GODALMING HUNDRED 



ARTINGTON 



ARTINGTON 



(!N THE PARISH OF ST. NICHOLAS, GUILDFORD) 



Ertindun (xiii cent.) 



The parish of St. Nicholas, Guildford, contains 

 2,693 acres. It is for the greater part of its eastern 

 tide bounded by the Wey, on the left bank of which 

 it lies. A great part of the parish is in the borough 

 of Guildford, and part has always been in the borough, 

 so far as is known. But the rural part of the parish 

 has always been in Godalming Hundred, and the 

 parish, 3 miles north to south, z or ij miles east 

 to west, was originally a rural parish. The idea 

 suggested in old histories that Guildford was once in 

 this parish on the left bank of the Wey is baseless. 

 The name ' Bury Fields,' in St. Nicholas parish, 

 refers of course to the town fields, not to the town. 

 Neither have draining or building revealed any old 

 foundations on the left bank. The Guildford Ceme- 

 tery is in the parish of St. Nicholas, in the part 

 included in the borough since 1904. It is under a 

 joint committee on which the rural parish is repre- 

 sented. 



The main part of the parish is on the Green Sand, 

 with an outcrop of the Atherfield and of the Wealden 

 Clay in the middle of it. But the northern part crosses 

 the chalk ridge of the Hog's Back and reaches on to 

 the Woolwich Beds and London Clay beyond. 



Guildford station is in the parish, and of late 

 years, in the neighbourhood of the station and on the 

 Hog's Back, building has much increased. The 

 Portsmouth road also traverses the parish, and houses 

 extend along it for a mile, connecting Guildford 

 with the hamlet of St. Catherine's. The old Ports- 

 mouth road came past St. Nicholas's Church, along 

 Bury Fields, and up what was called the Little 

 Mount into the line of the present road. The old 

 Farnham road came along the ridge of the Hog's 

 Back and down the Great Mount by a very steep 

 descent. 1 The Act of Parliament for making the new 

 Farnham road was passed in 1 796, but the road was 

 not begun till some years later. A parcel of land 

 south of the Great Mount is in Farnham Manor, and 

 was the site probably of a lodging of the Bishop of 

 Winchester when he was travelling on the road. The 

 end of the Hog's Back is known as Guildown, and 

 this old Farnham road is the Strata de GeUedone 

 referred to in the Pipe Rolls of 1189 as the southern 

 boundary of the purlieu of Windsor Forest. 



In the south of the parish part of the common 

 called Peasemarsh is included. Great part of this 

 was inclosed in 1803. It is very poor soil. In the 

 old river gravel on it some palaeolithic flints have 

 been found. 



The northern part of the parish beyond the Hog's 

 Back is called Guildford Park. This was the site of 

 the old royal park of Guildford. Much of the 

 history of the park is involved in that of the forest of 

 Windsor, the Surrey bailiwick of which extended 

 over the whole county north of the Hog's Back and 



west of the Wey. It would appear that Henry II 

 inclosed the park at the beginning of his reign. 1 The 

 custody of the park often went with the office of 

 constable of the castle and steward of the king's 

 manor, for Guildford was a royal manor and castle 

 from before the Conquest. There was a manor- 

 house in the park, but it was quite a small place. 

 The residence of the kings, who were frequently in 

 Guildford, was in the castle. It was here that the 

 extensive buildings and decorations of Henry III 

 were executed, not at the park manor-house, for they 

 involved buying of land for the extension of the 

 building, an impossibility at the latter place, which 

 lay in the middle of the park surrounded by the 

 king's land on every side. In 1299 the park was 

 assigned to Margaret, second wife of Edward I,' but 

 reverted to the Crown under Edward II. When 

 Edward III granted the royal manor in fee-farm to 

 the good men (probl homines) of Guildford the park 

 and castle were reserved. Helming Leggette was 

 given the custody of the park for life in I 3 70.' On 

 the decease of Sir Hugh Waterton it was granted to 

 Sir John Stanley for life in 1409-10.* In 1444 it 

 was granted to John Genyn and Richard Ludlow, 

 Serjeants of the king's cellar, and to Richard's heirs. 6 

 But in 1463 Edward IV granted it to Thomas St. 

 Leger, who married his sister Anne, widow of the 

 Duke of Exeter, and gave him the further charge of 

 certain enlargements of the park made before 1475-6.' 

 St. Leger received the herbage and pannage of the 

 park, without rendering account, and 10 a year for 

 the maintenance of the deer in winter. 8 The manor 

 of Cleygate in Ash was granted to St. Leger in 1475, 

 for the further maintenance of the game. 9 He was 

 attainted for rebellion against Richard III, when the 

 custody of the park was perhaps given to William 

 Mistelbroke, who received Cleygate. 10 In 1488 Sir 

 Reginald Bray received the custody of the park, and 

 Cleygate. 11 Sir Michael Stanhope was the next 

 holder." When Guildford Grammar School was re- 

 founded by Edward VI, the Marquis of Northampton 

 held it." Under Elizabeth Lord Montague was 

 keeper, and had much anxiety with poachers of deer 

 and snarers of rabbits and pheasants. 14 He died 1592, 

 and Sir Thomas Gorges, who had married Northamp- 

 ton's widow, was perhaps the next keeper. In his 

 time Norden's survey was executed. He describes 

 the park as of 6J miles' circuit with 7$ miles of pales. 

 Part of the southern side was inclosed and cultivated. 

 It contained 1,620 acres by estimation, and was 

 ' meanely timbered,' not enough to repair the pales. 

 There were about 600 fallow deer, but ' not above 

 30 bucks,' i.e. males of two years old and upwards. 

 The manor-house was 'puled down and defaced.' 

 This stood, by his plan, where the farm called Manor 

 Farm is now. There were three other lodges. The 

 chief lodge was by the bank of the river, and is partly 



1 Long poles used to be put through the 

 hind wheels of the coaches coming down 

 this hilL 



3 Close, 9 Hen. Ill, m. 6. 

 8 Pat. 27 Edw. I, m. 4. 



4 Pat. 43 Edw. Ill, pt. i, m. 33. 



' Pat. 10 Hen. IV, pt. ii, m. 13. 



6 Pat. 22 Hen. VI, pt. ii, m. 2. 



7 Exch. Accts. bdle. 516, no. II. 



8 Pat. 2 Edw. IV, pt. ii, m. 14. 

 Pat. 1 5 Edw. IV, pt. ii, m. 4. 



10 Pat. I Ric. Ill, pt. iv, m. 12. 



11 MS. of Mr. Anstis, quoted by Man- 

 ning and Bray, Hist, of Surr, i, 514. 



18 Mr. Anstis' MS., Manning and Bray 

 Surr. i, 25. 



18 Chart, of the school. 



14 Loseley MSS. fasiim. 



