid of locomotive steam-engines, merchandise and agricultural pro- COMMENCEMENT OF KAIL WAY TO PASSING OF IMPKOVEMENT ACT. 11 ductions can be conveyed in a safe, expeditious, and economical manner, one engine being capable of carrying a gross weight of 150 tons, at the rate of twenty miles an hour, with a consumption of less than half a pound of coke per ton per mile, or 8^. worth per mile for 150 tons, calculating the coke at 20s. per ton. The annual returns on the opening of this line of communica- tion were estimated at £224,500, and the probable working expenses as £64,000, leaving a net income of £160,500. "No public work," it says, "can offer greater advantages than this promises to yield to all classes of persons. It will afford certain and increasing employment to thousands of the labouring population ; it will open markets for the whole agricultural pro- duce of the southern and western parts of England; it will give increased facilities to travelling and commerce; and, in realizing all these important material and local advantages, it will secure to the shareholders an ample return on their capital." An abstract of the printed reports and other papers preserved at the chief office at Waterloo Station, is given at page 99. In one prospectus, the capital named for the scheme in 1831 was £1,500,000. In another paper, issued shortly afterwards, £1,200,000 is given as the cost of the railway, as well as of docks at Southampton. In the prospectus of 1832 the under- taking is styled "the Southampton and London Eailway," with a capital of £1,000,000 ; and that is the capital named in the Act of Parliament passed on July 25, 1834, for constructing the London and Southampton Eailway. In 1837, £500,000 additional capital was authorized, and Mr. Locke succeeded Mr. Giles as engineer. Later in that year, Mr. William Chaplin was con- sulted by the Directors, and a contract was made with Mr. Thomas Brassey, then thirty-one years of age, for the completion of the line between Wands- worth and Weybridge. The portion of the railway between Nine Elms and Woking Common was opened for the conveyance of passengers and parcels on May 21, 1838. A facsimile, reduced by one-half, of the first time-table issued by the Company, is given on page 13. It will be seen that there were five trains daily each way ; they all stopped at every station, and were allowed thirty- one minutes for the journey of ten miles and a quarter between Nine Elms and Surbiton. In 1839 the name of the line was changed to " the London and South Western Eailway," and it was opened to Southampton on May 11 of that year. In August, 1848, the railway was carried up to Waterloo Station. The original station at Surbiton, at first and for some years after called Kingston Station, was a small building, looking like a cottage, in the cutting 12 SURBITON. on the south side of the railway, near to the Ewell Eoad Bridge. It is shown in the illustration facing this page. The present site was given by Mr. Pooley, with certain conditions, in 1840, and the station was then built. Some statistics relating to the railway — comparing the traffic in 1838 with that in 1855 and 1887 — are given at page 104. With the completion of the railway, new buildings soon arose in the lower part of the district. When Mr. Christopher Terry died, in 1838, the Maple Farm property was put up to public auction ; it was bought by Mr. Thomas Pooley, a son-in-law of Mr. William Wadbrook, maltster, of West-by- Thames, who immediately laid out roads, and began the erection of a large number of houses. From a " plan of the estate of Thomas Pooley, Esquire, New Kingston, dated January 13, 1842, surveyed by George I. Bower, house and land surveyor, of New Kingston, and Beaufort Street, Chelsea " — which was handed by the resident representative of Messrs. Coutts and Co. to Mr. Henry Powell for his guidance on his coming to Surbiton as their house agent, in 1846 — it appears that the principal roads were called "Alexander," " Surbiton," and " Eailway," with three terraces called " Adelaide," " Albert," and " Victoria." A fuller description of the estate, as shown by this plan, is given at page 95. Mr. Powell filled the office of parish clerk of St. Mark's Church for a period of twenty-five years (1847 to 1872). This part of the place was then generally known as New Kingston, after- wards as New Town, then as Kingston-on-Eailway, and finally as Surbiton. One portion of Mr. Pooley's scheme, which, however, was never carried out, was to establish a large county corn-market on his estate, and foundations for the corn stores were laid on the site adjoining the station-yard now occupied by the London and Provincial Bank. In Seeley's " Kingston Miscellany," of 1841, the population of the new town is given as 387, with sixty-nine inhabited houses, twelve uninhabited, and seventy-three in course of con- struction. Mr. Pooley mortgaged his property very heavily as the buildings progressed, many of the houses were for some time left unfinished, and the place had, in one respect, the appearance more of an old than of a new town. As one passed in the train, it looked almost like a mass of ruins. The principal persons interested financially were Messrs. Coutts and Co., the bankers, and the greater part of the estate fell into their hands. They set vigorously and liberally to work to complete and improve what Mr. Pooley had begun. Their first architects and surveyors were Mr. F. Stevens and Mr. G. Alexander, the former gentleman taking the active part in carrying out Messrs. Coutts' plans for developing the estate. Stories have been told, and are confirmed LOIDOU & SOrTHAMPTOm RAUiWAY. Tlie t.ondoB and Southampton Railway IS MO^V^ OPEM for the conveyance of Pajssenjcrers and Parcels f^om I^ondon to Woking Common (near Oulldt'ord), and the Intermediate places. The timet at ichich the Trains will ttart are ai follow: FB.OM LONDON. IHomlng S Altto lO Afternoon > Ditto halfpswl 3 Ditto « FROM WO&ING COMMON, morning half-pa»i W Ditto to Afternoon 1 Ditto hmlf-pMt 3 Ditto y EXCEPT ON SUNDAYS. When the Trams will xturt I FROM LONDON, "morning 7 Ditto 9 Afternoon ^ Ditto 7 FROM WOKING COMMON, morning 7 Ditto 9 Afternoon ft Ditto r The Fares will be charged at under, t/ix- From the Terminus at Mine Klms^ NEAR VAUXHALL. To woHiMG cemmoii To WEYBRIDGi: To 1VAE.TOW To DITTOIV raARSH To KIMeSTOM To lVimBI.i:DOH To WAMDSWORTtt No Fee or Graluit) will be allowed to' be received bjr auy Servant of the Compuijr. riasT CI.A8S 8ECOVS cxjias. £ t d. £ s. d. o ft o o s e o 4 o o a • • 30 • o a 3 o 3 o o a o • a 6 - o 1 • o 1 • . o I o o I « . o 1 o TliBM at Which the Tnlni are appointed to airiva at tb* nndanneBtioiMd Statlaiia, ■ntil Ikirthw nntVw I DOVFN. UP. PrWS Mine Elmi ■ • ■ ~ARRlV"E AT Wandiwortlk. ■ . Wimbledon • . - ' Klngatoa JMtton Manh . Walton Weybrld^e WoklnfComm'. frSH WokingComm*. MiUt. 8 18 8 31 8 41 e 51 8 29 9 16 10 7 lU 18 10 31 10 41 10 61 10 59 11 16 I 18 I 31 I 41 3 37 3 48 4 il 4 J9 4 46 6 7 6 18 5 31 6 41 « 61 6 59 7 15 ARRIVE AT W«ybrUge Walton DittonManh. Kingston Wimbladon • ■ . Wandsworth . . Nine Elnia ■ . . Si n 22] 7 44 1 51 8 26 8 35 8 45 lOi A. Hi. 10 14 10 21 10 31 ID 40 to 56 11 5 II IS «1 1.M. 3 4» i SI V I 4 10 4 26 4 36 4 45 1 TM. TTUT 7 14 7 21 7 Jl 7 40 7 M 8 « 8 16 By Order of the Directors, WM. REED, Stcretery. N B. OmnibuMt will tmiVj PuKngera to and from the Company'! StatiOD at NINE ELMS, mv ViuxbaH, from the followiog places, ru. Spread Kagle, Gracechurch-street , Swan with Two Necks, Lad-Tane ; Cross Kevs. Wood-street , White Horse, Fetter-lane ; George and Blue Boar, Holborn ; tioiden Cross, Charing-cross ; Universal Office, Regent-circus, Piccadilly. Arrawteinaot* have been made with the Loodon and Westmintt^r Steam Boat Company, m cooaequence of whicfa St«aiB £««lj will b< provided for conveying Pasiengen to and from th< Station at Nine Blma, liom aiid to the uader-mealioiied pJacei, via . DYER'S HALL WHARF. Upper T-iMces-stTeei ; and UUNGBEFORD MARKET. 14 SURBITON. by those who resided in Surbiton at the time, as to the imposing style in which he came from London to visit the newly acquired property — a four-in- hand being his usual mode of conveyance. One of the first acts of Messrs. Coutts was the erection of a church and the formation of a separate ecclesiastical district. Up to 1842 the only church available for the inhabitants was the parish church of All Saints ; that, in fact, was the only church in the parish until the consecration, in that year, of St. Peter's, Norbiton — the first church designed by Sir Gilbert Scott. St. Mark's Church was begun in 1844, at the end of which year the Eev. Edward Phillips (who had been curate to Dr. Dealtry, at Clapham) was presented by Messrs. Coutts to the newly formed ecclesiastical district ; he entered on his duties in January, 1845, the church being then still unfinished and the parsonage not commenced. The church was consecrated by the Bishop of Winchester on May 1, 1845 ; the funds having been provided by Messrs. Coutts, with the exception of a few hundred pounds subscribed in the district. It was Gothic in style> and consisted of a nave and side aisles intersected by a transept, with a small chancel, and having a handsome central tower. The architects were Messrs. Stevens and Alexander, and the builder Mr. Loat, of Clapham. A view of tliis, the first church erected in Surbiton, forms the frontispiece of this work ; and full particulars relating to the formation of the district assigned to it, and to the cost, etc., of the build- ing, will be found in the chapter devoted to churches. The parsonage was built in 1846, at the expense of Messrs. Coutts, whose property it still remains, and by whom it is lent to the vicar. It forms no part of the living of St. Mark's. This was the first time that the boundaries of Surbiton as a separate place were clearly defined. They are the same as those fixed by the Improvement Act of 1855, as set forth at page 20. Soon after St. Mark's Church was finished, Mr. Stevens was succeeded in the professional charge of Messrs. Coutts' -estate by Mr. Philip Hardwicke; Messrs. Cubitt, of Gray's Inn Eoad, being their builders, and Mr. William Mudie (now one of the Improvement Commissioners) their local agent. Under their regime the unfinished and almost ruinous-looking houses were completed, the roads which had been laid out by Mr. Pooley were made with good foundations and properly metalled surfaces, and the imperfect drains originally made were replaced at a great expense by the brick sewers by means of which the estate is now drained. One of the early proceedings was the pulling down of the whole of Albert Terrace and all but two houses of Adelaide Terrace. It was intended to form a circus on the land (then called the brick-fields) now occupied by the houses in St. Philip's and North Eoads. COMMENCEMENT OF RAILWAY TO PASSING OF IMPROVEMENT ACT. 15 The roads were planned, the gardens were laid out and planted; but this scheme was eventually abandoned. This part of Surbiton was supplied with water during some of these early years from an artesian well which was sunk in a yard at the back of Messrs. Bosworth's premises between the Victoria Eoad and the railway, the water being pumped up to a reservoir on the hill opposite St. Mark's Church, at the side of the house belonging to Mr. Henshaw S. Kussell, and thence dis- tributed in three-inch pipes. This reservoir was filled up in 1859, having been purchased by Mr. Eussell from the Lambeth Waterworks Company. The supply of water failed in 1846, and water was taken to the houses in carts ; the sides of the reservoir were raised, but without advantage resulting ; and as a temporary measure two wells were sunk in the Crescent at what is now the south-east corner of the Grove Eoad. Their use was, however, soon discontinued. The Eev. E. Phillips, on taking charge of the district, set to work to organize the necessary parochial machinery. Children were taught in rooms of some of the small houses and cottages ; soup-kitchens were established, and other measures were adopted for the benefit of the poor. It was not until 1848 that St. Mark's Schools were commenced. A few of the gentle- men residiag in Surbiton — amongst them the Vicar, Mr. Walter, Mr. B. Hinds, Mr. C. J. Shebbeare, and Captain Cannon — met privately ; but, while agreeing on the necessity for erecting National Schools, they found it quite impossible to raise the requisite funds in the place ; they therefore applied to Messrs. Coutts, as the patrons of the living, who at once decided to give the land, and to build the schools at their own expense, at a cost of about £1200. They were capable of holding about forty boys, forty girls, and a few infants. Considerable additions have been made to these schools from time to time, particulars of which are given in chapter v. At the end of 1848 a great change took place in the part of the district bordering on the river. A small part of the waste lands enclosed under the Act of 1808 was at Seething Wells, alongside the turnpike road to Portsmouth. This allotment (with several acres adjoining) was purchased under the Lambeth Waterworks Act of 1848, for making works at Surbiton. The buildings and reservoirs were commenced in 1849, and opened in 1851, when the Waterworks property on the hill was purchased by the Company, and the local supply was given by pumping direct upon the pressure of the main to Brixton. It was not until 1863 that the reservoir on Kingston Hill was constructed, and then a supply was given to the highest levels of Surbiton south of the railway. 16 SUEBITON. A further and, as regards riverside frontage in Surbiton, a more important change was made in 1852, when the Chelsea Water Company's works and intake were removed to the land adjoining the Lambeth reservoirs. Under the Charter of 1723, the water was obtained from the river at Chelsea, which was then a very pure stream, abounding with salmon. Their first works were then constructed, and some ponds in the Green and Hyde Parks were altered and converted into open reservoirs for service. These works were, from time to time, enlarged and extended, and they supplied the Chelsea district until 1852. The same cause which drove the Lambeth Company to go up to Molesey for a new intake also impelled the Chelsea Company to follow suit, and in 1875 they obtained an Act of Parliament for the con- struction of works there, adjoining and just above those of the Lambeth Company. The Molesey Works of the Lambeth Company were brought into opera- tion in 1871, and those of the Chelsea Company in 1877. The land occupied at Molesey by the Lambeth Company is about thirty-five acres, and by the Chelsea Company about forty-five acres ; and at Seething Wells the land occupied is about thirty acres by the Lambeth, and thirty-five to forty acres by the Chelsea Company. The former at present supply water to the district embracing Surbiton, Kingston, the Dittons, Esher, and Molesey, at about 3,000,000 gallons per diem. Surbiton proper cannot easily be sepa- rated from the other places, but assuming it to be about one-sixth of the whole, it may be taken at about 400,000 gallons a day in the winter and 500,000 gallons a day in the summer, or an average of about 240 gallons per house. According to Biden, the springs at Seething Wells were con- sidered in the last century very valuable, and the waters were in much repute for their medicinal properties, as being an almost infallible remedy in certain cases of ophthalmia. The exact position of the seething well is not clearly marked on any map or plan available. On the plan attached to the award of the Surbiton Common Enclosure Commissioners, in 1838, it is shown on the river side of the Portsmouth Eoad, within but nearly at the boundary of Kingston parish {i.e. in Surbiton), on part of the land containing the Chelsea filters. In the survey made, in 1848, for the Lambeth Company, there is a " spring " marked a little further on in the same road, but in Ditton parish, with a small stream running down to the river. The latter may probably be more correctly called the " Seething Well." Eeverting to 1848, Bray ley, after mentioning the extensive building operations commenced by Pooley, and stating that the property had fallen into the hands of the mortgagees, says, " About one hundred and sixty houses COMMENCEMENT OF RAILWAY TO PASSING OF IMPROVEMENT ACT. 17 (including many stuccoed detached and coupled villas), in a somewhat capricious style of architecture, have been erected. There is a good inn adjacent to the station ; the railroad is crossed by two bridges, one of which, of three arches, spanning a deep excavation, forms part of the high-road to Ewell and Epsom." Building was commenced and roads were being made on the Eaphael Estate, between the east end of Maple Lane and the Portsmouth Eoad, prior to which the only access to the river was round either by the " Waggon and Horses," or by Seething Wells, with the exception of a path by a strip of land belonging to Mr. Eaphael, running down to the river between what was then Mr. Barclay's wax-bleaching grounds and his own land. New houses were also being erected on the hill, and on other parts on the south side of the railway ; the Wyburn Estate was being covered, and Mr. Walter purchased more building land adjoining his property at Surbiton Hill House. At this time, and even at a later date, the hill was generally called Surbiton Common, and, covered as it was with patches of furze, it looked like a common. There was a cottage standing back a short distance from the Ewell Eoad, near to the site of the two houses in which the late Mr. C. J. Shebbeare and Eear-Admiral Wm. Eadcliffe resided for several years, occupied by Mr. Chivers ; this was removed when Mr. Walter's tenants built the set of three houses adjoining Southbank — then a lane closed by a white gate, leading to the railway station. The three houses on the other side of Southbank were built a few years later, as also were Langley Villas, and a few other houses, as well as several cottages, the latter principally on the hill, where land was to be purchased at about £100 an acre. The Oak Hill property — including that called Eose's Nursery, the meadow adjoining thereto now belonging to Mrs. A. C. Bryant, and the site on which the houses occupied by the late Sir Henry Eicketts and Mr. G. S. Hayter are built (formerly called the Clay-Pits, the soil having been converted into bricks, used on the Pooley Estate) — was purchased by Mr. Walter about 1848, and was let by him on lease to Mr. Clerk, who began building on it in 1850. A little while before that time he had built most of the houses in the Holly Hedge Field in the Ewell Eoad, which land Mr, Walter added to his purchases in 1837. Mr. Clerk was declared a bankrupt in 1855, when many of the houses on the Oak Hill property were in an unfinished state. Some of them were purchased by Mr. John Guy, but most of them fell into the hands of Mr. Walter, by whom they w^ere afterwards completed. Soon after 1851, speculation in land for building purposes became general in many of the suburbs of the metropolis. At Surbiton, in addition to the 18 SURBITON. large increase in the number of houses on the hill, as already mentioned, several new villa residences were commenced in what was then termed the Paragon district, but which afterwards was called Berrylands ; and houses of various sizes and descriptions were also put up on the land lying between Maple Lane and the river. Land formerly worth £50 or £100 an acre rose rapidly in value. In 1853 it fetched at public auction upwards of £500 an acre. In 1854 it could not be bought at less than double that rate. Nothing, how- ever, was done in the way of improving the roads and making footpaths to meet the large increase of population. The inhabitants had to contribute towards the highway rates levied by the authorities in Kingston, but they derived no benefit in return for their contributions* What were originally intended for traffic, as mere country roads, had become highways, and were almost impassable — even the Claremont Eoad, leading from the railway station to the town of Kingston, had been allowed to get into a bad state. It was repaired at the expense of some of the residents, whose application for repay- ment of the outlay was at first treated almost with derision by the borough officers; and the expense incurred was only recovered by them after much trouble. The corporation were desirous that Surbiton should be included in the borough, and in 1853 they made strenuous efforts to accomplish this. The majority of the residents in Surbiton were strongly opposed to this being done. They "did not appreciate the advantages offered to them by their neighbours in the borough;" and an association was formed to watch the interests of the new town — the members being Mr. (afterwards Sir) W. H. Walton, Messrs. B. Hinds, W. Dunnage, E. M. Straight, D. Napier, Chas. Sumner, W. Tindal, C. B. Lennard, and Henshaw S. Russell, the latter gentleman acting also as honorary secretary. Several very stormy meet- ings were held, one of them at St. Mark's National School-rooms, at which the Mayor of Kingston attended in his official capacity, and endeavoured to persuade the inhabitants of Surbiton to join the borough. They seem, however, to have refused to be convinced by the mayor ; and in 1854 the introduction by the corporation of a Bill to extend the boundaries of the borough to the entire parish of Kingston-upon-Thames was the exciting cause which led the gentlemen before named to induce the residents at Surbiton to take action in providing a measure for local self-government. The Eangs- ton Bill was looked upon as a design to bring Surbiton into the borough rating ; but the interests of Surbiton were distinct, the place being composed of a residential and not a trading community like that of the borough. The opposition to the Kingston measure was taken up by the Vicar of St. Mark's and the Surbiton Association, and the Bill was defeated. COMMENCEMENT OF KAIL WAY TO PASSING OF IMPKOVEMENT ACT. 19 Early in the following year, the surveyors of the Kingston Highways endeavoured so far to meet the wants of Surbiton as to light some parts of the place. A few lamps were put up in the Claremont, Victoria, and other roads, and a rate of one shilling in the pound was levied on the residents, who were served with a demand note, signed by Messrs. George Jackson, John Collings, John Henry Diggs, and W. Mudie, Overseers, stating that "a rate of one shilling in the pound was made on February 24, 1855, for lighting the district of St. Mark's, and that the undermentioned sum is assessed upon you." The lamps were few and far between, the light from each very small, and the inhabitants generally still used hand-lanterns to enable them to pick their way along the roads at night. The corporation at the same time introduced a fresh Bill, which did not contain any proposal to extend the borough boundary so as to include Surbiton; and the same gentlemen who had opposed the former Kingston Bill now promoted a Bill for the management of Surbiton alone. With the exception of Coutts' estate, the greater part of the place was not drained at all, and the drainage which existed was very imperfect ; there was no pro- vision for the repair, management, or lighting of the roads, or power to over- look building operations. Messrs. Coutts and Co. guaranteed the expenses of promoting the Bill (had it not passed, the cost would have been borne by them) ; and its management through Parliament was undertaken by a resident, Mr. W. G. Durnford, who was by profession a Parliamentary agent. A meeting was called at the Southampton Arms Hotel, on February 15, 1855, to submit the Bill for the consideration of the ratepayers. It was numerously attended, and the proposed measure was very fully debated. Mr. Charles Walpole, who had previously taken no part one way or the other, was voted into the chair by Mr. Walter, and the promoters explained their views. A full report of this meeting, of an adjourned meeting held on March 9, and of the proceedings before the Committee of the House of Commons, will be found at page 96. It is taken principally from the " Surrey Comet," which was first established by Mr. Philpott, in August, 1854 The Bill was passed and became law on May 25 as " the Surbiton Improvement Act, 1855," being the statute anno decimo octavo Victorise Eeginse, cap. xxxvi. It is intituled " An Act for Paving, Draining, Cleansing, Lighting, and otherwise improving the District of Saint Mark, Surbiton, in the Parish of Kingston-upon-Thames, in the County of Surrey, and for other purposes ; " and it states that " it would be of great advantage to the inha- bitants of the Ecclesiastical District of Saint Mark, Surbiton, ... if the same district . . . were sufficiently paved, drained, lighted, cleansed, and c 2 20 SUKBITON. otherwise improved, and if a separate body of Commissioners were established for those purposes and for the management and regulation of the said district." In section 6 the limits of the Act are defined as follows : " All that part of the parish of Kingston-upon-Thames which is comprised within a boundary-line commencing at the point of the Eiver Thames which forms the south-west corner of the said parish ; then running in a northerly direction along the river boundary of the aforesaid parish until it arrives at the culvert which forms the exit of the large drain of the Surbiton Estate, now belonging to Messrs. CoUtts and Company ; then turning eastward, and crossing the Portsmouth Road ; thence following the line of the wall which forms the boundary between the estate of Alexander Raphael, Esquire, and a slip of land belonging to the Surbiton Estate ; thence on arriving at Maple Lane, turning northward, and continuing to follow the line of the wall which lately formed the boundary of Mr. Raphael's property next Maple Lane ; then crossing the Ewell turnpike-road, and again along Mr. Raphael's boundary next the passage by the Waggon and Horses public-house ; thence from the end of the said passage, running in a northerly direction along the line of the old footpath to the point where Clay Lane and Lower Marsh Lane intersect each other ; thence along the Lower Marsh Lane to the bridge which carries the South Western Railway over Marsh Lane; thence along the south side of the said railway to the Maiden River; thence along the south side of the Maiden or Ewell River as far as the boundary-stone of the parishes of Kingston and Maiden ; thence turning southward, following the boundary-line of the Kingston parish and the hamlet of Talworth, across the Ewell and Epsom turnpike-road, and along the west side of the road from Long Ditton to Ewell which divides the hamlet of Hook from the parish of Kingston, until it arrives at the point where the boundary of Kingston parish crosses the said road ; thence turning westward, following the boundary of the parishes of Kingston and Long Ditton, crossing the Portsmouth Road, and ending at the first-named point next the River Thames." The part of the boundary commencing in the Maple Lane and ending in the Portsmouth Road was defined by a wall separating the estates of Messrs. Coutts and Mr. Raphael; and when this wall was taken down, in 1865, in order to enlarge the gardens to the houses in the Uxbridge Road — the houses being in Kingston, and parts of the gardens in Surbiton — it was decided to mark the boundary by placing stones in Maple Lane and in the Portsmouth Road. Boundary-stones were also fixed, in 1880, showing the division between Ditton and Surbiton, in Balaclava Lane. The number of Commissioners was fixed at fifteen by section 10, and in r;^^ COMMENCEMENT OF RAILWAY TO PASSING OF IMPROVEMENT ACT. 21 section 11 are the names of the first Commissioners, viz. Charks Corkran, of Southborough, in Surbiton ; William Henry Walton, Charles Barrett Lennard, David Napier, William Dunnage, William Mercer, Charles Bailey, and George Alderton, all of Surbiton ; Charles Sumner, Eobert Marshall Straight, Henshaw Skinner Eussell, William Walter, Charles Edward Jemmett, William George Durnford, and Eobert Brown, all of Surbiton Hill, in Surbiton. Under section 1, the following Acts and parts of Acts of Parliament are incorporated with and form part of the Act : The Commissioners' Clauses Act, 1847 ; the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845 ; sections 2, 3, 24-27, 32 and 33 of the Town Police Clauses Act, 1847 ; and the Town Improve- ment Clauses Act, 1847, except section 50, the proviso to section 167, and section 176. While the temporal requirements of the place were being looked after, its spiritual wants were not neglected. Those who took an active part in securing local self-government were chiefly instrumental in enlarging St. Mark's Church. Owing to the rapid increase of population, the church first erected was found, in 1853, to be quite inadequate to the requirements of the parish, and Messrs. Coutts and Co. came forward to assist Mr. Phillips and his friends in making the necessary alterations. It was by some proposed that the church of St. Mark should remain unaltered, and that a second church should be built ; but it was generally acknowledged that St. Mark's was much too low in the roof^ — in the summer the heat was almost suffo- cating, and eventually it was decided to make the church the fine building it now is. The work of enlargement presented many difficulties, owing to the form of construction with a central tower, but they were successfully overcome by the architect, Mr. Philip Hardwicke. The chur-ch was closed in April, 1854, and during the alterations the Sunday services were carried on in the National Schools and in a small temporary building of corrugated iron that was erected against the south wall of St. Mark's, so arranged as to include the south porch, where the font was placed, in order that it might stand in a consecrated building. A harmonium was substituted for the organ, and was played by the well-known John Parry, who had built himself a residence (Combe Lodge) opposite the church ; he voluntarily undertook to train the choir, and acted as honorary organist when the church was again used. The church was reopened for Divine Service on Palm Sunday, April 1, 1855, the sermon being preached by Dr. Sumner, Bishop of Winchester. Surbiton may be described at this period as having the appearance of a neglected, uncared-for suburb — partly country, partly town like — with many of the houses and villas in an unfinished state, with bad roads and few paths. 22 SURBITON. Commencing at tlie northern boundary of the district, and taking that side of the railway, there was the old public-house, the "Waggon and Horses, and a few wooden cottages on the east side of Surbiton Hill Eoad, then generally known and described in the Commissioners' first rate-book as Surbiton Common. Mr. Jemmett resided at The Cranes. Villiers' Path went across a field. There was, in Clay Lane, the Beehive public-house, a few cottages, and two pairs of unfinished villas, which were pulled down, as being " dan- gerous buildings," three years ago ; and on the west side, near the bottom of the hill, was the parish pound and a couple of cottages. The Elmers was occupied by Colonel Eyres, and extended up to Church Eoad. In the Adelaide Eoad there were only twelve houses. The Claremont Eoad and Claremont Crescent were much as they now are, except that Glenmore (Mr. Charles Fane's) was not so large. There was no opening into the Grove Eoad, and Dr. Kershaw's and the Eev. J. Wilson's houses were not built. As already stated, St. Mark's was the only church in the district, and the tower and spire were not completed. The upper part of the Victoria Eoad — then called Church Hill — was much as it now is ; Victoria Terrace consisted of only nine houses, and there were scarcely any other buildings on that side ; on the north side there were about twenty houses. Maple Lane was impassable for carriages in the winter, and there was only a small part with a path, which was high above the roadway and protected by posts and chains. On one side the first Congregational Church and Melford Place had just been built; the remainder was fields, including the ground of the Surbiton Cricket Club, of which Sir W, H. Walton was the president, and Mr, James Bell the honorary secretary ; and on the other side there were three houses at the north, and Hampton Grove Cottages at the south end, the space between them consisting mostly of market-gardens. Brighton Terrace and the greater part of the houses on the Brighton Eoad were already in existence. In Cottage Grove (then called George Street) there were forty cottages ; in the Westfield Eoad, nine houses and twenty-seven cottages ; in St. Leonard's Eoad there were four, in Cadogan Eoad five, and in Grove Eoad two houses. Catherine Eoad was not then made, the land being occupied by the wax- bleaching works of Mr. Hugh Barclay. In the Portsmouth Eoad there were altogether nineteen houses, including the offices of the two Water Companies. On the south side of the railway, Surbiton Hill Park (then called Selfe's Park) was laid out with roads approached by grand gateways; the present road running parallel with the railway was continued to the wooden bridge crossing the line, but there were no buildings in the Park. Berrylands and Berry Lodge Farms were on the north-east of the Berrylands Eoad — Mrs. COMMENCEMENT OF RAILWAY TO PASSING OF IMPEOVEMENT ACT. 23 Charlotte Aspin holding the one, and Mr. Wm. White the other ; and there were the five houses (Belmont Villas) on the opposite side of the road. The present Avenue extended only to May field, which, with the adjoining villa, was unfinished. Mr. H. Home occupied the large house which was built in 1853 by Mr. Wm. Walter, jun. ; the next pair were finished, but the adjoining pair were not roofed. Mr. John March Case occupied Berrylands Villa, and there were four houses on the west side of the Avenue : the houses of the United Kingdom Temperance Institution, in which Sir William C. Sergeaunt, the Misses Selby, and others afterwards resided, were not then built. In King Charles's Eoad (really a lane) there were the six houses now called Kadnor, Bromley, and Sunny Villas, with Mrs. Stacey's farm opposite, and the Grange (then a small house) at the north end. Berrylands Eoad was a dirty lane. On the north side there were a wooden cottage, Meadowbank (then a cottage), James Stone's Bedford Cottage with dairy attached, and the Jolly Farmer beer-house. On the south side there was the long boundary-wall to Hill House ; at the corner of the Green Lane (Alpha Eoad) the Gravel-Pits, Paragon Terrace, the Paragon Arms (then kept by John Broughton), and four pairs of cottages or villas — the first house occupied by Mrs. Quin as a school, the fourth by Mr, Eowley W. C. Eichardson, and the others were unfinished. Paragon Grove had houses on the west side, but on the east were only the four houses which have recently been pulled down, and their places taken by the houses erected by Mr. Wilcox. Berrylands was a bleak, unlighted district, with a very few trees, and the roads were so bad that it was difficult to approach the houses. It bore the appearance of a common, with furze growing on part of it. The Alpha Eoad was almost a quagmire ; there were several cottages and Mr. Vachell's brewery by Eichmond Grove. In the Britannia Eoq,d were a few cottages, and the road- way was nearly impassable. In the Ewell Eoad there was, ^t the north end. South Terrace and Glencairn, Wyburn Villas ; the two cottages between which was the carriage-way to the houses of Mr. Charles James Shebbeare and Eear- Admiral Wm. Eadcliffe ; the large house belonging to Mr. Pigott ; the two sets of villas erected on Mr. Walter's land, with Southbank Eoad between them, closed by a white gate, and which extended only to where Mr. Bryant's stables now are ; the remaining part to the station being only a path across the field ; then the windmill-house and cottage, occupied by Mr. John Selfe, with a brick-field adjoining ; Surbiton Hill House, tenanted by Mr. (afterwards Sir Charles) Pressly ; the two cottages at the entrance to Oak Hni Eoad ; the present row of shops, most of them then being private resi- dences ; Langley Villas, and Mr. Camber's cottage. At the entrance of Langley 24 SUKBITON. Lane was a wicket-gate ; and the thirty-two acres of the Southborough Estate, afterwards purchased by Mr. Curling, were open fields. On the east side of the Ewell Eoad, The Lodge was the only house between the railway and Berrylands Eoad; then came Hill House, Ivy Cottage (occupied by Mr. Charles Butler), six small houses, Shrublands, Mr. Croucher's villa, the Plough and Victoria public-houses, some other houses, and the old small cottages. Brown's Lane leading to the brick-fields, and the houses on the Holly Hedge Field, some of which were unfinished. The present Oak Hill, Oak Hill Eoad, and Oak Hill Grove were described in the first rate- book as " the Parade " — which term was then properly applied to the houses facing south-west, commencing with Elm-side (Mr. James Case's) and ending with Mona Lodge (Archdeacon Philpott's, then occupied by Mr. Charles Walpole), and the houses in Oak Hill Eoad running at right angles to the Parade. The other houses adjoining Mr. Walpole's were unfinished, as also were those subsequently taken by Sir Henry Eicketts and Mr. G. S. Hayter. Oak Hill Lodge was occupied by Mr. Edward Brown ; and Mr. Dolman resided in Douglas Lodge, near to the station. Mr. Charles Corkran occupied Southborough Lodge, and the remainder of the land between the Glen- buck Eoad and the railway was orchards and fields. From the abstracts from the rate-books of the Commissioners, given in the Appendix, at page 133, it will be seen that in 1855, on the north side, the net annual value of property was £7370, and the number of persons rated was 268 ; that the railway was assessed at £1900 ; that the net annual value on the south side was £5891, and the number of persons rated, 212 ; making a total of £15,161, and 480 ratepayers. In May, 1887, the rate-book showed a total of 1960 persons rated, and the amount assessed as £87,975. For the purpose of contrast between 1855 and 1887, reference may be made to Table xxii. at page 143, in which are given the assessment, number of houses, and popula- tion in each quinquennial period. In 1855, the only telegraph-office in Surbiton was at the railway station, and there were only two post-offices — one in Victoria Terrace, which was also a money-order office, under Mr. Slaney Jones; and one in the Ewell Eoad, under Mr. Eeading. There were two deliveries and two despatches of letters daily, and three postmen. "Berry," a well-known and much-respected character, who was parish clerk of Hook, had the Hill district, and, as he was a welcome and permitted visitor in the servants' hall of many of the houses on his route, noon was frequently reached before he completed his round. At present there are sixteen men employed delivering letters five times daily. There are post-offices at Victoria Terrace (Mr. G. Priddy), Ewell Eoad (Mr. COMMENCEMENT OF EAILWAY TO PASSING OF IMPROVEMENT ACT. 25 J. Williams), and Berrylands Eoad (Mrs. G. Poole). The two first are tele- graph and money-order offices and savings banks, and Mrs. Poole's is a money-order and savings-bank office. There are also eight pillar, or wall boxes. According to Kelly's " Post-Office Directory for Surrey, Essex," etc., published in 1855, there were 165 names given under the head of " Gentry " residing in Surbiton; in Phillipson's "Directory," for 1887, there are 767 names inserted. There does not appear to have been any county magistrate resident in Surbiton in 1855, nor until 1873, when Mr. Samuel Ranyard and Mr. John Broomhall became Justices of the Peace. Mr. William Yates Cockburn was made a magistrate in 1876 ; Mr. Henry John Pattison in 1883 ; and Major-General F. E. Appleyard, C.B., in 1887. In 1855 the county of Surrey consisted of two Parliamentary divisions — East and West — Surbiton being in the former. Under the Act of 1866 the Eastern was made into two divisions, that in which Surbiton is situated being called Mid-Surrey. By the Act of 1885, by which twenty-two divisions returning one Member each were established, Surbiton was made a part of the Kingston division. The Members returned to Parliament since 1855 have been — For East Surrey : T. Alcock and the Hon. Locke King ; for Mid-Surrey : Sir H. W. Peek, Sir Trevor Lawrence, the Hon. W. H. Brodrick, and Sir E. Baggallay ; for the Kingston Division : Sir J. Whittaker Ellis, the present Member. CHAPTER III THE IMPROVEMENT COMMISSIONERS 1855-1887. The first meeting of the Commissioners was held at St. Mark's National School-rooms on June 7, 1855. Mr, Charles Corkran was invited to be the first chairman, but on his asking to be excused, the post was filled by Mr. (afterwards Sir) William Henry Walton. Committees were named, to report on the officers to be appointed, for inspection and works, for lighting, and for finance. At the meeting in the following week, it was resolved to appoint a treasurer, a clerk (to be a solicitor), a surveyor (if possible an engineer residing in the district), an inspector of nuisances, an officer of health (a medical man practising in the district), and a collector. Mr. Wm. Shrubsole was appointed treasurer, and Mr. James Bell, clerk — Mr. John Guy, who was also proposed as clerk, having withdrawn his name. At the third meeting, on June 16, a design for the corporative seal (a copy of which is given on the title-page of this book) was approved. Mr. W. Blackburn was appointed collector, and inspector of nuisances ; the Lambeth Water- works sewer was ordered to be the " datum line ; " and two days afterwards Mr. James Simpson, jun., was appointed surveyor. Mr. Simpson was then directed to report as to remedying existing nuisances, and as to the best method of draining the district. The clerk was ordered to inquire of the Lambeth Waterworks Company as to watering the roads; and a committee was appointed to prepare bye-laws and forms of notices to be given to builders, owners of slaughter-houses, etc. Offices were taken in the premises occupied by Mr. Rickards, on the south side THE IMPKOVEMENT COMMISSIONERS. 27 (nearly in the middle) of the Victoria Eoad, at an annual rent of £30 ; and the Board met there on July 2. Within a month of their first meeting, the Commissioners had before them the report of the Committee of Inspection, which stated how bad the drainage of several parts of the district was ; that the ditches were more or less polluted with sewage ; and that the committee were apprehensive of the influ- ence which these defects might have upon the salubrity and future prosperity of the place. Further reports were made by Mr, M, T. Coleman (medical officer) in the beginning of 1856, in which the sad condition of the parts of the place in which the cottages were mostly situated was brought promi- nently before the Board. Middle Green Lane was the first road ordered to be improved. Tenders were accepted for the work in September ; the work was completed and the name was changed to the " Alpha Eoad " before the end of the year. Orders were at once given to cleanse some of the open ditches and to restore the watercourses where obliterated. A surveyor's foreman (Samuel Frost) was appointed; authority was given to borrow £1200 for improvements; addi- tional lamps were put up ; highway and improvement rates at 4:d. in the pound each were levied ; the Victoria, Claremont, and other principal roads, and the footpaths in the Ewell and Portsmouth Eoads, were ordered to be repaired ; and the district was lighted for seven months in the year, the cost being £3 12s. 6d. per lamp. Shortly afterwards, some of the posts then obstructing the footway in Maple Lane were removed. This path was much above the carriage-way, and, when the latter was properly formed, the path was lowered considerably ; in doing so the posts and chains, which ran along a considerable part of the lane, were taken away. In December, 1856, the occupation road leading from Alpha Eoad to King Charles's Eoad was named Britannia Eoad, and in 1859 it was put into proper repair. While the Commissioners were active in attempting to abate dangerous nuisances, they also devoted much time to properly draining the south side of the railway. A preliminary report was presented by Mr. Simpson in July, 1855. Much difference of opinion existed at the Board as to the proper measures to be adopted, and many meetings were held at which the question was discussed. By some the proposed outlay was considered too high for the then ratable value of the hill side of the place, and it was decided to refer the matter to the ratepayers. Their feeling was clearly shown by the result of the first annual election of Commissioners in June, 1856, when Mr. Charles Walpole and Mr. (afterwards Sir) Charles Pressly were placed on the Board. After much' further discussion, the Commissioners deemed it right to call a 28 SURBITON. public meeting of the ratepayers, which was held in November, 1857, and at which it was resolved that the scheme of drainage then submitted by the Com- missioners required further consideration. A special committee was appointed, and soon afterwards a modified plan was brought forward by Mr. Simpson. It was, however, deemed to be too costly ; and on Mr, Eobert Brown becoming surveyor, in September, 1859, he was ordered to prepare a scheme. This, which was a modification of Mr. Simpson's tunnel plan, was laid before the Commis- sioners in the following spring. He proposed to avoid the expensive tunnel by forming a " tumbling-bay " at a central point on Mr. Curling's thirty-two acres, whereby considerable expense was avoided without interfering with the completeness of the scheme. This plan was adopted by the Board, and it was duly carried out and completed in 1862, at a total cost of £4235, towards which the owners of property contributed £1735. The proceedings connected with this measure are more fully set out at page 108. The other parts of the district were drained at various times. The Westfield Eoad sewer was con- structed at the expense of the owners in 1858. The Surbiton Hill Eoad sewer was made in 1859, as was also the sewer in St. Leonard's Eoad; and in 1862 a drain was laid down at the north end of the Ewell Eoad. The Oak Hill district was drained in 1865, and the Cleaveland Eoad sewer was made in 1882. The great difficulty connected with drainage was the diversion of the sewage from the Thames, into which river all the sewers constructed in the district emptied themselves at the Promenade, opposite Eaven's Eyot. Within two years of the Commissioners having completed the system of sewers on the hill, they had to turn their attention to the still more expensive process of disposing of the sewage otherwise than by sending it into the Thames. Numerous schemes were proposed, some for Surbiton only, others for Surbiton combined with other townships on the river. To deal with the difficulty single-handed seemed to be impossible. Combination, therefore, was a necessity ; and the Commissioners did their utmost to effect a union of several places. Their action led eventually to the formation of the Lower Thames Valley Main Sewerage Board in 1877. That Board, however, was dissolved in 1886 ; and negotiations were then opened with the Corporation of Kingston for dealing with the sewage of Surbiton at the eyots belonging to the borough near the railway bridge. These resulted in an agreement between the two authorities, the particulars of which are given at page 113, where will also be found a history of the proceedings taken by the Commissioners in connection with the sewage question from 1864 to 1887. Amongst the early acts of the Commissioners was the ordering to be THE IMPKOVEMEKT COMMISSIONERS. 29 prepared the survey and map of the district required by sections 13 and 15 of the Towns Improvement Clauses Act, 1847, on a scale of not less than sixty inches to a mile, and on which should be marked the course of all sewers and drains under the care or management of the Commissioners. It was decided to invite tenders for this purpose. The lowest offer received was for £175 ; it was, however, considered that £150 would be sufficient for the purpose, and eventually the higher sum was paid to the surveyor (Mr, Simpson) for preparing the survey and map and for all business previously done by him. The datum line for all levels marked upon the plan is a bench- mark cut thus j 1 1 upon the boundary-stone between the parishes of Kingston and Thames Ditton, opposite the eleventh milestone from Hyde Park Corner, in the London and Portsmouth road at Seething Wells, such bench-mark being twenty-one feet above Trinity high-water mark. The map, which was made in several parts, and was completed in January, 1856, is carefully preserved at the Commissioners' office. For ime months after the Act was passed the Commissioners met in private, but in December of 1855 it was decided that " the meetings shall be so far public that the local press shall be present to take notes and to publish their proceedings, unless the Commissioners present at any meeting shall otherwise direct ; " and Mr. Philpott, the editor of the " Surrey Comet," was informed that a reporter might attend the meetings. During the winter of 1856-7, there was difficulty in finding work for some of those entitled to out-door relief, and paupers were employed on some of the roads in Kingston, but after considerable discussion, it was then thought better not to so employ them in Surbiton. This question again came before the Commissioners in 1870, in the form of a communication from the Board of Guardians, who represented the difficulty experienced in finding work for able-bodied men, and it was resolved under the circumstances to utilize four men on the roads in Surbiton. The question of protection from fire was brought under notice by the surveyor in the early part of 1856, when it was suggested that the services of the fire-engine which was kept in Kingston might be secured. Active measures were adopted in March, 1863, when the Hon. Gerald Talbot raised the question of providing a fire-engine and a fire-escape, and a special com- mittee was appointed to consider the subject. On their recommendation, a Eoberts's patent manual engine at a cost of £158, and an escape at a cost of £52, were purchased. The engine, named "The Talbot," was put in charge of Mr. Adam Gilby, who had " already in another place been an active 30 SUKBITON. member of a fire brigade, and who was therefore likely to be peculiarly useful in the organization of the necessary force at Surbiton." Eight men were appointed as " volunteers to attend on all occasions when the engine is called out," and equipment was provided for each man as follows : Clothes, £2 15s. ; distinctive buttons, 4s. ; helmet, 12s. 6d. ; bill and axe, 14s. 6d. ; boots, £1 12s. Qd. ; total, £5 18s. 6d. The engine was kept on the Commissioners' premises, near their office, at an additional rent of £5, and the escape was placed on the embankment, amongst the trees, near the railway bridge in the Ewell Eoad, a fee of £1 Is. a year being paid to the Company. In 1865 an agreement was signed under which the Commissioners were allowed to erect a shed to protect the escape, and the engine was removed to a building belonging to Mr. Walter, on the top of the hill — part of the premises which had belonged to Mr. John Selfe, and adjoining the site of the old windmill — at an annual rent of £10. Shortly afterwards a fire-bell was erected on this building ; and in 1870 another bell was placed in the railway station yard, as being the most central part of the district. Fault was found by a few of the ratepayers at the expense which was incurred in the establishment of the fire brigade, and it is a singular fact that the first occasion on which the engine was advantageously employed was at a fire which occurred at the house of the most active opponent of the outlay. The fire brigade continued under Mr. A, Gilby, as captain, from 1863 until 1879, the volunteers during that period being W. Brown, P. Allen, W. Legg, F. Chamberlain, T. Adkins, T. Burton, J. Davis, C. Thompson, W. Wickham, and W. Legg, jun. During this period they attended thirty- seven fires, and gained great praise for their exertions, especially at a serious fire at the Hounslow Powder-Mills, in 1866. Messrs. Curtiss and Harvey, in a letter to Mr. Gilby, thanked him for the valuable services which the brigade generally rendered, and Mr. Gilby personally for his obliging atten- tion and the good judgment he showed on the occasion. On his resigning the post of captain, the Commissioners expressed their acknowledgment for his services. At the end of 1879 " The Talbot " was considered to be of an antiquated character, and the Commissioners decided to provide a steam fire-engine. The Hicrhway Committee met a deputation from the Kingston Volunteer Steam Fire Brigade, established in 1870, which the Commissioners arranged to join, and which then became the Kingston and Surbiton Volunteer Fire Brigade. The affairs of the brigade were managed by a committee of the subscribers, consisting of an equal number of residents in Kingston and THE IMPKOVEMENT COMxMISSIONEKS. 31 in Surbiton, the representatives of Surbiton being approved by the Com- missioners. An engine was hired from Messrs. Shand and Mason, at the rate of £36 per annum. Arrangements were made with Mr. Frederick Howell for the hire of his stables in St. James's Koad, at a rent of £30 a year. They were suitably fitted at the expense of the Commissioners, and the fire-escape was afterwards placed there. These premises had to be given up in 1886, when the engine was removed to the yard at the rear of Mr. William Mudie's establishment in the Victoria Eoad, which was rented at £40 a year, the building (which consisted principally of materials brought from the first church at Hook) being properly fitted for the use of the brigade. A new Bray's patent fire-escape was purchased, and, after inspection by Captain Shaw, C.B., was placed in the railway station yard, by permission of the Company, Dr. Owen Coleman was the first superintendent of the brigade, Mr. Barton the deputy-superintendent, Mr. G. H. Harrison the chief engineer, and Mr. H. A. Dunnage the chief fireman. After taking an active part in organizing the new brigade and commanding it for three years. Dr. Coleman resigned in favour of Mr. G. H. Harrison, who had become deputy- superintendent in 1882, and who had evinced great interest in, and devoted much time to, the work of the brigade. Mr. Harrison partially left the Surbiton branch in 1886, on his becoming second officer of the whole brigade, and Mr. Dunnage then took the lead at Surbiton. The present strength of the brigade is eleven officers, twenty-nine firemen, besides turncocks, call-boys, and coachmen, which bring up the total to fifty-five hands. Mr. W. H. Koots, as chief officer, and Mr. G. H. Harrison, as assistant chief officer, have supreme control over the whole. A list of those who form the committee of management, of the executive officers of the brigade, and of the brigade stations, as well as an extract from the rules, will be found in the Appendix (page 122) ; and the sums expended from time to time by the Commissioners are shown in the abstract of accounts at page 146. Messrs. T. Guilford and E. L. Thynne (who has from the first taken a great interest in the affairs of the brigade) now represent the Com- missioners on the committee. One of the most important duties devolving on the Board, as affecting the health and comfort of the inhabitants, is the removal of ashes, dust, refuse, and offensive matter from houses and gardens. In the early days of the Commissioners this was done by contract, and in one year the sum of £10 was received from the contractor ; but at the end of twelve months it was deemed better to allow the residents to make their own arrangements for getting rid of the stuff. The contract system was, however, reverted to 32 SURBITON. in 1871, in which year a payment of £55 was made from the rates. The provisions of the contract have been gradually made more stringent, and been more rigidly enforced, and the annual expense is now about £500. The primary conditions of the contract are that every house in the district shall be visited once in fourteen days, and that the contractor shall provide a shoot or place of deposit beyond the limits of the district ; but if within the district, it must be to the Commissioners' satisfaction, and in such a position and so kept as not to be a nuisance. Six carts and six men are constantly employed on the work throughout the year, and nearly a hundred and thirty houses have to be visited every day. Printed cards are circulated throughout the district at least twice during the year, containing a number of useful hints as to the destruction of offal, refuse, or other such offensive matter ; information as to the duties of the contractor — his times of calling, and the fines to which he is liable in cases of neglect. The card also contains a printed form on which the residents are invited to record every call made by the contractor. By this method every householder can exercise a certain amount of supervision on the removal of the dust so far as concerns his own house ; and on this, in a great measure, depends the successful working of the contract. Up to the year 1884 the dust contract included the scavenging of all the roads of the district. It was, however, thought advisable at that tin^e to have a separate contract for the scavenging. It has been found that the proportion which the County Authority has to contribute towards the maintenance of the main roads is about one-third of the total sum expended on them. At the suggestion of Sir Wm. "Walton, the Commissioners in 1860 pro- vided a clock, which was placed in the lower part of the tower of St. Mark's Church. While the Board were unanimous in opinion as to the desirability of providing a clock for the district, there was some difficulty in agreeing as to its site. They eventually adopted the recommendation of a committee, which stated " the best situation at present available is the church of St. Mark. The architect of the church is decidedly averse to a clock being placed in the upper part of the tower above the belfry, so the space prepared for a clock in the lower part of the tower is the only position in which it can be placed. It must be admitted that this is very unfavourable for a clock being seen ; but your committee are of opinion that it is more important that a public clock should be well heard than be well seen." The clock was made by Messrs. Cooke, of York, and cost £303. The quarter bells are of 4f and 3| cwt., and the hour bell is of 7 cwt. As early as 1860 the Board devoted a part of the rates to the planting of THE IMPROVEMENT COMMISSIONERS. 33 trees on the sides of the principal thoroughfares. One hundred lime trees were purchased in that year, and planted in the Ewell and other roads. A few were added from time to time, and this improvement was further proceeded with in 1882, when those in King Charles's Eoad were planted. Soon after- wards, at the request of several of the occupiers of houses in the Victoria Eoad, lime trees were placed at the north side of that street. Mr. W, Metcalfe, whose business premises were on the opposite side, strongly objected, and, considering the trees as a nuisance, took legal proceedings against the Commissioners. The bill of indictment was, however, thrown out by the grand jury. Mr. Metcalfe subsequently appeared before the auditor, and wished to have the item expended for the trees and the tree-guards dis- allowed. This was successfully resisted by the Commissioners, who main- tained their right to apply a part of the rates for this purpose. The first seats were put up in 1865, when thirteen benches were placed in various parts of the district, at an expense of £1 each. In 1878 some seats were placed in the Ewell Road at the expense of Mr. J. W. Byams, of Eoselands, and considerable additions were made to their number in 1881 and 1882. The endeavour of the Commissioners was to place these seats in positions where they would be of advantage to the inhabitants generally, without being an annoyance to any of the residents. The question of the increase in the number of lamps, and of the time of their being lighted, was frequently under consideration. As already stated, the roads in the district were not lighted at all until just before the formation of the Board in 1855, and the lamps were then lighted only during seven months in the year, and not on the nights when the moon was nearly at the full. In 1863 the lamps were lighted during nine months — May, June, and July being omitted. In the following year, at the special recommendation of the Lighting Committee, thirty-two new lamps were placed in the district, one of the reasons for the addition being " that the opening of the new church (Christ Church) requires that the approaches to that building should be pro- perly lighted, and many of the streets in that quarter have been very ill lighted up to the present time. There is also considerable increase of build- ing in the vicinity of the church, and a new street (Christ Church Eoad) has lately been opened adjoining it." Arrangements were at the same time made with the gas contractor to light the district from August 15 to May 15 in every year for the sum of £4 per lamp. In 1867 the lamps (180 in number) were ordered to be lighted for one month longer, leaving out June and July only, at a charge of £4 55. per lamp per annum. Villiers' Path was first lighted in 1869. The lamps were D 34 SURWTON. lighted all the year round in 1870, Such additions to the number of lamps as seemed to be required were made each year until 1882, when the positions of many lamps were altered ; ten additional single-light lamps were ordered, and a Sugg's three-light lamp, with a refuge, was placed in the Victoria Eoad opposite the railway station. The annual charge for single-light lamps was at that time reduced by the Kingston Gas Company to £4 each. In 1885 the number of Sugg's lamps was increased by thirteen, and ten ordinary lamps were dispensed with; the cost per ordinary lamp was reduced to £3 15s. per annum, so that the additional expense for this improved lighting was very small. For the first time the original plan of keeping the lamps on one side of each road was departed from. The lighting is now done by means of ordinary street lamps — situate at a distance of sixty to ninety yards apart, according to the importance of the thoroughfare — with the addition of two- and three-light Sugg's lanterns on special ornamental columns at the open spaces and intersection of the prin- cipal thoroughfares : those in the open spaces are placed on paved refuges and protected by specially designed guard-posts. The gas is supplied by the Kingston Gas Company, Their charge, which includes cleaning and repairs to lanterns, as well as lighting and extinguishing, is — ordinary lamps, £3 15s, ; two-light Sugg's, £11 5s, ; three-light Sugg's, £15 per annum. All the posts, lantern-frames, etc., are the property of the Commissioners, Some difficulty was encountered in the early days of the Board in inducing owners of cottages to provide a proper supply of water. The powers of the Commissioners were limited ; persuasion rather than force had to be used. They, however, had greater powers in 1870, when they took the matter up in earnest, and notices were served on all landowners having cottages let at a sum not exceeding 9s, per week, to compel them to lay on water, A com- mittee was formed, consisting of the chairman, Messrs, Coleman, Richardson, Dickins, and Guilford, with instructions to undertake remedial measures for meeting the want of a proper supply of water ; and in their report of July 11 on sixty-six cottages, they stated that the arrangements in thirty-six of them were not satisfactory, and the owners were directed to state by a given day what improvements they proposed to make in order to comply with the law, prior to their being served with formal legal notices. In other cases a ' liniit of twenty-one days was fixed, and a separate supply for each house was required. In most instances this had the desired effect, and in only one was it necessary to have recourse to the magistrates. The attention of the Commissioners was called by the medical officer of health, in the summer of 1886, to the importance of having all water-cisterns THE IMPROVEMENT COMMISSIONEES. 35 kept clean ; and notices requiring this to be done were circulated in the district. As the principal buildings progressed in the roads which were not taken over by the Board in 1855, and the roads and paths were made in accordance with the requirements of the Commissioners, they were dedicated to the public, and repaired at the expense of the district. The minutes of the Board show that there were numerous disputes with owners as to who were to bear the first cost, and as to the condition of the roads before they were taken over ; but the Commissioners generally succeeded in settling differences without pressing unduly on owners or sacrificing the interests of the rate- payers. The Berrylands and St. Leonard's Eoads were dedicated in 1862 ; St. James's, St. Mark's (changed in 1868 to St. Andrew's), and Grove Eoad in 1864; South Bank, Oakfield (changed subsequently to Oak Hill), and Glenbuck Eoads, Oak Hill Grove, Cleaveland and Cadogan Eoads in 1866 ; St. Mary's Eoad and the Avenue, Berrylands, in 1868; St. Philip's in 1872; Christ Church in 1873 ; part of Brown's Eoad, the Catherine Eoad, and King Charles's Crescent in 1874; the south end of the Avenue, Berrylands, in 1877; and the Avenue Elmers, in 1878. The road leading from the west corner of Langley Eoad to St. Matthew's Church was called Kingsdown Eoad in 1880. Langley Eoad was a narrow lane with a swing-gate at the Ewell Eoad end, and a high gate in the Leatherhead Eoad, and was considered by Mr. S. W. FuUom to be sufficiently picturesque to form one of the love-scenes in his novel. As the houses began to be erected on the south side, i.e. on Mr. Curling's thirty-two acres, it was thought desirable to convert the lane into a good road, and Mr. Charles Corkran was asked, in 1873, if he would open the lane with a view to the Commissioners taking to it as a public highway. A long correspondence followed with him, Mr. Curling, and others. Notices were served " on the owners of land abutting on the part between the old gateway and Oak Hill Eoad," to put the road in proper repair under section 150 of the Public Health Act. The owners were willing, with certain conditions, to contribute towards the expense, and to give up land sufficient to make a thirty-five feet road right through from the Ewell to the Leatherhead Eoad. An agreement was prepared under which Mr. Corkran and Mr. Curling gave up sufficient land and paid £150 each, Mr. Bryant gave £125, Mr. Eglington £50 : and in 1879 the new way was dedicated to the public as Langley Eoad. In 1880 an improvement was effected in what was originally the lane leading from the Ewell Eoad to Brown's brick-fields ; the present footpath at the Ewell Eoad end being added, for which purpose a strip of land was purchased at a cost of £55, one-half being borne by the Commissioners. An D 2 36. SURBITON. attempt was made in 1883 to complete this improvement by making the road a width of thirty -five feet throughout, but the owners of the abutting property were not willing to give up the requisite land, and the proposal was abandoned. An awkward corner at the Ditton entrance to the district, in Balaclava Eoad, was removed, and the road widened in 1866, at an expense of i'215, of which one-half was contributed by the Kingston Highway Board, The Commissioners are empowered, under the Act of 1855 and the Acts incorporated therewith, to take to roads and streets under certain conditions, and they can put roads into a satisfactory state, charging the cost to the owners. As a rule, they have preferred doing this with the consent of the proprietors, which, however, in one case — that of South Terrace, running parallel with the railway — they were unable to obtain, even though they were willing to repair the road at the public expense. They passed a resolution at the end of 1867 to adopt it as a public highway ; but Mrs. Wyburn's solicitor objected to this being done, and also to the bar at the entrance being removed. Ten years afterwards, Colonel Cockrane and other tenants com- plained of the bad state of the road, and estimates of the cost for repairing it were prepared. But as the solicitor to the owner of the property adhered to his decision to retain the road in his own hands, the Commissioners were obliged to give up tlie idea of dedicating it to the public. In another case, which occurred at about the same time, the Board were obliged to put into force their Parliamentary powers. It was decided to take to the three roads in the part formerly called Selfe's Park, the name of which had been changed to Surbiton Hill Park. This was done at the request of many of the occupiers of houses, and with the concurrence of a majority of the owners. Mr. W. S. T. Sandilands, who then owned and occupied the house now tenanted by Mr. Charles Scotter, strongly objected, and strenuously opposed the action of the Commissioners. On receiving the formal notice requiring him to " sewer, level, pave, flag, and channel " the portions of the roads abutting on his property, he protested " against the contemplated interference," and he addressed to the Commissioners a long argumentative letter on the subject. They, however, determined to proceed, and in February, 1878, they served Mr. Sandilands with the requisite statutory notice. The dispute was carried on for some months; and in December, 1878, he wrote a longer letter, which he printed, and in which he defied the Commissioners to proceed with the work. A lawsuit seemed imminent, but, after much delay and numerous meetings, it was arranged to refer the matter to arbitration, with the result that the sum apportioned to Mr. Sandilands was slightly reduced, whilst each party had to pay their THE IMPROVEMENT COMMISSIONERS. 37 own costs, those of umpire and arbitrator being borne by the Commissioners. This matter cost the district £255. The roads in question were dedicated to the public in 1879, and they were afterwards named respectively Surbiton Hill Park, Park Eoad Surbiton Hill, and Parklands. The Ewell and Portsmouth Turnpike-Eoad Acts expired in June, 1870, and the Leatherhead and Kingston Act in October, 1883, from which dates the portion of these roads within the district have been repaired and main- tained at the expense of the Commissioners. The tolls levied at the turnpikes at Tolworth and Southborough, just outside Surbiton, were abolished, and the gates were removed. This was a relief to the portion of the ratepayers using horses, carriages, and other vehicles ; but it threw, at first, a heavy charge on the rates for putting the roads into proper repair, and a permanent charge for maintaining them. Considerable sums were expended on the Ewell, Ports- mouth, and Leatherhead (or Brighton) Eoads within a short time after their transfer to the Commissioners. In mitigation of the extra charge thus thrown on the district, a contribution is made towards the maintenance of the county roads. The sums received under this head are shown in the abstract of accounts at page 146. The want of carriage communication between the north and south sides of the railway was felt directly the buildings increased on the hill, and several plans were devised for carrying out this object. They were, however, considered either impracticable or too costly, and no direct public action was taken in the matter until 1862, when the Commissioners supported a memorial which was presented to the directors of the Eailway Company, asking them to make a carriage-way, and to effect improvements in the "Kingston and Surbiton Station," as it was then called. Some alterations were effected in the station buildings — the platform was lengthened and the waiting-rooms were enlarged. Additions were also made to the station yard and goods depot. The state of the yard, "and the means employed in receiving and despatching cattle, formed the substance of a remonstrance from the Commissioners in 1871 and 1872 ; and considerable improvements were then made by the Company. The number of passengers travelling on the line and using the station at Surbiton continued to increase very rapidly, and frequent complaints were made in 1880 as to the want of punctuality, the state of the carriages, and the absence of those advantages to which Surbiton was fairly entitled. It was thought, moreover, that a more direct communication with the west end of London was needed. The people of Kingston were also greatly dissatisfied' with the accommodation afforded them, and they strongly supported a 38 SUKBITON. scheme, which was started in that year, for constructing an independent line from Guildford, via Surbiton and Norbiton, to Putney. This scheme was taken up by the principal landowners on the line of route, and was supported by the Corporation of Kingston and the Surbiton Improvement Commissioners, who presented a petition in favour of the Bill which was brought into Parlia- ment for making the railway. The Commissioners approved the plans sub- mitted by the new Company, in which provision was made for altering the Glenbuck Eoad, and for carrying a bridge over the South Western Eailway, opposite the south end of the Adelaide Eoad, thus securing at this point carriage communication between the north and south sides of the district. A public meeting was held in March, 1881, at which it was resolved to support the new scheme, and evidence in its favour was given by the Com- missioners before the House of Commons Committee. The matter was, how- ever, compromised by the South Western Company making a new line from Guildford to Surbiton, and by that Company joining the Metropolitan District Company in constructing the portion between Surbiton and Putney. The line between Guildford and Surbiton, which was duly made and opened on February 2, 1885, has been the means of bringing a large tract of the picturesque county of Surrey within easy reach of the inhabitants of Surbiton. After several new Bills were promoted by the South Western Company with a view of postponing the construction of the line from Surbiton to Putney, which were opposed by the Commissioners, it was finally arranged that the Company should effect some improvements in the district — including the widening of the bridge, or ladder, over the railway at Surbiton Station, or the formation of a broad subway, the widening of the bridge at King Charles's Eoad, and the improvement of Glenbuck Eoad ; that the railway from Surbiton via Norbiton to Putney should be abandoned ; and that a line should be constructed from Wimbledon Station to join the Metropolitan system at Putney. The part which the Commissioners took in these arrangements, and the advantages which they secured for the district, are more fully stated on page 105 in the Appendix, under the head of the " Guildford, Kingston, and London Eailway." With an increase of population, a disposition was shown by some of the owners of property to stop up the public paths over their lands ; and in 1863 the surveyor was directed to inquire as to the rights of the public to use the thoroughfares at the back of Berrylands. Several old people were found who recollected the way through Mr. White's farm (Berry Lodge Parm) to Maiden as a bridle-path for sixty or seventy years, and the surveyor received orders to make the path passable where it crossed the Hog's Mill or Maiden stream ; and as Mr. Selby (who had succeeded Mr. White) disputed the right of way, THE IMPROVEMENT COMMISSIONERS. 39 inquiry was made amongst the old inhabitants, and two witnesses were found, " both old men, but still alive," who could give evidence as to the right of way across this farm; so formal notice was served on Mr. Selby. Direction-posts marking the line were erected by the Commissioners, and the path has since been maintained for public use. Allusion has been made to the improvements in Green Lane, or Alpha Eoad, and in Terry's Lane, or Maple Eoad. In 1867 it was proposed to convert Clay Lane into a public highway. Mr. William Mercer, who was one of the trustees of the charity property bordering on the lane, suggested that advantage should be taken of the opportunity of the Chelsea Waterworks Company having a large quantity of gravel to dispose of at a low price, to cart it on to the lane between the Hog's Mill river and the Surbiton district boundary at Marsh Lane, and on to the lower part of Clay Lane ; that a level bridge should be thrown across the stream — the corporation making the road between the Fairfield and Marsh Lane, and the Commissioners thence to the railway bridge, the expense being borne by the two authorities, and the owners of adjoining property contributing. As regards Surbiton, an estimate was pre- pared by Mr. Herrtage, the surveyor, amounting to £823 for material, labour, excavating, and gratings ; and a circular was issued, stating that " the need of a more direct means of communication between Surbiton Hill, Norbiton, and Eichmond Hill had long been felt; that, with the view of meeting this want, a movement had been set on foot to have the road known as Clay Hill, being the continuation of the King Charles's Eoad, put into thorough repair, so as to be available for traffic ; that the proposed improvements included the levelling, straightening, and draining of the existing road, and also, if funds would permit, the widening of the railway bridge in the King Charles's Eoad ; that a sum of about £400 had been promised ; and that the Surbiton Improvement Commissioners asked for further subscriptions, being anxious, if possible, to carry out the works without the necessity of a rate." The subscriptions promised beyond the £400 were not sufficient to enable the Commissioners to commence the work, and the only thing actually done was the placing of some earth at the Kingston portion near the river. In 1868 the inhabitants of the north side of the Victoria Eoad applied to have the footpath paved, offering to bear half the expense. Some improve- ments were then effected, and these have been continued from time to time ; but, owing to their having been done piecemeal, partly by the Commissioners and partly by the owners, many irregularities have occurred in the line and level of the footway, unsightly gratings have been inserted in the areas, and' inconvenience has arisen from the raised paving or platform over the fore- 40 SUKBITOX. courts of some of the shops. In 1883 the Commissioners had an estimate prepared for altering and widening the pavement; and, in 1885 and 1886, attempts were made to remedy the defects. The Board's surveyor prepared plans and sections for repaving, kerbing, and channelling the footway of Victoria Terrace, which those interested were invited to inspect. As the forecourts do not belong to the Commissioners, they have no power without consent to make any alteration therewith, or to expend their funds thereon ; but as the works proposed would necessitate an outlay of several hundred pounds, the Board thought some joint effort should be made on the part of the owners and occupiers of the shops along the terrace to do away with the dangerous and unsightly projections over the forecourts, and that the paving should be of the same description as the other part of the footway, and be laid with one continuous line and level from the kerbing to the shop-fronts, with suitable pavement lights in lieu of the open gratings. After communicating with many of the inhabitants on the terrace, a meeting of those interested took place with the Commissioners in March, 1887, when the plans were examined and explained. With one exception, all were in favour of the pro- posed alterations if light and air to the basements could be sufficiently preserved. Several objected on the score of expense, and nothing was actually done. In 1886 the Commissioners had under consideration the increase of traffic in some of the principal thoroughfares, and plans were prepared for widening South Bank, as being one of the chief roads leading to the railway station ; Glenbuck Eoad, as forming an important communication with the Southborough part of the district ; Brown's Eoad on both sides from end to end ; and the east end of Lambert's Eoad ; for improving the Ewell Eoad at the entrance to the district ; and for the formation of a proper road at the Eetreat, between the Alpha and King Charles's Eoads. The owners and occupiers were invited to co-operate in effecting these improvements. In consequence, however, of the opposition shown by some, the disinclination to part with the necessary land by others, and the very high price asked by several, all these schemes were abandoned with the exception of the two last. The Lambert's Eoad improvement formed part of the plan for widening the King Charles's Eoad bridge; and directly the arrangements with the Kailway Company were completed, it was decided to invite the trustee of the owners of the small strip of garden-ground required, to part with it at a reasonable price. The occupier, Mr. Dunnage, was willing to meet the wishes of the Commissioners ; but as the trustee declined to do so, it was necessary to have recourse to the legal powers of the Board, and take the strip of land by compulsion. This was finally settled by payment to the THE IMPKOVEMENT COMMISSIONERS. 41 trustee of a sum less than that originally offered. There were difficulties in carrying out the Eetreat improvement, as there were so many parties interested, and as the title to the land required adjoining King Charles's Eoad was disputed. It was, however, decided to repair it under the powers of the Act of 1855, if approved by the Local Government Board. Application was made to that department, an inquiry was held by an inspector, and the necessary sanction was obtained for the Eetreat as well as for the Lambert's Eoad alterations. While these sheets are passing through the press, these works are being carried out. In 1874 a relic of olden times was removed. When it was arranged with Miss Eushbrooke, who then owned and occupied the Elmers, to improve the Surbiton Hill Eoad, it was necessary to remove the parish pound, which stood nearly at the bottom of the hill, on the west side of the road ; and an appli- cation was therefore made to the surveyor of the Kingston Highways with this object. A correspondence with the corporation followed, and in 1871 a plan of the site was sent to the town clerk, who was instructed to ask what provision would be made for another pound, to which the Commissioners replied that in their opinion, under the altered condition of the parish and the state of the police regulations, the want and use of a pound were no longer necessary ; and after plans for widening the road and showing the proposed line of fence had been mutually agreed upon between the corporation and the Commissioners, Miss Eushbrooke was communicated with, as to con- tributing towards the expense of removal and constructing the road, as well as to giving up some more land. A deed of conveyance between the corpora- tion and Miss Eushbrooke was sealed in June, 1874, and the pound was abolished. The building operations in progress at the time when the Improvement Act was passed were principally in Berry lands and on Oak Hill ; the unfinished houses were rapidly completed, and many new ones were erected. In the field bordered by the Surbiton Hill Eoad and Villiers' Path, Mr. Dunnage built Albury House in 1856, and Mr. Lambert shortly afterwards put up the house bearing his name. Great changes were made in Maple Eoad in 1860, Messrs. Corbett and McClymont having purchased the land on which St. James's, the North, and St. Philip's Eoads are now formed, and Eedcliffe Villas and St. Andrew's Square are built. About the same time Mr. Walter purchased of Mr. Selfe the field on which the windmill formerly stood, and the meadow and orchard adjoining, on which the houses in Southbank Terrace and five houses facing the Ewell Eoad were erected by Messrs. Johnson and Gilby. Some years before Mr. Walter bought this property, he 42 SURBITON. as the owner, and Sir Charles Pressly as the occupier, of Surbiton Hill House, filed a bill in Chancery, to compel Mr. Selfe to abate the nuisance caused by burning bricks, and they obtained a perpetual injunction from Lord St. Leonards, on appeal from Vice-Chancellor Knight Bruce, This case is often quoted, as establishing the principle that brick-burning is a nuisance. Mr. Curling's thirty-two acres of the Southborough Estate on the Ewell Eoad were invaded in 1864, and several houses were built there. Some of the first were those in which Mr. J. E. Unwin and Mrs. Stogden resided, St. Bernard's (now tenanted by the Misses Miller) was erected by Mrs. Wiltshire, in 1873. A further portion of the Southborough property was purchased by Mr, Eglington, who erected his house in 1870, Further build- ing took place in Berrylands in 1870, and the south portion of the Avenue was then finished, Argyll House (now occupied by Mrs. Nops and Mrs. Eamsey) having been put up for the Misses Carter in the year 1868. Messrs, Corbett and McClymont bought of Miss Eushbrooke in January, 1872, the portion of the Elmers Estate on which the Avenue Elmers was built by them in that and the following years, Mr, Wilberforce Bryant, in 1877, replaced the house on South Bank formerly occupied by Mr. Mur- chison, by the present house ; and in 1884 he substituted " The Gables " for Bath Lodge and the adjoining house. Further building operations took place in the Maple Eoad in 1880. The remainder of the Southborough Estate was disposed of and laid out for building in 1882, with the exception of Southborough House, purchased by Captain Cundy, and some other portions of the property. The avenue was formed into a good carriage-road ; and three new roads were made, since called Walpole, Lovelace, and Corkran Eoads. Several houses were erected in Surbiton Hill Park at about the same time. The homestead of Berrylands Farm, in which the Aspin family had resided for many years, was removed in 1882, when the road was formed commencing at the east end of Surbiton Hill Park, going round part of the property purchased by Mr, D, Nicol, past the Berrylands Lawn Tennis Club ground (established by Mr. Thurgood and Mr, Thynne in 1882), to the Berrylands Eoad. The outbuildings of the farm had been for many years appropriated to the Irish pea-pickers, who were employed in the neighbourhood during the pea-havest. For several years after the Commission was formed, there existed no one Act of Parliament which embraced the various powers contained in the Acts designed to improve the sanitary condition of the people. The first Public Health Act was passed in 1872, and a copy thereof was sent to the Commis- THE IMPROVEMENT COMMISSIONERS. 43 sioners by the Local Government Board in September of that year, from which time, under section 10 of that Act, all the powers of the Local Government Acts were vested in the Commissioners. In December following there was a special meeting of the Board, when it was considered that, as regards the duties of medical officer and inspector of nuisances — 1. All the Urban and Eural Sanitary Authorities within the Kingston Poor Law Union should be united ; 2. The medical officer should live in a central place, and have no other professional engagements ; 3. Each Authority should have its own inspector of nuisances ; and a circular was sent to all the neighbouring Authorities, asking their opinion as to the desirability of holding a public meeting to consider the subject. The chairman, Mr. Dickins, and Mr. Guilford were appointed to confer with the poor law inspector. This they did, and they had several conferences with representatives of the Corporation and Local Boards, with the result that each Authority decided to appoint its own medical officer. Accordingly, on July 14, 1873, the duties of that officer and of the inspector of nuisances were settled by the Board. Mr. M. T. Coleman was then appointed medical officer of health; and on the 11th of the following month Mr. Samuel Mather, the surveyor, was appointed inspector of nuisances. On the passing of the Public Health Act, 1875, the Commissioners nominated a special committee to consider whether any steps should be taken to improve the sanitary condition of the district. This committee recommended, amongst other things, that the duties of the medical officer should be more clearly defined, and the salary made more adequate to the additional duties imposed under the new Act. Applications for the appointment were received from two gentlemen prac- tising in the district, and Dr. Owen Coleman was appointed in July, 1876. His first report — for the year 1877 — stated that the health of the district was good ; the reports for 1878 (excepting some cases of diphtheria) and 1879 were to the same effect. The reports for subsequent years have been regularly printed and circulated. Extracts are inserted in the Appendix at page 123. In the summer of 1878 there was a sudden outbreak of diphtheria. Out of thirty-four cases — of which twenty-three were within and eleven immediately adjoining the district — thirty cases had taken milk supplied from the same dairy ; and in the latter part of 1880 there were two serious outbreaks of the same disease. Prompt measures were adopted to ascertain the cause, and to prevent the spread of the disease. The chairman applied personally to the Local Government Board for advice, and received every assistance from tlie principal medical officer, the successor and son-in- 44 SUEBITON. law of Dr. Seaton, formerly a Commissioner. He confirmed the opinion formed by the medical officer of health and by Dr. Pryce Jones — a member of the Board and the inspector of dairies in the district — which, too, was that of the other members of the medical profession living in Surbiton, viz. that the milk supply was the cause of the distribution of the disease, but that it was most difficult to trace how the milk had become infected. Notices were quickly printed and left at every house, in which the inhabitants were earnestly advised, under the circumstances, not to drink any milk which had not been previously boiled, and stating that milk ought to be boiled, for not less than ten minutes, as soon as received into the house. After the issue of those notices, no further cases occurred. One of the consequences arising from the passing of the Public Health Act in 1875 was the establishment of bye-laws for the regulation of new buildings and the prevention of nuisances. Their preparation was taken in hand by the chairman (Mr. W. P. Dickins) in December of that year. A draft set of regulations was sealed in May, 1876, and steps were taken to obtain the necessary confirmation of the Local Government Board, who were, however, just then promulgating a set of model bye-laws ; so this important matter was postponed until 1878, when a fresh set of regulations, based on those of the Local Government Board, was prepared, and, after being sub- mitted to, altered, and re-altered by that Board, was finally approved and duly sealed on March 20, 1880. A list of these bye-laws will be found at page 139 ; they relate to nuisances, common lodging-houses, slaughter-houses, and new streets and buildings — the latter being the most important portion, and occupying both in the preparation and carrying out much of the time and attention of the Commissioners. Copies of the bye-laws were printed, and the price was fixed at one shilling each. The records of the Board do not contain many special minutes as to the Commissioners individually — the exceptions being confined chiefly to the occasions on which those who had acted as chairmen, or those who had served a long time on the Board, signified their intention to resign. At the end of the first year, Sir William Walton was invited to continue as chairman, but on his declining the appointment Mr. Charles Sumner was elected, and a vote of thanks was passed to Sir W. Walton for the able and efficient way in which he had performed his duties. A similar course was adopted in June, 1857, when Mr. Sumner resigned and Mr. Charles Walpole became chairman. On Sir W. Walton leaving the Board, in 1872, at the same time as Mr. M. T. Coleman, it was resolved to " express to Messrs. Walton and Coleman the thanks of the Commissioners for the great amount of care and THE IMPROVEMENT COMMISSIONERS. 45 attention they had bestowed on the affairs of the district during the time they were members of the Board, and the great regret felt at their resignation." At the end of 1874, Mr. Charles Walpole retired from her Majesty's Civil Service, and decided to leave the neighbourhood. He soon afterwards resigned the post of chairman of the Commissioners, continuing, however, a member of the Board. The following is a copy of a minute dated March 8, 1875 : "The Commissioners, before proceeding with the ordinary business, desire to place on record their deep sense of the value of the services rendered by Mr. Charles Walpole to this Board and to the district during the many years which he has been chairman of this Board, and their sincere regret at his approaching departure from Surbiton." And on January 10, 1876, the following minute was entered : " The Commissioners, on receiving a letter from Mr. Charles Walpole, informing the Board that he had now left the district and become disqualified, resolved that the Commissioners wish to record their deep sense of the eminent services rendered by him to the district, not only as chairman, but as Commissioner since his resignation of the chair- manship, especially in the assistance given by him in connection with the recent Government inquiry as to the Thames Valley Drainage question." The estimation in which Mr. Walpole was held by his colleagues was shown in a marked manner by the presentation to him, on May 20, 1875, of a silver vase 15^ inches high, with ornamental handles, and a winged figure on the top of the cover, bearing the following inscription : — PBESENTED TO CHARLES WALPOLE, Esq., on his resigning the chairmanship op the surbiton improvement commission, by his former and present colleagdes, as a token of their esteem and in recognition of his able, impartial, and courteous conduct in the chair during the period of seventeen years, and of his energetic and beneficial devotion to the interests of the district. May, 1875. The subscribers were — Messrs. F. Adams, James Bell, H. Bidgood, C. Butler, J. M. Case, Sir L. W. Cave, Messrs. M. T. Coleman, C. Corkran, W. R Dickins, T. Guilford, J. Guy, E. H. Harrison, G. S. Hayter, Dr. W. P. Jones, Messrs. W. Mudie, W. Parkes, Sir Charles Pressly, Messrs. Eowley W. C. 46 SURBITON. Eichardson, H. S. Eussell, Dr. Seaton, Mr. J. Simpson, Hon. G. C. Talbot, Messrs. A. C. Tatham, E. L. Thynne, W. Walter, and H. W. Vachell. Mr. William Park Dickins was elected chairman in place of Mr. Walpole, and he continued to preside over the affairs of the district, with great advantage to the ratepayers, giving them the benefit of his vast legal knowledge and of his great abilities, until March, 1880, when he left the neighbourhood ; and on February 9, 1880, the following minute is recorded : " Eead letter from Mr. Dickins, resigning the chairmanship of the Board, and also his office of Commissioner. The clerk was directed to inform Mr. Dickins that the Board received his intimation with very great regret." At the same meeting Mr. Eowley W. C. Eichardson, who had recently retired from the Admiralty, was unanimously elected chairman of the Board. In October, 1882, Mr. Charles Corkran, who was one of the Commissioners named in the Act of 1855, sent in his resignation, which was received with much regret ; and he was assured of the high appreciation, by the Board, of the services he had rendered to the district during the twenty-seven years he had been a Commissioner, and a hope was expressed that, although no longer a Commissioner, he would continue to take an interest in the affairs of the district, and to give it the support which his influential position in the neighbourhood would enable him to do. Another old, although not an original. Commissioner resigned in November, 1885, when the following minute was passed : " The Commissioners accept with deep regret the resignation, by Mr. A. C. Tatham, of the post he has held for twenty-eight years, during which period his services to the district have been of great value, to the business of which he has devoted much time, and the Commissioners are sorry to lose so good and agreeable a colleague." In March, 1887, Mr. Eowley W. C. Eichardson resigned his post as chairman, and intimated his intention of not seeking re-election as a Com- missioner. It was resolved, on March 14, " That the Commissioners have received with great regret the intimation from their chairman, Mr. Eichardson, that he is unable to continue to be a member of the Board, and desire to record on their minutes their esteem for him and their high appreciation of his services to the district during a period of twenty-three years, and particularly the last seven years, during which he has held the office of chairman." Mr. Thomas Guilford, who had been a Commissioner since 1869, was unanimously elected chairman at the next meeting of the Board. Opposite this page are the portraits of the six chairmen. At the top is Sir William Walton ; and following round from right to left are Mr. Eichard- son, Mr. Dickins, Mr. Guilford, Mr. Sumner, and Mr. Walpole. ^" ■^ V THE IMPROVEMENT COMMISSIONERS. 47 A complete list of those who have served as Commissioners from 1855 to 1887 is given at page 134, together with the names of the officers of the Board, and the dates of their appointment. The officers at present are — Clerk, Mr. James Bell ; Surveyor, Mr. Samuel Mather, C.E. ; Medical Officer of Health, Owen Coleman, M.D. ; Treasurer, Mr. E. S. Phillips ; Inspector of Nuisances, Mr. Samuel Mather, C.E. ; Collector, Mr. Thomas S. Lamb ; office clerk, Mr. William Miller. The men employed under the surveyor are — John Moore, William Goocher, John Woods, John Brick woods, William Leish, James Chamberlain, Samuel Grimes, and Eobert Harrison. The necessity for amending the Act of 1855, in respect to the mode of the election of Commissioners, had frequently been under consideration, but nothing was done until 1881. The result of the election in that year was generally acknowledged to be unsatisfactory, and it was resolved to apply to the Local Government Board for power to adopt the usage of other Local Authorities, and to require notice to be given of intended candidates for Commissioners. Hitherto the election had been conducted under the Commis- sioners' Clauses Act of 1847, and a candidate could be named at any time during the day of election while the poll was open. Advantage was taken of this application to the Local Government Board to change the name of the district from " St. Mark's, Surbiton," which was not strictly correct, since the formation of the ecclesiastical division of Christ Church, to "Surbiton" only; to formally legalize the mode of auditing the accounts ; and to provide for the insertion of advertisements respecting the affairs of the district in two local papers. An inquiry was held by Mr. C. N. Dalton, one of the Inspectors of the Local Government Board, at the Commissioners' office on November 1, 1881. Evidence in favour of the proposed changes was given, and a Provisional Order was issued in the April of the following year, which was confirmed by the Act of Parliament 45 and 46 Victoria, altering and amending the Act of 1855, from September 29, 1882, and providing that — 1. The district should be called " the district of Surbiton." 2. The mode of election of Commissioners should be in accordance with the Public Health Act, 1875. 3. The annual meeting need not be held. 4. The accounts should be audited by the Government auditor. Under this amended Act the annual election of Commissioners was to be by nomination, and voting-papers were to be issued in the same manner as those for the guardians of the poor ; a register of owners was to be kept, and the voting was to be in accordance with the following scale, dependent on 48 SURBITON. the ratable value of the property held or rented : Under £50, one vote; £50 and under £100, two; £100 and under £150, three ; £150 and under £200, four; £200 and under £250, five ; over £250, six votes — six being the maximum as owner or occupier ; an owner occupying his own house to be able to vote in the double capacity. Following the list of Commissioners in the Appendix is a table showing the number of votes recorded at each annual election of the Board. It will be seen how greatly the number increased when the system was altered in 1882. In accordance with the Act of 1855, members of the Commission retire by rotation every three years, and are eligible for re-election. Casual vacancies are filled up by the Board. Under the Factory, Workshop, and Bakehouse Acts of 1883, the duty of inspecting bakehouses was transferred from the county magistrates to the Commissioners. Eegulations were established in the following year, and the medical officer of health and the inspector of nuisances were directed to furnish reports as to the state and condition of those in Surbiton. In 1886 a similar course was adopted in regard to the milk-shops and dairies. Under the Act of that year a register was ordered to be kept, and the duty of supervision was entrusted to the inspector of nuisances. When the question of the renewal of the coal and wine duties for the Metropolitan area was raised in the autumn of 1886, a committee of the Commissioners, consisting of the chairman, Mr. Thynne, Mr. Guilford, and Mr. Lott, attended, at the invitation of the Corporation of Kingston, some conferences at the Town Hall ; and in March, 1887, petitions were sealed by both authorities in favour of a renewal of the dues, provided a proper propor- tion of the amount raised was allotted to Surbiton and Kingston respectively. Having thus described the principal part of the work which has been done in the district since the passing of the Improvement Act in 1855, the next chapter will be devoted to statistical, financial, and miscellaneous matters. W¥^ ■ -^"T^'n.nV'»--rir-nifi"=-'^''-|"^^- — -^^^^ , ' ;-^i ■ —.T^^-^r^^'.:-- CHAPTER IV. STATISTICS AND MISCELLANEOUS. One of the most important statistics is that relating to mortality. With the report of the medical officer of health for the year 1886, extracts from which are given at page 123, will be found a Table containing a summary of births and deaths in the district from various causes of disease during the ten years from 1877 to 1886. The total death-rate, after adjustment as therein explained, is as follows : — 1877 . . 12-6 per 1000. 1881 . . 10-6 per 1000. 1884 . . 11-9 per 1000 1878 . . 12-4 „ 1882 . • 11-8 1885 . • 9-7 „ 1879 . . 12-6 „ 1883 . . 10-8 1886 . . 11-4 „ 1880 . . 14-3 These rates are much lower than those for the metropolis or for the whole of England and Wales. As those are, however, not fair comparisons for a suburb like Surbiton, it may be better to give the following information, which has been furnished for the purpose of this work by a principal officer of the Eegistrar-General's department, who resides in a neighbouring hamlet : "During the ten years ending with 1886, the mean annual death- rate in the London 'outer ring' from all causes was 167 per 1000, and from what are known as the 'principal zymotic diseases' it was 2*4 per 1000 of its estimated population. The deaths of infants under one year of age in the same area and period were equal to 129 per 1000 registered births. The London ' outer ring ' consists of a belt of suburban area lying all round 'inner' or 'registration' London, which is practically coextensive with the district of the Metropolitan Board of Works. 'Greater London,' which is E 50 SUEBITON. made up of ' inner London ' and the ' outer ring/ is coextensive with the Metropolitan and City police districts. The outer ring has an estimated population of rather less than a million and a quarter persons, and affords the best available standard with which to compare the mortality statistics of Surbiton." In connection with the extracts from the reports of the medical officer of health is given a return (Appendix xxiv.) of births and deaths registered in Surbiton every fifth year from 1855 to 1887. In the census return of 1861, the total number of persons was given as 4691 ; but this number is only approximately correct, as the returns on that occasion probably in- cluded some part of the borough bordering on, but not actually within, the Commissioners' district. The census numbers for 1871 and 1881 were as follows : — In isn. In 1881, Males . . 3030 .. 3673 Females .. 4612 . . 5743 Total . . 7642 . . 9416 Inhabited houses .. 1311 . . 1609 The medical officer of health frequently, and especially in his report for the year 1882, drew attention to the want of a hospital for the isolation of non-pauper cases of infectious disease. The question was often under con- sideration, but nothing was done by the Commissioners on account partly of the expense which would have to be incurred, but principally of the difficulty of securing a suitable site within the district. In the same report. Dr. Coleman aUuded to the completion of the cottage hospital in St. James's Eoad, which was designed by Mr. Ernest Carritt, and was opened for the reception of patients in April, 1883. A house in the Victoria Eoad was taken for the purpose of the hospital in 1870, and this continued to be used until the new building was ready. A detailed account of the origin, rise, and progress of this institution will be found at page 128. Another institution in which the residents of Surbiton have taken great interest is the Kingston Provident Dispensary. Amongst the originators, in 1865, were Mr. W. P. Dickins, Mr. Thynne, Mr. W. M. Wilkinson, and the Eev. A. Cornford. Mr. Dickins was the chairman for several years, and, on his retirement, he was succeeded by Mr. Charles W. BardswelL Mr. George Lee was for a long time an active member of the committee. A statement of the objects for which it was established, a list of the committee and officers, and some other particulars, are given on page 131. Surbiton, being a part of the parish of Kingston-upon-Thames, participates STATISTICS AND MISCELLANEOUS. 51 in the advantages of the charities belonging to the parish; but it was not until November, 1870, that the Commissioners had officially before them any question relating to those charities, when a letter was received from the vestry clerk of Kingston, enclosing a copy of a resolution passed at a meeting of the vestry relating to them. Attention had been drawn to the treatment of the charity funds in consequence of the Eeport of the Schools Inquiry Commission, and, after much discussion at numerous meetings in the parish, in which the Eev. Edward Garbett took an active part, the Endowed Schools Commissioners formulated a scheme for appropriating a large portion of the charities to educational purposes. A copy of this scheme was taken into consideration by the Board early in 1873; and in June the draft was returned to the Endowed Schools Commissioners, approved with an amendment substituting the word " parish " for " borough " of Kingston-upon-Thames, As thus altered, the scheme was adopted in the following year; "the management of the grammar school being taken out of the hands of the Charity Trustees, and the endowed schools being confided to fourteen governors elected by those trustees, the corporation, the Surbiton Improvement Commissioners, and the Local Board of New Maiden." The two first governors elected by the Commissioners (in December, 1874) were their chairman (Mr. Charles Walpole) and Mr. F. B. Morten. Mr. Walpole has continued as one of the governors ever since. On Mr. Morten's resignation, on account of advancing years, at the end of 1884, the Ven. Archdeacon Charles Burney was elected in his place. It will be seen by the list of charities of Kingston-upon-Thames (which includes the district of Surbiton), furnished by the Charity Commissioners, and printed at page 132, how large a portion of the funds was appropriated for the purposes of the endowed schools, which now consist of Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School for boys, and the Tiffins Schools for boys and girls. Mr. Thomas Guilford is the chairman of the Governors of both schools. The inhabitants of Surbiton can also participate in the benefits of the Cinque Cottages, at Wimbledon, founded by Sir Henry Peek, Bart., when Member for Mid-Surrey, for the occupation of five pensioners (with their wives and children) who have resided and been ratepayers for at least five years in any one or more of the forty parishes composing the old electoral district of Mid-Surrey. They must not be under fifty-five years of age, and must be of good character and in needy circumstances. No pensioner must be possessed of an income of more than £30 beyond the pension. Each has a separate cottage, free of rent, rates, taxes, etc., and receives out of the income of the trust a pension of £36 per annum. In the event of a pensioner dying, E 2 62 SURBITON. his widow, who has to leave the cottage, is allowed a pension of £18 per annum. A limited number of non-resident pensioners also receive £36 per annum. In 1877 application was made to the Education Department to allow the Commissioners to appoint three of their number to be members of the School Attendance Committee of the Kingston Board of Guardians, The first com- mittee consisted of Messrs. Dickins, Thynne, and Guilford. Mr. Richardson took Mr. Dickins's place in 1880, and Mr. Strapp succeeded Mr. Eichardson in 1883. In 1884 the committee consisted of Messrs. GuUford and Strapp and General Baird, who are the present members. The Promenade by the Thames was begun by the corporation of Kingston in 1856, and completed eleven years later. Only a small part is in the district of Surbiton. In December, 1865, the town clerk asked the Commissioners to subscribe towards the expense of its completion ; but there then appeared to be legal difficulties in making a contribution out of the rates, so nothing was done in the matter until 1872, when the town clerk applied for a subscription of £30 a year towards the maintenance of the Promenade. The application was renewed in 1874 ; and in reply the Commissioners stated that they were not prepared to entertain it " so far as contributing a sum for repairing the Promenade generally, but as a portion is within the district of Surbiton, they might undertake to maintain that portion," the cost of which was estimated at £25, and a donation to that extent was authorized. It was continued at this rate until 1886, when it was raised to £50 a year. In 1879, on the question being raised as to bath-chairs being allowed on the Promenade, it was decided to frame bye-laws for the Surbiton portion, similar to those in force for the Kingston part. Communications passed between the Local Government Board, the corporation, and the Commis- sioners ; the Town Council granted a lease from September 29, 1881, for the residue of the term of the corporation (sixteen years) so far as regards the portion in the Surbiton district — the whole of the Promenade to continue under the management of the corporation, and the bye-laws for both Kingston and Surbiton to be the same. A notice-board containing the regulations thus established was placed on the Promenade, just within the Surbiton boundary. Frequent complaints were made of the condition of the landing-place on the river-side adjoining the "Waterworks, and constant disputes were occurring between the boatmen at the ferry and the men discharging gravel and stones. A code of regulations was therefore established in the summer of 1885, and copies were printed and served on persons using the landing-place. The necessity for a police-station within the district was brought under notice in 1867, and a member of the Board had an interview with Sir Eichard STATISTICS AND MISCELLANEOUS. 63 Mayne, the Chief Commissioner of Police, with a view to the establish- ment of a station on Surbiton Hill. Sir Eichard was not then prepared to recommend the expense which would have to be incurred for the purchase of land and the erection of a building suitable for a sergeant and three or four constat)les, which he thought was the smallest staff that could be appointed. The idea of the Board was, not that there need be a staff of policemen, but that a cottage should be rented at which a constable could always be found. Sir Eichard Mayne admitted the necessity of something being done, but sug- gested the postponement of the question until the population of the district had increased sufficiently to justify a proper station being erected. Appli- cation was again made to the Chief Commissioner in 1884, and money was provided by him in the next year's Civil Service estimates for the necessary outlay. A site was selected in Langley Eoad, alongside Oatlands Chapel, and negotiations for the purchase were nearly completed. The owners of the adjoining property and the residents in Langley and Oak Hill Eoads, however, presented a memorial against the establishment of a police-station at that spot ; and while the Commissioners were desirous of having a station, and considered the site chosen as most eligible, they felt compelled to inform the authorities in Scotland Yard of the objections raised, and the proposal was abandoned. A station is now in course of erection just outside the district at Tolworth. It was proposed by Mr. Fulcher, in 1867, that drinking-fountains and cattle-troughs should be placed in the district ; and the Commissioners autho- rized payment for the supply of water for one fountain, which was placed on the west side of the Ewell Eoad, near the entrance to Surbiton Hill House. In 1871 permission was given to Mr. Lambert to erect a drinking-fountain near to the railway station. In 1874 Mr. Dines, a resident in the Ewell Eoad, presented to the Com- missioners a copy of a diagram, prepared by him, of the rainfall of the London district, giving an average each month from 1813 to 1872, and the daily and five-day averages from 1826 to 1872 (forty-seven years). These tables were compiled from various journals kept in or near London during the sixty years up to 1872. The monthly average of the forty-seven years was — In January, 1-94 in. ; February, 1-48 in. ; March, 1*46 in. ; April, 1*57 in. ; May, 1-96 in. ; June, 1'95 in.; July, 2*36 in.; August, 2-38 in.; September, 2*44 in.; October, 2*73 in. ; November, 2*20 in. ; December, 1*73 in. Total annual average, 24*20 in. Eeference has already been made to the Cricket Club existing in 1855.' An account of Surbiton would not be complete without mentioning the 54 ., SUKBITON. rowing and sailing clubs. In 1855 there were two small boating-clubs in existence. These were superseded in 1858 by the Kingston Eowing Club, which established its head-quarters, with a small boat-house, on Messenger's Island (Eaven's Eyot), then much smaller and lower than it now is. The first president was the Eev. F. M. Arnold ; the vice-president, Mr. Ehodes Cobb ; and the captain, Mr. George Bennett. Amongst the first supporters of the club was Sir William H. Walton ; and the early list of members included Messrs. James BeU, Arthur Vesey, Henry F, Shebbeare, Charles Walton, Frederick Walton, Charles Mowbray, St. Vincent Jervis, A. O. Lloyd, George T. Pressly, L. P. Lack, A. Wilson, C. Dunn, W. Dunnage, J. T. Thorley, and W. T. Warry. The club was represented at Henley in 1859, and frequently during subsequent seasons, carrying off the "Wyfold" and the "Grand Challenge" cups each on two occasions, and winning other victories. When Mr. Arnold left the neighbourhood, in 1883, Mr. Ehodes Cobb was elected president, and Mr. C. D. Heatley vice-president, in which post the latter was succeeded, in 1886, by Mr. W. Gibbons. "The Island was purchased by Mr. Henry Harrison in 1881, and soon afterwards was sold by him to the Eev. J. W. Conant, Messrs. Ehodes Cobb, James E. Hoare, and John Fisher, by whom the Eaven's Ait Company, Limited, was formed, the first directors being Mr. Ehodes Cobb (chairman), Eev. J. W. Conant, Messrs. W. B. Bewsher, John Fisher, Henry Harrison, J. A. Eoss, and Captain Sutherland. The following is a list of those who have been captains of the club : — 1858-1861— George Bennett 1870-S. D. Darbishire 1879-1880— J. A. Eoss 1862-1863— L. Pugh Evans 1871-1872— E. L. Corrie 1881-1883—0. Gurdon 1864-1866— W. B. Woodgate 1873-1876— A. Trower 1884-1887— H. S. Till 1867-1869— E. F. Henley 1877-1878— C. D. Heatley In 1855 there were very few small boats either private or for hire. Now Mr. Philip Parker (who is assisted by his sons and Joe Hammerton) has upwards of fifty boats and canoes for hire at his boat-house and the ferry. There are also about 250 boats and canoes belonging to the Kingston Eowing Club and to private gentlemen kept at Eaven's Eyot. This word is spelt in various ways — Ait, Ayte, Eyot, Eyott, and Eyght. The following extracts from Skeats' " Etymological Dictionary " may be of interest : " Ait, a small island (English), a contraction of ey-ot, diminutive of ei/, an island ; cognate form, Angles-ey, or Angles' island. Eyot, a little island (Scandinavian), also spelt Ait. Eyot, an islet. Ait, or Eyght, a little island in a river ; from ei, an island, with diminutive suffix -et, which is properly of French origin. Iceland, ey, an island." STATISTICS AND MISCELLANEOUS. 55 The Thames Sailing Club was founded in 1870 by a few boating-men, amongst whom were Messrs. Beckford, Simpson, Barton, Price, and Selby. Having obtained from the Chelsea "Waterworks Company the tenancy of a piece of land, with water-frontage to the Thames just above Eaven's Eyot, they erected boat-houses, and laid down moorings with the consent of the Thames Conservancy; and, with the sanction of the Lords Com- missioners of the Admiralty, they adopted the burgee — white with a blue cross and red foul anchor. Mr. Beckford was the first commodore, and when he retired Mr. A. T. Simpson was appointed, and held the post until 1887, when Mr. E. L. Thynne became commodore. Mr. W. Dunnage is vice-commodore, and Mr. T. S. Field rear-commodore. Mr. Walter East has been honorary secretary for some years. The number of members is limited to one hundred. At present there are ninety members, owning thirty-five sailing-boats, about one-third of which lie off the club-house, to which several improvements have recently been made. In conamemoration of the Queen's Jubilee, the club gave a champion cup of the value of ^40, to be competed for annually by all recognized sailing-clubs between Teddington and Oxford — the cup to be held by the club whose representative last won it until the following year, the owner of the winning boat receiving a prize value £5 5^., which he retains. When it was proposed, ia 1880, to establish a swimming-bath, which was to be moored off the Island, the Commissioners supported the movement, as being for the benefit of the inhabitants, and the chairman accompanied a deputation to the Thames Conservancy Board; but the scheme was strenuously opposed by the Kingston Eowing Club, and it was abandoned. The offices of the Board were removed ii^ 1866 to the present premises in the Victoria Eoad, on the south side, near to the railway station. The question of the Commissioners erecting a building for the transaction of local business, or of their renting premises attached to public assembly-rooms, should they be established, was frequently under consideration. As far back as 1870 an attempt was made to erect assembly-rooms ; another in 1882, and again another in the Jubilee year; but nothing was actually done. A memo- randum is inserted at page 119 of the Appendix, stating the steps which were taken from time to time in connection with this matter. While these pages are passing through the press, the Surbiton Assembly-Eooms Company has been formed, with a capital of £6000 in 6000 shares of £1 each, for the purpose of building rooms on a part of the Elmers Estate at the corner of the Clare- mont and Surbiton Eoads, the directors being Messrs. W. Y. Cockburn (chair- ' man), G. Bolton, Thomas Guilford, G. H. Harrison, F. Levein, G. S. Ogilvie, 56 SURBITON. H. J. Pattison, "W. H. Eoots, and E. L. Thynne; the architect is Mr. Alfred Mason, and the secretary, Mr. Francis Bell. The accounts of the Commissioners for the first five years did not show the real state of the financial affairs of the district ; they gave the receipts and expenditure, vrithout any statement of assets and liabilities. This was altered soon after Mr. Walpole became chairman. He cast the accounts into the form which was in use until the Government auditor appeared ; and he commenced the practice (before asking for a rate) of making an explanatory financial statement, showing the condition of the accounts, and producing an estimate of the coming year's expenditure. He also introduced the custom of making a financial statement to the ratepayers at the annual meeting. It was not until 1863 that what might be termed an accountant's mode of keeping the books and rendering the accounts was instituted. The Com- missioners first adopted the suggestions of Mr. F. Adams and Mr. Leonard Wakefield, the auditors for that year, and a great improvement was effected. Soon after Mr. Adams became a member of the Board, in 1862, the necessity for appointing a regular Finance Committee was brought under notice ; and a form of agenda paper giving the business to be transacted at the Board Meetings was at the same time established. Under the Act of 1855 two auditors were nominated by the ratepayers at the annual meeting. The right to do this was questioned, in 1874, by Mr. Gibson, one of the auditors appointed by the Local Government Board under the Public Health Act. The Commissioners, however, wished to maintain the right of the ratepayers, and to continue the old practice. Mr. Gibson attended at the office, but the accounts were not submitted to him. A case was then prepared for the Court of Queen's Bench, and the judges decided that in future the public auditor must pass and examine the accounts, so the Board declined to allow auditors to be nominated at the annual general meeting in June, 1875. The accounts have since been audited, and for some years have been rendered in the form required by the Local Government Board, and copies are published in the newspapers circulating in the district. They give the receipts and payments under various heads ; but they do not show the unpaid liabilities of the Commissioners, the uncollected rates, or the sums due on outstanding loans. There is, in fact, no statement of assets and liabilities. At the end of 1877 it was suggested that the money borrowed on the security of the rates, and remaining to be paid off, might be obtained at reduced rates of interest. When the loans were first raised, the money was STATISTICS AND MISCELLANEOUS. 57 borrowed at 5 per cent., and in bonds of £100 each. The sums applicable to the Sinking Fund year by year not being the same as the amount of a bond, there was generally a balance lying idle in the hands of the treasurer ; thus, as the sum redeemable annually under the main sewer account was £110, one £100 bond only could be paid off, and there was a balance of £10, which was retained until the next year, when still only one bond could be redeemed, and the balance became £20 ; so it was not until the ninth year that £200 could be redeemed in the year. The existing 5 per cent, bonds were paid off, and the money was reborrowed at 4 per cent,, in bonds corresponding in amount with the annual payments. The money was lent principally by the Friendly Societies in the neighbourhood. Every February an estimate is prepared by the surveyor of the highway work which it is desirable should be done during the next financial year. This is printed and circulated amongst the Commissioners ; is discussed, item by item, at two or more meetings of the Highway Committee, and the amount reduced to a sum that can be met by an ordinary rate. The combined Finance and Highway Committees then meet together ; the expenditure of the past and the probable requirements of the ensuing year are examined, an estimate of the latter is framed, and rates for the several departments are recommended for the consideration of the Board. The estimate is printed, and can be seen by any ratepayer at the Commissioners' office. Before any claim or invoice is paid, it is certified as correct by the officer responsible for the expenditure, and by the clerk; it is then scheduled and examined by each member of the Finance Committee present. Soon after the Act was passed, in 1855, the Board established " bye-laws for regulating the business of the Commissioners and the duties of their officers." Numerous alterations were made in these, as occasion arose, until 1880, when it was deemed desirable to revise the regulations, embodying in them the changes made since 1855, and adding such new rules as might appear necessary. With this object, the standing orders and bye-laws of the neighbouring Urban Local Authorities were examined, several of their rules were adopted, and, at the meeting of the Board, on August 9, 1880, the present " regulations and duties of the officers " were sealed and ordered to be printed. They embrace the regulations for conducting the business of the Board and of the committees ; for the payment of accounts, and custody of books, etc. ; and they contain the duties of the clerk, treasurer, medical officer of health, surveyor, inspector of nuisances, and collector. For some years after the Commission was formed, the only permanent committee which met regularly was the Finance; other committees being 58 SURBITON. appointed from time to time as circumstances arose. As the district increased, and, with it, the business of the Board, permanent committees were appointed, and the detail business was done in committee, and em- bodied in reports which were submitted at the ordinary monthly meetings of the Board — it being the invariable practice to take the decision of the Board, when all the members can be present, on every question involving expenditure, and not of mere minor detail. During the seven years ending March, 1880, the number of Board and committee meetings was the same — ninety-one each ; and during the next seven years there were 102 Board and 221 committee meetings. The permanent committees are the Finance, Drainage, Highway, and Sanitary. The present members are shown in the list of Commissioners inserted at page 136 in the Appendix. In the year 1880 the Commissioners had to consider a revision of the emoluments of the officers of the Board. Before arriving at any decision, Mr. Eichardson communicated with the chairmen of the neighbouring Boards as to the salaries paid to the clerks, surveyors, and other officers, the nature and extent of the work done, and the annual rates levied in each district. A table was compiled from the information thus collected, and laid before the Commissioners in July. It gave the ratable value, the area, the number of houses, and the population of each district ; the salaries and emoluments of the officers ; and the average annual district rates for two or three years ; and it showed that the expenses of management in Surbiton were as low as in many, and lower than in most of the other places. The Commissioners felt themselves justified, therefore, in making some additions to the salaries of their officers. It also showed that the rates in Surbiton were lower than in any other district having the same advantages. A similar comparison was made in the spring of 1887. The statement then prepared (which is appended at page 140) gave more particulars than the former one: it contained the average annual expenditure and the nature of the bye-laws in force. The following is an abstract of the average annual rates shown in the returns of 1880 and 1887 :— Surbiton Wimbledon Richmond Kingston Teddington 1880. s. d. .. 1 9i . 1887. «. d. . 1 11 .. 3 2J . . 2 10 ..20. . 2 4 .. 2 5J . . 2 9 ..30. . 2 5 1887. Heston and Isleworth s. d. 2 2 . s. . 2 d. Twickenham . . 3 2 . . 3 5 Epsom . . Brentford — . 2 . 3 4 4 Chiswick — , 3 8 The purposes for which the rates are levied are not uniform in all these places, some having public libraries. Burial Boards, sewage farms or works STATISTICS AND MISCELLANEOUS. 59 for the disposal or treatment of sewage, and expenses for other purposes which are not common to all ; but the above figures may be taken generally as fair for comparison. Moreover, the basis of assessment varies slightly in the different Poor Law Unions, but in the places within the Kingston Union the basis of assessment is the same all through. This is founded on a table prepared by the chairman of the Union Assessment Committee (Mr. Thomas Guilford), which shows the gross and net sums for every possible rental — one for yearly tenancies, and one for repairing leases. To realize the difference between the rates payable in various places, it may be well to assume the case of a house assessed at, say £70 a year — the occupier would have paid, during the periods ending 1880 and 1887 respectively, an annual sum, if resident in Surbiton, of £6 5s. 5d. and £7 14s. 2d. ; in Kingston, of £8 12s. Id. and £9 12s. 6d. ; in Teddington, of £10 10s. and £8 9s. 2d. In Surbiton and the adjoining district, the amount of poor rate would have been the same, averaging about Is. 9d. in the pound. In former years this rate was very much higher. Soon after the Surbiton Improvement Act was passed, some of the residents who were connected with her Majesty's service devoted some time to investigating the accounts of the guardians, and placed themselves in communication with them and with the Poor Law Commissioners. The annual poor rate was then 4s. 6d. in the pound ; it was soon materially reduced, and it has gradually gone down to about Is. 8d. in the pound. This is shown at page 139 in the statement of the poor rates levied in each year since 1855, to which is attached an abstract of the payments made by the overseers for what is called the union poor rates during the years 1886 and 1887. It will be seen that less than one- half of the sum raised is required for the poor — about one-fifth being for county rates, and nearly one-third for the police. In comparing local rates, it should be borne in mind that in most districts they are collected twice or three times a year, and many residents are apt to quote the single rate as that which is payable during a whole year. In Surbiton the rates are made only once in the year (generally in May), as being more convenient and less costly to collect. The collector (1) sends out a demand note ; (2) he calls a month or so afterwards ; (3) he sends a memorandum in the course of the autumn ; (4) he states that a summons will be applied for ; (5) he reports to the Commissioners, who order applica- tions to be made to the justices for the summonses — which are, however, very few in number. In fact, the greater part of the rates is remitted by cheque very shortly after the demand note has been left. The Table at page 142 gives the rates in the pound levied each year 60 SURBITON. from 1855-56 to 1886-87 ; the total sum received from all rates every year for each five years ; the average sums received per annum per head of the population and per house ; the sum expended on wages, lighting, watering, and the removal of refuse, as well as the ratable value of the district. It should be borne in mind that of these rates the highway and improvement are the only ones which apply to the whole of Surbiton, as the sewer rates are dependent on the locality— the houses on Coutts' estate (north of the railway) being free from payment. Also, that no sewer rates were levied before 1862. It will be seen that, while the total ratable value has rapidly increased, the total sum received for rates has risen much more rapidly, whether taken on the population or on the number of houses. The average sums paid per annum were about — . Per head of population. Per house. ige of the five years. i. d. £ s. d. 1855-1860 4 If 15 3 1861-18G5 6 11 2 2 1866-1870 8 OJ 2 8 3 1871-1875 .. 10 6| 3 3 9 1876-1880 .. 12 81 3 14 6 1881-1885 .. 13 3f 3 16 1886-1887 (of.two years) .. 13 7 8 16 7 These facts are so contrary to the generally received idea that with an increase of a district the rates should fall, that it seems necessary to add a few explanatory words. As regards houses it may be remarked that the total number does not properly represent the real increase of house accommodation, inasmuch as a considerable number have been enlarged, and in many houses a rise would have taken place even if the total rate of expenditure had been stationary. The cause of the rise may be attributed principally to the growth of the requirements of the residents in what may be termed " necessary luxuries " — necessary as well for comfort as for health, and these form a large portion of the total outlay, viz. cleansing the roads (for which purpose the bulk of the wages is paid), watering and lighting the roads, and the removal of dust, etc., from the houses. Until 1870-71 the latter item did not appear as payable from the rates ; it was, however, really although indirectly borne by the ratepayers, who had to pay privately and heavily for getting the refuse removed. More roads are watered, and the watering is done more frequently ; the lighting is better, the street lamps being nearer together than formerly. Moreover, the area of roads to be kept in repair is greatly enlarged since the Ewell and Leatherhead Trusts expired and the turnpikes were abolished. The average annual charge per head of the STATISTICS AND MISCELLANEOUS. 61 population for these " necessary luxuries " was, in the five years 1855-60, Is. IM; 1861-65, 3s. 0^^. ; 1866-70, 3s. llld.; 1871-75, 4s. 9id ; 1876-80, 5s. 0|(?. ; 1880-85, 5s. 6d. ; and in the two years 1886-87, 6s. 5d. At page 145 will be found a Table which gives the cost of materials used on the roads in each quinquennial period, and which indicates the cause of increase during recent years, especially for flints and gravel. The average expenditure rose from £994 in 1870-75 to £1599 in 1875-80, and to £1651 in 1880-85, and continued the same in 1885-87, tar-paving alone costing in 1875-80 £489. Since 1870 upwards of nine miles of this paving, as well as twelve miles of kerbing, have been done in the district. The whole cost of this work has been defrayed from income, the practice of the Commissioners being to avoid raising money on loan except for really permanent works. The only debt owing by the Board is for the new sewers on the east side of the Ewell Road, amounting, as shown by Table xxiii. on page 144, to £7208, on which the fixed amount payable annually is £262, and the interest in 1886-87 was £284. The sum due for interest will be reduced year by year as the redemption money is paid off. It may be well to mention here that the work of watering the roads is done by means of seven water-carts, holding from 250 to 300 gallons each. Sixteen meters and standposts are fixed at the most convenient parts of the district, from which the carts obtain the supply of water required. The carts are the property of the Board, but the meters and standposts are hired from the Lambeth Water Company at a rent of £16 12s. per annum. The Company supply the water required at the rate of 9d. per 1000 gallons; the work of distribution is done by contract, the cost being from Is. 3d. to Is. l^d. per 1000 gallons. For some years the payment for water was at a rate per mile, and at a fixed sum for its distribution on the roads during the season extending over six months ; but as it was found that this plan had many disadvantages, and was open to much abuse, the present practice of paying by results was suggested by the Commissioner's surveyor, and adopted in 1880. The smallest quantity of water registered in any year, under the meter system, was during the season of 1879, when only 1,933,000 gallons were used ; the largest quantity was in 1885, when 6,470,000 gallons were used. During seventeen years, the total quantity used was 67,853,600 gallons, and the sum paid the Water Company during that period, for water alone, amounted to £2544. For the purpose of cleansing the roads, etc., the district is divided into six sections — three on each side of the railway ; one man is constantly employed in each section on this special work, and is made responsible for 62 SURBITON. the cleanly condition of the section. The men do everything required in sweeping, collecting, and removing all filth and refuse matter, dirt, mud, and dust from the roads, and forming it into heaps ready for removal by the scavenging contractor's staff. In addition to the hand-brooms and scrapers provided for these roadmen, two horse-brooms and two horse-scrapers are constantly used for collecting the dirt, mud, and dust. The use of these machines is to some extent regulated by the weather in winter-time; but during the summer months the entire surface of every carriage-way in the district is thoroughly swept by these horse-brooms at intervals of from ten to fourteen days, according to the importance of the thoroughfare or the extent of the traffic. The district is about two miles from east to west, and about one mile five furlongs from north to south, and is nearly equally divided by the railway. The highest point above ordnance datum — the mean sea-level at Birkenhead — is on Oak Hill, opposite the house occupied by Mr. G. C. Bruce, 120 feet ; the lowest point is by the river-side, 20 feet. As a conclusion to this part of this work — an attempt to show what Surbiton was before the establishment of local self-government in 1855, and what has since been done by the Commissioners — there is given, in a pocket at the end of this book, a map, which is one-fifth the size of the ofiicial plan of the district, showing every road, street, house, and building, in June, 1887. The official plan is based on the large ordnance map, and is on the scale of five feet to the mile. In size it is about eleven feet by nine feet. CHAPTER V. CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS. Suhbiton was originally in the diocese of Winchester and in the archdeaconry of Surrey. Under the bishopric of St. Alban's Act, 1875, there were trans- ferred, by Orders in Council of April 30 and July 11, 1877, as from August 1 following, to the diocese of Rochester, " all such parishes situate wholly or partly in the Parliamentary divisions of East Surrey and Mid-Surrey, as now form part of the diocese of Winchester, with the exception of the parishes of Newdegate and Thames Ditton — partly situate in the Parliamentary division of Mid-Surrey — and all such parishes situate in the county of Surrey as now form part of the diocese of London." Surbiton thus became a part of the diocese of Rochester ; and, by Order in Council of August 14, 1879, was included in the newly formed archdeaconry of Kingston-upon-Thames ; the first archdeacon being the Rev. Charles Burney, Honorary Canon of Rochester, and Vicar of St. Mark's, Surbiton. Mention has already been made of the formation, in 1844, of the ecclesi- astical district of St. Mark's, of the erection of the church in that and the following years, and of its enlargement in 1854 and 1855. In 1860, as further church accommodation was rendered necessary by the increase of population, the Rev. Edward Phillips, at his own expense, and at a cost of £1000, erected a temporary iron church on a piece of ground, lent by Messrs. Coutts and Co., opposite the National Schools, where the North Road now is, hoping in time to have the satisfaction of building a permanent church in that part of the district. Divine Service was first performed in this iron church on November 2, 1860 (Advent Sunday), by the Rev. Edward 64 SURBITON. Phillips, assisted by the Rev. H. R. Wadmore (now Vicar of All Souls, South Hampstead), who came from London weekly to assist in the services. At this time many of the inhabitants of Surbiton, principally those residing on the hill, holding evangelical views, expressed a desire to form a separate ecclesiastical district on the south side of the railway. Mr. Phillips and a number of the residents were strongly opposed to this. The vicar's idea was that it would be more beneficial to make St. Mark's what might be called the mother church, and to erect a new church-of-ease on the hill, and he signified his willingness to contribute largely towards the cost. After much discussion, however, a letter was addressed in September, 1861, on behalf of residents already referred to, to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, for the formation of a separate district, and in the following December an application was made to the bishop, stating that the census returns gave a population of 16,123 for the whole ^arisA of Kingston-upon-Thames, and that in the district of St. Mark's were 943 houses, of which nineteen were unfinished, giving an estimated population, at the rate of six persons to a house, of 5658. Further correspondence and several interviews passed with the Ecclesiastical Com- missioners, the bishop, and some of the residents ; eventually a committee was formed, consisting of Messrs. George Cavell, W. H. Dickinson, George Foot, Alfred Hermon, C. E. Norton, James Alexander Strachan, and Charles Walter, by whom application was made, with the concurrence of the bishop, to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, to ascertain whether, in the event of sufficient funds being raised for building a new church, and of the forms required by law being complied with, they would give their official consent to the for- mation of a separate ecclesiastical district. The three months required by the Act of Parliament having been allowed to elapse, and " no sufficient objec- tions having been raised," a subscription list was opened, and negotiations were commenced with Mr. R. Curling, who promised a site on his property, on the west side of the Ewell Road, nearly opposite to Mr. R. G. Freeman's house (Fownhope), in the Hollyfield. Eventually, however, the present site in Berrylands was purchased ; and Christ Church was erected from designs by Mr. Charles Lock Luck j it was commenced in the summer of 1862, and consecrated on August 20, 1863. The Rev. Edward Garbett was the first vicar, and to him the Rev. Edward Phillips relinquished the fees which belonged to him while he remained Vicar of St. Mark's. The next change in the ecclesiastical divisions of the district took place in 1875, when St. Matthew's Church was built, at the sole cost of Mr. W. M. Coulthurst, who was desirous of providing an incumbency for the Rev. T. C. Griffith, then Curate of Emmanuel Church, Streatham, and of erecting a CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS. 65 church to the memory of his sister. After consulting Mr. E. P. Stringer, who then resided at Shrewsbury House, in Claremont Crescent, it was decided to place the church at the bottom of Surbiton Hill, near to the junction of the Ewell and Ditton Eoads, on the property of Mr. Curling, by whom the site was given, and to form a new parish from a small part of the Christ Church district and the hamlet of Tolworth. Now that the formation of the various ecclesiastical divisions of the district has been sketched, it is proposed to consider more in detail the four churches of Surbiton, as well as the chapels and also the schools belonging to each of them. St. Mark's CHtJRCH. In 1845 a petition for the consecration of St. Mark's Church was sent to the Bishop of Winchester from the Eev. S. W. Gandy, vicar of the parish of Kingston-upon-Thames ; Joseph HoUingdale and William Shrubsole the younger, churchwardens ; William Welsh, William Pamphilon, sidesmen ; Thomas Fricker, William Strange, C. E. Jemmett, and John Eeed, inhabitants of the parish. It stated that the existing churches and chapels did not afford accommodation for one-third of the inhabitants; and that, by a deed dated March 24, 1845 (in which reference was made to another dated July 14, 1840, being a release from Thomas Pooley and others on payment of £25), Messrs. Newman Smith and Sebastian Smith had, with the consent of Mr. Edward Marjoribanks, Sir E. Antrobus, Mr. A. M. Drummond, and Mr. A. E. Drum- mond, conveyed to her Majesty's Commissioners for Building New Churches a part of the " Surbiton Estate " lately called " Maple Farm," containing 1 rood and 38 perches. It further stated that the church of St. Mark, Surbiton, had been erected in the Gothic style of architecture, capable of accommodating 824 persons, that one-third was set apart for free sittings, and that the cost was £5500 ; that for the purpose of endowing the church with a permanent provision exclusive of pew-rents and profits, the above- named Mr. Marjoribanks and others had paid over £1000 to the governors of Queen Anne's Bounty ; also that £275, being 5 per cent, on the cost of erection, had been provided by them as a fund for repairs of the church in addition to a further sum to be reserved annually out of the pew-rents, which sum of £275 had been invested in the purchase of £277 15s. Id. Three per Cent. Consolidated Bank Annuities. The declaration of trust, dated April 26, 1845, by the bishop and the before-named Edward Marjoribanks and others, mentioned the above endow- F 66 SUEBITON. ment of £1000 ; and it also stated that the church had been furnished with a Communion table, font, pulpit, reading-desk, and all other things requisite for Divine Service ; that £13 15s. was to be reserved annually out of the pew-rents, as well as the interest of £275, which was to be applied towards the repairs of the church, the pews, the Communion table, etc., of the fences and gates of the enclosure round the church, and of the paths and roads within the enclosure, any accumulation of interest and reserve fund being invested in Parliamentary Stocks. Permission was given to apply dividends to effect fire insurance for such amount as the trustees might think fit. One- third of the sittings were to be free for ever. The balance of pew-rents, after paying the salary of the clerk and other expenses incidental to the per- formance of Divine Service, was to be paid to the minister. The trustees were to be members of the Church of England. The deed of patronage, dated April 26, 1845, recites the endowment and the fund for repairs; states that the church is finished; and, under the episcopal seal, declares the right of Mr. E. Marjoribanks, Sir E. Antrobus, Mr. A. M. Drummond, and Mr. A. E, Drummond, their heirs and assigns, to exercise patronage by appointment of a minister from time to time. The act of consecration, which is dated Friday, May 2, 1845, recites the foregoing deeds, and describes fully the service performed by the Bishop of Winchester on the previous day. The deed assigning a district to the church is dated July 4, 1845, the boundaries fixed therein being the same as those described in the Surbiton Improvement Act, 1855, and indicated on page 20. The deed states that baptisms and churchings may be performed from that date, and burials so soon as the burial-ground shall have been consecrated; that fees are to be paid to the Rev. S. "W. Gandy, vicar, and Richard Nell, clerk of the parish of Kingston-upon-Thames, until the next avoidance of the parish church, afterwards to the minister of St. Mark's Church. The certificate authorizing marriages is dated July 10, 1845. The petition for consecration of St. Mark's burial-ground is signed by the Rev. E. Phillips, incumbent; Messrs. Henry Harrison and Henry Wood, churchwardens ; Messrs. W. Mercer, Charles J. Shebbeare, Edward Mouls, James Croft, and Henry Powell, inhabitants. The deed of conveyance is dated September 21, 1846, whereby the owners of the Surbiton Estate give and convey, as a site for the church, a plot of land with a frontage of 88 feet facing the Surbiton Hill Road, 118 feet facing the Church Road, and 308 feet on the west side between the two roads. The act of consecration, which was performed by the Bishop of Winchester, is dated Monday, June 28, 1847. CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS. 67 By an Order in Council of June 8, 1854, it was directed that " in the burial- ground of Surbiton Church, burials are to be discontinued within five yards of the walls of the church, and, with the exception of family vaults and graves, only one body is to be buried in each grave." By an Order in Council passed on May 6, 1886, it was stated that the Secretary of State had represented that the Order of June 8, 1854, should be varied; that her Majesty in Council on March 8, 1886, ordered that notice should be given of such repre- sentation ; that such notice had been given, and it was ordered as follows : " That burials be discontinued forthwith and entirely in St. Mark's Church, Surbiton, in the parish of Kingston-on-Thames, in the county of Surrey, and within five yards of the church walls, and in the rest of the churchyard, except as follows : — " (a) In such vaults and wholly walled graves as are existing in the church- yard, burials may be allowed on condition that every coffin buried therein be separately enclosed by stonework or brickwork properly cemented. " (b) In such reserved grave-spaces in the churchyard (as have never before been buried in, and, when opened, are free from water) burials may be allowed of so many members of the families to whom they may be allotted as can be buried at or below the depth of five feet." The church was designed by Messrs. F. Stevens and G. Alexander, and was built by Mr. Loat of Clapham. It was commenced in 1844, and conse- crated by the Bishop of Winchester, as already stated, on May 1 of the following year. It consisted of a nave and side aisles, intercepted by a tran- sept, with a central tower, and is in the Gothic style of architecture as shown in the copy of a lithograph inserted as a frontispiece to this book. The land was given and the cost was defrayed principally by the patrons of the living, Messrs. Coutts and Co. There were sittings for 590 adults and 130 children, some of which were free. The stone of which the church was built was brought from a quarry at HoUoway Hill, Godalming, belonging to Mr. W. Ford, father of Mr. Charles Ford, of Victoria Terrace, Surbiton. The first incumbent was the Eev. Edward Phillips, who was presented to the living by Messrs. Coutts and Co. in December, 1844. On the consecra- tion of the church and the assignment of an ecclesiastical district, what had hitherto been a conventional district became a legally constituted ecclesias- tical parish ; and as the Vicar of Kingston ceded the fees to which he was entitled during his incumbency, the Eev. E, Phillips became at once vicar, whereas, had the Vicar of Kingston retained the fees, Mr. Phillips would, until the next avoidance of the living of Kingston, have been only perpetual curate. F 2 68 SURBITON. There was no curate until 1850, wlien the Eev. E. M. Benson, now Vicar of Cowley, near Oxford, was appointed. The first churchwardens were Mr. William Walter and Mr. H. Harrison. A complete list of the churchwardens, sidesmen, and auditors of the church expenses' accounts will be found on page 73. The parsonage, as has been already stated, is the private property of Messrs. Coutts and Co., and was built at their expense in 1846. It was lent in the following year to, and occupied by, Mr. Phillips, and it is now so held by Archdeacon Burney. A sketch of it is given on page 63. The first baptism was on July 27, 1845, and the first marriage on Sep- tember 3, 1845 ; the first entry of burial in the church register is under date of September 2, 1847. The alterations and enlargement of the church were commenced in 1854. Practically a new church was erected from designs prepared by Mr. Philip Hardwicke, the builder being Mr. White. The Eev. E. Phillips, with Messrs. H. S. Eussell, B. Hinds, Charles T. Shebbeare, and Baxter, took an active part in obtaining the funds necessary for carrying out the work. The central tower was partially removed ; the chancel was enlarged and divided into a sacrarium and choir ; the nave was lengthened westward. The nave arcade was in the Perpendicular style, and on it was built an Early Decorated clerestory, in which style the other parts were built. The north nave arcade was removed and rebuilt in order to widen the nave. The whole roof was raised, and, a few years afterwards, a tower with a spire was placed at the north-west corner of the church. The stained-glass window was removed from the east to the west end. The south porch, which was in the Perpen- dicular style, remained, as also did the south nave arcade and the two transepts. The enlarged church was reopened for Divine Service on April 1, 1855 (Palm Sunday), when the Bishop of Winchester, Dr. Sumner, preached the sermon. Miss (now Baroness) Burdett Coutts subscribed £2000, and £1400 was collected in the district. These sums were, however, not sufficient for completing the church, and an urgent appeal was made during the altera- tions for additional funds. A circular was issued which stated that the original estimate was £3490 ; that a portion of the tower had cost £630 ; that the arrangements for warming would cost £100, to which must be added £500 for architect's commission and extras ; and that £1100 more would be wanted to finish the tower and spire. The following paragraph in the circular may be interesting as showing how impressed were the minds of the residents in 1854 with the great changes effected in the place during the short period CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS. 69 of its existence. It says, "With all the signs of temporal prosperity exhibited around us, is it too much to appeal to the district for yet more extended aid ? We are surrounded by all the external marks of a thriving people. What was but yesterday a retired rural district, has suddenly, as it were by magic, assumed the appearance of a London suburb; and by the control over time and space, through the application of modern science, has been practically converled into a London suburb. We see exemplified the successful energy of the nineteenth century as applied to the multiplication of the comforts and conveniences of life." The tower and spire were completed at the end of 1860, at a cost of £1186 ; the enlargement of the church cost £4920, " including some fittings, hot-water apparatus, and laying on gas." In addition to the £2000 received from Miss Burdett Coutts, £200 was taken from the Eepair Fund provided by the declaration of trust; £130 was contributed by the Incorporated Church Building Society ; and £100 by the Diocesan Building Society. Mr. Phillips and his family gave £310; Mr. Walter and Mr. Jemmett, £200 each; Mr. Mercer, £100; Mr. Young, Captain Knox, Messrs. Scrase Dickins, Charles Corkran, Dunnage, W. Jones Lloyd, Colonel Eyres, Miss Eushbrooke, Messrs. Eussell, Baxter, Sandford, and other parishioners also contributed ; and Mr. Fitzpatrick collected £213 from his mercantile friends. The pulpit was provided partly from the funds arising from the sale of three drawings of sacred subjects, designed and lithographed by Miss J. Eussell; the reredos (composed of marble columns, carved, elaborate cornice and marble inlays, executed by Mr. White, representing the four evangelists), the tablets with the Commandments, the first bracket for the organ-pipes, and the original oak-choir stalls, were given by members of Mr. Phillips's family. The lectern was presented by Mr. Phillips, in memory of his eldest sister, and bears the following inscription : " In memory of Marianne Louise Phillips. ' Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.' " The clock, as already stated, was fixed in the tower in November, 1860 ; and in the same month the first enlargement of the organ was completed. It was placed in the south chancel as a temporary expedient ; it was origin- ally intended to have it in the west gallery. In a circular asking for funds for the improvement of the organ, it is stated, " The chamber for it was built with private funds, and admitted of an organ of sufficient power and compass at a gain of twenty-one sittings. The cost will be £420, and a complete organ wUl then be provided." The church as enlarged contained 1015 sittings, of which 217 were free; 70 SURBITON. its length being 130 feet; extreme width, 56 feet; width of the nave, 32 feet; of north aisle 13 feet, and of south aisle 11 feet; and the height of the tower and spire (taken from the ground of the terrace), 135 feet. In 1862 "the sum of £150 was subscribed for the improvement of the churchyard. The terrace on the north and west sides of the church was. completed ; a flight of steps to the tower door was made ; an entrance to the churchyard was opened on the lower part of the north side ; a dwarf wall was put up throughout the north side to keep up the bank ; three pairs of iron gates with stone piers were erected ; and a hedge was planted round the whole of the enclosure. The present Communion plate was presented in 1869, by some of the members of the congregation, the cost being raised by subscription. The font ewer was presented by Mrs. Mary Trollope, in memory of her husband, Mr. George Trollope. Some trifling alterations have been made in the interior of the church since the completion of the building. The reredos was decorated in 1872. The reading-desk was removed at the ordination held at St. Mark's by the Bishop of Winchester, Dr. Samuel Wilberforce, on St. Thomas's Day (November 21), 1871, on which occasion the sermon was preached by Dr. Woodford, afterwards Bishop of Ely. An ordination was also held in the church by the Bishop of Winchester, Dr. Harold Browne, on Trinity Sunday (June 11), 1876. The organ was again enlarged, as was also the chamber in which it is placed, in 1885. A committee was formed, of which Archdeacon Burney (the vicar) was chairman, Mr. C. W. Bardswell was honorary treasurer, and Mr. Arthur Engelbach and Mr. E. Brookes were honorary secretaries. The total cost, which was provided by subscriptions (except £10 10s. contributed by the Provincial Grand Lodge of Freemasons, Surrey), amounted to £644. At the same time other alterations were made in the chancel. An oak screen in front of the choir was given by Archdeacon Burney, who also gave, as a thank-offering for his daughter's recovery, the choir-stalls ; the choir was then lengthened, the cost of the new encaustic tiles in the chancel and within the rails being subscribed for by ladies of the congregation. These improve- ments, including the alteration of the organ, cost altogether about £1000. A view of the church as it now is faces page 20, and may be compared with the frontispiece, which shows the original structure. The patrons of the living now are Mr. Hugh Lindsay Antrobus and the Hon. Henry Dudley Ryder — the two senior members of the firm of Messrs. Coutts and Co. CHUKCHES AND SCHOOLS. 71 The present clergy are the vicar, the Ven. Archdeacon Charles Burney ; assistant clergy, the Eevs. H. J. Wilson, A, H. Murray, and E. C. Bailey. The organist is Mr. J. S. Eost ; and the verger, Mr. Eacine, who was for many years master of the National Schools. The following is a list of the windows in the church : — The large decorated east window was done by Messrs. Powell and Sons, in March, 1855. The figure-subjects are by Bell, from drawings made by Miss J. Eussell. There are three subjects in each light, among them being the Ascension, the Crucifixion, the Eesurrection, Christ blessing children, and the Presentation in the temple. The centre and right-hand lights and the medallion — the Eaising of Jairus's daughter — were presented by the family of Mr. H. S. Eussell. Another medallion was furnished from subscriptions col- lected in pence from the school-children, and the upper part was presented by Miss Dawson, a friend of the first vicar, in memory of her mother. The window in the south transept was given by Mr. Joseph Key in 1844, and bears an inscription to that effect. The centre light represents the royal and other arms. In the two side lights are the arms of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Winchester. The windows in the south aisle, commencing at the transept, are — (1) In memory of the first vicar, the Eev. Edward Phillips. It was put up by his daughter on January 25, 1886 ; the subject is Solomon blessing the people at the dedication of the temple. It was designed and painted by Miss E. Collingridge ; and it bears the following inscription : " In memory of the Eeverend Edward Phillips, this window is presented by his daughter." (2) The work of Messrs. Lavers and Westlake. It was put up in 1882, to the memory of the third daughter of Mr. J. G. Bone, and wife of the Eev. S. W. Tidswell, Vicar of Kington, Leicester, formerly Curate of St. Mark's. The subject is the presentation of Samuel to Eli, and the inscription, " In loving memory of Katharine Louisa Tidswell, 1882." (3) The work of the same firm. It was put up by Mr. J. G. Bone, and Mr. J. P. Trew, jun., in memory of Elizabeth Sarah and Ethel Lucy, daughters of Mr. J. G. Bone ; also of Frances Anne, wife of Mr. J. P. Trew, jun., and daughter of Mr. J. G. Bone ; and of Annie Kathleen Butler, daughter of Mr. J. P. Trew, jun., and granddaughter of Mr. J. G. Bone. The subject is the Eaising of Jairus's daughter, and the inscriptions are, "In loving memory of Elizabeth Sarah Bone, 1872 ; Ethel Lucy Bone, 1871 ; Frances Anne Trew, 1882 ; Annie Kathleen Butler Trew, 1878." (4) At the west end of the south aisle. Erected in 1861, in memory of 72 SURBITON. Major Shebbeare, of the 60th Bengal Native Infantry, and of the Guide Corps, and Commandant of the 15th Punjab Pioneers, son of Mr. Charles J. Shebbeare. It was designed and painted by Messrs. Powell and Sons. The centre light represents The Women at the tomb of our Saviour, and the sides represent the Kaising of Lazarus and the Raising of the son of the widow of Nain. The superscription is, " I am the Resurrection and the Life." The inscription, on brass tablets at the foot of the lights, is, "To the glory of God, and in memory of Robert Hayden Shebbeare, Major in the Indian Army, who won the Victoria cross in the siege of Delhi, September 14, 1857 ; and died at sea on his return from China, September 13, 1860, aged 33." The west window (which was in the east wall in the first church) repre- sents the twelve apostles. The windows in the north aisle, commencing at the west end, are — (1) A three-light window, the work of Messrs. Lavers and "Westlake, bearing the inscription, on a brass tablet, "In memoriam Elizabeth Byles. August, 1877." Subject, St. Luke i. 8-13. (3) The work of the same firm, as also are (4) and (5). The subject is the Visitation of the blessed Virgin Mary to St. Elisabeth, and the inscription, on a brass tablet, is, " To the glory of God this window is presented by members of the congregation and other friends, in affectionate memory of Elizabeth Wilson (born May 3, 1800, died December 26, 1886), as a token of affection for her, and of respect for her son, who has been assistant- curate of the parish for upwards of fourteen years." (4) Put up by the present vicar, the Ven. Archdeacon Burney, in memory of his mother, Mrs. Frances Burney. It represents the blessed Virgin Mary and Child, and St. Joseph. (5) The Presentation in the temple. Put up in memory of Mr. George and Mrs. Mary Trollope, by their four daughters. The inscription is, " In memoriam G. M. T. February, MDCCCLXXVIL" (6) The inscriptions are, " In memory of William Knox, born March 11, 1782, died October 24, 1855." "I am the true Vine, ye are the branches." " By Thy cross and passion, good Lord, deliver us." " Abide in Me, and I in you." On the south aisle wall there are brass tablets bearing the following inscriptions : " This tablet is dedicated to the memory of Rowley Richardson. He was born at Surbiton, January 13, 1863 ; was baptized and confirmed in this church ; died and was buried at sea, June 16, 1881." " In memory of Montagu Robertson, born May 10, 1809, died March 7, 1870. Also of Mary his wife, born July 20, 1811; died January 30, 1887." While this CHUECHES AND SCHOOLS. 73 work is passing through the press, tablets are being erected to Major-General Henry Miller and to Mr. and Mrs. George Clowes. The following is a list of the churchwardens of St. Mark's, Surbiton, from 1845 to 1887 :— 1845— William Walter, H. Harrison 1846— H. Harrison, J. Croft 1847— H. Harrison, H. Wood 1848— H. Harrison, F. Cannon 1849, 1850— B. Hinds, J. Croft 1851-1855— B. Hinds, G. Baxter 1856-1860— B. Hinds, Cornelius Paine 1861-1863— B. Hinds, H. Vachell 1864-1868— B. Hinds, Frederick Howell 1869-1871- B. Hinds, Alexander W. lunes 1872— B. Hinds, W. Mann Trollope 1873— Alfred Drew, W. Mann Trollope 1874-1876— Alfred Drew, Francis Adams 1877-1880 — Francis Adams, John Strapp 1881-1883— Francis Adams, Alfred Lawrie 1884-1886 — Francis Adams, John Strapp 1887 — Francis Adams, Thos. Salkeld Borradaile The sidesmen of St. Mark's Church, appointed between 1877 and 1887, have been — * C. M. Bardswell. T. S. Borradaile. Alfred Drew. * Herbert A. Hammond. * A. E. Lane. * W. W. Eavenhill. * J. G. Smith. * John Strapp. Those marked * are the present sidesmen. The auditors of the expenses accounts of St. Mark's Church from 1874 to 1887 have been as follows : — 1874-1875— J. M. Case, Edward Homan 1875-1876— Kowley W. C. Kichardson, Alfred Laurie 1876-1877— Alfred Laurie, J. G. Smith 1877-1878— J. G. Smith, H. J. Pattison 1878-1879— Alfred Drew, Herbert A. Hammond 1879-1880— James A. Pittis, Herbert A. Ham- mond 1880-1881— John Fisher, A. W. Thompson 1881-1882—0. W. Bardswell. Thomas S. Borra- daile 1882-1883— Thomas S. Borradaile, A. Zim- mern 1883-1884— A. Zimmem, Thomas B. Bell 1884-1885— John Fisher, A. Zimmem 1885-1886— Herbert J. Thurgood, Sidney Sharp 1886-1887— Arnold Taylor, Henry C. Deane St. Andrew's Church. Soon after the Eev. Charles Burney was installed as Vicar of Mark's, in 1870, he issued a circular in which it was stated that " the want of additional church accommodation in St. Mark's parish has been long felt, and ... a site [for a church] has been given by Messrs. Ccutts. No position could be better suited for the part of the parish most needing church accommodation, inasmuch as it is within easy distance of the numerous poor, for whom the present provision in St. Mark's Church is lamentably inadequate." A meet- ing was held on July 13, 1870, a committee was formed for raising the, necessary funds, and another circular was issued, from which the following is an extract : " The vicar, with a view of rendering the church more available 74 SURBITON. for the poor, has proposed to forego pew-rents, being confident that the ojfferings of those who frequent it will be found sufficient for the necessary- expenses of the church, and for the additional staff of clergy required for the efficient spiritual care of the parish." The committee consisted of the Eev, Charles Burney (vicar), Messrs, B. Hinds and A. W. Innes (churchwardens), H. Adkins, C. W. Bardswell, F. B. Beckford, A. Benthall, J. Boodle, B. Bosworth, G. Clowes, Eev. J. W. Conant, Mr. R Crossman, Eev. J. S. Dawes, Messrs. E. S. Dawes, W. P. Dickins, C. W. Engelbach, H. Harrison, F. Howell, T. Lambert, W. Latham, J. Loxley, F. B. Morten, James A. Pittis, Captain Saxon, Captain Shaw, Messrs. A. C. Tatham, W. M. TroUope, E. Wrench. Messrs. H. S. Eussell, C. Walpole, and Sir W. H. Walton were treasurers ; Mr. Hugh Barclay acting as secretary. The site first given by Messrs. Coutts was in St. Andrew's Eoad, adjoin- ing the schools. This was changed for the present site in the Maple Eoad, which belonged to Messrs. Corbett and McClymont, who thus contributed by the amount of difference in value of the two sites. The first stone was laid by the Baroness Burdett Coutts, in June, 1871. In December of that year the Prince of Wales was dangerously ill ; and the vicar, in a circular dated in the following February, stated that " the recovery of the Prince of Wales from an illness which threatened us all with a great national calamity, cannot but be a subject for deep thankfulness to the Almighty Disposer of events, with whom are the issues of life and death. I feel, and am quite sure you, my parishioners, will all agree with me, that we ought to mark our gratitude by something more than the mere expression of our lips, and that so great a blessing as we have received should be acknowledged by some substantial proof of our recognition of the Divine hand. It has occurred to me that in this parish we might most suitably testify our thankfulness by the erection of the tower of our new church, which would stand as a memorial to those who come after us, that God had been very gracious to us, and had granted an answer to our prayers on behalf of the heir to the throne, and that we were not unmindful of the mercy vouchsafed." Subscriptions were therefore in^dted for the erection of the tower, which was commenced during the summer of 1872. The architect was Mr. Arthur Blomfield, and the contract for the building was given to Messrs. A damson Brothers, of Putney, the cost of the church being £6851 ; of the tower, £1488 ; and of the organ (by Hill), £580 ; a total sum of £8919, which was raised by public subscriptions, of which the principal were the Eev. Charles Burney and family and friends, £770 ; Mr. F. B. Morten, £610 ; Messrs. Coutts and Co. (proceeds of sale of the temporary iron CHUKCHES AND SCHOOLS. 75 church), £300 ; the Baroness Biirdett Coutts (who also gave the bell), £100 ; Mr. W. M. Coulthurst, £200 ; Messrs. Brassey and Co., £300 ; Rev. J. W. Conant, £100 ; Mrs. Dimcombe, £100 ; Mr. Cornelius Paine, £100 ; Sir W. H. Peek, £100 ; Mrs. Watkinson, £100 ; Eev. Edward Phillips, £155. Mr. Phillips also presented the lectern, in memory of his wife. The font was given by Miss Jane Mary Le Cheminant in 1872 ; and the Communion plate by Mrs. Burney, the mother of the vicar. The lectern is a brass eagle ; on the bars is inscribed, "' Thy Word is truth,' John xvii. 17;" and on the base, " In memory of Louisa, wife of Edward Phillips, M.A., first Incumbent of St. Mark's, Surbiton." The deed of conveyance is dated June 4, and the sentence of consecration by the Bishop of Winchester (Dr. Samuel Wilberforce), June 6, 1872. In this church the characteristic arrangement of the early Christian basilica has been adapted to the modern church. By this plan the choir is brought down into the body of the church and placed on a raised platform surrounded by a low screen, the Communion table standing in a recessed sanctuary, which answers to the apse of the basilica. At the west end, in connection with the porch, is a baptistery, in which stands the font. The tower, which finishes with a saddle-back roof, stands at the north-west angle, and serves as an outer porch. The church is built of yellow and red bricks, with Bath stone where required for windows, etc. The style of archi- tecture is the simplest form of Pointed adapted to brick. The roofs are covered with Broseley tiles. The coloured decoration in the roof of the baptistery is an offering from Mr. N. W. Lavers. Facing page 72 is a view of the church. There are 760 sittings, all of which are free. All the windows in this church at present filled with painted glass, have been designed and executed by Messrs. Lavers and Westlake. They are as follows : — The east window, illustrating a series of seven events in connection with the Passion of our Lord, was presented by the vicar and Mrs. Burney, in memory of Mrs. Burney's mother. The west window was given by Mr. W. Phelps. Three upper lights : Adam and Eve's expulsion from Paradise. Four lights under: Abel, Noah, Abraham, and Melchizedek. Four small lights : the types of sacrifice. North aisle, west to east. I. (1) "Sarah. In memoriam matris ejus dilectissimse. N. W. Lavers,, 1879." (2) "Rebecca. In memoriam R. G. matris dilectissimae. J, L. 1875." (3) " Ruth. In mem. Julise conjugis dilect. N. W. Lavers, 1883." 76 SUEBITON. II. (1) Miriam ; (2) Esther ; (3) Hannah. " To the glory of God, and in memory of William Hugh Aldersey, F.RC.S., born January 11, 1827, died September 7, 1885, these windows are dedicated by his friends in this church, of which he was some time churchwarden." III. (1) "Sancta Anna. In memoriam Katharinse Harris, quae nata est XIV. Aug., MDCCCXL., et obiit XIV. Maii, MDCCCLXXIX." (2) " Sancta Elizabetha. Elizabeth Gurney Harris, born October 18, 1848, died St. Andrew's Day, 1877. This window was presented to the church by friends of Bernard F. Harris, in memory of his wife, Elizabeth Gurney Harris, who fell asleep on St. Andrew's Day, 1877." (3) "Sancta Maria Virg. In memoriam Gulielmi Wilson Harris, qui natus est XIII. July, MDCCCXLI., et obiit XVIII. Nov., MDCCCLXXV" South aisle, east to west — I. (1) " Sanctus Johannes Baptista. In memoriam Julii A. Pearson, qui obiit 1871, set. 32." (2) " Sanctus Stephanus. In memoriam Frederici N". Harden, qui obiit 16 Mar., 1870, setatis suae anno 31. In Christo obdormivit." (3) " Sanctus Johannes Evangelista. In memoriam Henrici R Pearson, qui obiit 1875, ^t. 28." II. (1) " St. Barnabas. To the beloved memory of Arthur Charles Wrench, late of St. Alban's, Surbiton, second son of Robert and Maria Wrench, who died off the Island of St. Paul, on the voyage to Australia, June 21, 1878, aged 33. ' Be of good cheer : for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.' " (2) " Sanctus Paulus. In affectionate remem- brance of Alfred Frederick Broughton, Madras Army, born June 13, 1831, died October 25, 1857 ; Legh Broughton, Eoyal Artillery, born February 10, 1835, died March 15, 1862 ; Thomas Broughton, Royal Marines, born September 3, 1842, died September 4, 1866; Augustus Broughton, born November 6, 1845, died September 11, 1856 ; sons of William Edward and Anna Delves Broughton." (3) " Sanctus Petrus. To the glory of God, and in memory of a beloved mother, Emily Turner, who passed to her rest on March 22, 1886. 'Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church.' " III. " St. Andrew ; St. Luke ; St. Thomas. To the glory of God, and in affectionate remembrance of Richard Headlam Keenlyside, M.D., born January 27, 1797, died Easter Day, April 5, 1874; and Sibella, his wife, born January 23, 1803, died November 13, 1871." The clergy of St. Andrew's are those of St. Mark's. The organist is Mr. R. Sebastian Hart. The churchwardens of St. Andrew's have been — 1872-73 to 1874-75, James CHUECHES AND SCHOOLS. 77 Bell, B. F. Harris; 1875-76 to 1877-78, James Bell, M. W. Ker; 1878-79 to 1879-80, M. W. Ker, B. F. Harris ; 1880-81 to 1882-83, M. W. Ker, A. Paxon; 1883-84, W. H. Aldersey, M. W. Ker; 1884-85 to 1885-86, W. H. Aldersey, L. C. Galley; 1886-87 to 1887-88, L. C. Galley, J. Durham. The sidesmen have been — Messrs. L. G. Galley, G. F. Engelbach, E. L. Wix, W. J. Mason, L. Adams, M. W. Ker, G. N. Thomas, L. G. Galley, G. W. Ayliffe, and T. W. Lake. The following have audited the church accounts : Messrs. P. Allen, A. Paxon, W. Glode, S. Waite, W. H. Aldersey, T. J. Pridios, E. Moffatt, G. F. Engelbach, G. N. Thomas, W. J. Mason, R L. Lochlein, and A. W. B. Thompson. Ghkist Ghukch, Surbiton Hill. The petition for consecration, dated August, 1863, is signed by the Eev. Edward Garbett, the minister appointed to the incumbency, and Messrs. Gharles Walter, Alfred Hermon, George Gavell, G. E. Norton, J. A. Strachan, and George Foot, inhabitants. It mentions the purchase of land, 2587 square yards for the church, and 2250 square yards for the parsonage house ; that a church had been erected, capable of accommodating 780 persons (including free sittings for 200), at a cost of £4000, and a parsonage house at a cost of £1400 ; and that £150 had been paid to the Incorporated Society. The deed of conveyance from the Trustees of the United Kingdom Tem- perance and General Provident Institution is dated October 21, 1862. The act of consecration is dated Thursday, August 20, 1863, and is generally in the same form as that for St. Mark's. It authorizes baptisms and marriages. The grant of right of patronage or presentation, dated February 16, 1864, made between William Henry Stone, of Dulwich Hill, Surrey, Esq. ; Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, of Warlies, Essex, Bart. ; the Eev. Stephen Bridge of Gamberwell, Surrey, clerk ; the Eev. George Town send Warren, of Torquay, Devon, clerk ; and James Alexander Strachan, of Surbiton Hill, Surrey, Esq., refers to an instrument dated August 6, 1863, under seals of the Ecclesiastical Gommissioners for England, and of Gharles Eichard, Lord Bishop of Win- chester, reciting "that certain inhabitants of the particular district of St. Mark's, Surbiton, and others, with a view to promote the worship of Almighty God according to the rites of the United Ghurch of England and Ireland, and to provide additional accommodation for the inhabitants of the particular- district, had recently, out of funds raised by them by public subscription for that purpose, erected a building to be used when consecrated as a church, 78 SUKBITON. and to be galled 'Christ Church,' upon a piece of ground which had been purchased and conveyed to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners at the expense of the promoters, under the provisions of the acts known as the Church Building Acts, by deed poll dated October 21, 1862, under the hands of the vendors, and under the seal of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners." The indenture refers also to "an application made some time since to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, signed by the majority of the subscribers of not less than £50 each to the fund for building and endowing the said intended church, whereby ... it was proposed to build the said church, and to provide the sum of £1000 as a fund for the endowment thereof, to be appropriated, with a further sum of £400, for the purchase of a site for a parsonage, and in or towards the erection of a parsonage house, and the sum of £150 sterling as a repair fund for the said church, out of the particular district of St. Mark's, Surbiton;" and further, "that copies of the said application had been . . . sent by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners to the patrons and incumbent of the district of St. Mark's, Surbiton, and that three calendar months afterwards elapsed, and that no sufficient objections had been made to the said application ; " that the £1000 had been paid to the Commissioners ; that the £400 had been expended in the purchase of a site, together with a portion of the £1000 towards the erection of a parsonage house ; that the balance of the £1000 was held by the Commissioners, to be expended as might seem to them expedient; that the £150 had been paid to the Incorporated Society for Promoting the Enlargement, Building, and Eepairing of Churches in England and Wales, to be invested in the Three per Cent. Consolidated Annuities upon trust ; that the dividends should be paid to the minister and churchwardens for the time being of the new church, to be applied by them towards the repair and sustentation of the church ; " and as it also appears that the said new church having been completed and furnished with a Communion table, font, pulpit, reading-desk, and all other things requisite for Divine Service, it was intended shortly to be consecrated to the honour and service of Almighty God, and the celebration of Divine offices only ; " and the grant of patronage proceeds to say that the said church was on August 20, 1863, duly consecrated, and the Eev. Edward Garbett, clerk, had been duly nominated as the first minister or incumbent of the church, and it vests in the before-named gentlemen th^«dvowson or perpetual right of patronage or nomination to the said church, upon certain trusts. On the death of Mr, Warren, in 1877, Mr. Chai^fes H. Clayton was appointed a patron. ^ ^Jj£ endowment money, £WlflR has since been invested in the building of tK^arsonage house. CHUKCHES AND SCHOOLS. 79 The portion of the district of St. Mark's which was separated and formed into the ecclesiastical district of Christ Church, was bounded as follows : Commencing at the point on the Ditton Eoad where the division of the parishes of Long Ditton and Kingston is marked, following the parish boundary on the Southborough property to a point where the South Western Eailway crosses the division of the two parishes, continuing alongside the railway to the bridge over the Brighton Eoad, then following the Glenbuck Eoad to Oak Hill Path, turning up that path to and along Oak Hill, past the houses on the south side now occupied by Mr. Bruce, Mr, Williamson, and Mr. Farran, to the corner (Trevor Lodge, Mr. A. C. Tatham), proceeding in a north and easterly direction to the Ewell Eoad, along that road to Hill House at the corner of Berrylands Eoad, then along that road on past the Alpha and King Charles's Eoads to the gate of Berry Lodge Farm, thence to the bottom of the unused road, turning in a south-westerly direction to the district boundary at the foot of King Charles's Eoad, then following that boundary by the Ditton Eoad to the first-named point. The church was built by Messrs. Dove Brothers, from designs furnished by Mr. Charles Lock Luck, F.E.I.B.A. It was commenced in the summer of 1862, and finished in August, 1863, the materials consisting principally of Claygate bricks. The parsonage was erected at the same time. The first vicar, the Eev. Edward Garbett, who had been Curate of St. Bartholomew's, Gray's Inn Eoad, was nominated Honorary Canon of Winchester in 1875, and became Eector of Barcombe, near Lewes, at the end of 1877, when he was succeeded at Christ Church by the Eev. James Wareing Bardsley, who was in turn succeeded in 1883 by the present vicar, the Eev. William Henry Eanken. The first curate was the Eev. George Clowes, now Eector of Hayes, Kent; the present curate is the Eev. John W. Walker. The organist is Mr. J. M. Crament, Mus. Bac. ; and the verger, Mr. Legg. The cost of the church when consecrated was £4100 (exclusive of the land). Of this sum £2000 was given by Mr. William H. Stone, and the remainder raised from subscriptions, the principal being Messrs. Walter, G. Findley, J. Dolman, Sir H. W. Peek, Messrs. J. A. Strachan, Charles Walter, Eev. E. Garbett, Messrs. George Foot, M. J. Greer, A. Hermon, H. Home, E. H. Owtram, C. Paine, G. P. Price, W. M. Slade, F. W. Woodfall, G. Cavell, W. H. DickinsoS^^. Byam Martin, C. L^^IjieVSTLegge, G. S. Hayter, E. Browne, W. Dunna^^. C. Fu^erTE^^rPerkii^jA. E. Hamilton, and the Misses Jones. Facing page 76 is a view of the c^|j ^^td^eft>f rj >r/i_th e The church has been enlarg€a^^^m©---tim^8-=^m^^JMO the >y building 80 SURBITON. north chancel aisle ; in 1866, by lengthening the nave two bays, towards which Mr. J. T. Marshall, of Hampstead, gave £500; and in 1871, by building the south chancel aisle and porch, towards which Mr. Marshall gave another donation of £700. The total cost of the building, with stained glass and other decorative works, organ, and furniture, has been £10,500, and of the parsonage house, £1700. There are sittings for 1204 persons, of which 200 are free. The pulpit was presented by Mr. Henry Home, and the lectern by Miss Catherine Jones, in memory of her sister. The church now consists of nave and aisles, chancel and large chancel aisles. The dimensions are as follows (in feet) : Nave, 98 long, 26^ wide ; the nave aisles, 15 wide. It is 34 high to roof-plate, and 55 to ridge ; and the aisles are 14 to roof-plate. The chancel is 30 long, 26^ wide, and 25 high to roof-plate ; the chancel aisles 30 long, and 20 wide, covered by a span-roof. There is a large south porch, and a bell-turret over the chancel aisle. The style of the church is Early English, with lancet-headed windows. It is faced with red bricks externally, and internally with red and black bricks in string courses and arches. The nave columns are of Mansfield stone, with carved stone caps. The roofs have been decorated by Messrs. Lavers and Westlake. On page 82 will be found lists of the churchwardens from 1862 to 1887, and of the members of the Church Committee and Church Council. The council consists of nineteen members, in addition to the clergy and church- wardens, who are ex-ojfficio members; five are nominated by the vicar, one by each of the churchwardens, and the remaining fourteen by the seat-holders of Christ Church. They must all be communicants and seat-holders. The practice of tolling the bell to announce the death of a parishioner is maintained at Christ Church — the knell for a man being three times three ; for a boy, twice three; for a woman, three times two; and for a girl, twice two. The expression, " Mne tailors make a man," is supposed to have originated from the number of strokes given in ringing the death-knell. The following appears on this subject in " Folk Etymology," by the Rev. A. Smythe Palmer : " ' Tailors, nine make a man,' said to be a corruption of ' Nine tailers (itself corrupted from ' tellers ') make it a man ; ' i.e. nine counting strokes at the end of a knell proclaim the death of a male adult. An old homily for Trinity Sunday declares that at the death of a man three bells were to be rung as his knell, and two bells for a woman (Hampson, ' Med. --31^ vi Kalend, 294 '). It is observable that Taylor, the Water Poet, has a version of the phrase conformable to this, speaking of ' the slander that three taylers are one man ' (' Works,' 1630, iii. 73)." CHUECHES AND SCHOOLS. 81 In Brewer's " Dictionary of Phrase and Fable " it is stated that " an orphan lad, in 1742, applied to a fashionable London tailor for alms. There were nine journeymen in the establishment, each of whom contributed something to set the little orphan boy up with a fruit-barrow. The little merchant in time became rich, and adopted for his motto, 'Mne tailors make a man.' " The painted glass windows in Christ Church have been executed by Messrs. Lavers and Westlake, with the exception of those against which other names are mentioned. East wall. By Clayton and Bell : In memory of Mary Charlotte, wife of George Clowes. Centre light : the Eesurrection, Crucifixion, and Last Supper. North light : the Syrophenician woman ; Christ with Martha and Mary. South light : Mary anointing our Saviour's feet ; and The Women at the tomb of our Lord. East end of north chancel aisle. To the memory of children of the congre- gation : Louis and Beatrice Walters Home, Elizabeth Garbett, and Alexander Duncan Owtram. Presentation of Christ in the temple; the Eaising of Jairus's daughter; Innocents around the throne of grace; Children praising our Lord in the temple ; the Nativity of our Lord ; Christ blessing little children ; and our Lord with the doctors in the temple. In the upper compartments : our Lord as the good Shepherd ; our Lord in majesty ; our Lord as the Sower. East end of south chancel aisle. Put up to the memory of Mr. John C. Hopkins, by his family. In the upper portion of the three lights : our Lord's ascension. Below this : the " Noli me tangere ; " our Lord appeawng to St. Thomas ; the Supper at Emmaus. In the tracery openings : illustrations of our Lord as Prophet, Priest, and King. North side of north chancel aisle. To the memory of Mr. William Dun- nage. Our Lord working at a carpenter's bench ; and the Meeting of the families of Joseph and Zacharias. North aisle — In memory of Samuel Horace Clarke Maddock. Parable of the wise and foolish virgins. By Heaton, Butler, and Bayne : In memory of Eosa Ann, wife of John Marshall, who died November, 1864. The Eaising of Lazarus. " I am the Eesurrection and the Life." Put up by Mr. E. H. Owtram, in memory of Kythe Margaret Owtram and of Horace Cecil Owtram. Our Lord as the good Shepherd. " He shall gather the lambs with His arms." In memory of Eobina Gordon Stewart. Our Lord with Mary and Martha in the house at Bethany. G 82 SURBITON. By the Eev. Edward and Mrs. Garbett, in memory of their sons, William Humphreys and Frederick Lewis Garbett. The miraculous draft of fishes. " We have found the Messiah." By an amateur : In memory of Anne Wavell, widow of General Arthur Goodall Wavell ; also of their daughters Mary Frederica Boone and Laura Anne. The subject, Sancta Anna. " Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thine honour dwelleth." South aisle. The gift of Mr. N. W. Lavers : The incarnation of our Lord, in one, with figures of the prophets who foretold it on either side of the centre compartment ; in another, the Adoration of the Magi ; in the third, Joseph's dream ; in the fourth, our Lord with the doctors in the temple. West walls. The four lower windows contain figures of the four major prophets. In the two windows below them, on either side of the west door : Jacob's dream, and Jacob blessing the sons of Joseph (put up by Mr. Samuel Page, in memory of Mrs. Page) ; and Moses in the bullrushes, with the Israelites passing through the Ked Sea (put up by his friends, to the memory of Charles Purges Fyfe). The following is a list of the churchwardens of Christ Church : — 1863-64 to 1865-66— J. A. Strachan, Colonel 1874-75 to 1875-76— Eobert Porter, Charles H. Hart Clayton 1866-67— J. A. Strachan, G. S. Hayter 1876-77— F. B. Morten, Charles H. Clayton 1867-68— G. S. Hayter, George Cavell 1877-78 to 1878-79— F. B. Morten, E. H. Han- 1868-69 to 1869-70— George Cavell, W. H. cock Dickinson 1879-80— E. L. Thynne, E. H. Hancock 1870-71— C. L. Luck, W. H. Dickinson 1880-81 to 1884-85— E. L. Thynne, Robert 1871-72 to 1872-73— C. L. Luck, R. B. Perkiu Farran 1873-74— Robert Porter, R. B. Perkin 1885-86 to 1887-88— Robert Farran, R. S. Bond A Ust of the members of the Church Committee and Church Council of Christ Church is given as under — 1863-64— The first committee consisted of: Rev. E. Garbett, Rev. G. Clowes, Mr. J. A. Strachan, Colonel H. G. Hart, Messrs. E. Browne, G. Cavell, W. H. Dickinson (secretary), G. Findlay, G. Foot, H. C. Fulcher, A. R. Hamilton, A. Hermon, G. S. Hayter, Henry Home, W. J. Greer, Thomas Lambert, G. Makins, C. E. Norton, G. Ofibrd, W. W. Phelps, W. M. Slade, W. Smith, W. Walter, C. Walter. 1873-74 — The first Church Council consisted of: Rev. E. Garbett, Rev. J. Osborne, Messrs. R. B. Perkin, Robert Porter, G. Cavell (honorary secretary), G. Cuming, Captain James Cundy, Messrs. C. H. Clayton, E. Y. Cox, W. H. Dickinson, R. Farran, G. Foot, W. A. Hewitt, L. H. Holland, H. J. Legge, G. H. Lee, Colonel Lambert, Messrs. G. A. Le Maire, C. L. Luck, F. B. Morten, 0. E. Norton, J. A. Strachan, E. P. Stringer, E. F. Sealy, E. L. Thynne. Since which the following have been members: Revs. James Wareing Bardsley, William H. Eanken, J. C. Barker, E. Owen, J. Wheeler, R. B. De Wolf, Henry Askwith, A. W. Keely, and J. W. Walker ; Messja. Besley, Moon, F. P. Browne, C. H. Owtram, R. S. Bond, n. M. Sladen, A. P. Judge, E. H.^'l(^cock, A. Mason, T. Guilford, James Walker, T. W. Jeffcott, J. G. Boucher, W. Briggs, H. Crosthwaite, G. Vacher, Major-Genersd Garden, Messrs. CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS. 83 J. P. Bolding, Dr. Trouncer, J. Daley, J. Bouch, J. C. Bankhead, J. Trapp, W. A. Hewitt, and C. R. Grimm. 1886-87— Rev. W. H. Ranken, Rev. John W. Walker, Messrs. Robert Farran, R. S. Bond, J. 0. Bankhead, W. Briggs, J. Bouch, H. Crosthwaite, Major-General Garden, Messrs. J. Daley, G. Foot, C. R. Grimm, W. A. Hewitt, E. H. Hancock (secretary), T. W. Jeflfcott, H. J. Legge, C. L. Luck, F. B. Morten, A. Mason, J. A. Strachan, Dr. Trouncer, Messrs. E. L. Thynne, J. Trapp, J. Vacher, and James Walker. St. Matthew's Church. By the deed of conveyance dated May 26, 1874, Mr. Eobert Curling " fully and voluntarily, and without valuable consideration, gives, grants, and conveys the land to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for the purpose of erecting a church." The petition of consecration was promulgated on September 21, 1875, and is signed by the Eev. E. Garbett, vicar, Messrs. Eobert Porter and Charles H. Clayton, churchwardens of Christ Church, and others. It recites the deed of conveyance of May 26, 1874; states that the land for the church and parsonage house consists of 3744 square yards ; and that a new church had been erected at a cost of £15,500, all defrayed by Mr. W. M. Coulthurst. The district assigned, with the concurrence of the Eev. E. Garbett, was the portion of the ecclesiastical district of Christ Church which formed part of the Southborough Estate belonging to Mr. Curling (about thirty-two acres), bounded on the north by Langley Eoad, on the east by the Ewell Eoad, on the south by the Ditton Eoad, and on the west by the Leatherhead Eoad, together with the hamlet of Tolworth, extending to Worcester Park on one side, and to Hook on the other. The memorial stone was laid by Mr. W. M. Coulthurst (the then senior partner in the .firm of Messrs. Coutts and Co.), on August 20, 1874. The church was built from the designs of Mr. Charles Lock Luck ; the builders being Messrs. Manley and Eogers. The style of architecture is the Early Decorated. The church consists of a nave, aisles, and transepts, with a semicircular apse, which has a roof of stone groining 40 feet high. The nave is 94 feet long and 24 feet wide. The height of the main roof is 61 feet from floor to ridge. The church is built of Kentish rag stone, and faced internally with yellow bricks ; the windows and arches are of Bath stone. The lower part of the tower forms the main entrance to the church, and has a groined ceiling of stone and brick. The height of the tower and spire is 170 feet. There are 800 sittings, of which 125 are free. The chancel is paved throughout with black-and-white marble. The pulpit is of oak, and rests on a base of Caen stone, with carved cornice and G 2 S4 SURBITON. serpentine marble shafts. The lectern is of oak. The font is of Caen stone, with serpentine marble shafts. The stained-glass windows were executed by Messrs. Powell and Sons. The five windows in the apse (from designs by Holliday) are thirty scriptural subjects with figures of Christ and the four evangelists in tracery. All the other windows are filled with their quarries and borders. The organ was built by Mr. Hedgland, at a cost of about £1000. The church fittings were supplied by Messrs. Cox and Son. The vicarage was built at the same time as the church, and cost £3047. This forms the endowment for the living. The total cost of the church, fittings, stained glass, bells, and vicarage was £24,000 — the sole gift of Mr. W. M. Coulthurst, as a thank-offering in memory of his sister, as stated on a stone inserted on the outside of the apse, which bears the following inscription : — THIS CHURCH AND VICABAGE WKBE BUILT 1874, BY WILLIAM MATTHEW COULTHURST, Esq., OF STREATHAM LODGE, IN THIS COUNTY, A THANK-OFFERING TO GOD FOB BLESSINGS VOUCHSAFED, FOR THE FAITHFUL PREACHING OF HIS AVORD. ALSO IN MEMORY OF A MUCH BELOVED AND ONLY SISTER, HANNAH MABELLA COULTHUEST. At the luncheon which was given by Mr. Coulthurst after the consecration, he referred to his object in erecting St. Matthew's Church, and said "he determined to build a church that would last for a very long time, and his wish was that the services in that church should be of the simplest possible character, and the doctrine preached there should be the doctrine of Christ. He hoped that his wishes in this respect would never be ignored." This he confirmed in a memorandum executed by him on the same day, in which he stated that he was desirous of making some observations with respect to the mode of conducting Divine worship in the church, and the doctrines to be taught there, and of offering a few words of counsel to the trustees in whom the patronage of the church is vested, adding that he felt assured his wishes would be duly appreciated by the successive incumbents and trustees, and that, as far as practicable, they would be respected accordingly. They are as follows : — Divine Service to be conducted in a quiet and orderly manner. No full choral services to be performed. The members of the choir not to be habited in surplices. No sacrificial or other unauthorized vestment to be worn by the vicar or any officiating clergyman ; nor any incense to be burnt CHUECHES AND SCHOOLS. 85 in the church. During the service for the administration of the Holy Com- munion, the officiating clergyman not to adopt the " eastward position." No alteration to be made in the mode of performing Divine Service contrary to law. In the absence of an adequate endowment, the emoluments of the vicar to proceed from pew-rents, in addition to surplice-fees and Easter offerings, and not to be dependent on weekly offertories. The doctrines taught to be what are commonly known as the evangelical doctrines of the Church of England, as distinguished from the tenets of sacerdotalism and sacramen- tarianism. The trustees to be careful to appoint as vicar one who shall hold evangelical doctrine as embodied in the Thirty-Nine Articles and Book of Common Prayer, and avoid the selection of any clergyman holding high sacra- mental views, or who should enjoin the necessity of auricular confession and priestly absolution and prayers for the dead, or who may not hold in its full integrity the doctrine of the atonement of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The patronage of the living is vested in five trustees. The first were the Bishop of Guildford (Dr. Utterton, not in his official capacity), Eev. E. Garbett, Mr. James A, Strachan (representing the trustees of Christ Church), with Mr. Edmund Coulthurst and Mr. E. P. Stringer (representing Mr. W. M. Coulthurst). The present trustees are the Bishop of Kochester (Dr. A. W. Thorold, not in his official capacity), Messrs. James A. Strachan, Edmund Coulthurst, and E. P. Stringer, and Captain James Cundy. The first churchwardens were Mr. E. P. Stringer and Mr. W. Hipwell. On the death of Mr. Hipwell, and on Mr. Stringer leaving the neighbourhood, Mr. F. S. Clayton and Captain James Cundy succeeded them. Mr. J. E. Abbot is the organist, and Mr. Lee is the verger. St. Matthew's Schools are just outside the district of Surbiton, on the east side of the Ewell Road. They were erected in 1879 by public sub- scription, on a site given by the Earl of Egmont. They can accommodate 220 children. The teacher's house was erected in 1880, " in memory of John and Emily Clayton, of Haycroft, Hook, by their surviving sons." Surbiton Pakk Congregational Church. A Congregational Church was erected in the Maple Road, at the corner of St. Leonard's Road, in 1854, and was opened for Divine Service on October 5 of that year. It was built in the Anglo-Norman style, the architect being Mr. James Wilson, of Bath, and the builder, Mr. Rickards, of Kingston. It seated 400 persons. The cost, including land, was £2340, of which £1000 was given by Mr. W. Leavers, and £800 by friends of the congregation. # 86 SURBITON. Before this church was erected, a temporary building, in the garden of Mr. Leavers's house, was used for Divine worship — a room in that house having been licensed and opened for the purpose on September 26, 1853. During the time the congregation worshipped in this church, they found it necessary to erect, for school purposes, a wooden building in the Balaclava Eoad, at a cost of £150. In February, 1864, it was decided, in consequence of the increase of the congregation, to enlarge the existing buildings ; but legal difficulties prevented the carrying out of that design, and it was then resolved to erect a new church at the corner of the Grove Eoad, and to retain the existing building for use as a schoolroom and for other purposes. In July a Building Committee was formed — consisting of the Eev. A. Mackennal, Messrs. Leavers, Carvell Williams, Johnstone, Dickinson, Bidgood, Killick, Blackman, Lee, A. B. Eichardson, Bumsted, Thresher, Collings, Marsh, and Taylor; Mr. Dickinson being appointed treasurer to the fund, and Mr. Williams secretary to the com- mittee. Mr. Arthur Phelps, then a member of the congregation, was chosen as architect, and a contract for the erection of the building was entered into with Messrs. Dove Brothers. The work was commenced on May 23, 1865, and the memorial stone was laid by Mr. Thomas Barnes, M.P., on June 27. On the same day in the follow- ing year the church was opened by a Dedication Service. The church was conveyed to trustees, viz. Messrs. W. Leavers, Thomas Bamford, W. Price, Henry Bidgood, John Carvell Williams, G. E. Dickinson, Joseph Marsh, A. B. Eichardson, Eobert Burn, jun., J. W. Bruckley, F. J. Sargood, and A. Marshall. A view of the church is given opposite page 84. In the early part of 1867 the alterations required to render the first church suitable for use by the Sunday and day schools, and also as a lecture hall, were made at a cost of £295, which was raised by subscription. By an order of the Charity Commissioners, dated August 10, 1869, a scheme was sanctioned, conveying the building to the trustees of the new church. The expenses incurred in the erection of the church were — for the land, £480 ; and for the building, £6483, including fittings, and legal and other expenses. Subsequently £833 was spent for alterations and other purposes, making the total amount expended £7796 ; and in 1880 a sum of £600 was paid for the organ. The whole of the money was raised by the congregation. The Eev. E. H. Smith commenced his ministry in 1853, and continued until 1860. The Eev. Alexander Mackennal, B.A. (London), D.D. (Glasgow), commenced his ministry in 1861, and left in August, 1870. The Eev. W. CHUECHES AND SCHOOLS. 87 Jones commenced his ministry in July, 1871, and left at the end of 1885. The Eev. Alfred Flower commenced his ministry in November, 1887. The Church Committee consists of Messrs. H. Burton, W. East, John East, Joseph East, J. Falkner, H. E. Newton, W. P. Rix, and A. B. Richardson. "W^ESLEYAN Church, Surbiton Hill. Wesleyan Methodism was introduced into Surbiton in June, 1861, when the hall now used as a School of Art, near the Anchor Coffee Tavern, was rented and used as a chapel. It would seat 115 persons. In 1876 a site in the Ewell Road was purchased, and an iron church erected thereon, at a cost (exclusive of land) of £738. It seated 450 persons. In 1881 the present church was commenced under the superintendence of the Rev. George Robin- son, Mr. J. Lamb acting as secretary, and Mr. R. Scase as treasurer to the building fund. The Dedication Service took place on Thursday, May 11, 1882, conducted by the Rev. George Osborn, D.D., President of the Conference. The church is built of red Leicester bricks, with Bath stone dressings, and is designed in the Early Gothic style. The main entrance is in the centre by two coupled doorways with angle Bath stone columns supporting richly moulded arches. The gallery entrances are contained in the tower on one side, and in an annexe on the other. There is a vestibule inside, giving access to the church by double doors. It is of the full dimensions for 1000 persons, viz. 75 feet by 48 feet 8 inches ; but accommodation being immediately required for only 660, a screen has been fixed across the church at the western side of the transepts. There are galleries at the end and sides. The space behind the screen provides a large schoolroom, infants' room, and three class-rooms, with kitchen, offices, and rear entrance. The roof of the church is of open timber, supported by iron columns of special design. All the windows are of stone, filled with cathedral glass. The gas-lighting is by coronee from the centre of each arcade supporting the roof. The architect was Mr. Charles Bell, F.R.I.B.A., of London, and the builders, Messrs. Allen and Sons, of Kilburn. A view of the exterior is given opposite page 86. The cost of the land was £1500, and of the building £5660, towards which the Metropolitan Chapel Building Fund contributed £3000, and a loan of £750 without interest, repayable in ten years. The remaining sum has been raised by subscriptions, bazaars, etc. Mr. D. Rands is treasurer to the trustees. For Methodist purposes, Surbiton at present forms part of the Kingston Circuit, of which the Eev. B. Browne is the superintendent. The present 88 SURBITON. resident minister, the Rev. Thomas Harrison, is the first appointed to Surbiton. The appointment of ministers rests with the Wesleyan Conference. The lay officers (appointed or reappointed annually), who attend to the affairs of the Society as distinct from the congregation, are Mr. E. Scase (who has several times filled the chief lay office of circuit steward) and Mr. Ellis. Oaklands Baptist Chapel, Oak Hill Eoad. This chapel was opened on July 14, 1874, by the Eev. C. H. Spurgeon, of the Metropolitan Tabernacle. The site was given by Mrs. Woodfall. The cost of the building was about £2000 ; of which £1000 was given by the London Baptist Association, and the remaining sum was raised by the friends and supporters of the Baptist cause. The chapel seated 400. Considerable alterations and improvements were made in 1880, by which eighty additional sittings were provided. The ministry of the Eev. W. Baster commenced in 1874. The deacons are Messrs. J. Bull, T. W. Saunders, and T. Wray. There is a sabbath school belonging to the chapel. A Primitive Methodist iron church was erected in the Arlington Eoad, and opened for Divine worship on May 11, 1879. It cost £460, including £200 for the site, and was capable of accommodating 200 persons. It is now not used as a chapel. St. Mark's National Schools. By a deed dated December 16, 1848, John Norbury, of Finsbury Square — under the authority of the Act 5 Victoria, " to afford facilities for the convey- ance and endowment of sites for schools," and of Act 8 Victoria, explaining the same — conveys unto the minister and church or chapel wardens of the district of St. Mark's, Surbiton, the piece of ground at the north-east end of George Street (now Cottage Grove), together with the schoolroom and dwelling- houses lately erected thereon, as shown in the map attached, upon trust to permit such premises and such as may be hereafter erected to be used as a school for the education of children and adults, or children only, of the labour- ing, manufacturing, and other poorer classes in the district, and for no other purposes, which school shall always be in communion with, and be conducted upon the principles of, the Established Church, and shall at all times be open to the inspection of the Inspector appointed under Order in Council of August 10, 1840. The school funds and endowments to be controlled as follows : CHUECHES AND SCHOOLS. 89 the minister, or in his absence his curate, shall have the superintendence of the moral and religious instruction of the scholars ; in all other respects the management of the school funds and endowments, appointment of school- master and schoolmistress and their assistants shall be vested in a committee consisting of the minister, his licensed curate or curates (if the minister shall appoint them upon the committee), and of ten other persons, of whom the first appointed shall be Messrs. Hugh Barclay, Edward Brown, Frederick Cannon, James Croft, Thomas Gilby, Henry Harrison, Benjamin Hinds, William Mercer, Charles John Shebbeare, and William Walter, all of Surbiton, they con- tinuing to be members of the Church of England and residents, or having a beneficial interest to the extent of a life estate at the least in real property within the district, and to be subscribers in the current year to the amount of 20s. at the least to the school. Vacancies shall be filled up by the sub- scribers to a like amount. No master or mistress to continue who is not a member of the Church of England. The minister to be chairman of the meetings of the committee, who shall annually select one of its members to act as secretary, who shall keep minutes of proceedings in a book. The committee shall in every December appoint a committee of twelve ladies, being members of the Church of England, to assist in the management of the girls' and infants' schools. The draft of the deed was approved by the Committee of the Privy Council on November 4, 1848. The two schools built in 1848 — one for forty boys, and one for forty girls, with ten infants — were each 37 feet by 22 feet, with a teacher's house con- taining four rooms. The land was given and the cost (£1200) defrayed by Messrs. Coutts and Co. In 1853 they gave another piece of land, on which a master's house and a boys' class-room were built, and the whole site was surrounded by a wall; the infant school was added in 1856. These additions cost about £1050. The sum of £668 was expended in 1867 and 1868, when the infants' room was enlarged, and a class-room and lavatories were added. The infants' room was again enlarged, as also was the boys' school, and a tower and bell were added, in 1877 and 1878, at a cost of about £350. The girls' school was further enlarged towards St. Andrew's Eoad in 1883, at an expense of £307. And in 1886 an addition was made to the master's house. The present accommodation is for 208 boys, 188 girls, and 193 infants ; total, 589 children. Since 1877 the following have been members of the Committee of Manage- ment : * Archdeacon Burney (chairman), Eevs. H. Curtis (honorary secretary), C. P. Sanderson (honorary secretary), F. W. Pelly (honorary treasurer), H. J. 90 SUEBITON. Wilson, L. Stokes, G. Davenport, * C. E. Bailey, and * A. H. Murray (honorary secretary); Messrs. Hugh Barclay (honorary treasurer), W. P. Dickins, A. Drew, Homan, * C. W. Bardswell, * H. F. Shebbeare, C. W. Engelbach, E. Wrench, * J. Loxley, A. Lawrie, * J. G. Smith, B. F. Harris, * H. J. Pattison, * W. W. Eavenhill, M. Ker, * F. Adams, * J. Fisher, and * A. Stewart, Colonel Eotton (honorary treasurer), * General Baird (honorary treasurer). Those marked * comprise the present committee. The following is a statement of the income, etc., of the schools each year since 1855 : — Year. Total Income. Grant. Enlargement Fund. Year. Total Income. Grant. Enlargement Fund. £ 8. d. £ 8. d. £ 8. d. £ 8. d. 1855 235 1871 583 14 0* 178 19 2 1856 228 17 3 1872 640 16 11 130 3 8 1857 293 6 10 8 8 1873 800 13 3 209 1858 288 3 4 10 4 1«74 701 5 6 1859 256 3 H 9 7 1875 672 9 7 220 9 1860 296 13 OJ 10 16 1876 461 6 3 220 9 1861 294 4 10 12 18 1877 792 14 6 333 15 11 1862 263 16 3i 12 1878 852 12 4 304 13 1863 309 11 2 13 3 1879 915 8 7 310 12 1864 409 18 Oi 76 11 9 1880 853 18 3 299 19 1865 347 4 4 120 15 10 1881 898 19 3* 297 19 1866 455 1 1 131 1 8 }£636 5s. 9d., by volun- tary con- tributions. 1882 967 13 2 335 13 1 1867 1868 1869 1870 470 5 481 7 504 13 586 4 3 8 2^ lOf 153 15 8 149 10 4 155 8 187 3 8 1883 1884 1885 1886 995 14 1,095 16 1,167 1 1,242 4 4 8 n 8 345 4 6 390 12 8 404 13 6 421 10 10 [£334 78. Qd., > by volun- tary contri- butions. The grant is included in total income ; the Enlargement Fund is not included. The grant for 1874 seems to have been delayed until 1875, and that for 1875 paid in part only, the balance being included with that of 1877. Up to and for 1883 the grant is called Capitation allowance. Christ Church Schools. At the first meeting of the Church Committee, held on November 28, 1863 (the term Church Council was not used until 1873), a letter from Mr. C. Walter was read, offering the use of a large room in the Ewell Eoad for school purposes (Sunday and week-days), at a rental of £13 per annum, or £5 for Sundays only. This was accepted for Sundays only. In the following month steps were taken to establish a mixed school in those rooms. Mr. H. C. Fulcher was appointed honorary treasurer. In January, 1864, it was arranged to take the room at a rent of £13. The Eev. E. Garbett and Mr. Fulcher were authorized to make arrangements for the appointment of a mistress at £45 a year, and the school was to be opened on February 1, 1864. But on the 12th of the following month, the premises No. 5, Ewell Eoad Villas, were CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS. 91 taken at a rent of £30 per annum — the right of the use of the room on Monday and Friday evenings being retained by the City Mission, from whom the premises were hired. The average daily attendance at this school was eighty children. At a special meeting of the committee on June 28, 1865, it was decided to communicate with Mr. Eastrick as to the purchase of land in the Alpha (corner of the Britannia) Eoad, for a sum not exceeding £450. This land was eventually bought at a total cost of £500. In February, 1867, a circular was issued, in which it was stated that the population of the parish of Christ Church contained at least 1000 poor persons, and the number was rapidly on the increase. It was proposed to erect on the site purchased, school buildings for 300 children, with residences for master and mistress, the total estimated cost being £2750 ; towards which a considerable sum had been promised, including £160 from the Surrey Church Association, £100 by Mr. Maddock, and £50 each by Mr. Beattie, Mrs. Duncombe, Mr. Hopkins, and Mr. Mitchell. The schools were erected in 1868, the architect being Mr. C. L. Luck, and the builder Mr. Towill. Class-rooms were added in 1870 and 1883. The total cost of the buildings and land was £4000. There is accommodation for 240 boys, 150 girls, and 146 infants. The schools are under the management of the Church Council. The honorary treasurers have been Messrs. H. C. Fulcher, E. L. Thynne, and Augustus Mason ; and the honorary secretaries, Messrs. E. L. Thynne, F. P. Browne, and Thomas W. Jeffcott. Mr. John Bouch is the present honorary treasurer and honorary secretary. Mr. "Webb is the master. Miss Harris the mistress of the girls' and Miss Eaton of the infants' school. APPENDIX. APPENDIX. I. MR. POOLEY'S ESTATE, AS DESCRIBED IN" A FLAK" PREPARED IN 1842. Standing on the site of the new railway station, a part of the present Victoria Road running from the station to the Brighton Road is called Alexander Road, and the part running from the station to the Ewell Road is called Surbiton Road. The present Claremont Road is styled Railway Road ; the present Adelaide Road is called Church Road, and terminates where Church Road now commences. Claremont Crescent is so named. Maple Road is called Maple Lane or Hampton Grove. Victoria Terrace consists of eight houses. On the east of Railway Road is Adelaide Terrace, consisting of ten houses, two pairs of villas and a space for a road, then Wadbrook Terrace, consisting of ten pairs of villas extending to Church Road. On the west of Railway Road is Albert Terrace, consisting of eight houses, and there is a pair of villas, the Claremont Crescent Gardens being shown as building allotments, and that side of the road terminating at the triangular piece called Maple Lodge. On the south side of Alexander Road is the site of the " Market Company," next to which are three plots, unoccupied, then two shops, followed by some more unoccupied land, two more shops, four more unoccupied plots, and two shops at the Brighton Road end. The eight houses of Victoria Terrace are the only buildings shown on the north side. In Surbiton Road are the Southampton Arms Hotel and seven houses, with four houses of the terrace at the Epsom Road end ; the terrace of four houses opposite thereto being the only buildings shown on the north side of Surbiton Road, In Claremont Crescent nearly all the present houses are shown, but the east end of the present Grove Road, between the Crescent and the Maple Road, is not shown. In Church Road there are four pairs of houses shown on the north-east, and two pairs of cottages on the west side. In Maple Lane there are houses as at present between Maple Lodge and the Grove Road, and eight small houses at the Brighton Road end. Most of 96 APPENDIX. the cottages in George Street (Cottage Grove) are built, as also are the six houses between the railway and Victoria Road, the twelve houses of Brighton Terrace, and four houses at the corner of Maple Lane. The Eailway Tavern is also shown on the east side of the Epsom Road. The dates of the various leases, with the amounts of ground rent, are duly marked, the earliest date being September 28, 1839, and the latest September 24, 1841. II. MEETING OF RATEPAYERS, FEBRUARY 15, 1855, TO CON- SIDER THE SURBITON IMPROVEMENT BILL. On Thursday evening, February 15, 1855, a meeting of owners and ratepayers was held at the Southampton Arms Hotel, to take into consideration the provisions of the Bill before Parliament for the improvement of the district. The meeting was called by the gentlemen who had in the preceding year led the opposition against the Bill promoted by the Corporation of Kingston. It was numerously attended ; the proposed measure was very fully considered and debated ; and the meeting did not terminate until midnight. Mr. Charles Walpole, who had taken no part one way or the other in the matter, was called to the chair. The principal speakers were Mr. "William Walter, who counselled delay, principally on account of the scheme relating to Local Government which was being laid before Parliament by Sir Benjamin Hall (afterwards Lord Llano ver), and of the proba- bility of the rates being unduly increased ; Mr. Feake Sandford, who required further information before he could support the scheme ; and Mr. Durnford, who suggested that the Bill be referred to a committee, consisting of Mr. Walter (who declined to serve), Mr. Charles Sumner, Mr. Richard Straight, Mr. Tindall, Mr. Henshaw S. Russell, and himself. He gave an estimate of the probable expense of managing the district under the proposed scheme, as follows : Interest on £1500 at 4^ per cent., £67 10s. ; sinking fund at 3^ per cent., £52 10«. ; repair of roads, £150 ; lighting eighty lamps for six months, £200 ; cost of ten new lamp-posts, £35; clerk, surveyor, office expenses, and sundries, £185; making a total estimated expenditure for the first year, of £750. The estimated receipts were : Highway rate at Sd. in the pound, £400 ; lighting rate at 6d. in the pound, £300 ; total, £700 ; leaving £50 to be raised by a penny rate, and " for this sum," he said, "we were to have the advantage of managing our own affairs for our own benefit." Eventually it was moved by Mr. Durnford, " That the Bill be refer)ed to a com- mittee to be appointed to consider its provisions, and that this meeting be adjourned to March 9, to consider their report." After the meeting had been addressed by Mr. Sumner, Mr. Straight, Mr. Mercer, Mr. Hyde, Mr. Chas. Pre?sly, Mr. John Guy — who had recently purchased property and was personally interested in the district — as well as by Mr. Samuel Ranyard, who spoke in defence of the pro- ceedings of the corporation, the motion was carried by a large majority ; and a ■ APPENDIX. 97 committee was nominated, consisting of Messrs. Pressly, Walpole, Sandford, Walter, Mercer, Simpson, and Guy. To use the words of the chairman, " some of the speeches were clever and interesting, and there was no acrimony intro- duced, although a good deal of difference of opinion existed." The adjourned meeting of the ratepayers was held at the Southampton Arms Hotel, on March 9, Mr. Charles Walpole in the chair. The committee reported that they had gone carefully into all the clauses of the Bill, and they recommended several alterations. It was evident at the commencement of the meeting that those present were in favour of some such measure. Mr. John Guy moved, " That the report of the committee be adopted, and that the modifications made in the Bill by the committee be agreed to." This was seconded by Mr. Walter ; and, after Mr. Hyde had asked several questions, and Mr. Kanyard had expressed his views as a member of the Corporation of Kingston, Mr. Durnford reviewed the measure clause by clause. Mr. Sandford spoke in favour of the amended Bill, while Mr. E. Phillips, of Kingston, preferred inclusion with the borough. The resolution was carried almost unanimously. Mr. Walter then moved, " That the names of the Commissioners inserted in the Bill be adopted." This was seconded by Mr. M. T. Coleman, and carried unanimously. It was decided, on the sug- gestion of Mr. Guy, that Messrs. C. Barrett Lennard, Straight, Walter, and Coleman be added to the committee watching the Bill through Parliament. When the Bill came before the Committee of the House of Commons, on April 18, it was sought by the corporation to include the properties of Mr. Wheeler (Maple Lodge) and of Colonel Eyres (The Elmers) and the Waggon and Horses in the borough, on the ground that, in the old charters, the " Ville of Surbiton " was distinct from the " Ville of Kingston." This, however, was not allowed. Mr. Hope Scott and Mr. Tindal Atkinson were the counsel for the Bill, which was virtually unopposed. The evidence of the Eev. Edward Phillips, Mr. M. T. Coleman, Mr. Durnford, Mr. Simpson, and the Water Works Company's inspec- tor clearly proved the want of a governing body ; the defective state of the roads ; the total want of drainage on the hill ; the inconvenience of the system of levy- ing the lighting rate; the objections entertained to inclusion with the borough; that a great majority of the owners of property and of the ratepayers of the dis- trict were in favour of the Bill ; and the absence of all opposition from either owners or ratepayers, or from the Government Board of Health. The Committee pronounced the preamble of the Bill (which is contained in the Act) as proved. H yS APPENDIX. III. EAILWAY. (a) Copy of Mr. Francis Giles's Letter proposing to make the Railway. Salisbury Street, London, December 29, 1830. To the Committee for Promoting the intended London and Southampton Railway. Gentlemen, I have made a preliminary survey of the line of country between London and Southampton, for the purpose of ascertaining the practicability of making a railway between those places, and I find that two practicable lines might be formed between the points respectively of Kennington, in London, and the west side of the town of Southampton. The first of these lines, in depart- ing from Kennington, will pass by Wandsworth, Kingston, Ditton, Weybridge, Guildford, Farnham, Alton, Alresford, and Winchester to Southampton, and will be in length about seventy-three miles. It will also pass over ground well adapted to the necessary planes for a railway to be worked with locomotive engines, but on this line a tunnel will occur between Alton and Alresford, of nearly three miles in length. This is the most expensive part of the work on the whole line ; but as this tunnel will pass through a very favourable chalk soil, it might be made of large dimensions and fit for two railways. Upon this plan it can be completely formed and lined with brickwork for the sum of £150,000. The whole expense of this line for a width of about sixty feet, to receive four roadways, and of laying in the first instance a double railway, I am of opinion will cost about £1,200,000. The second line will pursue the same course as the first from Kennington to Weybridge, from whence it will diverge to Basingstoke and by way of Popham Lane to Winchester and Southampton. This line will have planes quite fit for locomotive engines, and will avoid tunnelling ; but the distance will be about seventy-eight miles, or about five miles longer than the line by way of Farnham and Alton. The first line is certainly the most eligible in point of distance, and in its communication with the towns of Guildford, Farnham, Alton, and Alresford; the second line will embrace only the town of Basingstoke ; but both lines will equally take Wandsworth, Kingston, and Winchester. The expense of this second line will be about the same as that by way of Farnham, viz. about £1,200,000 at the utmost; but I think it is probable it will be found upon a more accurate survey that either line can be executed for a less sum. I am also of opinion that the site between the River Itchen and the town of APPENDIX. 99 Southampton is exceedingly eligible for constructing a new harbour and wet docks, and I have accordingly kept this in view in recommending that point for the terminus of the railway at Southampton. Your obedient servant, FRANas Giles. (h) Original Estimate of Mr. Francis Giles, January 23, 1832. Estimate of the probable expense of constructing a line for a double railway with its necessary passing places, from the town of /Southampton to Vauxhall, London. To excavating, embanking, forming, and trimming the roadway, it being 30 feet wide : 12,000,000 cubic yards at 8d £400,000 To gravelling (440), trimming (88), fencing (240), and draining (88) the roadway, 754 miles at £856 per mile . . . . . . . . . . . . 64,628 To the purchase of property and compensations — The first 5 miles, 40 acres at £500 £20,000 14 „ 112 „ 100 21 „ 210 „ 50 2:^ „ 184 „ 100 13 „ 104 „ 200 11,200 10,500 18,400 20,800 76 Depots 30 „ 200 6,000 Compensations . . . . . . . . 30,000 116,900 To iron rails 50 lbs. to the yard, with chairs 121bs. each for 80 miles, including passing places at £10 a ton, or £2000 a mile 160,000 To stone sleepers and fixing railway on the same at 3s. each for 80 miles, @ £1056 a mile 84,880 To 15 turnpike-road bridges 80 rods at £12 80 common road-bridges 40 60 occupation-road ditto 26 16 small river ditto 80 54 large culverts 15 110 small ditto 4 £14,400 38,400 18,720 15,360 9,720 5,280 101,880 To U mile of tunnel, 2640 yards at £21 55,440 983,728 Act of Parliament, professional charges and management 5 per cent., about . . . . 49,686 £1,033,414 (c) Extracts from Reports of the Eailway Company. From the reports and proceedings of the London and South Western Eailway Company, which are preserved at the chief ofiBce at Waterloo Station, it appears that in 1831, the undertaking was styled " the Southampton, London, and Branch Railway and Dock Company," with a capital of £1,500,000, in shares of £20 each. A public meeting was held at Southampton on February 6, 1831 ; and, on the 6th of April following, a statement was made by Colonel Henderson as to the probable advantages of the railway and docks, accompanied with rules for the government of the Company until an Act of Parliament was obtained, as well as with a copy of the Parliamentary contract. The directors named therein are William Fitzhugh, Robert Studden, Philip Le Fevre, J. S. Penleaze, George Henderson (chairman), John King, W. C. Westlake, E. Godden Jones, Richard D. Pritchard, R. Johnston (deputy-chairman), Samuel Le Fevre, W. J. Le Fevre, and S. R. Jarvis. The Hon. Peter Boyle de Blacquiere was treasurer, John Baring, solicitor, and E. L. Stephens, secretary. It was deemed of the first importance to decide as to the best line of road, h2 100 APPENDIX. and, as soon as a sufficient sum was subscribed to warrant the expenditure, to have survey's made to determine that point. In the calciilations of the profit- able transport, the first was coal. The price of coal in the central parts of the proposed railway was between 50s. and 60s. per chaldron, while the price at Southampton was from 23s. to 30s. With a railway the former price would be reduced to 33s. to 40s. Calculations founded on the census of 1821 of the popu- lation within ten miles on each side of the proposed line showed that there were about 135,000 persons, or 27,000 families, exclusive of Southampton and the neigh- bourhood. This would give 165,000 chaldrons, which, at 6s. each for carriage along the whole line, on an average, would yield £40,500 a year for the carriage of coal. The railway, it was stated, would give a facility, rapidity, and cheapness for trans- port and for shipment of all the produce of the district. It was estimated that 100,000 persons might be expected to travel on the railway annually, at an average charge of 10s. each : this would yield £50,000. The goods and parcels passing annually through the district were 30,262 tons, at a cost of £63,273. If conveyed at one-third of the usual cost, £21,091 would be received. The foreign fruit trade of the kingdom being 40,000 tons, it might be assumed that two-thirds wuuld go to Southampton. Ten tons of fish might come daily from Torbay. There would be also the naval and military traffic, as well as the conveyance of the mails. The total estimated receipts were £181,241 ; the working expenses, £61,241; and the annual profit, £121,060, being 10 per cent, on the estimated outlay. The estimated cost of construction was taken as — 78 miles at £14,000 per mile £1,092,000 650 acres of land for warehouses, and 566 acres for the line . . 43,000 Contingencies 43,000 £1,178,000 Called £1,200,000 For perfect success, the docks, it was asserted, must be part of the scheme ; one of the arguments in favour of the formation of these, and of thus converting Southampton into a grand commercial port, with a railway in direct communi- cation with the metropolis, was the immunity from the risk of the Channel and Downs passage, and of capture by the enemy ; and allusion was made to the same advantages having given rise to a plan which had recently been started of making a ship-canal from Spithead to London, at a cost of £4,000,000. In the next record of proceedings (on July 11, 1832), the undertaking is called " the Southampton and London Eailway." Mr. Francis Giles is the engineer, and the capital asked as for the cost of the railway is £1,000,000. The line would be more productive than the Birmingham line in proportion to the outlay, and the income would be £359,250, equal to nearly 36 per cent, per annum on the capital. Allusion is made to bringing cattle and sheep from the western counties for the London markets, at a railway charge per sixty miles of a farthing per pound. The Act of Parliament was passed on July 25, 1834, being cap. Ixxxviii. of 4 and 5 William IV. The next prospectus is dated August, 1834, and states that "the expense of the proposed railway, according to the estimate of Mr. Francis Giles, the engineer, supported fully and satisfactorily by evidence before the two Houses of Parlia- ment, is £1,000,000." APPENDIX. 101 The evidence as to income is as follows : — Present traffic estimated at railway prices- Coach passengers Posting Coach parcels Waggon traffic Cattle traffic £118,499 7,082 12,712 29,768 27,155 Prospective traffic — Torbay flt^heiy Increase on passengers Ditto on country-killed meat Ditto on heavy goods Cost of maintenance of way and of locomotive power Ditto upon increased traffic £195,216 23,333 118,499 4,667 5,569 152,068 87,799 52,000 £347,284 Total, or supposed profit 139,799 £207,485 This is exclusive of passengers by private carriages, post-chaises, and gigs, of coach parcels, or the transport of agricultural produce, timber, etc. The first general meeting of the subscribers was held at the City of London Tavern, on October 24, 1834; and the first general half-yearly meeting on February 27, 1835. In the report of February 15, 1837, it was stated to be necessary to raise £500,000 additional capital " to effect completion of the line and furnish the locomotive engines and carriages, which were not included in the original estimate ; and that Mr. Giles having resigned his appointment as engineer, the directors have secured the services of Mr. Joseph Locke, under whose able super- intendence the Grand Junction Eailway from Birmingham to Liverpool is just about to be completed." By resolution of the special general meeting of May 8, 1837, power was given to create 16,000 new shares of £25 each, or £400,000. The report of the sixth half-yearly meeting, held on August 8, 1837, states — " On the opening of the line to Kingston, a considerable traffic in passengers will at once arise from the proximity of the line to Hampton Court and other favourite places of resort, as well as from the more regular demands of the country. " A contract has been entered into with Mr. Brassey, a very able and respon- sible contractor, to execute all the remaining works from Wandsworth to the Kiver Wey Navigation. " A very moderate estimate of the traffic to which they have a right to look on the completion of the railway, gives a net revenue of nearly 15 per cent, on the estimated cost of £1,700,000. " In the memorandum of data upon which the estimate of revenue is founded, it is stated that the whole is the result of observations made in the months of April and May, 1837, at nine different stations on the Southampton and Ports- mouth roads, and on the Basingstoke Canal, the inspectors remaining a fortnight at each station. Wandsworth coaches and omnibuses are omitted. Only three passengers per journey have been estimated by the coaches, etc., between London and Hampton, although they are licensed to carry twelve, — upon the supposition 102 APPENDIX. tliat many of the passengers carried by the present conveyances are for intermediate distances on a line of road not traversed by the railroad. "With this exception, the number of passengers per coach per journey is estimated — nine to a four- horse coach, six to a two-horse coach, and five in a mail ; three persons to each pair of horses travelling post. Only half the persons travelling in cars, flies, gigs, and private carriages, in stage- vans, waggons, and spring and market carts, have been estimated to travel by railway. On the Basingstoke Canal there passed, in a fortnight, 371 tons of the lighter description of general merchandise, and 859 tons of coal, timber, grain, stone, etc. It is estimated that only the 371 tons of general merchandise will go by railway. " The rates to be charged by railway are assumed to be — passengers, 2d. per head per mile, — goods now taken by land, 4d. per ton, and those by water, Zd. per ton per mile, — beasts 3(Z. per head, and sheep, calves, and pigs l^d. per head per mile." Mr. William Chaplin, the great coach proprietor, was at this time consulted by the directors. His report is dated from the centre establishment, at the Swan with two Necks (corrupted from the " Swan with two Nicks"), August 4, 1837, and shows the number of passengers and parcels actually carried in coaches, etc., per journey during the months of January, February, July, and August, 1836, on the main roads from London to Portsmouth, Southampton, Salisbury, Exeter, and Devonport. The following extract contains some particulars as regards the places in the neighbourhood of Surbiton : — No. Coaches. Journeys per Week. Average Passengers Inside and Out. No. of Passen- gers per Week. No. of Miles by Rail- way. Aggregate No. of Miles travelled Weekly by Railway. No. of Parcels each Journey. Annual No. of Parcels. Charge per Parcel. Annual Amount of Parcels. s. d. £ s. d. 2 Esher . . 24 8 192 12 2,304 4 4,992 4 83 4 2 Hsrsham . 12 8 96 15 1,440 2 1,248 4 20 16 18 Hampton . 126 9 1,134 12 13,608 2 13,104 4 218 8 4 Kingston . 30 11 330 10 3,300 4 6,240 4 104 2 Weybridge 12 8 96 l^ 1,584 4 2,496 6 62 8 4 Wimbledon 28 8 224 6 1,344 2 2,912 4 48 10 2 The first paragraph of the report of August 31, 1838, is as follows: "Until the present occasion, the directors have had to meet the proprietors with promises of what would be accomplished on constructing the railway, and with expressions of their belief in an ample traffic; they have now the satisfaction of meeting them under different circumstances. . . . The promises in regard to the opening of a part of the railway have been redeemed — the hopes more than realized. The line was opened to Woking Common, a distance of twenty-three miles from London, on May 21 last." During the twelve weeks up to August 13, 93,791 passengers had been carried ; during the first four weeks, a daily average of 1040 ; during the second four weeks, 1128; and during the third four weeks, 1181; showing a steady, gradual increase of traffic. APPENDIX 103 In 1839 the name was clianged to " the London and South Western Eailway." The number of passengers carried in that year was 543,000. The entire line to Southampton was opened on May 11, 1839. The number of passengers conveyed in 1840 was 664,500. The branch line to Gosport was opened in February, 1842. It was decided at the end of 1844 to "construct the line from the Nine Elms Station to Waterloo and Hungerford Bridges ; " this was completed, and the Waterloo Terminus opened, on August 11, 1848. As the woiks connected with the formation of the railway gradually proceeded at Surbiton, a few new buildings were commenced on the hill. Mr. Walter purchased some six acres, in addition to that already owned by him, at the same rate of about £50 an acre, and other detached small parcels of land changed hands. The houses then erected were, however, chiefly cottages for the men employed on the line. Mr. John Strapp — whose name will be found amongst the lists of Improve- ment Commissioners and of churchwardens of St. Mark's, who was chief engineer of the Company from 1853 to 1870, and who was engaged in the Engineers' department from the date the line was commenced in 1835 — has been good enough to furnish some of the following particulars as to the making of the line through Surbiton. This portion, including the cutting, was commenced under the Com- pany's engineer, without the aid of contractors; but it was chiefly done and completed under Mr. Thomas Brassey, as mentioned above. The small wooden cottages still existing towards the Brighton Eoad end of the Glenbuck Eoad, formed the engine-house for the winding apparatus which was used for pulling the earth- waggons out of the Kingston Cutting on to the Ditton Embankment. It was worked on a drum — on a plan somewhat similar to that adopted on the Blackwall Eailway when it was first opened. The station was a small cottage-like building on the south side of the line near to the Ewell Eoad Bridge, and was approached by a path from the south end of that bridge down the cutting. The station was changed to the present site in 1840, soon after Mr. Pooley's operations on the Terry property commenced — the land being given by Mr. Pooley on the condition that the position of the station was changed, he undertaking to form the Victoria Eoad and a road leading to Kingston, afterwards called the Clare- mont Eoad. In the report of July, 1859, it was stated that application had been made to Paiiiament for forming a "short branch from Twickenham to Kingston," i.e. to the foot of Kingston Bridge on the Middlesex side ; and in the report of August, 1860, it was stated that " the Bill introduced into Parliament for authorizing the extension of the Twickenham and Kingston Branch to the Surrey side of the Thames has received the Eoyal assent ; " and in the report of July, 1865, the following paragraph appears : " The Bill for authorizing the short railway necessary to connect the Kingston Station (of the Eichmond and Windsor system) with Wimbledon, and to bring that system into direct communication with South London and with Ludgate, has been authorized by Parliament." The line from Twickenham to Kingston was opened on July 1, 1863; and that from Wimbledon through Norbiton to Kingston, on January 1, 1869. Mention is first made of using steel (instead of iron) rails in the report of July, 1869. The original iron rails weighed 50 pounds to the yard ; the steel rails, at present laid down, weigh 82 pounds to the yard. 104 APPENDIX. In the report of June 30, 1882, it is stated that "satisfactory progress has been made in the acquisition of the lands required for the Company's authorized new line between Hampton Court Junction and Guildford, the construction of which has been commenced, and the widening of the main line between Clapham Junction and Hampton Court Junction is well advanced." The former new line was opened for traffic in February, 1885. The Wimbledon and Fulham Branch, which is in lieu of the line from Surbiton vid Norbiton, was commenced early in 1887, and it is expected that it will be completed during 1888. The following particulars are taken from the " Eeport and Statement of Accounts for the Half- Year ended June 30, 1887," and should be read in contrast to the figures given in the original prospectus of the railway : — Capital Account — Ordinary Stock entitled to dividend £11,208,505 Guaranteed and Preference Stocks . . . . . . . . . . 11,245,471 Debenture Bonds and Stocks 7,634,327 £30,088,303 Bevenue Account — Gross revenue £1,452,690 Gross expenditure 848,114 604,576 Debenture interest. Preference dividends, and other charges . . 393,041 Net revenue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , 211,535 Dividend at rate of 3| per cent, per annum . . . . . . 210,159 Number of passengers (exclusive of season-ticket holders). First class 1.121,428 Second class 2,082,288 Third class 14,238,026 17,441,742 Holders of season tickets . . 12,145 Mileage Statement — Goods and minerals (tons). . 1,881,807 Miles authorized . . . . 817 Live stock (number) . . 318,405 Ditto constructed . . . . 789 Locomotive engines . . 533 Ditto constructing . . . . 27 Ditto tenders . . . . 357 Ditto worked by engines . . 787 Ballast engines . . . . 14 Train Mileage — Ditto tenders . . . . 13 Passenger trains . . . . 4,039,685 Total stock of carriages . . 2844 Goods and mineral trains . . 1,621,132 Ditto of waggons . . . . 8381 (d) Eailway Statistics, etc. The first stationmaster at Surbiton was Mr. Jones. He was succeeded by Mr. Chandler, who continued until 1841, when he was succeeded by Mr. Hilditch (the father of the present stationmaster at Waterloo). Mr. Hilditch remained until his death in 1858, his successor being Mr. Pandry, who left in 1859, when Mr. Maudslay was appointed. He resigned in 1866, and Mr. Spencer took his place. In 1884 he was succeeded by the present stationmaster, Mr. Taylor. Thomas Maynard, porter, and Eichard Cooper, signalman, are the only men at present employed at the station who were there in 1855. At the opening of the railway in May, 1838, there were five trains up from, and the same number down to, Surbiton daily, as shown in the facsimile of the APPENDIX. 105 original time-table, given on page 13— the first train from London reaching Surbiton at 8.31 a.m., and the last at 6.31 p.m. ; the first train from Snrbiton leaving at 8.10 a.m., the last at 7.40 p.m.; the time occupied in the journey between Nine Elms and Surbiton being thirty-one minutes. In June, 1855, there were twelve trains each way — the earliest morning up train leaving at 4 o'clock, and the latest evening up-train at 9.59; the first train leaving Waterloo at 6.45 a.m., and the last at 8.30 p.m. There were two fast trains up and four down daily. In June, 1887, there were (exclusive of special trains on Saturdays) fifty-seven up trains from, and forty-nine down trains to, Surbiton, many of them being fast trains. In 1838 the time-table was a single sheet; in 1855 it was a small octavo pamphlet of thirty-four pages ; in 1887 it was a large quarto handbook of a hundred and fourteen pages. The number of passengers booked from Surbiton Station (return tickets doubled) in 1865 was 223,977; in 1879, 392,715; and in the year ending June, 1887, 494,539. The number of season tickets issued for Surbiton Station during the year 1865 was 975; in 1879, 2316; and in the year ending June, 1887, 2921. The following is a list of the fares in 1855 and 1887 : — 1855. 1887. Ordinary fares between Surbiton and London — First class (single) Second class „ Third class „ First class (return) Second class „ Third class „ Charges for annual tickets between Surbiton and London — First class Second class IT. GUILDFORD, KINGSTON, AND LONDON RAILWAY. This scheme was started in 1880 for the purpose of making an independent line of railway from Guildford, via Surbiton and Norbiton, to Putney, where it was to join the Metropolitan system. It was taken up by the principal land- owners on the proposed route, and a provisional committee was formed for making " the Guildford, Kingston, and London Railway." Amongst the members of the committee were the Earl of Lovelace, the Earl of Onslow, Lord Foley, the Mayors of Guildford and Kingston, and the Chairman of the Surbiton Im- provement Commissioners. A Bill promoted in Parliament for forming the line was opposed by the South Western Company, by the Conservators of Wimble- don Common, and by those who considered that damage would be done to the commons and open spaces on the line. The promoters, on the other hand, stated that the undertaking would not damage the commons, but that it would enable the masses to obtain the enjoyment of them. s. d. «. d. 2 2 1 6 1 6 1 1 3 2 6 2 2 1 8 £ «. £ 8. 18 . . 18 15 . . 13 10 106 APPENDIX. Some objections taken by the Commissioners to the deposited plans, especially as regards the land at Surbiton Station, were removed by the directors of the new Company, and in February, 1881, the Commissioners signified their approval of the scheme, and presented a petition to Parliament in its favour. The pro- posed railway was to run through Norbiton and parallel with Clay Hill, at about eighty yards distant, passing over Lower and under Upper Marsh Lanes, close to the ground of the Mid-Surrey Archery Club, continuing in cutting to the London and South Western Kailway, about forty yards to the east of King Charles's Eoad Bridge, under that road and the Ewell Eoad ; then running parallel with the South Western Eailway, it crossed the Glenbuck Eoad at the bottom of Southbank Eoad, whence it had a branch to the South Western Eailway, with a station a little to the north of Glenbuck Eoad, about fifty yards from the present station. It then crossed the Glenbuck Eoad and the Brighton Eoad, and ran through the Southborough property and across the Ditton Eoad. To avoid the two sharp comers in the Glenbuck Road, that road was to be diverted at the bottom of Oak Hill Grove, and continued in a curve, rejoining the present road at the second corner. A carriage-way was also to be constructed from the proposed station by diverting Glenbuck Eoad and Southbank, carrying them over the proposed railway, whence one branch would lead to the present station ; the other, crossing the South Western Eailway, would join the Victoria Eoad opposite the south end of the Adelaide Eoad. This would have secured the much-desired carriage com- munication between the two sides of the railway, free of expense to the district. The South Western Company suggested a deviation line, commencing at Upper Marsh Lane, passing over the South Western main line at the western side of the wooden bridge, proceeding on the eastern side of Surbiton Hill Park and to the east of Berrylands Farm, then by the Fish-Ponds, passing under the Ewell Eoad, near the Tolworth School, at Woodside ; under the Brighton or Leatherhead Eoad, on to Hookhearne Common. The distance from point to point was practically the same as by the deposited plans; there would be no interfer- ence with the Surbiton roads, and scarcely a cottage would be removed. This deviation would have been an advantage to the property in Berrylands, but not so beneficial as the original plan for the district generally, and it was not adopted by the Commissioners. A requisition was addressed to the chairman, asking that a public meeting should be convened. It was held at the Lecture Hall in the Maple Eoad, on March 4, 1881, and was numerously attended. The chairman presided, and there were present the Mayor of Kingston, Mr, J. Broomhall, J.P., Mr. A. C. Tatham, Mr. T. Guilford, Mr. Walter East, Mr. W. S. Hodgson, and others ; and it was resolved to support the Guildford, Kingston, and London Eailway Bill. The chairman appeared before the Committee of the House of Commons in May, and stated that the advantages to Surbiton would be the increased means of com- munication with Kingston, Eichmond Park, Wimbledon, Cobham, Claygate, and other parts of the county, also with the west end of London, that emulation would be created on the part of the South Western Company, which would lead to their improving the station accommodation, reducing the fares for passengers and the charges for goods, securing greater punctuality of trains, so greatly interfered with at race times, and increasing the value of property in the district. A compromise was eventually arrived at— the South Western Company agree- APPENDIX. 107 ing to make tlie line between Guildford and Surbiton, and uniting with tbe Metro- politan District Eailway Company in constructing tbe portion between Surbiton and the Fulham Station near Putney Bridge. Accordingly in the following year a Bill was promoted by the South Western Company for making the Surbiton and Putney portion, including what was termed the Surbiton Northern Junction and the Surbiton Southern Junction, and powers were asked for interfering with the Ewell Koad Bridge, King Charles's Eoad and Bridge, Villiers' Path, Clay Hill, Lambert's Eoad, Brighton Eoad, and the road at the junction of Southbank and Gienbuck Eoad. The Commissioners petitioned against this Bill, and were heard by counsel before the Committee. The evidence of the chairman was taken in order to secure several improvements made by the Company. Photographic views (now at the Commissioners' office) of the roads and parts of the district affected were produced, and clauses were introduced into the Bill, requiring the Company to widen the bridge over King Charles's Eoad, to make the bridge or gallery at the station eighteen feet wide, and to increase the width of the Glen- buck Eoad to thirty feet throughout. The line to Guildford, via Claygate, Oxshott, Cobham, Horsley, and Clandon, was opened on February 2, 1885, and the number of fast trains between Surbiton and Waterloo was increased by six each way. In 1884 and 1885 the Commissioners were obliged to again petition against Bills of the South Western Company, which asked for an extension of time for completing the railway to Putney, and the Committee refused to grant it. In 1886 the Commissioners lodged a further petition against a Bill of the South Western Company for the abandonment of part of the authorized Kingston and London Eailway and of lines connected therewith ; for transferring to and vesting in the London and South Western Eailway Company alone the powers for making the unabandoned part of the Kingston and London Eailway ; to authorize the transfer to the last-mentioned Company of the undertaking and powers of the Wimbledon and West Metropolitan Junction Eailway Company ; to extend the periods limited for the purchase of lands for, and for the completion of the Wimbledon and West Metropolitan Junction Eailway, and for the completion of the unabandoned portion of the Kingston and London Eailway; and to authorize the London and South Western Eailway Company to make a new railway at Wimbledon. This led to a correspondence and numerous interviews with the chief officials of the South Western Company. A deputation, consisting of the chairman, Mr. Guilford, Mr. Parkes, and Mr. Thynne, met Mr. Charles Scotter, the general manager, Mr. W. Jacomb, the engineer, Mr. F. Macaulay, the secretary, and Mr. Bircham, the solicitor, at Waterloo Station, and, after considerable discus- sion, a compromise, proposed by Mr. Scotter, was arrived at — viz. to widen the carriage-way of King Charles's Eoad Bridge to the existing extreme width of the structure, and to add a path on each side ; to contribute £600 towards widening the Gienbuck Eoad when undertaken by the Commissioners ; and to make a good subway for foot-passengers at the station, in lieu of widening the gallery, which would be shut off from the public, and form part of the station only. A formal agreement, embodying these arrangements, was accordingly entered into between the Company and the Board. The Company at the same time undertook to 108 APPENDIX. construct the branch line from Wimbledon to Putney, which was commenced in 1887. At the same time that the South Western Company began the construc- tion of the new branch to Guildford, they widened the main line between Clapham Junction and Surbiton. This necessitated the removal of some part of the bank on the south side of the cutting, and the consequent destruction of the pine trees, which were such an ornament to the line; it also necessitated considerable alterations at the station — the number of rails being doubled, a new platform made on the south side, the gallery lengthened, and an island platform constructed. Advantage was taken of these alterations to impress upon the directors the desirability of effecting several improvements. In this the Commissioners were supported by many of the residents, who represented to the Board the inadequacy of the platform and waiting-room accommodation. Accordingly, a deputation, consisting of Mr. Parkes, Mr. Luck, Mr. Guilford, and the Chairman of the Commissioners, with Mr. Henry Harrison and Mr. W. Dunnage, was appointed to state the wishes of the district to the directors. This they did at an interview in April, 1883. They represented the incon- venient approach to the station ; the objectionable cab-stand arrangements ; the shortness and narrowness of the platforms, which were only partially covered ; the insufficiency of the waiting-rooms ; the necessity for a booking-office on the down side ; and of a good subway ; the want of porters ; and the inconvenience and smallness of the goods yard. The importance of the station, as shown by the number of season-ticket holders, was also dwelt upon. It was urged how desirable it was, in the interests of the Company as well as of the district, that Surbiton should be treated as well as places of similar importance on the South Western or other lines ; how much its prosperity depended on the liberality of the Company ; and that, while there was an excellent service of trains, there was room for great improvement at the station, which was neither so handsome nor so convenient as it might be. The result of this interview was that most of the requirements set forth were readily met, and considerable improvements were thereby effected. V. DRAINAGE OF THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE DISTRICT, 1855-1862. On June 18, 1855, Mr. J. Simpson, jun., was appointed surveyor, with a salary of £30, and ordered to report within a week " as to the best method of imme- diately remedying the nuisances existing in the district, and, further, to make a general report as soon as possible of the best method of draining the district ; " and at the end of the week he was directed " to furnish a report in a fortnight, suggesting a general scheme of drainage for the district south of the railway, and pointing out such portions of the plan he may recommend to be immediately proceeded with, with a view to remedying, if practicable, the more pressing nuisances." The surveyor, in his first report as to the south side of the railway, stated, " I look upon all the open ditches in the district as more or less polluted by APPENDIX. 109 sewage. The state of the whole district must excite great apprehension as to what may be the effect upon its salubrity and its future prosperity." An idea of the real state of the place, even some months after the Commis- sioners had remedied many glaring and dangerous defects, can best be formed from the special reports made by Mr. M. T. Coleman (medical officer) on February 11 and March 10, 1856, principally in regard to the cottages. He mentions *' drains going into an open ditch which runs the whole length of the road — stag- nant sewage — open cesspools close to houses — very offensive drains — pump close to drain — bad water in well — lane difficult to travel through, as it resembles a ploughed field — cellar with five inches of water — drains stopped — ground satu- rated with sewage — cottage in a most abominable state — foetid open ditch — road made use of as a general cesspool — cesspools too full and too small — well in filthy condition — water unfit for drinking purposes." Mr. Simpson presented a preliminary report as early as July 9, and between that date and the end of 1855 this important and difficult question was under consideration at nearly every meeting of the Board. There was great divergence of opinion amongst the Commissioners as to the best mode of dealing with this question. This was manifest after the very first meeting at which Mr. Simpson's plan was presented in January, 1856. The first resolution was to the effect that " the Commissioners do not approve of carrying out any system of draining the south side of Surbiton Hill having for its outfall the Ewell Eiver or Tolworth Brook, and that it is inexpedient to adopt a sumpt system ; " an amendment being lost which proposed that " the consideration of the question be postponed until after a system of drainage be affirmatively decided upon." It was also resolved "that Mr. Simpson's plan of drainage as a scheme for the whole district meets with the approbation of the Commissioners ; " but a proposal to adopt that plan was not carried, while, on the presentation of a petition, signed by more than a hundred ratepayers, it was decided that, " before finally adopting any system of drainage, it is expedient that the sentiments of the owners, occupiers, and ratepayers collectively of the district to be charged should be ascertained ; and it is also expedient that, before any meeting for that purpose is called, the Commissioners should determine upon some plan of drainage to be submitted to the meeting " — such plan being that prepared by Mr. Simpson, which started with a sewer commencing at the southern boundary of the district, near the turnpike at Tolworth, to be carried in tunnel through the hill to the railway arch over the Brighton Eoad, and thence to the Lambeth Waterworks' sewer in that road. Not only was there a strong local opposition to this scheme — principally on the score of its cost, which was felt to be too great for the then ratable value of property — but a protest, of which a copy is given at page 112, was lodged with the Commissioners, signed by the owners and occupiers of the mills on the Hog's Mill River, and the lands abutting on the same, and handbills were circulated in the neighbourhood against doing any damage to the water forming the source of the said river, and which water possessed "the purest qualities for supplying the inhabitants and cattle." A letter was also written by the town clerk of Kingston, stating that the corporation objected to any drainage being carried into the Ewell Brook. At the first annual election the feeling of the ratepayers was clearly shown, 110 APPENDIX. and of the five Commissioners who retired by rotation only two (Mr. Brown and Mr. Straight) were re-elected ; and Mr. Charles Walpole, Mr. Charles Pressly, and Mr. John Guy were placed on the Board. Mr. W. H. Walton, although unanimously urged to continue to act as chairman, declined the appointment, partly on the ground that he resided in a part of the district which would not have to contribute towards the heavy expense of drainage ; and Mr. Charles Sumner (afterwards Chancellor of the Diocese of Winchester and a County Court judge) was elected chairman, a vote of thanks being passed to Mr. Walton " for the able and efficient way in which he had performed the duties of chairman." The manner of the election of the five Commissioners had almost pledged them to oppose the original drainage scheme, and the first step taken by the new Board was the appointment of a special committee to consider the necessity, as well as the expediency, of any and, if so, what measures should be taken for the drainage of the district. Their report was made in the following October, but nothing further was done for some months. In the mean time the Conservators of the Eiver Thames asked the Commissioners what steps were being taken for draining the district; and at a Board meeting in March, 1857, it was resolved that " it is expedient to decide promptly whether any, and if so what, system of drainage is to be carried out ; " and the surveyor was ordered to report whether the outfall of sewage into the Thames, as proposed in his plan, would be likely to occasion a nuisance to the public or to the inhabitants of the houses near the outfall. In his report of April 13, Mr. Simpson stated that the sewage would not cause any nuisance, and he proposed several modifications as regards the laterals of his main tunnel sewer, especially as to " the existing drains from Berrylands, which are now emptied into an open ditch." Mr. Charles Walpole succeeded Mr. Charles Sumner as chairman in June, 1857, when the question again came before the Board, and it was once more resolved that measures be taken for draining such parts of the district as require drainage without further delay, and to adopt the principal portion of Mr. Simpson's plan. The corporation of London at this period had a Bill before Parliament containing a clause as to the Conservators of the Eiver Thames, which aflfected materially the rights of the Commissioners to drain into the Thames, and the necessary alterations were made in the Bill to protect those rights. It was eventually decided to convene a meeting of the inhabitants of the district, or such parts thereof as might be deemed desirable, to give them an opportunity of expressing their opinions on the drainage question. Accordingly, in November, 1857, a meeting of the ratepayers and owners of property residing on the south side of the railway and in the Biighton Koad was held at the National School-rooms, to consider the plan adopted by the Commissioners for the drainage of that part of the district. The chair was taken by Mr. Charles Walpole, who made a statement of the position of the question. The other speakers were Mr. Clabon, Colonel Hart, Captain William Eadclifife, Mr. Walton, Mr. James Walter, Mr. Mercer, Mr. Straight, and Mr. Tatham. A resolution was moved by Mr. Clabon, and seconded by Captain Eadclifie, and carried un animously — " That, though thanking the Commissioners and the surveyor for the care and pains which have been bestowed on the subject, and fully recognizing the impor- APPENDIX. Ill tance of carrying into effect, at an early period, proper means for the drainage of Surbiton Hill, so as to provide for the comfort of the residents there, and to do away with existing nuisances, the meeting is of opinion that the scheme of drainage submitted by the Commissioners requires further consideration, and requests the Commissioners to call in further aid in investigating and reporting on what is requisite for the suflBcient drainage of the district generally, expressing the hope that no more mono}' will be expended on such drainage than is actually necessary." The special committee which had, in consequence of this resolution, been appointed to report on the subject generally had divided the district into three parts, and they pointed out that the Brighton Eoad could be drained at moderate cost ; Oak Hill at rather higher, but still moderate, cost ; but that the few houses in the Hollyhedge Field, in the Ewell Road (there was not then a house on the thirty-two acres purchased by Mr. Curling), required the tunnel, which would consequently have to be made for less than a dozen houses. While this report was an obstacle to progress, it saved the ratepayers from a ruinous expense. Moreover, the proposed scheme was the more aggravating as Messrs. Coutts' estate, on the north side of the railway, was deemed to be sufficiently drained, and was exempted by the Act of 1855 from the sewer rate. And, although the subject was postponed for a time, the growth of the place at last forced it upon the Commissioners who were at first opposed to any scheme ; they one by one came round to the opinion that something must be done, and that no division of rate could answer, but that all (those on Coutts' estate excepted) must take an equal ratable share of the burden. After the public meeting in November, 1857, Mr. Simpson modified his plan, and reduced the estimated cost to £2361. The Commissioners then offered a premium for competitive plans, which were received in December, 1858 ; the estimated cost being — the highest £8367, and the lowest £3236 ; on the consideration of which, in January, 1859, it was resolved "that it will suffice for the present wants of the district that sewers be made to take the drainage now flowing into open ditches." Mr. Simpson resigned his appointment of surveyor in the September of that year, and was succeeded by Mr. Eobert Brown. Another year passed, and then Mr. Brown was ordered to furnish a plan. This he did in the following April. He acknowledged the merits of Mr. Simpson's scheme, but he boldly modified it ; and he was enabled to considerably reduce the cost to the ratepayers by taking his start in Berrylands, where building was progressing rapidly, and by bringing his sewer to a central point in Mr. Curling's thirty-two acres, and then dropping it to the depth of the original tunnel. A great length of large sewer was thus avoided — a sewer of moderate dimensions from Tol worth to the " tumbling bay " sufficed for the few houses at the lower part of the Ewell Road. The line taken by Mr. Brown's scheme is given in the following copy of the report of the Drainage Committee, dated April, 1861 : — " They had considered a plan of drainage for the south side of the railway and the Brighton Road, which had been prepared by the surveyor. The drain commences at the further side of Berrylands, crosses the lands belonging to the United Kingdom Provident Institution, then crosses King Charles's Road and Mr. Brown's brick-field, and follows the course of Brown's Road to the Ewell Road ; it then follows the course of the Ewell Road in a southerly direction to a 112 APPENDIX. point near Mr. Freeman's house ; it then takes the course of the new roads marked out in Mr. Curling's land to the further point of Langley Lane, and from thence it passes along the Leatherhead Road to the railway arch, and onwards down the Brighton Road into the Lambeth sewer. A portion of the sewer is proposed to be in tunnel, but for a much shorter distance than the tunnel formerly proposed. By means of a sudden drop at the mouth of the tunnel, the sewer can be con- structed at much less cost of cutting and tunnelling. The proposed drop and consequent tunnel have been adopted expressly for the benefit of the thirty-two acres of land belonging to Mr. Curling. The estimated cost will be £3017 128. 5d." Negotiations were opened with the owners of property as to their contribu- tions towards the cost of these main sewers, especially with Mr. C. Scrase Dickins as to the expense to be incurred for making them of sufficient depth to drain his property at Berrylands. Detailed drawings were prepared and tenders received in January, 1802, the highest being £5480, and the lowest — that of Mr. Edward Thirsk, of King's Road, Chelsea — £3309, which was accepted. It was afterwards increased by the £250 contributed by Mr. Dickins in order that the sewers might be made of the depth required to drain his land. The work was commenced at once, under the superintendence of Mr. Robert Brown, and was completed at the end of 1862, Mr. Brown being allowed £200 as commission, and for his " un- remitting attention and diligence as surveyor." The total cost was £4235, towards which the following voluntary contributions were made by landowners, viz. : Mr. Willis, £10 ; Mr. Charles Corkran, £500 ; Mr. Charles Curling, £500 ; Mr, William Walter, £200 ; Earl of Lovelace, £50 ; National Provident Society, £225 ; Mr. Charles Scrase Dickins, £250 ; total, £1735. So the cost to the district was £2500 ; which sum was borrowed, on the security of the rates, in bonds of £100 each at the rate of 5 per cent., and was finally paid off in 1883. The following is a copy of the notice from owners of property on the Hog's Mill River, mentioned at page 109 : — "We, the undersigned, are owners and occupiers of mills and lands in the parish of Kingston. The mills are on a well-known river, called the Hog's Mill River, and the lands are abutting on the same; the source of which river is in the parish of Ewell, and the water at present possessing the purest qualities for supplying the inhabitants and cattle through the parish, till it empties itself into the River Thames. " We are aware that two Acts of Parliament have been lately passed for the purposes of improving the drainage, and for other alterations in the parish, and we therefore give this public notice to the Commissioners acting under the powers of the two Acts, as well as to private individuals, that if any damage is done to the aforesaid pure water, by conveying any sewage into the same, or into any surface water-courses leading thereto, they will subject themselves to heavy damages, and the subscribers, whose names are underwritten, will be under the necessity of enforcing the laws to protect their rights in preserving their property. "Dated 12th July, 1855. " William Mercer, Mill-owner. Thomas Leonard, ■ John Leonard. ^ ^^'^^^'*- W. H. England, Mill owner. Thomas Boorman, Tenant. C. S. Dickins, Esq., Land-owner. R. P. Roupell, Land-owner. H. F. Hodgson, Brewer. William White, Tolworth Court Farm (accidentally omitted)." APPENDIX. 113 VI. CONSTRUCTION OF SEWEES AND DIVEESION OF SEWAGE FROM THE RIVER THAMES. As regards tlie drainage of the district not forming part of Messrs. Coutts' property, and that dealt with by the main sewer of Mr. Brown, the following appear to have been the proceedings taken by the Commissioners. In 1859 the Surbiton Hill Eoad sewer district was formed, and sewers made at a cost of about £200, and the money was borrowed, payable in equal annual portions during the next thirty years. The sewer in St. Leonard's Road was made in the same year at the expense of the owners of the adjoining property. In 1862 a drain was laid down in the Ewell Eoad, from the house which is now called Eedfern to the corner of South Terrace, and along that terrace to join the pipe-sewer there, the object being to drain the houses on the Wyburn Estate, Hill House, and the houses which were being erected by Mr. Makins (Ardmore, Bramley Lodge, and the house in which Mr. George J. Stone has since resided). The owners contributed towards this expense. In 1864 a plan for the drainage of the Oak Hill district was pro- posed ; but, " as the work would be costly, the Board were not prepared to recommend its immediate adoption, hesitating to place this additional expense on the ratepayers." In the following year, however, it became necessary to carry out this improvement, and the present sewers were then laid down under the superintendence of the surveyor. The sewer in the Cleaveland Eoad was remade in 1882, at a cost to the owners of about £300. As already stated, the main sewer for draining the hill was completed at the end of 1862, and one of the duties imposed on the Commissioners by the Improvement Act was complied with. Within a j^ear afterwards the Board were called upon to devise means for diverting from the Thames the sewage which they had thus at great expense taken to the river. In 1864 the Elvers Pollution Commission recommended that sewerage should not be allowed to go to what until then appeared to be the natural source of disposal. The Metropolitan Board of Works were incurring heavy outlay for diverting the sewage of London from the river below Putney, and conveying it to Barking ; and the Thames Conservancy Act was being passed, containing clauses with enormous penalties against increasing the volume of sewage pouring into the river from towns above Putney. The Surbiton Commissioners did not, however, wait the passing of this Act in 1 867, for in September, 1864, they took voluntary action in the matter, and their chairman (Mr. Charles Walpole) suggested a scheme for an intercepting sewer, commencing at Ditton, which should clear the river of the sewage of the Dittons, Molesey, Surbiton, Kingston, Ham, Petersham, Eichmond, Kew, Mortlake, Barnes, and Putney, at which latter place it was to enter the Metropolitan system. The desire of the Commissioners was to comply with the altered requirements of the Legislature ; their policy was to get the sewage well away from the district ; their difficulty was to do this except at a cost which would be almost ruinous to the townships on the banks of the river ; and their plan was to do by combined action that which could not be done by each separately. The Metropolitan Board of Works stated that their sewer at Putney was insuf- 114 APPENDIX. ficient in capacity to receive additional matter. In 1865 the cliairman appeared before the Kivers Pollution Commissioners, who admitted that combined action was the only proper solution of the difficulty. In 1866 the attempts then made to get up a combined scheme failed, and the President of the Board of Trade was then appealed to. A scheme was prepared, with the assistance of Mr. (afterwards Sir Joseph) Bazalgette, with the object of forming an outer Metropolitan drainage area, and to empty the sewage into the Thames below Crossness. This also failed; and in 1867 the Commissioners and their surveyor devised plans for taking the sewage of all the townships lying between Staines and Putney to Woodham Heath, and treating it by " broad irrigation " over the land. In anti- cipation of this not being practicable, the Commissioners had before them a plan for utilizing the sewage of Surbiton only. This was found to be impracticable on account of the difficulty of obtaining suitable ground, and of the certainty of incur- ring the hostility of landowners — all land in the district being considered building land. Other authorities in the Thames valley had proposed schemes for dealing with the sewage by irrigation ; some of them incurred heavy expense ; but all failed in their attempts. The general idea at this period was that the sewage was very valuable, and in one of the many pamphlets sent out by engineers, with plans to meet the requirements of the Thames Conservators, was one in which it was stated that the proceeds from lands on which the sewage was to be utilized would yield a clear profit over and above the annual working expenses, interest, and sinking fund, without any necessity for rating the parish, and a chapter was devoted to the disposal of the surplus income ! As time advanced the Commissioners were confirmed in their opinion that combination was the only escape from the difficulty, and their chairman, in company with Sir Henry Peek, then Member for Mid-Surrey, Sir Eichard Garth, then Member for Guildford, and Mr. Leycester Penrhyn, the chairman of Quarter Sessions, attended a private meeting (at which Mr. Richardson was present), when Sir J. Bazalgette propounded a plan for taking the sewage westward and irrigating the sandy lands about Woking. A Bill for this purpose was prepared, but, as strong opposition arose in various quarters, it was abandoned. The Commissioners, in 1869, made an earnest appeal to the Government to introduce a Bill for the union of townships in the Thames valley with a view to forming a Board armed with authority to provide a suitable sewerage outfall. They had a special interview with the Home Secretary, and represented the difficulties of the case. Evidence was also given by Mr. Walpole before the Sanitary Commissioners, when a hope was held out that the Government would take some action ; but nothing was done. While pursuing the object which had throughout seemed to the Commis- sioners most desirable, viz. a combination of townships, they gave attention to the numerous schemes which were presented for dealing with the matter locally by means of deodorization or filtration. The works of the ABC Company at Leamington were visited ; a plan of Mr. Dover's was considered ; a system devised by Mr. Austen was tried in a large chamber in Coutts' sewer, opposite the hotel stables in Yictoria Road, and not approved. In 1874 Surbiton, Kingston, and Hampton Wick took up the question by themselves. A deputation saw the President of the Local Government Board, and an inquiry was held before Colonel APPENDIX. 115 Cox. The proposal was to deal with the sewage of all the places between Windsor and London, and to take it to an outfall near to the sea. After an inquiry which lasted six days, Colonel Cox reported that the remedy proposed was too heroic, but that a combination of less magnitude should be made, viz. of places between Hampton and London. The Thames Conservators were constantly threatening to inflict the penalties for pouring sewage into the Thames, and, when this result was made known, they took proceedings to recover those penalties against the various places. Those for Surbiton then amounted to nearly half as much again as the ratable value of the district. The Commissioners did not relax their efforts to solve the problem. They considered a scheme which was brought before them for dealing with the sewage on some of Mr. Scrase Dickins's land, in Berrylands, which he was willing to sell at a reasonable price. They also conferred with the corporation of Kingston as to joining them in a plan for dealing with the sewage of both authorities on some land by the river-side, termed " the Corporation Eyots," just below the South Western Railway bridge. In the mean time, the chairman of the Local Board of Hampton Wick (Sir Thomas Nelson) took up the matter, and, after another inquiry before Colonel Cox, the Local Government Board decided to form a Joint Board, and issued a Provisional Order on June 5, 1877, which was confirmed by the Act of August 10, 1877, under which several districts were united for the purpose of making a main sewer for the use of all those districts ; Heston and Isleworth being added in a subsequent Order. There were six ex-officio and twenty-seven elective members; those for Surbiton being the chairman (Mr. W. P. Dickins), and Messrs. W. Y. Cockburn, W. Parkes, and R. W. C. Eichardson. In December, 1879, Mr. T. Guilford took the place of Mr. Cockburn, who resigned, and on Mr. Eichardson becoming am ex-officio member in February, 1880, Mr. C. L. Luck was elected one of the representa- tives of Surbiton. Mr. Parkes was chairman of the Works and Parliamentary Committee ; Mr. Eichardson was chairman of the Finance Committee. At an early meeting of the Joint Board, the representatives of Surbiton proposed a resolution in favour, first, of total diversion by joining the system of drainage adopted by the West Kent Board, whose sewers were constructed of a size sufficient to admit the sewage of the Joint Board district ; or, failing that, broad irriga- tion or chemical treatment. The plan for going to West Kent did not commend itself to a large majority of the Joint Board, who were in favour of treatment by irrigation at Molesey. After the inquiry before the Local Government Inspector, which lasted several weeks, and cost a large sum, this scheme was reported against. The Surbiton representatives renewed the attempt to go to West Kent, but were again unsuccessful, and they then supported a scheme for treating the sewage chemically at Mortlake. This passed the Local Government Board, who issued a Provisional Order, which was not confirmed by the House of Commons. Kingston then promoted an Act of Parliament for breaking up the Joint Board. This became law in 1885; the Board was dissolved, and the last meeting took place at the town hall on February 10, 1886. The sums con- tributed by Surbiton towards the expenses of the Board amounted to £4625, which was equal, for the eight years of its existence, to a rate per annum of under 2d. in the pound ; during that period the penalties incurred under the Thames I 2 116 APPENDIX, Conservancy Act were suspended, eventually they were remilted, and the ratepayers were saved the special sewer rate which would have been payable had any system been adopted. The Kingston Corporation reverted to the eyot scheme, and in December, 1885, they entered into an agreement with the Native Guano Company for the treatment of the sewage of the borough on the eyot property belonging to the corporation. They intimated their willingness to reopen the question of dealing with the sewage of Surbiton on terms to be agreed upon. The chairman, Mr. Thynne, and Mr. Guilford were appointed a sub-committee to confer with the representatives of the corporation. They had several meetings with the Borough Drainage Committee, and a preliminary arrangement was come to which may be summarized as follows : — The two eyots of about eight acres and a meadow of about seventeen acres adjoining, to be used for the treatment of the sewage of both authorities, the meadow to be used for irrigation by the effluent water, if necessary. The corporation to provide works for the treatment of the sewage. Surbiton to pay the corporation for the use of the land and works, and a proportion of charges, according to ratable value, also to make a sewer from the present outfalls in the Portsmouth Eoad, near the boundary of the district, to the works at Kingston. Surbiton to pay the Native Guano Company a sum equal to three times the amount which a penny improvement rate would produce. The annual average charge to the district would be equal to a rate of about eightpence in the pound (the same as that estimated for the Molesey and the Mortlake schemes). This arrangement, with some modification of details, was embodied in a formal agreement made between the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of the borough of Kingston-upon-Thames and the Surbiton Improvement Commissioners, and to which the seals of the two parties were attached on January 27, 1887. There are always in such cases some points which require adjustment, but the sealing of these deeds may be considered as the solving of the problem placed before the Commissioners in 1864, and which therefore had taken upwards of twenty -three years to accomplish. In 1873, in consequence of the state of the drainage in the Britannia Eoad being unsatisfactory, the tile-drain sewer laid some years before being imperfect, it was decided to relay that sewer, and at the same time the sewer at the lower end of King Charles's Eoad was lengthened and deepened. In 1882 a new drainage district, No. 3, was formed, embracing that part of the district north of the Maple Eoad and between the Maple Eoad and the Portsmouth Eoad, commencing with but not including the property of the Chelsea Waterworks Company on the west, and the boundary of the district on the east. In 1883 it became necessary to provide for the drainage of the houses on Surbiton Hill (formerly Selfe's) Park, and to replace by brick sewers the old drains in King Charles's Eoad and in Berrylands. A special drainage district was formed, called No. 4, embracing all that part of the district south of the railway— the district No. 2, created in 1862, being dissolved. Estimates and sections were prepared by Mr. Samuel Mather, the surveyor to the Commissioners, APPENDIX. 117 in which provision was made for separating the surface water from the sewage by means of a distinct series of pipes. The work was contracted for by Messrs. Beadle Brothers, of Erith, their tender being £4398 for the sewers, and £772 for the surface-water pipes. The lino of sewers and other details are given in the following memorandum prepared by Mr. Mather. The work was completed in May, 1884, at a total cost of £6385, including a gratuity to Mr. Mather in recognition of the satisfactory manner in which he had designed and superintended the work. To meet this outlay, and to pay off the mortgage remaining on the main sewer district No. 2 and the sewer district No. 3, it was necessary to raise £7000. This was borrowed at an average rate of rather less than 4 per cent, per annum, redeemable in thirty years — £3200 being lent by Friendly Societies in the neighbourhood, and the balance by the United Kingdom Temperance Society. In recognition of the excellent manner in which the men employed on the drainage works had conducted themselves, a musical entertainment was given to 113 of them in Christ Church School-rooms, on January 24, 1884, at which the chairman, the Eev. J. W. Bardsley, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Jeffcott, Mr. and Mrs. Sharpe, Mr. Shears, Mr. Strachan, Mr. Lott, and others were present ; tea and substantial refreshments being served by the ladies and gentlemen. VII. DEAINAGE OF SUEBITON HILL PAEK AND BEEEYLANDS. Memorandum prepared by Mr. Samuel Mather, C.E., Surveyor to the Commissioners. In 1882 the surveyor drew the attention of the Commissioners to the necessity for adopting a better system of drainage for that part of the district lying south of tlie Ewell Eoad, and for constructing a sewer of sufficient depth to receive the sewage of the houses in Surbiton Hill Park. At this period those houses were drained by means of cesspools, the overflow going into very imperfect drains laid in the roads, by which it was conveyed to the outfall in the railway cutting near the wooden bridge (probablj- an old ditch or easement of some kind, which existed before the railway was made), and from this point it went alongside the line until it reached the Maiden "River. The south-eastern part of the district was drained by a system of very old- fashioned sewers, made of red channel tiles placed one on the other; these were found, on examination, to be in a very imperfect condition. The surveyor was instructed to report fully on the subject, and to prepare an estimate of the cost of the scheme he would recommend. This was done in January following; the proposals then made were adopted, and it was ultimately decided to provide a separate system for the surface water. In June the surveyor submitted his plan to the Drainage Committee, with a detailed estimate of the works, amount- ing to £5586 17s., when it was decided to offer the work for competition. In August fifteen tenders were received, the amounts ranging from £5170 to 118 APPENDIX. £10,188. The contract was entrusted to Messrs. Beadle Brothers, of Erith, the lowest tenderers, and the works were executed by them under the supervision of Mr. Samuel Mather, C.E., the Commissioners' surveyor. The works consisted of about 1050 yards of 2 feet 6 inches by 1 foot 8 inches egg-shaped brick culvert, with manholes, and about four miles of pipe-sewer and surface-water drains, varying in size from 15 inches to 6 inches in diameter. The brick sewer was constructed of wire-cut gault bricks built in cement, the foundation being composed of Doulton's glazed earthenware invert blocks. The excavation for this sewer was principally done by tunnelling, there being very little of it less than 20 feet in depth ; the greatest depth being 30 feet, near the Paragon Arms. It commences at the lower end of King Charles's Eoad, where it joins the main hill sewer, and continues along that road until opposite the Berrylands Eoad, where it turns in an easterly direction as far as the entrance to Surbiton Hill Park; it then takes a north-easterly course along Park Eoad to the junction of roads at the lower end of Surbiton Hill Park. The manholes, which are situated at the junction of roads along its route, are constructed of wire-cut gault bricks built in cement, all the bricks being made to a regular curve to suit the radiating form of the manhole. The upper parts of the manhole walls are gathered in from a diameter of four feet to a little under two feet, so as to receive the cast-iron manhole cover to gain access to the sewer. Foot-steps are built in the walls at every twelve inches for ascending or descending the same. All branch sewers are brought into these manholes, and their line and level are so arranged, with provission for illuminating them, that their whole length can be inspected, and the position of any obstruction or deposit ascertained. The pipe sewers were laid in the following thoroughfares : — The Avenue, Berrylands, Alpha Eoad, Britannia Eoad, Berrylands Eoad, Christ Church Eoad, Paragon Grove, King Charles's Eoad, Surbiton Hill Park, Park Eoad, Parklands, and along the course of the unfinished road from the entrance to the Maiden bridle-path, passing the south end of Berrylands Avenue, and joining the main sewer in King Charles's Eoad. These pipe sewers are constructed of Doulton and Co.'s best London-made glazed earthenware pipes, and laid on a bed of Portland cement concrete nine inches deep, the concrete being carried up the side of the pipes three to five inches according to their size. By this method a source of weakness is avoided by solidly filling the cavities under the pipes — a precaution which, if neglected, always leads to fracture and defects in sewers. In addition to the advantage thus gained by the use of concrete, a permanent bed or foundation for the sewer is formed, and any change of line or gradient is avoided when introducing a junction. At every change of line or gradient in the sewers, manholes with side chambers have been constructed, and at every hundred yards from such manhole lampholes are fixed for illumi- nating the sewers at times of inspection. The pipes are laid in section between manholes, in straight lines and gradient, so as to enable a view to be obtained through each length ; the lampholes are also available for flushing purposes. The surface-water drains were laid in the roads before mentioned ; they are constructed of earthenware pipes, and laid at shallow depths. They have their outfall in the direction of the natural fall of the ground, sloping to the north ArPENDIX. 119 and south. Some of the old sewers have been utilized to convey the water along the railway to the Maiden Eiver ; fi om the roads sloping to the south all is carried to the outfall near the watercourse running at the foot of the hill. Supplementary pipe sewers are laid throughout the whole length of the brick sewer in King Charles's Eoad, Berrylands Koad, and Park Eoad, to receive all house-connections, as no communications are permitted with the main sewers other than those which enter with the branch sewer at the manhole marks along its route. VIII. PUBLIC OFFICES AND ASSEMBLY-EOOMS. In 1866 it was found that the rooms used as offices were not suitable for trans- acting the business of the Board, which had increased considerably since its formation in 1855, and an offer by Mr. Bosworth to erect, in the Victoria Eoad, near the station, a building containing the necessary accommodation, was accepted ; the Commissioners to be yearly tenants at a rental of £60. A part only of the building was let to the Commissioners until 1887, when an arrange- ment was made to rent the entire premises, including the yard. It had fre- quently been suggested that the Commissioners should purchase land and erect offices, and combine with them public or assembly rooms. The want of the latter was felt as far back as 1870, when Mr. G. H. Milford, Mr. James Pittis, Mr. Listen Young, Colonel Cochrane, and some other gentlemen formed a com- mittee for the purpose of building a large hall suitable for concerts, lectures, entertainments, etc.; and plans were prepared by Mr. G. A. Dunnage. The appeal for subscriptions was at first liberally responded to, and a considerable sum was promised; not, however, sufficient to justify the committee in pro- ceeding, and as at that time a demand was made on the residents for a more necessary and important requirement — the erection of St. Andrew's Church — the promoters did not persevere with their scheme, and it was allowed to drop. The idea was revived early in 1882, when a committee was formed including Messrs. Arnold, Bolton, Boucher, Dr. Bradley, Dr. Coleman, Messrs. Cobb, Fisher, Guilford, Harrison, Howell, Jeffcott, Lawrie, Luck, Keenleyside, Prinsep, Eichardson, Strapp, Thynne, Walton, and Dr. Trouncer. A site was selected in St. James's Eoad, and on June 6, 1882, a circular was issued of "the proposed Surbiton Public Eooms Company, Limited," with a capital of £8000 in shares of £5 each, for the purpose " of erecting a hall or public rooms in the district of Surbiton, for public meetings, concerts, lectures, theatricals, dances, entertainments, etc." A design was prepared by Mr. Luck for a building to contain offices for the Commissioners, a large and a small hall, cloak, refreshment, and care-taker's rooms. It was supported influentially, but not financially, the total sum promised being £2445, which was not thought by the committee sufficient to induce them to proceed in the allotment of the shares. A further attempt to supply this 120 APPENDIX. want was made in 1886, when Mr. Douglas purchased the remainder of the Elmers Estate. Negotiations were opened with him, and he consented to erect a hall and other buildings in connection therewith, according to draw- ings prepared by Mr. Alfred Mason, at the corner of the Elmers facing the Claremont Road. There was to be a large hall for seven hundred persons, and a smaller hall to seat three hundred to four hundred persons, and provision was made for the Commissioners and for other public bodies. "The Surbiton Assembly-Rooms Company, Limited," was to be formed, with a capital of £12,000 in £5 shares, and with General Baird, Dr. Bradley, and Messrs. Adamson, Mason, Richardson, Thurgood, and Thynne as directors. The price asked by Mr. Douglas was deemed excessive, and so the scheme was not pro- ceeded with. The Jubilee Celebration time seemed to many in the district to be a favour- able opportunity for reviving the Assembly-rooms scheme. A public meeting was convened by the Mayor of Kingston, which was attended by the chairman of the Commissioners, Archdeacon Burney, and others from Surbiton ; after which it was deemed desirable that Surbiton should act independently of the other parts of the parish. In accordance with a resolution passed by the Com- missioners on December 13, 1886, the chairman called a public meeting of the inhabitants of Surbiton, which was held at the Lecture Hall, Maple Road, on January 7 following, at which he presided, and at which were present Sir J. Whittaker Ellis, Bart., the County Member, Archdeacon Burney, General Baird, Dean Bagot, Dr. Gibbes, Dr. Coleman, Rev. T. Harrison, Messrs. Guilford, Judd, Escombe, J. M. Case, Scase, Mudie, and many others, and at which the follow- ing resolutions were passed : — (1) " That measures be taken for commemorating the Jubilee Year of her Majesty's reign by establishing in Surbiton some permanent memorial of the event, and for celebrating it locally." (2) " That a representative committee be formed, with power to appoint a chairman, treasurer, honorary secretary, and sub-committees ; such committee to consist of all persons holding public positions or appointments in the district, and such other residents in the district as may be willing to act." (3) " That it be an instruction to the committee to consider the following, amongst others, as desirable permanent memorials, viz. either the establishment of recreation-grounds for the people, or some other object of general public benefit, and to report to another public meeting to be convened by desire of the committee." (4) " That subscription lists be opened, and the money subscribed be at the disposal of the Committee for the Local Memorial and Celebration, except such part as may be given for the Imperial Institute to be added to the fund now being raised by the Mayor of Kingston, or for any other special purpose." A large representative committee, comprising the Commissioners, the clergy, ministers of religion, churchwardens, magistrates, representatives of all public bodies, and medical practitioners, was appointed at the meeting; and by them a sub-committee was nominated, with Archdeacon Burney as chairman. General Baird as deputy-chairman, Mr. R. Escombe, jun., as treasurer, and Mr. John C. Button as honorary secretary. They reported that the scheme of a recreation- APPENDIX. 121 ground had been found impracticable, and that, in furtherance of the general wish of the inhabitants, they recommended that the memorial should take the form of " public buildings with adequate accommodation for a free reading-room and library, with such additions for recreation and amusement as may be found desirable," and so meet the requirements of all classes ; that an eligible site (The Lodge in the Ewell Eoad adjoining the railway bridge) had been considered ; and that a total sum of £7000 would be requisite. The subscriptions promised amounted to only £550, so the matter was dropped and the committee was dis- solved. A fresh committee, with Archdeacon Burney as chairman, was nominated, and it was decided to raise funds for entertaining the school children and aged poor, and to give the surplus to the Cottage Hospital Endowment Fund. The school treat was given to 1592 children at Southborough on July 21, and 267 aged poor were entertained, on June 21, at the Gables. The subscriptions amounted to £829 4«., which were expended as follows : — £ 8. d. Charges, advertising, printing, etc. . . . . . . . . . . 87 10 6 Imperial Institute School treat and aged poor Cottage Hospital Jubilee Endowment Fund Ditto, General purposes . . 2 2 378 19 8 289 8 10 71 3 In 1880 an opportunity seemed to present itself for acquiring a site on which to erect offices for the Commissioners. When the Grove Eoad was completed in 1873 there was difficulty in recovering the sum expended in making a portion on the north side between Claremont Orescent and the Maple Eoad, in con- sequence of the real owner not being known. Summonses were issued against the occupier of the land to disclose the name of the owner, but without success. In June of that year the Commissioners resolved to take possession, in order to repay themselves for the outlay incurred. They erected a fence around it, including the part abutting on the Maple Eoad opposite the Congregational Church, and a deed of conveyance was prepared, vesting it in the Board. lu March following, the land was claimed by a Mr. Smith, of Addlestone, who produced his deeds, and oifered to pay the claim of the Commissioners and interest at 5 per cent, thereon. This was done, and the land was handed over to Mr. Smith. When it was put up to public auction, in 1883, an oifer to purchase was made on behalf of the Commissioners, but the biddings were above the limit given, and nothing further was done. As regards the establishment of recreation-grounds — one of the proposals for celebrating the Queen's Jubilee — a memorial, signed by 540 inhabitants, was presented to the Commissioners in July, 1883, urging the great impor- tance of assisting or carrying out plans for obtaining open spaces or recrea- tion-grounds, more particularly for the children of the working classes. This memorial was signed and supported by "the parish ministers, who bore testimony as to the necessity of the work ; " and it received most careful attention. The question had, in fact, been under consideration for some time previously. The Commissioners, no doubt, had power to acquire land and to levy rates for the purpose. The two points requiring consideration were the site or sites, and the cost. Looking at the value of land in the district, and assuming that the purchase money were spread over a series of years, it was estimated that the annual average expense of redemption, interest, and maintenance would be equal 122 APPENDIX. to a rate of at least threepence in the pound, and for the earlier years it would be about fourpence in the pound. In view of the impossibility of reducing the rates sufficiently to meet this expense without materially interfering with the efficiency of the district, and of the probability of a heavy drainage rate having to be imposed to provide for the diversion of sewage from the Thames, the Commissioners came to the conclusion that it would not be desirable to levy a special rate for the purpose, and they informed the memorialists that if funds sufficient for the purchase of land were raised by voluntary subscriptions, they would be prepared to undertake the management of the grounds, and to propose a small rate for that purpose. IX. riEE BEIGADE. In 1879 the Suibiton Fire Brigade, with the sanction of the Improvement Com- missioners, joined the Kingston Yolunteer Steam Fire Brigade, which had been established in 1870, and which then became "the Kingston and Surbiton Volun- teer Fire Brigade." In 1881 the corporation of Kingston handed over their brigade to the amalgamated brigade, undertaking at the same time to supply a new six-inch manual fire-engine, and engine-honse, and to grant an annual subsidy of £50 per annum for the protection of the borough. In 1884 the Hampton Wick Local Board became subscribers of £10 10s. per annum, and agreed to provide an engine-house, the brigade supplying a hose reel and an efficient staff of men. In 1885 the New Maiden Local Board joined the brigade, subscribing £20 per annum to the funds, in return for suitable plant being provided for the pro- tection of their district. In 1887, in consideration of the various subsidies received, and the fact of its being the recognized brigade throughout the district, the title was changed to "the Kingston and Surbiton Fire Brigade," and the following rules were framed: The management of the brigade shall be vested solely in the com- mittee, which shall consist of not more than nineteen members. The four senior officers of the brigade and the honorary secretary shall be ex-officio members of the committee. Two members may be nominated by the corporation of King- ston, two by the Surbiton Commissioners, one by the Hampton Wick Local Board, one by the New Maiden Local Board, and two by the trustees of the original Volunteer Steam Fire Brigade. The remaining six members (who shall retire annually, but be eligible for re-election) shall be elected at the annual general meeting of the subscribers. Committee of Management — Messrs. C. R. Browne, S. N. Castle, W. Clay, H. A. Dunnage, W. M. Dunnage, T. S. Field, T. Guilford, G. H. Harrison, W. Lane, R. Oxlade, H. Parsons, W. H. Roots, E L. Thynne, and Colonel Scrivener. E.on. Secretary — Colonel Scrivener. Secretary — J. Yates Mould. APPENDIX. 123 Executive Officers of the Brigade — Messrs. W. H. Roots (Chief Officer), G. H. Harrison (Assistant Chief Officer), W. Lane, H. A. Dunnage (Superintendents), W. Hards, W. Hatherley (Foremen), J. B. Tomkinson, J. Lee (Engineers), Shirley- Baker, T. Montague (Assistant-Engineers). Brigade Stations — No. 1, London Street, Kingston; No. 2, Victoria Eoad, Sur- biton, with fire-escape attached; No. 3, Church Street, Kingston, with fire-escape attached; No. 4, Alpha Eoad, Surbiton Hill; No. 5, Upper Teddington Eoad, Hampton Wick ; No. 6, Market Place (Mr. Montague's), New Maiden. Members of the Surbiton Branch — 1880 to 1887. 1880 — Superintendent Dr. Owen Coleman ; Deputy-Superintendent Barton ; Foreman Hards ; Engineer G. H. Harrison ; Firemen H. A. Dunnage, F. Thynne, S. Baker, F. Butler, H. Butler, W. Wickham, G. Cobb, J. Davis, J. B. Tomkinson, S. Woodhouse, G. A. Eipley, J. BuUett, W. Fagence, A. Groom, and W. Legg. The following joined the brigade between 1880 and 1887 : in 1882, A. Tom- kinson ; in 1883, V. Hides and H. C. Loxley; in 1884, F. Carter and H. H. Playford; in 1885, J. Page; in 1886, F. Legg and T. Wild ; and the members in 1887 consisted of — Superintendent Dunnage ; Foreman Hards ; Engineer Tom- kinson ; Assistant-Engineer Baker ; Firemen F. Butler, J. Bullett, G. Cobb, J. Davis, W. Legg, F. Legg, H. C. Loxley, A. Tomkinson, E. Lane, and T. Wild. X. EXTRACTS FEOM ANNUAL EEPORTS OF OWEN COLEMAN, M.D., MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH. 1880 TO 1886. 1880. The total number of deaths within the district during the year was 141. The first six months brought 83 and the last six months 58 cases — a very remark- able difiFerence, and the more so when it is borne in mind that those 58 deaths, by deducting the mortality from diphtheria, would be reduced to 48. The nature of the returns shows that the increased mortality of the first six months was largely due to the natural consequences of the severe weather which occurred at the beginning of the year, together with the prevalence of fogs ; these combined produced a proportionately excessive number of deaths from diseases of the respiratory organs among the young and old, amounting to 33 out of 83, and in addition five deaths from whooping-cough, which was then prevalent. During the latter part of the year we had to deplore two outbreaks of diphtheria, resulting in ten deaths. These outbreaks have been the subject of special reports, and have been fully discussed by your Board, so that it is not necessary for me to do more than briefly allude here to the facts. The disease commenced during the month of October, and it was found that with- out exception every single house that was invaded had milk from the same 124 APPENDIX. dairy. Investigation brought to light the fact that two cases had occurred in the dairyman's house, and that one had ended fatally. The milk supply was stopped, an impure well on the premises closed, and no more cases appeared at that time. Then, with the exception of a single case, probably caused by insanitary conditions, there was an interval of three weeks, when the disease reappeared. This time another dairy was implicated, an overwhelming proportion of the invaded houses being supplied from the same source. Every endeavour was made by the sanitary authorities to ascertain how the milk became infected, and every assistance to that end was afforded by the dairyman and the cow-owner, but without effect. A communication appeared in the local journal on January 1, advising that all milk should be boiled, and the last case that I am acquainted with was on January 3. Since then I am glad to be able to say no fresh cases have come to my knowledge. In the first outbreak there were 12 cases and two deaths, and in the second 44 cases and nine deaths, but one case having com- menced in the new year is not included in the returns for the past year. 1881. The deaths registered in 1881 from all causes were 100, as compared with 141 in 1880. The births were 244, comprising 132 boys and 112 girls; the birth-rate is consequently 25-9 per 1000, which is very low. I have noticed throughout the year the cleanly condition of the roads and paths, showing that much attention is bestowed upon them, and would also remark satisfactorily on the efforts at carting away the snow after the memorable storm in the middle of January, and again on the sweeping up of dead leaves throughout the district. 1882. During the year 1882 the number of deaths registered in the district was 121. From these must be deducted the deaths of three persons brought from elsewhere for treatment in the Surbiton Cottage Hospital. This will leave 118 deaths for Surbiton itself. The births numbered 246, of whom 117 were males and 129 females, giving a birth-rate of 24-6 per 1000. Hospital for non-pauper cases of infectious disease. — A meeting of representa- tives of the Sanitary Authorities within the Kingston Union was summoned early in the year, at the instance of the Rural Sanitary Authority, to consider the advisability of joint action in providing such a hospital. The meeting was fully attended, and Dr. Thome Thome was present from the Local Government Board to give all information and explanations. However, after some discussion the proposal fell through, joint action seeming to find but little favour. Since then nothing seems to have been done, but the need of such a place still continues, and is at times felt very severely. Every year in the report this subject has been reverted to, and now again that there is ample evidence of the want of such accommodation it is a matter for regret that the prospect is no brighter than when, in my annual report for 1880, it was alluded to as follows : " The need of this — a home or hospital for infectious cases — for the safety of the public and to APPENDIX. 125 prevent serious losses to individuals — is shown by the requirements under the Dairy and Cowsheds Eegnlations, which must remain almost a dead letter or inflict great injury on individual dairymen, as, for instance, a case of scarlet fever occurring in a daiiyman's house used, perhaps, as a milk-shop means either the removal of the patient, or else the closing of the business, or the carrying of it on to the danger of the community." It is satisfactory to notice an increase in the number of houses that have shafts introduced for the ventilation of the house-drains, but it is worthy of remark that those people newly taking a house are the most anxious to have ventilators and everything else done that seems necessary, while only too many of the older residents are quite content to let matters go on as they are, believing apparently in the immortality of a drain-pipe or trap, and the desirability of leaving well alone. These householders would do wisely if they cut off connec- tion with the drains of bath, sink, waste and rain water pipes, and not wait till they find typhoid fever or diphtheria in their houses. The new building for the cottage hospital is now finished, and will be opened for the reception of patients in April. The more recent improvements in house sanitation have been adopted there, and a visit of inspection will be of interest to those who are unacquainted with the subject, and wish to see for themselves what may serve as a model for possible contemplated alterations in their own homes. 1883. The total number of deaths registered during 1883 was 113, but as the deaths in public institutions of persons non-resident have to be deducted, two such deaths in the cottage hospital must be taken into account; this will leave 111 as the mortality for Surbiton for last year. The population at the census of 1881 was 9416, and for purposes of cal- culation was estimated in 1882 at 10,000, and now for last year at 10,250, which must be within the probable number. This will give a death-rate of 10"8 per 1000 for the year. The rate for London is 20*4, and for England and Wales 19*5. This is an exceedingly low rate, but it is not an exceptional one ; for last year it was 11*8, and the year before that 10*6. It may be cited as valuable and partial evidence of the healthiness of the place as a residential neighbourhood. 1884. During 1884 the total number of deaths within the district was 129. From this the deaths of four persons in the cottage hospital, being those of non- residents brought from elsewhere for treatment, must be deducted. This will leave 125 as the mortality for Surbiton for last year. The population of the district is now estimated to be 10,500, and taking that number as a basis for calculation, the death-rate will be 11*9 per 1000 per annum. Last year the rate was 10"8, and the year before 11*8, so it is eminently satisfactory to find that the reputation of being the most healthy of the London suburbs is well deserved and maintained. The rate for England and Wales for the same period is 19*6. That the hygienic or sanitary conditions of a locality exercise a favourable influence or otherwise in determining the virulence of an outbreak of disease is 126 APPENDIX. undoubted, and to our local surroundings in that respect — though not by any means perfect — may be ascribed, perhaps, the fact that zymotic diseases when occurring are almost invariably of a mild and favourable character. The vast importance of pure water in our dwellings cannot be over-estimated, but it is remarkable the fondness with which owners and users of wells cling to the use of the water they are accustomed to — most unwilling to believe there can be danger when no tangible sign of it exists. Analysis almost invariably shows well water in this district to be polluted and to be dangerous in a greater or lesser degree, and it cannot be too well understood that the condition of any water is subject to alteration, and probably very quickly, as for example after heavy rains, when the shallow well fills up with water freshly drained through an impure soil, possibly saturated with sewage, or in times of dry weather, when the water, being less in quantity, becomes more concentrated. I refer to this matter because during the past year serious results have followed the use of impure well water in more than one instance. If analysis shows that the water of a well is at all suspicious — and by that is meant contaminated with organic matter — that well ought to be closed at once, for it is most certainly only a question of time, sooner or later, when the water will be dangerous and disease be caused by its use. Temperance and sanitary measures working hand-in-hand combine to produce healthy folks in healthy homes, and are, I am persuaded, beginning to make their influence felt as factors in the reduction of illness, prevention of disease, and prolongation of life. 1885. Excluding two cases that occurred in the cottage hospital of persons brought from elsewhere for treatment, the total number of deaths registered was 104, which represents the mortality for Surbiton for 1885. The numbers for 1884 and 1883 were respectively 125 and 111, giving death- rates of 11*9 and 10*8, the population in those years being estimated at 10,500 and 10,250. For the year just past it may be estimated that there is an increase of 200, which is probably well within the mark, taking into consideration that, besides new houses, for some years the births have never been less than 120 in excess of the deaths. Taking that to be the population, the death-rate for Surbiton will be 9*7 per 1000 per annum, the lowest ever recorded here. The rate for England and Wales is 19. All the bakehouses, ten in number, have been specially inspected, their systematic inspection now devolving on the medical of&cer of health. Hospital for non-pauper cases of infectious disease. — For some years past atten- tion has been drawn in this report to the fact that such a desirable institution is non-existent in this district. Possibly the examples set elsewhere, and which are now becoming numerous, may induce some action to be taken towards pro- viding the means of isolation of cases of infectious disease. 1886. Consequent upon the favourable nature of the returns from the registrar, and the fortunate absence of any outbreak of illness, or of serious individual cases due to imperfect sanitary arrangements, the report is a very brief one. Not that perfection or anything near it has been attained, but house sanitation, APPENDIX. 127 sewage, and water supply having for some time past received much more care and consi(leration at your hands, it is gratifying to feel assured that the continued good health of the district is in some measure owing to this attention. Excluding cases of non-residents brought to the cottage hospital for treat- ment, the total number of deaths registered was 123, which represents the mortality of Surbiton for 1886. The population of the district is now estimated to be 10,700, and taking that to be the basis for calculation, the death-rate will be 11*4 per 1000 per annum. Last year the rate was 9'7, and the year before 11-9, so the healthy character of the neighbourhood is well deserved and maintained. The births were 206, of which 103 were boys and 103 girls. The number is decreasing annually ; it was highest in 1878, when there were 255, and the population then nearly 2000 fewer. The birth-rate is only 19*2 per 1000. For comparison with previous years the following tables are drawn up : — Table A. Summary of Births and Deaths and Mortality from certain Classes of Disease for ten years. 1877. 1878. 1879. 1880. 1881. 1882. 1883. 1884. 1885. 1886. Zymotic diseases . . . . 18 8 5 20 7 18 4 15 4 8 Total deaths 114 112 114 141 100 118 111 125 104 123 Death-rate 12-6 12-4 126 14-3 10-6 11-8 10-8 11-9 9-7 11-4 Mortality from phthisis 11 15 14 18 8 5 12 10 12 7 „ other lung diseases 14 26 22 31 16 9 15 27 16 27 „ heart diseases 12 11 11 6 11 14 14 14 12 8 „ cancer . . 1 5 10 5 6 5 2 1 2 3 „ violence 2 6 6 5 4 1 1 1 1 4 Total births 251 255 241 253 244 246 236 221 222 206 Birth-rate 27-8 28-3 26-7 25'8 25-9 24-6 23-0 21-0 20-7 19-2 Table B. Deaths from seven chief Zymotic Diseases for ten years. Small- pox Measles . . Scarlet fever . . Whooping-cough Diphtheria Fever, typhus „ enteric Diarrhoea Deaths from seven chief zymotic diseases Death-rate from seven chief zymotic diseases Total death-rate . . „ „ London . . „ „ England & Wales . . „ birth-rate England and Wales 8 2 2 2 4 18 20 12-6 21-5 20-3 36-0 1873. 0-9 12-4 23-1 21-6 85-6 1879. 0-5 12-6 22-6 20-7 34-7 5 10 2 3 20 2-0 143 21-7 20-6 343 0-8 10-6 21-2 18-9 33-9 1-8 11-8 21-3 19-6 33-7 0-3 10-8 20-4 19-5 33-2 4 6 4 1 15 1-4 119 20-3 19-6 33-5 046 9-7 19-0 32-5 0-74 11-4 19-3 32-4 128 APPENDIX. Speaking generally, last year was a healthy one ; there are no outbreaks of illness to record, and cases of the eruptive fevers when occurring v^ere few in number and mild in type. The chief sanitary measure of the year is undoubtedly the sealing of an agreement for the joint disposal and treatment of the sewage of Surbiton and Kingston. The removal of so great a factor in the pollution of this part of our river is a thing to be thankful for. All the bakehouses have been regularly inspected and reported on, and are now in a fairly satisfactory condition. XI. SUEBITON COTTAGE HOSPITAL. The following statement as to the rise and progress of the cottage hospital is taken principally from the annual reports of the committee. The idea of a cottage hospital for Surbiton originated with Mrs. Frederick Howell, in the early part of the year 1870. At an initiatory meeting held at Mr. Howell's house, at which were present — Eev. Charles Burney in the chair, Messrs. A, W. Jones, H. F. Shebbeare, I^eonard Wakefield, and John Loxley, it was decided to establish the hospital, and Mr. Loxley was appointed honorary secretary ; and at a meeting held in October, 1870, the following were nominated as the first committee, viz. : Eev. Charles Burney, Eev. Edward Garbett, Messrs. B. Hinds, C. L. Luck, L. Wakefield, Ehodes Cobb, Maddock, Bruce, L. W. Cave, H. F. Shebbeare, F. Howell, C. H. Clayton, and J. Loxley, who continued to act as honorary secretary and honorary treasurer. Mr. E. Cock and Dr. Kershaw were named as honorary consulting surgeon and physician ; Dr. Price Jones as honorary acting surgeon; and Mrs. Frederick Howell as lady-superintendent. The name of Mr. Arthur Benthall shortly afterwards was added to the committee. After some difficulty in obtaining a house, York Villa, near the west end of the north side of the Victoria Eoad, was rented. Although wanting in many essential requirements for the purpose, it was the best the committee could obtain, and it was opened for the reception of patients in October, 1870. The institution has for its object the benefit of persons residing in Surbiton, Kingston, and the surrounding neighbourhood, who are engaged in the industrial occupations of life, and who, when overtaken by sickness or accident, are unable to obtain in their own homes the accommodation, care, and attention they require. The funds are raised by voluntary contributions and by payments of the patients and their friends. During the first twelve years and a half, 470 cases were admitted for treat- ment, and during nearly the whole of that time the domestic arrangements were under the charge of Miss Eaymond. Dr. Price Jones, with Dr. Owen Coleman APPENDIX. 129 and other medical gentlemen, acted as honorary medical officers. A building fund was formed, for the nucleus of which the institution is largely indebted to Mr. Loxley, the sum of £500, part of a legacy left by the late Mr. Allenby, having been acquired by his influence. From time to time — by special donations and church collections, a legacy of £50 bequeathed by Miss Margaret Lenox, a like sum contributed by Mrs. Kirkup, in memory of her husband — additions were made, so that in 1881 a sum of £1650 had been accumulated and invested. It was felt that the time had arrived for erecting a permanent building, and early in that year a building committee was formed; the present site in St. James's Eoad was secured for £1150, and, after competition, the plans of Mr. Ernest Carritt were adopted. The foundation-stone was laid by the Ven. Arch- deacon Burney, on Saturday, April 20, 1882, and on Saturday, April 21, in the following year, the building, fully equipped and free from debt, was opened for the reception of patients. The outlay for the building, etc., was as follows : — Actual cost of the building and attendant expenses Furnishing Cost of the site £3,450 400 1,150 £5,000 This sum of £5000 was provided by the accumulated building fund and sub- scriptions raised principally in the neighbourhood. An endowment fund was established in 1882, and in the summer of 1887 it amounted to £250 New 2^ per Cent. Bank Annuities. This has since been increased by £289 8s. lOd., being the surplus of the Jubilee Fund. The names of the officers and others connected with the hospital, from its formation, in 1871, up to 1887, are given in the accompanying table. Miss Eay- mond resigned the post of matron in 1885, and Miss Jessie A. Cunningham was appointed in her place. The number of patients treated during the year 1886 was 123 for 3641 days in hospital. The endowment fund at the end of the year consisted of £250 New 2^ per Cents., and the receipts during the period were — Subscriptions Donations . . Collections on Hospital Sunday and money-boxes Patients' payments Interest on investments £ 8. d. 342 10 103 10 218 13 4 62 7 6 1 £733 1 4 130 APPENDIX. SURBITON COTTAGE HOSPITAL. Names of Pbesidekt, Vice-Pbesidents, and Officers, pbom 1871 to 1887. 1871. 1875. 1879. 1882. 1885. President .... H. W. Peek, M.P. Sir H. W. Peek, Sir H. W. Peek, Sir H. W. Peek, Sir H. W. Peek, Bart., M.P. Bart., M.P. Bart., M.P. Bart., M.P. Vice-Presi- Rev. C. Bumey. Rev. C. Bumey. Rev. C. Buraey. Ven. Archd. Burney. Ven. Archd. Bumey. dents Rev. E. Garbett. Rev. E. Garbett. Rev. J. W. Bardsley. H. Harrison. B. Hinds. Captain Lukis. Rev. J. W. Bardsley. Rev. E. H. Rogers. H. F. Shebbeare. Edward Till. B. Hinds. F. B. Morten. Rev. W. H. Ranken. Rev. E. H. Rogers. H. F. Shebbeare. Edward Till. Tmstees..... Rev. C. Bumey. Rev. C. Burney. Rev. C. Bumey. Ven. Archd. Bumey. Ven. Archd. Buraey. Lewis W. Cave. Lewis W. Cave. Lewis W. Cave Frederick Howell. Frederick Howell. W. H. Walton. Sir W. H. Walton. Sir W. H. Walton. Colonel Surtees. Colonel Surtees. Committee... Thomas Barker. Thomas Barker. C. H. Clayton. Ven. Archd. Burney Ven. Archd. Bumey Emil Beckh. Arthur Benthall. George Clowes. (chairman). (chairman). Arthur Benthall. George C. Bruce. Rhodes Cobb. T. S. Borradaile. R. S. Bond. John Boodle. H. Bidgood. W. H. Dickinson. T. H. Bryant. T. S. Borradaile. E. Browne. Lewis W. Cave. C. W. Eglington. James Case. Wilberforce Bryant. George C. Bruce. C. H. Clayton. John Galsworthy. C. H. Clayton. James Case. Lewis W. Cave. George Clowes. Frederick Gould. Rhodes Cobb. C. H. Clayton. C. H. Clayton. Rhodes Cobb. Bernard F. Harris. Frederick Howell. Rhodes Cobb. George Clowes. W. H. Dickinson. H. Harrison. F. B. Morten. Captain Cundy. Rhodes Cobb. C. W. Kngelbach. J. S. Hill. Samuel Page. Frederick Howell. John Galsworthy. John Galsworthy. Benjamin Hinds. W. Parkes. Samuel Page. Frederick Gould. Frederick Gould. W. F. Hodgson. R. B. Perkin. R. B. Perkin. Benjamin Hinds. J. S. Hill. Frederick Howell. C. H. Walton. C. H. Walton. W. F. Hodgson. Benjamin Hinds. John Loxley. (And the ex-officio Henry Home. W. F. Hodgson. Charles L. Luck. members.) Frederick Howell. Frederick Howell. Captain Lukis. Alex. W. Innes. G. Lee. F. B. Morten. John Loxley. John Loxley. W. C. Sargeaunt. Charles L. Luck. Charles L. Luck. E. F. Scaley. Captain Lukis. Captain Lukis. H. F. Shebbeare. John Parry. F. B. Morten. H. Shrubsole. Rev. T. Pyne. John Parry. J. G. Smith. W. C. Sargeaunt. W. C. Sargeaunt. Colonel Surtees. H. F. Shebbeare. E. F. Scaley. Sir W. H. Walton. John Shrubsole. H. F. Shebbeare. W. C. Venning. H. Shrubsole. W. H. "Walton. E. P. Stringer. L. C. Wakefield. Sir W. H. Walton. Hon. Consult. Edward Cock. Edward Cock. Edward Cock. Edward Cock. Edward Cock. Med. Officers Dr. Kershaw. Dr. Kershaw. Dr. Kershaw. Dr. Kershaw. Dr. Kershaw. Hon. Acting Dr. Price Jones. Dr. Price Jones. Dr. Price Jones. Owen Coleman.M.D. Owen Coleman, M.D. Med. Officers . C. C. Gibbes, M.D. W. Price Jone8,M.D, G. Farr- White, F.R.C.S. C. C. Gibbes, M.D. G. Farr-White, F.R.C.S. Lady-Supt. . . . Mrs. F. Howell. Mrs. F. Howell. Mrs. F. Howell. Mrs. F. Howell. Mrs. F. Howell. Hon. Treasurer John Loxley. John Loxley. John Loxley. John Loxley. John Loxley. Hon. Secretary John Loxley. John Loxley. John Loxley. R. Escombe, jun. R. Escombe, jun. In 1872 Mr. H. Bidgood took Mr. Wakefield's place on the committee. In 1873 Mr. Venning left, and Messrs. C. W. Engelbach, J. S. Hill, and F. B. Morten were added to the committee. In 1874 Messrs. Boodle, Browne, Home, Innes, Pyne, and John Shrub- sole left, and Messrs. G. Lee, E. P. Stringer, and H. Shrubsole were added to the committee. In 1876 Mr. E. Beckh left the committee. In 1877 Messrs. Benthall, Brace, Cave, Stringer, and Bidgood left, and Mr. Bernard F. Harris joined the committee. In 1878 the Rev. J. W. Bardsley succeeded the Rev. E. Garbett as a trustee ; Mr. Bruce left, and Messrs. J. G. Smith, H. Harrison, and C. W. Eglington were added to the com- mittee. In 1880 Messrs. W. H. Dickinson and H. Shrubsole ceased to be mem- bers of the committee. In 1881 Sir W. H. Walton ceased to be a trustee and member of the committee. In 1883 Messrs. Harrison, Lukis, and Bardsley ceased to be, and Mr. Engelbach and the Rev. W. H. Ran- ken became, vice-presidents. The treasurer, secretary, and acting medical officers became members of the committee (ex-officio). In 1884 Mr. Wilberforce Bryant succeeded Mr. T. H. Bryant on the committee. In 1886, on Mr. Loxley's retire- ment as hon. treasurer, and Mr. Es- combe's as hon. secretary, they were added to the committee, and Mr. Rhodes Cobb became hon. treasurer, and Mr. C. R. Elderton hon. secretary. APPENDIX. 131 XII. KINGSTON PEOVIDENT DISPENSARY. The objects of this institution are to ensure medical attendance and medicine during sickness or the confinements of married women, or after accident, to the working classes and poor persons, their wives and children, all being members, living in Kingston-upon-Thames or its neighbourhood, who, not receiving parish relief, are, nevertheless, unable to defray the ordinary cost of professional medical attendance. Payments to commence while in health, and to be continued monthly in advance, at the rate of one halfpenny if under twelve years of age ; one penny over, but not exceeding threepence per week. The number of members on the books of each district at the end of the year 1886 were as follows ■ — Kingston . . , . Surlsiton Norbiton St. Paul's, Kingston Hill Men. Women. Children 274 520 616 109 211 246 250 38i 583 160 279 298 793 1,391 1,743 The income of the Dispensary during 1886 was £604 12«, ; and the committee and officers in that year were — Committee — C. W. Bardswell, Esq., honorary member (chairman) ; Messrs. C. H. Cameron, E. Cock, Langdon Down, M.D., E. S. Phillips, F. J. Van Der Pant, ex-officio ; Mr. E. S. Bond, Eev. A. Cornford, Messrs. F. J. Hayward, P. Jones, G. Lee, Eev. A. Letchworth, Messrs. J. Loxley, H. J. Pattison, E. L. Thynne, Eev. G. Wright, Eev. A. S. W. Young, honorary members ; and Messrs. Baker, Blackmore, Compton, Petley, Stringer, and White, provident members. Hon. Physician — Langdon Down, Esq., M.D. Hon. Surgeon — E. Cock, Esq., J.P. Hon. Dentist — F. J. Van Der Pant, Esq. Medical Officers— E^. M. Shirtliff, Esq., M.E.C.S., E. Bayley, Esq., M.E.C.S., 0. Coleman, Esq., M.D. Hon. Secretary — C. H. Cameron, Esq. Hon. Treasurer — E. S. Phillips, Esq. Secretary and Collector — Mr. J. W. Sowden. k2 132 APPENDIX. XIIT. KINGSTON-UPON-THAMES— CHAKITIES. Name of Charity, Endowment (including approximate acreage). Annual Income. Trustees. Free Grammar School £ s . d. Illizabeth Brown '\ Edward Belitha \ 1 John Dolling King Charles I. Henry Smith i r Real estate and £3166 13s. 4d. 3700 9 11 (1886) 14 governors appointed undir Thomas Tiffin > New £3 per Cent. Annuities Endowed Schools Scheme John Tiffin ( (O.T.)' Nicholas Harding \ John Hartop ] Mr. Vandercomb's Ann Elizabeth Savage (part of) Bridge Estate J Real estate (lla. 3r. 33p.) and 301 8 4 (1886) Municipal Trustees £3978 3s. 9d. Consols (O.T.) William Cleave') (R«al estate (82a. 3r. 4p.) aid 513 14 5 (1886) ) 1 Almshouse 1 £1320 17s. Id. Consols (O.T.) V Ditto John Tilsley ( Charity j£1000 Reduced £3 per Cent. 30 ) ( Annuities (O.T.) ) Sarah Madgwick £52 19s. Id. Consols (O.T.) 1 11 8 Churchwardens of Kingston Edward Buckland Wharf and 21p. of land and £5U 13s. 2d. Consols (O.T.) 59 10 4 (1886) Municipal Trustees Mark Snelling Land (28a. Or. 20p.) and £1665 8s. id. Consols (O.T.) 168 12 6 (1886) Ditto William NichoU Land and £363 3s. lOd. Consols (not Riven) Recorder, High Steward, BailifiFs (O.T.) and Vicar of Kingston Countess of Dover Rent-charge 5 1 3 (1886) Vicar and Churchwardens of Kingston Edward Hurst Rent-charge of £6 6 4 (1886) Municipal Trustees William Cobbett £270 New £3 per Cent. Annui- ties (O.T.) H 2 Churchwardens of Kingston William Hatton Rugs for two poor widows Churchwardens of Thames Ditton administer Earl of Liverpool £833 6s. 8d. Reduced £3 per Cent. Annuities (O.T.) 25 Trustees under will — Proprietor of estate called Combe Wood, pro- prietor of Norbiton House, King- ston, and Vicar of Kingston. Churchwardens administer William Walton, sen. £154 5s. 9d. Consols (O.T.) 4 12 6 Minister, Churchwardens, Mayor, Town Clerk, and Vestry Clerk of Kingston Ann Elizabeth Savage £14,572 14s. 3d. Consols (O.T.) 437 3 8 Vicar of Kingston and S. Ranyard William Walton, jun. £55 148. Ud. New £3 per Cent. Annuities (O.T.) i » Vicar and Churchwardens of Mrs. Bythewood, for poor £246 15s. Id. New £3 per Cent. Annuities (O.T.) r 1 4 Kingston Ditto for Sunday £40 19s. 6d. Consols (O.T.) 1 4 6 Vicar or other the Treasurer for school time being of Kingston Sunday school Richard Tallemach £1000 Consols (O.T.) 30 Minister and three responsible householders nominated by vestry Elizabeth Cumberpatch £176 6s. 8d. New £3 per Gent. Annuities (O.T.) £1000 Consols 5 5 8 Vicar of Kingston John Cam 30 Mayor of Kingston and two others Unknown donor £19 19s. Id. Consols (O.T.) 2 15 2 Trustees of A. E. Savage's Charity administer • (O.T.) signifies that the Stock is standing in the name of the Official Trustees of Charitable Funds. N.B. — Richard Tallemach also bequeathed £200 Consols to be applied towards repair of tower of parish church of Kingston. In March, 1872, the Stock was sold, and the proceeds, amounting to £189 5s. 9d., applied towards the restoration of the tower of the church. Robert Norton's Charity — Rent-charge of 20s. — lost. ^ APPENDIX. 133 XIV. Abstract from Kate-book made by the SuEBiTON Improvement Commissioners ON May 2, 1887. Abstract from the first Rate-book made BY the Surbiton Improvement Com- missioners IN September, 1855. Net Number Net Number Part of the District. Annual of Houses Part of the District. Annual of Houses Value. rated. Value. rated. Railway Station, etc. £ 8,155 Railway Station, etc £ 1,900 North of Railway — North of Railway — ' Portsmouth lioad 9,748 56 '■^ Portsmouth Road 1,174 19 St. Leonard's Road 903 45 St. Leonard's Road 100 4 Cadogan Road 1,559 29 Cadogan Road 152 5 Catherine Road 927 9 WestfleldRoad 274 25 WestfleldRoad 90 8 CleaTeland Road 1,111 90 ' Brighton Road 2,610 150 " Brighton Road 1,211 58 ^ Maple Road 4,610 112 Maple Lane 341 22 Victoria Road— between Brighton Victoria Road —between Brighton Road and Railway Station 4,125 123 Road and Railway Station 590 29 * Victoria Road— between Railway " Victoria Road— between Ewell Station and Ewell Road 1,910 26 Road and Railway Station 934 29 ' Claremont Crescent 1,791 15 '^ Claremont Crescent 716 15 Opposite Railway gates . . 205 2 '" Opposite Railway gates . . 90 2 Claremont Road 1,998 26 Claremont Road 837 26 Adelaide Road 1,891 30 Adelaide Road 290 12 Church Road 195 2 Y " Surbiton Common Avenue Elmers 3,329 26 386 6 ' Surbiton Hill Road 1,248 34 j 'Clay Hill 187 22 North Road 604 13 St. Philip's Road 1,212 20 ' St. James's Road 1,237 22 Grove Road . . 1,490 21 Land 278 — " Cottage Property 459 7,370 33 43,438 899 268 South of Railway — South of Railway — Ewell Road (east side) . . 3,230 67 Ewell Road (east side) . . 1,071 41 „ „ (west side) . . 4,552 82 „ „ (west side) . . 1,244 40 „ „ South Terrace 520 8 South Terrace 337 8 Oak Hill and South Bank 6,458 64 " Parade p° Paragon District— between Ewell 1,556 26 1 Road and the Farms . . 99 4 ' Berrylands Road 2,543 55 r" Berrylands Farm and Berry Berrylands . . 3,627 63 Lodge Farm 304 2 ^"^ Berrylands 171 5 Between the Farms and Ewell Road 249 14 Paragon Grove 739 28 Paragon Grove 280 20 King Charles's Road 2,118 64 =^ King Charles's Road 66 5 Alpha Road 2,871 376 ^* Green Lane 77 6 Richmond Grove 364 35 Richmond Grove 16 1 '° Southborough 1,472 15 Arlington Road 877 40 " Surbiton Hill Park 3,536 42 Warwick Grove 448 23 Brown's Road 1,100 78 South Place 305 21 Land 1,055 — ="= Cottage property 421 40 35,815 1,061 5,891 212 GasCompy.— Malns,pipe8,lamps,etc. 560 — Telegraph wires 7 — Grand total Grand total £87,975 1,960 £15,161 480 ' Includes Chelsea and Lambeth Waterworks Company. ^ To Railway Arch. ' To end of district. * Includes the Southampton Hotel. ^ Includes Maple Lodge. • Includes the Mews. ' Includes Minniedale. ' Includes cottage hospital. ° Includes Berry Lodge Farm. " Includes the Lodge (Captain Cundy). " Includes Mr. D. Nicols's house and cottages. " Includes Mr. Hugh Barclay's wax factory (£50), Chel- sea Waterworks and Land (£257 lbs.), and Lambeth Water- works land (£222). " Includes Southborough Lodge and grounds (217a. 2r. I7p.), then occupied by Charles Corkran, Esq. (assessed at £396 ICs). " Includes the Southampton Hotel. '= Includes Maple Lodge, then occupied by Mr. James Wheeler. "^ Now called Frascati. " Includes the Elmers, described as St. Mark's Hill, and the Beehive public-house. " In 132 cottages. '" Includes present Oak Hill, Oak Hill Grove, and Oak Hill Road. '"' Present Berrylands Road, north and north-east sides ; includes Stone's Dairy. '' Described as Surbiton Common. ^^ Berrylands Villa, and houses in present Avenue, occupied by Mr. John M. Case, Mr. James Walter, Mr. Pollock, and Mr. Henry Home. "' Includes Mr. S. Stacey's Dairy Farm. " Present Alpha Road. " In 141 cottages. 134 APPENDIX. XV. LIST OF THE COMMISSIONERS UNDER THE SURBITON IMPROVEMENT ACT, FROM 1855 TO 1887 INCLUSIVE. "With Names of Officers, and Dates of their Appointment. For 1855 and every fifth year a complete list is given. The changes in each intermediate year are shown under the year, the name of the new Commissioner being inserted on the same line as that of his predecessor. Chairman — W. H. Walton Robert Brown . . Charles Bailey . . G. Alderton R. M. Straight . . William Dunnage C, E. Jeramett . . Charles Sumner. . Charles Corkran William Walter William Mercer . . Wm. G. Durnford Henshaw S.Russell D. Napier C. B. Lennard . . William H.Walton C. Sumner . . John Guy Charles Pressly Charles Walpole C. Walpole . , John M. Clabon M. T. Coleman H. W. Vachell Alfred C. Tatham C. Walpole Charles Butler William Price Col. H. G. Hart C. Walpole Capt. W. Fulcher G. Smith Hayter A. Kirkup J. J. Macdonald I860. 1861. 1862. 1863. 1864. Chairman — C. Walpole . . C. Walpole . . C. Walpole .. C. Walpole . . 0. Walpole Capt. W. Fulcher John March Case John Guy . . . . . . George Oflford G. Smith Hayter Charles Butler Charles Walpole A. Kirkup . . R.W. C.Richardson M. T. Coleman Charles Corkran William Walter H. W. Vachell . . Francis Adams Hon. G. C. Talbot A. C. Tatham Henry Bidgood W. P. Dickins W. H. Walton APPENDIX. 135 1865. 1866. 1867. 1868. 1869. Chairman — C. Walpole . . John March Case George Offord 0. Walpole . . C. Walpole . . C. Walpole . . William Mudie C. Walpole G. Smith Hayter Charles Butler Charles Walpole K.W.C.Kichardson M. T. Colemaa Charles Corkran William Walter Francis Adams Hon. G. C Talbot Thomas Guilford A. C. Tatham Henry Bidgood W. P. Dickins yf. H. Walton 1870. 1871. 1872. 1873. 1874. Chairman — C. Walpole . . 0. Walpole . . C. Walpole .. C. Walpole .. C. Walpole John March Case William Mudie G. Smith Hayter James Simpson Charles Butler . . E. L. Thynne Charles Walpole R.W.C.Richardson M. T. Coleman . . Henry Hariison Charles Corkran William Walter.. Dr.W. Price Jones Francis Adams . . • • William Parkes Thomas Guilford A. C. Tatham Henry Bidgood W. P. Dickins W. H. Walton Lewis W. Cave Dr. E. C. Seaton Chairman — W. P. Dickins John March Case William Mudie E. L. Thynne James Simpson . . Charles Walpole E.W.C.Eichardson Henry Harrison . . William Parkes Thomas Guilford Dr. W. Price Jones W. P. Dickins Charles Corkran Dr. E. C. Seaton.. A. C. Tatham Henry Bidgood . . 1876. W. p. Dickins Hugh Barclay . . Hugh Cowie Charles L. Luck George Lott W. P. Dickins Elijah E. Blake W.Y.Cockbum W. Clarke 1878. W. p. Dickins James Case W. p. Dickins 136 APPENDIX. 1880. 1881. 1882. 1883. 1884, Chairman — R.W.C.Eichardson R.W.C.Richardson R.W.C.Richardson R.W.C.Richard8on R.W.C.Richardson E. E. Blake William Mudie E. L. Thynne W. Y. Oockbura.. • • • . • • Gen. A. F. Baird Hugh Cowie William Parkes E.W.C.Richardson Charles L. Ijuck William Parkes . . William Cook . . • . • • • • , . . . , . Robert Sc«ise Thomas Guilford Dr. W. Price Jones E. H. Hancock Charles Corkran. . Johu Strapp George Lott A. C. Tatham James Case 1885. 1886. 1887. Chairman — R. W. C. Richardson R. W. C. Richardson Thomas Guilford Elijah E. Blake.. Elijah E. Blake >FD William Mudie . . William Mudie DH E. L. Thynne . . E. L. Thynne DH Gen. A. F. Baird Gen. A. F. Baird DH William Parkes . . W. Parkes DH Rowley W. C. Richardson • John 0. Button ' Charles L. Luck Charles L. Luck DH Robert Scase Robert Scase F D Thomas Guilford Thomas Guilford all Dr. W. Price Jones Dr. W. Price Jones DH E. H. Hancock . . E. H. Hancock FH John Strapp John Strapp FH George Lott George Lott FH H. C. Deane H. C. Deane DH James Case James Case FD ' The initials show the committees of which each Commissioner was a member at the end of 1886-87 ; F standing for Finance, D for Drainage, and H for Highway and Sanitary. After 1886-87 the Finance Committee remained unchanged, but the Drainage and Highway Committees consisted of the whole Board. The chairman is a member of all committees. Names of Officers, and Dates of their Appointment. 1855— James Bell, Clerk. William Blackhorn, Collector, and Inspector of Nuisances. James Simpson, jun., Surveyor. 1859 — Robert Brown, Surveyor. 1867 — Sidney J. H. Herrtage, Surveyor. 1869— Sidney J. H. Herrtage, Collector. 1871— Thomas S. Lamb, Collector. Samuel Mather, Surveyor. 1872 — Samuel Mather, Inspector of Nuisances. 1873— Matthew Trollope Coleman, Medical OiBcer of Health. 1876— Owen Coleman, M.D., Medical Officer of Health. APPENDIX. 137 Names of Officebs, and Dates op their Appointment— (confi/itwd). 1856— Matthew TroUope Coleman, H. Vachell "\ 1857— W. Price, C. S. Edmiston 1858 — Cornelius Paine, Charles Butler 1859-60— Cornelius Paine, D. Fitzpatrick Auditors 1861-62 — Leonard C. Wakefield, Francis Adams appointed 1863-69— H. B. Arber, E. L. Thynne J- by the 1 870 — Carvell Williams, A. Stone ratepayers. 1871— A. Stone, G. Windsor 1872— G. W. Ayliffe, C. Tomkinson 1873— A. Stone, G. Lott 1874— G. Lott, J. Squire J 1875-79— George Gibson 1 Auditors appointed by 1880-87— F. D. Boggis Kolfe/Local Government Board. XVI. NUMBER OP VOTES RECORDED AT EACH ANNUAL ELECTION OF COMMISSIONERS— 1856 TO 1886 INCLUSIVE. * Unsuccessful candidates. Date. Names. Votes. Date. Names. Votes. July 3, R. Brown 124 July 3, G. S. Hayter 57 1856 John Guy 120 1862 G. Offord 57 R. M. Straight 119 J. M. Case 56 C. Walpole . . 114 *W. Fulcher 19 C. Pressly 111 *J. Guy 17 *G. Alderton . . 70 July 2, W. Walter 130 *W, Dunnage . . 68 1863 M. T. Coleman 130 *C. Paine 57 A. Kirkup 130 *C. Bailey 50 F. Adams 130 *M. T. Coleman 2 Hon. G. C. Talbot . . 130 *F. Sandford . . 2 July 7, W.H. Walton 80 July 2, C. Corkran 13 1864 A. C. Tatham 80 1857 W. Walter . . 14 H. Bidgood 80 M. T. Coleman 13 W. P. Dickins 80 J. M. Clabon .. 14 C. Corkran 74 H. W. Vachell 14 July 6, C. Walpole 80 July 1, C. Corkran 8 1865 C. Butler 77 1858 A. C. Tatham.. 8 J. M. Case 72 G. R. Hart . . 8 G.S. Hayter 68 W. Price 8 G. Offord 56 W.H. Walton.. 8 *J. Boodle 34 July 7, C. Walpole . . 30 *B. Bosworth 1 1859 C. Butler 30 *T. Guilford 1 R. Brown 29 July 5, W.Walter 34 G. S. Hayter . . 29 1866 M. T. Coleman 34 J. Guy 28 R. W.C.Richardson.. 34 July 5, M. T. Coleman 8 F. Adams 33 1860 Hon. Gerald Talbot . 8 Hon. G. C. Talbot . . 33 W. Walter 6 *W. H. Dickinson 1 A. Kirkup 6 July 4, W. H. Walton 72 H. W. Vachell 6 1867 C. Corkran 71 July 4, W.H.Walton.. 6 A. C. Tatham 69 1861 C. Corkran 6 H. Bidgood 69 A. 0. Tatham . . 6 W. P. Dickins 69 H. Bid good . . 6 *W. H. Dickinson . . 13 W. P. Dickins 6 July 2, C. Walpole 171 July 3, C. Walpole . . 81 1868 C. Butler 147 1862 C. Butler 69 J. M. Case 135 138 APPENDIX. Date. July 2, 1868 July 1, 1869 Julv 7, 1870 July 6, 1871 July 4, 1872 July 3, 1873 July 2, 1874 Names. July 1, 1875 July 6, 1876 July 5, 1877 W. Mudie G. S. Hayter . . G. Oflford *J. Boodle *T. Guilford . . *S. Ranyard *H. Sheath T. Guilford . . M. T. Coleman W. Walter . . E. W. C. Eichardson F. Adams *E. E. Blake . . H. Bidgood C. Oorkraa W. P. Dickins A. C. Tatham W.H.Walton.. C. Walpole . . 0. Butler J. M. Case W. Mudie J. Simpson T. Guilford . . W. Walter H. Harrison . . E. W. 0. Eichardson.. P. Adams 'C. Phillips . . 'J. Smith ^A. B. Eichardson H. Bidgood J. M. Case A. C. Tatham.. W. P. Dickins C. Corkran '0. Phillips . . *W. H. Dickinson 'J. Boodle W. Mudie C. Walpole . . E. L. Thynne.. J. M. Case J. Simpson C. Phillips . . ' — Aston — Benson W. H. Dickinson J. Boodle T. Guilford . . Dr. W. P. Jones H. Harrison . . E. W. C. Eichardson . . W. Parkes *C. Phillips . . G. Lott H. Bidgood . . W. P. Dickins A. C. Tatham.. C. Corkran C. Phillips . . H. Cowie E. L. Thvnne.. Votes. 125 122 110 48 2 1 1 238 139 129 128 121 37 183 183 183 183 183 79 79 79 79 79 429 311 310 308 307 161 109 101 277 257 275 268 262 257 169 136 375 365 351 339 329 157 95 75 57 45 319 286 274 274 272 240 422 417 417 415 414 90 21 21 Date. July 5, 1877 July 4, 1878 July 3, 1879 July 1, 1880 July 7, 1881 July 6, 1882 April 6, 1883 Karnes. April 8, 1884 Mar. 31, 1885 April 5, 1886 W. Mudie W. Y. Cockburu E. E. Blake . . *J. Boodle Dr. W. P. Jones T. Guilford . . C. L. Luck . . E. W. C. Eichardson. W. Parkes "J. Boodle W. P. Dickins C. Corkran J. Case A. C. Tatham . . G. Lott E. E. Blake . . W. Y. Cockburn H. Cowie W. Mudie E. L. Thynne W. Cook T. Guilford . . Dr. W. P. Jones C. L. Luck . . E. W. C. Eichardson. 'W. Parkes .. A. C. Tatham.. J. Case . . E. H. Hancock G. Lott C. Corkran 'R. Scase *C. Coochey W. Y. Cockburn E. L. Thynne . . W. Parkes W. Mudie E. E. Blake . . E. Scase W. G. Ayliffe . . C. Coochey T. Guilford . . Dr. W. P. Jones C. L. Luck . . E. Scase E. W. C. Eichardson. •H. C. Deane . . *W. Cook *W.G. Ayliffe.. J. Case E. H. Hancock J. Strapp A. C. Tatham.. G. Lott *W. Cook *A. Jobblns E. L. Thynne W. Mudie E. E. Blake . . Gen. A. F. Baird W. Parkes *J. C. Button . . Votes. 21 18 15 7 85 84 84 84 84 1 12 12 12 12 12 30 34 34 30 34 88 74 51 50 48 47 477 475 458 458 455 202 98 706 687 616 604 588 401 142 99 1258 917 834 799 793 694 483 89 1097 1001 970 958 915 482 466 1391 1326 1319 1218 1134 901 Note. — In the years in which only a few votes were recorded, there was no contest, and the poll was closed soon after the expiration of the first hour. APPENDIX. 139 XVII. POOR RATES LEVIED IN THE DISTRICT OF SURBITON, AS PART OF THE PARISH OF KINGSTON-UPON-THAMES, DURING EACH OF THE YEARS FROM 1855 TO 1887 INCLUSIVE. Year. Rate in the£. Average for Five Years. Year. Rate in the £. Average for Five Years. Year. Rate in tlie £. Average for Five Years. Year. Rate in the £,. Average for Three Years. 1855 1856 1857 1858 s. d. 4 6 4 6 4 6 3 6 3 10 s. d. 4 21- 2 11 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 s. d. 2 4 2 8 2 8 3 3 s. d. 2 9 2 6| 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 s. d. 2 1 10 2 1 10 1 8 s. d. 1 lOJ 1 8J 1885 1886 1887 s. d. 1 8 1 9 1 7 s. d. 1 8 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 3 2 3 4 3 10 2 8 3 3 2 5 2 6 1 11 1 8 1 8 1 8 1 10 1 8 Absteact op Payments made by the Overseers during the Years 1886 and 1887. Account. Total for Two Years. Per cent. Kingston Guardians— Union call s . . County rates Police rate Burial Board Constables' expenses, and proceedings before Justices Vestry Clerk, Assistant-Overseer, and other small payments £ s. d. 17,632 14 5 6,713 8 3 10,585 11 9 122 11 10 229 17 1,740 14 2 47-7 181 28-4 0-4 0-7 4-7 XVIII. LIST OF THE BYE-LAWS OF THE SUEBITON IMPEOVEMENT COMMISSIONEES, 1880. CONTENTS :— Nuisances— TreYBtition of nuisances arising from snow, filth, dust, ashes, and rubbish, and prevention of the keeping of animals on any premises so as to be injurious to health. Common lodging-houses — Fixing, and from time to time varying, the number of lodgers who may be received into a common lodging-house, and the separation of the sexes therein ; promoting cleanliness and ventilation in such houses ; giving of notices and taking precautions in the case of any infectious disease ; and generally for the well ordering of such houses. New streets and buildings — Interpretation of terms. Exempted buildings. Construction of new streets. Structure of walls, foundations, roofs, and chimneys of new buildings; for securing stability and the prevention of fires, and for pur- poses of health. Sufficiency of the space about buildings to secure a free circula- tion of air, and the ventilation of buildings. Drainage of buildings. Water- closets, earth-closets, privies, ashpits, and cesspools in connection with buildings. 140 APPENDIX. Closing of buildings, or parts of buildings, unfit for human habitation, and pro- hibition of their use for such habitation. Giving of notices, deposit of plans and sections by persons intending to lay out streets or to construct buildings; inspection by the Commissioners, and the power of such Commissioners to remove, alter, or pull down any work begun or done in contravention of the bye-laws. Slaughter-houses — Licensing, registering, and inspection of slaughter-houses ; preventing cruelty within ; keeping same in cleanly and proper state ; removing filth at least once in every twenty-four hours ; and requiring such slaughter- houses to be provided with a sufficient supply of water. XIX. SALA.K1ES OF OFFICEES, ETC., OF SURBITON AND THE NEIGHBOURINQ URBAN AUTHORITIES, MARCH, 1887. District. Ratable Value. Area, Acres. Number of Houses. Popula- tion Es- timated. Salary of the Clerk. Medical Officer of Health's Salary. Surveyor's Salary and other Emolu- ments ; if whole time is devoted to public duties. Miles of Town Koads includ- ing Main Roads. Miles of Country Roads. Surbiton.... £ 87,000 1,000 2,000 10,500 £150 and law costs £50 Surveyor, £200; de- votes whole time ; no other emolu- ments, except £50 as Inspector of Nuisances 10 — • Wimbledon. 170,000 3,220 4,200 25,000 £300 and law costs £100 £400 and house ; whole time devo- ted ; no other emo- luments 22 Epsom 52,037 4,423 1.200 7.500 £200 and fees as solicitor and for spe- cial con- tracts; £26 5s. election, £7 lOs. re- vision of list of owners £19, contri- bution as one of the combined districts £200; he is allowed to carry on his profession ; £20 as Surveyor to Burial Board 5 26 Richmond . . 169,349 1,155 4,119 22,000 £500 ; this includes all work not contentious £210 £400 per annum ; whole time de- voted to public duties 22 Kingston . . . 106,286 1,085 4,000 23,000 £300, and £25 towards ofiSce ex- penses and law costs £125 £300 and use of office, with gas, fuel, and station- ery found, and liberty to practise privately 22 Teddington . 50,907 1,120 2,000 9,000 £70 and law costs £25, and £10 Inspector of Bake- houses £200; not allowed to practise 12 Brentford... 60,860 2,750 12,000 £250 and law costs £75 £225, and allowed to practise in dis- trict About 3 Chiswick , . . 88,985 1,245 3,715 19,000 £350, includ- ing some minor legal work, with • assistant clerk at £120, rising to £150 £100 £300 ; whole time About 22 Heston and 109,463 6,966 4,000 25,000 £150 and law £150 £300 as Surveyor, 51 42 Isleworth costs £400 as Engineer, and also may prac- tise privately Twickenham 89,000 2,240 3.170 13,000 £150 and £40 Clerk to School At- tendance Committee, and law costs £100 £300 ; whole time 14 !8 APPENDIX. 141 Average If Local Government Board's Model Bye-laws as to Is Surveyor Assistants in Surveyor's Depart- ment and Wages of same. Average .Annual Annual Ex- Inspector of Nuisances ; if so, at what Salary .? Collector's Commission or Salary. District District. penditure exclusive of Loans. New Streets and Buildings have been Clerks. Foremen. Rates for last three years. adopted. Surbiton... £T,700 Yes Yes, at £50 One clerk, at 30s. per week, partially em- ployed in Surveyor's de- partment Assistant-Sur- 2i per cent. is. Ud.' Wimbledon £16,500 Yes No; salary of Road foreman. If per cent. 2s. lOd. Inspector of veyor, salary £100; light- Nuisances, £100 ; junior ing foreman. £100 Assistant- Surveyor, £40; ofiBce clerk, £100 £80 ; farm bailiff, £100 Epsom .... Main £500 Others 780 Watering 100 £1,380 Yes Yes, the Sur- veyor ; in- cluded in salary of Surveyor One, £93 12s., or 36s. a week 2i per cent. 2s. id. Richmond . £31,000 In course of No ; salary of Two assist- One general Commission 2s. id. adoption Inspector of ants, 35s. foreman, 42s. altogether Nuisances, weekly; two weekly; two (inclusive of £120 clerks, 14s. and 7s. 6d. weekly district fore- men, 30s. and 27s. weekly ; one scaveng- ing foreman, 33s. weekly poor rate) about £350 per annum each Collec- tor Kingston , . Yes No; this is held by a separate oflBcer, at a salary of £60 Foreman at 42s. a week £200 2s. 9d. Teddington £3,048 Yes Inspector of Nuisances, £20 None One foreman, 32s. a week 2J per cent. 2s. 5d. Brentford.. £9,750 Yes, to a great extent No Onp, at £80 a year Foreman, 35s. per week li per cent. 3s. id. Chiswick . . £25,000 Yes No; Inspector of Nuisances £100 a year Assistant-Sur- veyor, £170 ; junior cierk, 15s. a week Foreman, £2 per week £300 salary 3s. 8d. Heston and Yes No ; Inspector No clerks Foreman, 35s. Salary £336 2s. Od. Isleworth ofNuisances £120 per week Twickenliam £18,000 Yes No; Inspector of Nuisances, £80 Clerk, £98 16s. Foreman, £78 per annum i per cent, and £130 per annum, amounting to about £170 3s. 5d. #^ ' The highway and improvement rates averaged Is. 9d. being the average sewer rate over the whole district. One-half of the 4d. Surbiton Hill sewer rate is added, as 142 APPENDIX. XX. AMOUNTS RECEIVED FOR RATES LEVIED UNDER THE SURBITON IMPROVE- MENT ACT, AS COMPARED WITH THE POPULATION AND NUMBER OP HOUSES. Rates in the £. a J. Amount re- bO ceived from .2 hJ . Sewers. all Rates. (2 9 3 u P. teg la o % 3 1* Ph o 1 1-^ g i •a g i > o p. a OS . leg O 3 trlct No. 4 wer on Surbiton UdingBerrylandB iton Hill Park). 4 CO 1 ■s 1 1 1 P. > 3 Cm O ■So |l 3 "3 — .a OS 5-e 5| 5 Dif (Main S( Hill, incl and Surb 1 < 1 •3.S p. a 3 d. d. d. d. d. d. £ f Aver- s. d. Aver- s. d. Aver- «. d. Aver- 1855 1856 4 4 560 \ age. age. age. £ age. £ a 1? 665 1857 8 U 1378 976 4700 4 li 780 25 459 1 11 21,300 1858 1859 1 11 1219 I 3 9 1057/ 1860 3 10 1426 1861 1862 4 4 14 10 1820 2283 1973 5690 6 11 940 42 870 3 Oi 5 5 37,650 1863 4 7 6 7 2014 1 1864 1865 4 4 9 8 5 5 4 4 2324/ 2379 V 1866 5 6 5 3 2388/ 1867 5 8 5 4 2781 ) 2655 6590 8 Oi 1100 48 3 1295 3 Hi 52,350 1868 6 8 5 4 2863 1869 5 R 5 4 2862/ 1870 4 1 5 4 2810 \ 1871 5 8 6 3 3151 / 1872 6 10 8 8 10 9 4 3 2 2 3447 > 3826 5076 4644/ 7300 10 6i 1200 63 9 1744 4 9i 62,900 1874 1875 8 10 2 4 6023 \ 1876 1877 8 9 10 9 1 2 3 2* 5048 / 5135 > 5363 8450 12 8i 1440 74 6 2143 5 0} 72,300 1878 9 10 2 2 5589 1879 1880 1881 1882 9 11 2 2i 2 6021, 9 10 5749 \ 9 12 2 1 6346 9 1? 2 2 6555 6590 9900 13 3} 1733 76 2720 5 6i 80,693 1883 11 12 2 1 * 7194 1884 9 12 2 — — 4 7105/ 1885 1886 9 8 15 10 1 — 1 1 4 4 S?}™ 10,700 13 7 1898 76 7 3433 6 5i 86,875 1887 8 13* 2 '~~ 4 * Includes 3d. for outfall sewer. APPENDIX. 143 XXI. SUMS EXPENDED IN WAGES, WATERING AND LIGHTING ROADS, REMOVAL OF DUST, AND SCAVENGING IN EACH QUINQUENNIAL PERIOD, 1855-56 TO 1886-87. Wages. Watering Roads. Lighting. Removal of Dust. Scaveng- ing. Total. Period. 1 i < Number of Lights in Period. Average per At Commence- ment. At End. 1855-56 to 1859-60 1860-61 to 1864-65 1865-66 to 1869-70 1870-71 to 1874-75 1875-76 to 1879-80 1880-81 to 1884-85 1885-86 to 1886-87 £ 396 682 1,122 1,643 1,856 2,888 1,818 £ 199 878 1,395 1,527 1,949 2,736 1,212 £ 1,699 2,790 3,958 5,046 5,073 6,146 2,952 81 124 175 191 218 260 370 113 163 183 216 245 335 361 £ 505 1,838 1,740 650 £ 90 234 £ 2,294 4,:o50 6,475 8,721 10,716 13,600 6,866 £ 459 870 1,295 1,744 2,143 2,720 3,433 Total, 32 Years 10,405 9,896 27,664 1,419 1,616 4,733 324 53,022 1,657 XXII. ASSESSMENT, RATES, LOANS, HOUSES, AND POPULATION EACH QUIN- QUENNIAL PERIOD, 1855 TO 1887. 1855. I860. 1865. 1870. 1875. 1880. 1885. 1887. Assessment on houses £12,123 not given £40,336 £49,105 £58,629 £64,859 £74,718 £76,716 „ on land . . 3,037 separately 7,538 7,714 10,400 10,754 11,055 11,262 Total £15,160 £27,442 £47,874 £56,819 £69,029 £75,613 £85,773 £87,978 Rates in the £ (High- way & Improvement) Sd. 13d. 12d. lid. 18d. 19d. 2id. 18d. Total amount collected for all rates . • £560 £1,425 £2,379 £2,810 £5,023 £5,748 £8,142 £6,397 Outstanding loans . . — £1,600 £4,300 £3,608 £2,709 £1,590 £7,700 £7,208 Number of houses . . 698 867 1,030 1,166 1,267 16,22 1,845 1,960 Number of do. empty 49 57 63 74 57 45 77 95 Amount of rates irre- coverable (empty houses) £40 £140 £144 £332 £220 £181 £543 £402 Population (estimated) 4,198 5,202 6.180 6,996 7,602 9,300 10,700 10,900 144 APPENDIX. XXIII. LOAN ACCOUNT FOE YEAR ENDING MARCH 25. 1887. Purposes of Loan. Date borrowed. Amount originally Rate of Interest. Amounts paid this Year. Amount of Principal still borrowed. Principal. Interesi Owing. Bushey Park Lodge Sewemge ' £ £ 8. d. £ 8. d. £ 8. d. of Oddfellows . . works 1879 50 4°/o 6 13 4 10 8 10 Ditto ditto 1878 900 30 34 4 820 Southborough do. . . 1884 270 9 10 5 1 252 Loyal St. Ann's do. 600 3|"°/o 20 18 10 560 Claremont do. 800 4°/o 26 13 4 30 8 746 13 4 King Charles I. do. 210 7 7 19 6 196 United Kingdom Temperance Instn. 4,000 133 6 8 147 16 8 3,733 6 8 Bushey Park Lodge of Oddfellows . . 1885 220 6 13 4 7 17 3 213 6 8 Lord St. Leonard's do 200 6 13 4 7 17 3 193 6 8 Messrs. Henley and AUingham . . . . 250 8 6 8 9 14 9 241 13 4 Messrs. Henley and Swaine . . . . » » 250 »» 8 6 8 9 14 9 241 13 4 8,750 262 13 4 284 17 11 7,208 XXIV. RETURN OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTERED IN THE DISTRICT OF SURBITON EVERY FIFTH YEAR, 1855 TO 1887. Year Births. Deaths. Males. Females. Total. Males. Females. Total. 1855 (ending December 31) 61 70 131 24 34 58 I860 „ 99 74 173 36 37 73 1865 92 91 183 42 59 101 1870 118 104 222 71 65 136 1875 143 129 272 66 59 115 1880 „ 120 122 242 71 68 139 1885 104 117 221 49 57 106 1867 (ending March 31) 99 101 200 55 59 114 JOHN HARRIS, Registrar of Births and Deaths. APPENDIX. 145 o I— I lO C OS 1^ T-l >« 05 t-h" co^ i-T CO, CO CO ^ CO i-H CO tH JO IM OS CO 3 M^ CO TjH l> OS O o o CO CD 05^ C5 *i Cvl H c4" TfT O^ 00 co- 00 IM CO CO os 00 .i^ • CO CO CO ■r^ ti) «rt • ' (N Oi T-^ CO «| sS DD in (M (M cs 5(5 'O . (M 05 M eo p; >» I m t> O CO t^ t> o •* ' • « o rH ■S *H ' * CO CO I-H o_ '3 l-H e3 tn o CO CO OS O « . 05 eo 00 o >> ! \ CO CD (N CO ^ im" I-H Tt< o M «rt t^ I-H CO .s • • (M N ■* Ck • • • c o m -w •S •*! 00 I— 1 s t^ 1—1 (M I— 1 05 (>• J, sib I— 1 I-H CO oo (M t> ,_l o Ol "O . C5 I-H (M to ^ I I-H CO ■* -^ CO ■* t>- CO o OS OS c lO CO 00 p3 «^ CD o o lO OS (M o o_ t-^ r(<_ ■* I-H s T^ oi" cq~ . '^ irf IM i-H V > tH CO CO CO CO o o rH t» " trtOO I— 1 00 CO ■* OS CO 2« (M ^r °? "=? 00 C5 1 05 :?* OS 4i 1 CO lO CO CO t> i> 00 c« 03 CO CO 00 CO 00 00 CO a •d rH I-l I-H I-H I-H I-H I-H >H o O -S -2 O +3 -2 3 TJ a IM CO PN c3 CO r-( CO i-H o I-H CO ,_J^ *? CO CO tr tr CO ^ <<-i CJ o a *-1 1 m n) fl A c4 a Ti a (-) cS Tl o 0) o M © a, a ^ u r-( ^ -^"^ Cl rr> •n WP>^'>'!f^^ w?i'iwg!iiauw i( rtiei i UiL'^mi,iit ii! n> ':. ->jv,^/..'/':;'v>.>- AA/y y .^. %