POLITICAL HISTORY 



For the history of the reign of Elizabeth in Surrey very full mate- 

 rials exist, owing partly to the official greatness of the two lords lieu- 

 tenant who ruled throughout the reign. 



The high positions filled by the two Lords Howard of Effingham 

 in the queen's Government, for both were privy councillors, both on 

 occasions ambassadors, the former Lord Privy Seal for a year, the latter 

 for many years Lord High Admiral, resulted in the devolution of some 

 of their work upon deputy lieutenants. This caused the preservation 

 for us in the Loseley papers of records of the administration of a county 

 under the Tudors. Sir Christopher More of Loseley had been one of 

 those country gentlemen, below the higher ranks of the nobility, in 

 whom Henry VIII. preferred to place his confidence. He was justice 

 of the peace for Surrey when justices were not so common as they now 

 are, ulnager l for Surrey and Sussex, and a verderer of Windsor Forest. 

 He was also Remembrancer of the Exchequer. He died in 1549, and 

 was succeeded in his local offices by his son, who became Sir William, 

 and was also deputy lieutenant of the county from 1569, twice sheriff 

 of Surrey and Sussex, and vice-admiral of Sussex. Sir William also 

 represented both the county and Guildford, and once Reigate, in Parlia- 

 ment at different times. Towards the end of Elizabeth's reign his son, 

 Sir George as he became, was associated with him as deputy lieutenant 

 in 1596. Another favourite of Henry in the county had been Sir 

 Thomas Cawarden, Master of the Revels, who died in 1559," and to 

 whom Sir William More was executor. Cawarden was steward and 

 collector of various royal manors in Surrey, and custodian, with the 

 reversion of the fee-simple, of Blechingley, where the ex-queen Anne 

 of Cleves sometimes lived, 3 more tranquil though less eminent than she 

 would have been at Whitehall and Windsor. The Council and the 

 lords lieutenant were in constant communication with these men upon 

 the affairs of the county and upon the application of general measures 

 of administration to their district. In these letters and warrants the 

 varied political life of a sixteenth century county is abundantly illus- 

 trated. What strikes us at once is how very much the county was 

 governed, and by how simple a machinery it was done. The Home 

 Office, the Local Government Board, the Education Department, the 

 Charity Commissioners, the Board of Agriculture, and sometimes the 

 County and District Councils of to-day, were all represented then by 

 the one undelegated authority of the Lords of the Council, who cer- 

 tainly needed all the 'grace, wisdom and understanding' which they 

 could get to discharge their rigorously careful functions. The local 

 magnates are required by them to take care that fit persons, well-dis- 

 posed to the Government, are returned as county and borough members. 



1 Examiner of cloth and collector of the duties on cloth. Practically the superintendent of the 

 most important industry of the counties after iron. 



3 Just after the session of Parliament closed. 



3 She retired first to Richmond. She was deprived of that by Edward VI. in 1548. In 1553 

 she wrote to Mary from Blechingley. 



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